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City Hall

Free parking in downtown Vernon adding up to concerns

VERNON - There’s concern that free parking is coming at too high a cost in downtown Vernon. Vernon city council has approved a number of free parking days for special events and initiatives, adding up to a total of approximately 15 days of free parking, Coun. Catherine Lord said at a meeting Monday, Jan. 11....

What’s open when during the holidays in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS - If you don’t want to show up with your skates to a closed arena, make sure you know the holiday hours of various facilities in Kamloops. City Hall and public works Both City Hall and the public works buildings will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. In addition to these...

City of Vernon gives its website a major facelift

VERNON - The City of Vernon has a new online look. It unveiled a new website today, Dec. 22, which has been over a year in the making. Vernon council approved a budget of $125,000 for the project in September 2014, and Upanup Design Studios from Victoria, B.C., was awarded the contract in July 2015....

Vernon council exploring options for largely empty downtown parkade

VERNON - Concerns around safety might be deterring people from using downtown Vernon’s parkade. The parkade only has about 35 per cent usage, council learned on Monday, Dec. 14, leading Coun. Catherine Lord to question why it's not better used.  “We need to do something to make it more attractive for people, especially if we...

‘My daughter’s future is in jeopardy’: Vernon mom speaks out at medical marijuana rally

VERNON - A drop of cannabis oil eaten on a cracker is making 13-year-old Tanniel’s seizure’s drop from 170 a day, to 30. “It was our life saver,” her mom, Elizabeth Bakker says. Doctors tried a number of different things, Bakker says, but Tanniel’s non-epileptic seizures weren’t getting better. Frustrated and heartbroken at seeing her...

Bow hunting pitched as solution for Vernon deer population

VERNON - There’s talk about using bow hunting to help manage the deer population in Vernon. Coun. Brian Quiring made the suggestion at a council meeting Nov. 9, noting the city is overrun with deer. “There are so many deer it’s unbelievable,” Quiring said. He added the sheer volume of deer crossing city roads is...

Some risks in Kelowna’s civic block condominium plan

KELOWNA - Right now, visitors to 350 Doyle Ave. are usually of the reluctant kind, brought there in the back of a police cruiser or paddy wagon. But if the goals of the civic block plan are realized, 350 Doyle Ave. — current home of the Kelowna RCMP detachment — could find favour within a...

City not much help in downtown Kelowna rat battle

KELOWNA - Just because you’ve never seen a rat, doesn’t mean Kelowna doesn’t have rats. Just ask Gary Mandl, who never saw a rat in his downtown Kelowna neighbourhood until his neighbours started composting last year. “We went from zero rats to all of a sudden being able to catch a rat, reload the trap...

Liquor store faces little opposition in UBCO neighbourhood

KELOWNA - Imagine, if you will, an application to open a liquor store in Kelowna that faced little opposition from local neighbours and in fact, will likely be warmly embraced when it finally does open. That’s because the neighbours in the building on Academy Way where the liquor store will be located are by and...

City of Kelowna hedges bets against strong U.S. dollar

KELOWNA - Finance officials with the city will now use currency forecasts in advance of all big ticket purchases from the United States, hoping to avoid price swings that render budget estimates obsolete. “It’s certainly affecting us when buying products directly from the U.S. or if we are buying from a Canadian supplier who is...

Lots of official eyes on downtown Kelowna streets

KELOWNA - Having eyes on the street is one of the keys to safe city streets, according to the downtown plan, and Kelowna’s urban core now has quite a few with more coming. The primary eyes are Kelowna RCMP, followed by the City of Kelowna bylaw officers, transit security, the downtown ambassadors and private security...

City of Kelowna changes plan of attack for ‘extraordinary snow events’

KELOWNA - With last January’s near-record snow storm on their minds, the city is going to institute something that’s been the norm on the Prairies for decades — snow routes. “One of the biggest challenges staff face during snow cleaning efforts is vehicles on local residential streets,” public works manager Darryl Astofooroff says in a...

Knox Mountain Park under popularity pressure

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Knox Mountain, the crown jewel of Kelowna’s park system, is under increasing pressure as its popularity grows. Use of the landmark park has jumped in all areas including vehicle use which has climbed from a daily average of 448 in 2012 to 582 in 2014. Event use has gone up as well...

Heritage buildings to get some love in Kelowna

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - It’s a pretty big to-do list but city planners have come up with priorities for some of Kelowna’s main heritage buildings. Topping the list is remedial work for the former Glen Avenue school, the Water Street firehall and Cameron House, planning specialist Pat McCormick says in a report to city council. The...

Kelowna tackles need for second dog beach

KELOWNA - There isn't a lot to building a dog park — but figuring out where to put it can take years. With that in mind, the city’s urban planning manager Terry Barton is proposing the city start a public engagement process to figure out what is needed and, most importantly, where people will tolerate another...

Referendum likely for Kelowna recreation centre replacement

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - No matter what shape or form Parkinson Recreation Centre takes in future redevelopment, planners think it’s going take another city-wide referendum to get funding approval. There are four different directions the city can take, from ongoing redevelopment to full replacement of the aging recreation centre and pool, the only multi-purpose recreation facility...

More questions about Vernon blue bin recycling program

VERNON - Vernon city council is embarking on a blue bin fact-finding mission. Spurred by a pair of motions brought forward by Coun. Scott Anderson, council agreed to investigate concerns — and possible solutions — around the Multi-Material B.C. blue box recycling system which came into effect in May 2014. "Numerous people have expressed dissatisfaction...