Last night was the first of three meetings intended to change the paradigm of how mayor, council and city staff present, not just the budget, but the budget process to the Castlegar public. I'll admit, when I first picked up the 19-page budget packet provided so attendees could follow along – page after page of lists, charts,...

Columbia Basin Trust and Columbia Power Corporation announced today they have entered into an agreement with Fortis Inc. to purchase its 51-per-cent interest in the Waneta Expansion hydroelectric generating facility located near Trail, for $991 million. “We are extremely pleased to be restoring ownership to the originally...

The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) is now accepting applications for rebates as part of the Wood Stove Exchange Program. This program, funded by the Government of British Columbia and the BC Lung Association, provides homeowners with rebates when they exchange their old wood stove for a new emissions-certified...

Nick Stobbart suffered from shortness of breath, and it kept him from getting around as much as he would have liked. The culprit? Heart failure, due to a bad aortic valve that twice landed the 89-year-old in hospital. The timing could not have been worse, as his wife of 60 years was at home receiving palliative care for cancer....

After 30 years of decline, smoking rates in Canada have risen. Could this disconcerting statistic be linked to the growing popularity of e-cigarettes? E-cigarettes, otherwise known as vaping products, are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid cartridge containing chemicals such as nicotine. The heated liquid becomes an...

For his first off-ice hockey job, Selkirk College alumnus Arie Postmus could not have landed a better boss to show him the ropes. This past summer, the former Selkirk College Saints defenceman secured a position with the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels as the team’s Hockey Operations Administrator that includes a focus...

Even during this milder winter, electricity use is up among FortisBC customers. Last week, electricity use increased by more than 26 per cent compared to the start of winter in November, and it’s been up 20 per cent or more since the start of December. This follows the typical pattern of increased energy use in the winter in...

The Kootenay Gallery of Art in Castlegar has another great line up of exhibitions for the 2019 season with artists from away and from the local area. Many of these exhibitions have a focus on experiencing the art as well as viewing the art by way of walk-through installations and participatory art. Beginning March 1, the...

The preliminary hearing for RCMP West Kootenay Traffic Services Const. Jason Tait should be wrapping up today or tomorrow in Castlegar court. The hearing, which began Monday, stemmed from an incident on Jan. 28, 2015, in which Tait fatally shot Waylon Jesse Edey, 39 , of Yahk, B.C., on Kinnaird Bridge (Hwy 3) in Castlegar...

Castlegar mayor and council will be rolling out a new budget presentation paradigm in a series of three public meetings slated for next week and the week after. In recent years prior, the city has held most discussion and staff presentations in camera, with a public open house presenting the draft budget in its entirety. At...