Stories about crumbling public infrastructure are being reported right across the country.  As the federal government continues to download more of its responsibilities onto the provinces, and the provinces onto municipalities, it is inevitable that the next generation will be the ones forced to foot the growing bills. This...

You would think that federal Liberals would by now have immunized themselves against the affliction that almost did them in: the kind of delusional giddiness at the prospect of a political saviour. It is so embarrassing watching Liberals talk about Trudeau 2.0 – as if beating a Conservative Senator in the boxing ring somehow...

William Blum – “Today, many Americans are asking — indeed I ask myself,” Hillary Clinton said, “how can this happen? How can this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction? This question reflects just how complicated, and at times, how confounding the world can be.” 1 The […]

The incumbent president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has been re-elected for a fourth term as the country's president with a 54.66% share of the vote in the presidential election held Sunday. Chávez gave these remarks from the presidential palace: "Truthfully, this has been the perfect battle, a democratic battle. Venezuela...

Councillors Dan Rye and Gord Turner returned from the UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) AGM disappointed over the resounding defeat of Castlegar's single resolution that the government roll back its increase on cross-border shopping allowances. Previously, the government allowed shoppers to return to Canada with $400 of...

RCMP Cpl. Phil Mager (ironically, pronounced ‘Major’) just came to the Koots in July, and drug users will want to know about him – he’s a drug recognition expert. Mager is the non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of the West Kootenay Integrated Road Safety Unit, and part of his mandate is to ensure drug-impaired drivers […]

The issue of Recreation Complex expansion is once more becoming one for public debate, as user numbers increase and the demand for more equipment and space becomes increasingly urgent, according to city councillor Kevin Chernoff. This, roughly two years after a referendum regarding a $25-million Complex expansion project...

President Morsi attempts to play broker of the Syrian conflict, including Iran in a contact group; pressures US on Palestine (corrected audio)

The Fars News Agency (FNA), an Iranian news agency, yesterday reported an article from US satirical news website The Onion as fact. The article reports “a Gallup poll” suggesting, “the overwhelming majority of rural white Americans” would prefer to vote for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, as opposed to US President Barack Obama. The Onion article reports “77 percent of rural Caucasian voters” saying they would prefer […]

With rumours growing about a deadline for Marshall Lake’s ultimate demise activists, politicians and land owners continue to meet with key provincial staff to save the lake. Greenwood resident Christopher Stevenson, one of the key people leading the charge to protect the small lake which lies between Grand Forks and Greenwood...