The budget implementation act (Bill C-38), all 400 pages of it, was the latest in a long string of legislative initiatives to have debate limited by time allocation.  Like too many other bills that parliament has been forced to fast-track, C-38 was bloated, omnibus and strayed in too many directions.  New Democrats demanded...

Have you developed a  new or innovative product or service?  Implemented an innovative process or system?  Turned your idea into a new venture? Tell us all about it in your nomination for the Spirit of Innovation Awards. Join KAST in celebrating Regional Heroes of Innovation by nominating yourself, your company, or another,...

Dear Editor: I am writing about hearings that are to be held in our area with respect to the way the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission has decided to divide up the province between Members of Parliament. Hearings in our area are scheduled for Nelson on October 2, 2012 and Castlegar on October 3, 2012. None […]

A new provincial regulation aimed at stopping copper thieves in their tracks has scrap metal dealers doubtful. The new law came into effect yesterday, Monday, July 23, requiring the more than 60 BC scrap metal dealers to ask for and record the identification of anyone selling high-value metals like copper to them. That...

Human waste, unattended fires and toxic litter often accompanies seasonal squatters in the Boundary. It happens every year -- people who are down on their luck set up house along a river bank or in the bush to save themselves rent and utility costs while the weather is good. Their activity may seem harmless enough but it is...

A gay couple from Vancouver was awarded over $4500 for discrimination in a  B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision yesterday after being refused Grand Forks accommodations in 2009. The decision, by Tribunal member Enid Marion, found that Les and Susan Molnar, operating the Riverbend Bed and Breakfast business at the time, were...

I am currently facing a challenge in my own mind, as I confront a question with my granddaughter. Why does it seem important to teach children about the reality or falsity of elves, fairies, nature elementals , and other spirit beings? What should I say when she says “Are they real?” She also tells me […]

Large crevices and sinkholes appearing in the Grand Forks slag piles along the Granby river were cause for serious investigation today. The changes in the slag piles were noted by Pacific Abrasives Ltd. and city crews.  "If the entire slag pile shifts and lands in the river we could see the Granby running through town on 2nd...

The Kootenay to Kitimat Caravan to protest Enbridge’s plans for a northern tar sands pipeline made one of their first stops in a 10 day journey in Grand Forks today gathering support and raising awareness. Meeting a small gathering of locals at Gyro Park on Highway 3, the four men, Keith Wiley, Michael Gilfillan, Tom Nixon ...

There's been another massive mudslide, this time near the Village of Fairmount Hot Springs in the East Kootenay. At 4:38 p.m. local time, Columbia Valley RCMP received a call of a mud slide near the East Kootenay resort. Mud and debris thundered down the mountain side closing parts of Fairmount including Highway 93/95. "We've...