Downtown dust-up draws to dubious detente
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...
Local woman sparks international movement with thousands of followers ... using Facebook
Castlegar’s own Holly Smee is stunned and delighted to have garnered the support of more than 10,000 people just days after launching a Facebook campaign in response to recent tragedy. Smee, a 34-year-old mental health worker, said she got the idea on the same morning that a school shooting spree took the lives of 20 […]
Councillor gets answers for 'Million-Dollar Alley'
Two representatives from the Ministry of Transportation (MoT) were in town yesterday to discuss ongoing concerns over a stretch of Highway 22 dubbed 'Million-Dollar Alley' because of the many accidents that have historically taken place there. The MoT recently completed an almost-$2-million Series of improvements to the...
COMMENT: Forsaken on Highway 16
Wally Oppal’s long awaited report commissioned in the wake of the conviction of serial killer Robert Pickton holds a surprise. Something had gone tragically wrong with law enforcement. How else could one individual have murdered dozens of women in one location over more than a decade without being caught? That Oppal’s report...
OP/ED: Stephen Harper’s Christmas sermon--Why deny climate change?*
Canada is blessed. God has given us so many things that other countries want. And it’s all just there for the taking. Above the ground we have trees galore, waiting to be chopped down, water waiting to be piped to California. In the ground we’ve got gold and silver, copper and iron, uranium and asbestos. The list is almost ...
US judge finds Teck liable for polluting Upper Columbia River
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 […]
COMMENT: Tight lips tank trust
Following the city’s overzealous and incorrect use of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA) to withhold letters that are clearly in the public’s interest and do not “unfairly” harm anyone’s reputation, I am left wondering what, exactly, remains in the five redacted lines in Coun. Kathy Moore’s letter...
Increase in 2012 building permits a good sign in RDCK
by Suzy Hamilton, The Nelson Daily It’s not exactly a boom, but it’s better than last year. As of November, building permits in the Regional District of Central Kootenay have exceeded 2011 totals by nearly nine per cent. Last year, 772 building permits were issued and as of November 30, 835 building permits have been […]
OP/ED: Public consultation on the Department Of Peace bill
As part of its annual general meeting, the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative held the last of its public consultations on the creation of a Department of Peace. The meeting which took place at St. Paul University in Ottawa featured a panel of five commissioners and interventions from the public. (It was especially...
KBRH job action withdrawn - normal services Monday
Rotating job action, with lab workers slated to reduce to essential levels Monday, has been cancelled. Interior Health issued a brief release Monday, indicating services will remain at normal levels. “Interior Health has just received notification that the job action planned for this week by the Health Sciences Professional Bargaining Association (HSPBA) has been withdrawn,” […]