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Regional District ambassadors to reward good dog owners

KELOWNA – Employees of the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, armed not with tickets but with treats, are in Kelowna again this summer to reward residents who are responsible dog owners. Communications officer Bruce Smith says the ambassador program was so successful last summer they’ve decided to bring the program back. The two ambassadors,...

VIDEO: Kenny Vs. Spenny promote upcoming Kelowna show

KELOWNA – The best friends from Toronto who actually kind of hate each other, have put out a video promoting their upcoming show in Kelowna. Both Kenny Hotz and Spencer “Spenny” Rice, stars of the hit TV show Kenny Vs. Spenny, feature in the short video, but it is Spenny who does most of the...

Okanagan apples almost ready to cross the globe

OKANAGAN – The general manager of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association says they are about a month away from knowing if Okanagan apples will be bound for one of the largest markets in the world. Glen Lucas says he had hoped they would have the answers to whether or not local apples will be a...

Campfire bans in effect this weekend for B.C. Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Due to an elevated risk of fire across the Interior of B.C., the Kamloops Fire Centre has banned all open fires, including campfires, as of noon on Friday, July 3. Kelsey Winter of B.C. Wildfire says the step is being taken to prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety around Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon...

Kelowna council won’t follow Vancouver’s lead on medical marijuana dispensaries

KELOWNA – More than 80 new medical marijuana dispensaries have opened in Vancouver in the last year, prompting city council there to consider implementing business regulations to keep them from getting out of control. But the mayor of the Interior's largest city says Kelowna council is not planning on revisiting the issue any time soon....

Heat wave could force water restrictions in Summerland

SUMMERLAND – If the heat wave resumes the Summerland Treatment Plant could be forced to issue measures to reduce water use in the area. Due to increased demands the Summerland Water Treatment Plant has been operating at maximum capacity the last week, according to a media release issued today, June 29. If the demand rises...

Mother of boy run over by van says he is out of intensive care

KELOWNA – The 8-year-old boy run over by a work van in his West Kelowna neighbourhood earlier this week is out of the Intensive Care Unit at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver. Jonah Pevach was airlifted to Vancouver after he was allegedly run over by an employee of Abstract Design and Painting the evening of...

Big White Ski Resort not big enough

KELOWNA – Big White Ski Resort, one of the largest in B.C., is not quite big enough to qualify as a municipality. At least not yet. For the last year the Big White Chamber of Commerce has been actively investigating the possibility of becoming a Mountain Resort Municipality, similar to Sun Peaks Resort in Kamloops....

Kelowna crack dealer busted by officer who lived in same building loses appeal

KELOWNA – A Kelowna man arrested after an investigator who lived in his apartment building saw him selling drugs, has had his appeal dismissed in a Vancouver court. Peter Andrew Webster was arrested in the elevator of his building Dec. 16, 2008, after a surveillance team saw him hand a plastic bag to another man...

Canada Day fireworks still a go in Kelowna despite fire danger

KELOWNA – The annual Canada Day fireworks in Tugboat Bay will go ahead as planned despite the extreme risk of fire issued by Wildfire B.C. Festivals Kelowna executive director Renata Mills says one of the benefits of holding the celebration over Okanagan Lake is dry conditions don’t put forests or structures at risk. “The obvious...

Local musician needs your help to win Aboriginal Music Award

KELOWNA – A singer-songwriter from West Kelowna has been nominated in two categories for an international music award this week. Kelly Margaret Derrickson, daughter of Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, found out Wednesday, June 24, the Indigenous Music Awards had nominated her for Best New Artist and Best Music Video. The video, Idle No More, is...

What’s happening at Mushroom Beach?

KELOWNA – Mushroom Beach in Kelowna means something different to everyone. To some it’s a peaceful mecca of freedom, where music fills the air, police look the other way when it comes to drug use, and clothing is optional. To residents in the area however, it’s percieved as a growing danger to their children, homes...

No fireworks and possibly no campfires allowed this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Without a significant amount of rainfall Tuesday night, the Southern Interior could see a fire danger rating of ‘extreme’ by the start of the weekend. And that could mean no campfires on the weekend before Canada Day. Kelsey Winter of B.C. Wildfire says the fire danger rating in the Kamloops Fire Centre, which...

Cancellation of Kelowna City Park vendor program ‘an insult’

'THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL LOSE THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THIS WAS THEIR PRIME INCOME' KELOWNA – The row of street vendors that have lined the walkway leading into City Park for more than 15 years will not be allowed back this year, and vendors say it will have devastating impacts on their families. That decision...

Cisco Road wildfire evacuation alert rescinded

LYTTON – The Regional District Emergency Operations Centre has rescinded the evacuation alert for roughly 60 properties near the Cisco Road wildfire near Lytton. The alert was issued at 9 p.m. June 11 for the west side of the Fraser River from the intersection of Lytton Ferry Rd. and South Spencer Rd., south to the...

RCMP, SPCA investigating woman accused of dragging puppy behind moving vehicle

OKANAGAN – After news of four Kelowna women who rescued a puppy that was injured while being pulled behind a moving vehicle in Oliver last week, the SPCA and RCMP have begun a joint investigation into possible animal cruelty. On Friday, June 12 at around 7:30 p.m., four women from Kelowna were on a wine...

Robot invasion: Engineers testing out their gadgets

KELOWNA – Graduate students from across Canada were in the Okanagan this week, testing out and demonstrating the latest in robotic technology. Teams from schools across Canada spent the week in Kelowna programming and testing their machines at an annual event meant to bring together engineers and operators normally scattered across the country. The annual...

Okanagan-bound boat caught and decontaminated for possible invasive mussel threat

KELOWNA – Conservation officers in Kelowna decontaminated a boat today which came to the Okanagan from an Ontario lake known to be infested with invasive mussels. The boat was purchased by someone in the Okanagan city and transported from Lake Eerie in Windsor, Ont. It was shipped along with another boat bound for Fort McMurray....

Fewer rentals available in Thompson-Okanagan as prices rise

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It's getting harder to find an apartment to rent in most Thompson-Okangan cities, and those that are available cost significantly more than they did one year ago. Kelowna and Kamloops saw minor adjustments in rental availability rates this year compared with the B.C. average. Between April 2014 and April 2015, the provincial average...

Pianos in the Park take social media by storm

KELOWNA – Less than a week after they were set up, Kelowna’s Pianos in the Park are filling the downtown streets with beautiful music. Videos of people playing the pianos have flooded social media, including one by local musician James Elser, who covered Elton John’s Your Song in front of Rotary Centre for the Arts....

Kelowna women rescues dog being pulled behind moving vehicle

"WE ALMOST THREW UP WE WERE SO SCARED." OKANAGAN – Four friends from Kelowna were driving on Road 22 in Oliver last Friday night when they saw something they couldn’t believe: A puppy, less than two months old, being pulled behind a moving vehicle. “It was one of those really small lane roads,” says one...

Traffic improvements coming to busy intersection in Sicamous

SICAMOUS – A new roundabout is scheduled to be built on Highway 97A in Sicamous next year. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone says in a media release the improvements, set to be installed some time in 2016, will provide safer and easier access to businesses in Sicamous for travelers on the TransCanada Highway and...