A Castlegar city councillor said he’s delighted to see only a marginal decrease in local residential property values, despite larger decreases being seen across the province. Kevin Chernoff said BC Assessment’s recent release of property assessments saw Castlegar coming out a strong leader. “We fared way better than most of...

After a record snowfall in December, The Castlegar Source/Trail Champion received several phone calls from professional drivers, first responders and other area motorists expressing concern, and even outrage, over the condition of regional thoroughfares. A reader poll posted to both sites asking “Do you feel Emcon (the regional road maintenance contractor) is doing a good […]

The Trail and District Chamber of Commerce now has a new leader at its helm, after the abrupt and somewhat controversial departure of former executive director Maggie Stayanovich (see http://trailchampion.com/news/update-chamber-president-offers-clarification-22206#.UOSh5uQ0WSo ). Incoming executive director Norm Casler, 50, was already at his desk this afternoon (Wednesday), ready to hit the ground running. “The best thing for […]

Mark Milke, The Fraser Institute Question: Have you ever felt annoyed at a restaurant when your bill arrived with a mandated tip, thus removing your (monetary) ability to comment on the service? If so, that’s about how governments act vis-à-vis travel costs for Canadians, this when governments prevent full competition which...

A conflict between two downtown business owners was discussed during a meeting this afternoon which included the two owners, a local liquor inspector, city director of Planning and Development Phil Markin, Castlegar top cop Sgt. Laurel Mathew, councillors Dan Rye and Kevin Chernoff, as well as Mayor Lawrence Chernoff. According...

  On Dec. 14, Washington judge found Teck Resources liable for response costs for any environmental or health risks resulting from almost a century’s worth (between 1896 and 1995) of discharges into the Upper Columbia River in Washington State. Judge Lonny Suko said, in his ruling, that, “for decades, Teck’s leadership knew its slag and […]

A meeting will have to happen within the next 30 days to resolve a dispute between the city and two downtown business owners, after council’s regular meeting Monday night became contentious. According to councillor and Planning and Development Committee chair Kevin Chernoff, the issue arose as the result of the city sending ‘unsightly premises’ notification […]

Updated as of 6:22 p.m. Nov.30: Trail and District Chamber of Commerce president Lisa Gregorini was able to shed some light on a murky announcement sent to members within the past hour. First, and most importantly, she said many of the rumours surrounding the departure of former executive director Maggie Stayanovich are patently false. “Any […]

It’s been many long months in the making, but the Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce can now announce a new leader at its helm. The chamber issued a press release this morning, naming new executive director Tammy Verigin-Burk, who is perhaps best-known for her transformative work at Freedomquest, which she took from comparative obscurity […]

Five Basin-based ideas are being awarded $10,000 each for their innovative approaches to addressing Basin issues. The projects have strong potential to improve social, economic or environmental well-being in the Columbia Basin, and are being awarded the money by Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) as part of the province-wide BC Ideascompetition. “These ideas demonstrate innovation, impact […]