Photo by Kyra Hoggan: Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm discusses the HST with residents at the Castlegar Public Library Monday. Roughly 50 people showed up at the Castlegar Public Library Monday morning to hear former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm slam the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) due to take effect on June 1 of this […]

A strong democracy calls for …. no, demands … that dissenting voices, however objectionable, be heard. I believe it is more important to listen to those with whom we disagree, even fervently disagree, than to take false reassurance from those who confirm our own particular foregone conclusions .Those of us who insist on the value of […]

Contemplating the heady flow of data in and out of my current work environment, it surprises me that I am returning again for a quick chat on Social Media, more so that I am choosing Twitter to chat about.  Why Twitter? Well because Twitter just turned four years old and recently just tweeted its 10 […]

Grand Forks RCMP are investigating reports of attempted fraud where an individual has telephoned to ask for money. The individual appears to be targeting elderly people, stating that their grandchild is needing money to pay bail or lawyer fees. Grand Forks RCMP urge that if you are contacted in such a manner, that you do not...

It seems that everyone agrees, from our regional rural development chair at Selkirk College to the federal government, the biggest problem threatening our economic future is babies. Or rather, the lack of them. Its not that our population is declining, immigration is boosting the numbers, but that, overall, the population is...

The BC Recreation and Parks Association’s (BCRPA) Walk BC initiative is launching its newest venture and online resource, an interactive walking route map. As the first map of its kind, it features walking routes and recreational facilities from around British Columbia. Powered by GOOGLE™, it enables people to find the right walking route for their […]

Though few people (just under 20) attended the special meeting of council Monday night , it offered some interesting developments. An agreement between Celgar and the City of Castlegar was signed, Celgar manager Al Hitzroth offered a presentation describing the necessity of the deal, and one councillor voted in opposition to the agreement, the budget […]

A friend of mine posted something on Facebook today (yes, alright, I finally broke down last fall and got an FB account – it seemed wrong to continue my technophobe status after opening a web-based media outlet – and now I’ll end up one of the pathetic select seeking help to cope with a Facebook […]

In 2000, then Liberal Finance Minister Paul Martin cut corporate income tax rates by a quarter, from 28 percent to 21 percent, phased in over five years. The Harper government has continued those cuts from 21 per cent in 2007 to 18 percent today, and is ignoring NDP advice and further reducing corporate taxes 15 […]

As the curtain began to part in constructing the stage for the 2010 Winter Olympics, much of Vancouver began to experience a monumental economic transformation while the Downtown Eastside remained a harsh reality of the city’s social and urban poverty crisis. The significant governmental efforts that had been made to provide temporary shelters for those […]