Halifax or Vancouver? Ask most folk which city boasts the higher median family income and chances are they'll say Vancouver. They couldn't be more wrong. The median income for a two-parent family living in Halifax was $87,430 in 2011. Vancouver wasn't even close at $74,510. In fact, family incomes were higher in St. John's,...

Castlegar city councillor and downtown business owner Florio Vassilakakis is calling for more tax-based incentives to draw businesses to the downtown core, after Kootenay Savings Credit Union announced, this week, plans to close its downtown branch. “I understand there are business decisions to make, but it's a disappointment...

Kootenay Savings Credit Union will be closing its downtown Castlegar branch in early May, but leaving ATM and night deposit services at that location, according to vice-president of Marketing Dario Cescon. Cescon said they'll be consolidating their services at their new Crossroads branch, which opened in September 2011. “We...

Castlegar's 17-day push to become Kraft Hockeyville 2014 is over, netting 461 nominations and 589 uploads to the Kraft website – and now the waiting begins. City councillor Dan Rye said the first round of winners will be announced on March 8 during Hockey Night in Canada, and will include eight winners from Western Canada and...

By Everette Surgenor Proponents of broadband networks and services believe that they can have a positive impact on economic development, education, health and social services and, eventually, on the way people interact with their government as well as voting. The primary mandate of the Castlegar Broadband Committee at this ...

Budget 2014 falls short of taking significant action on many of the challenges facing Canadians today, according to Alex Atamanenko, MP for BC Southern Interior. “There are 300,000 more unemployed today than before the recession, many seniors are struggling and families are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet,”...

The City of Trail is very pleased to be officially taking ownership of the Trail Regional Airport (YZZ) from the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) on Feb. 15. After several months of negotiations and discussions on how to move forward, the city is now ready to start making the transition with the newly-acquired ...

If you own a small business in the Basin, you can get financial help to hire a student over the summer by applying for a wage subsidy from Columbia Basin Trust’s Summer Works Program. Application forms are available starting February 21, 2014, at cbt.org/summerworks. Because the program is popular, you’re encouraged to submit...

Aspiring writers have an opportunity to learn how to create stories, poems, and personal essays others will want to read with a creative writing course being offered by Selkirk College. West Kootenay novelist, poet and performance artist Almeda Glenn Miller has been teaching writing for more than 15 years. Teaming up with...

Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. Benito Mussolini With the announcement by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) of formal complaints against the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for illegally spying on environmental groups...