City thriving with year-over-year jump in building permits, business licenses
City beautification and marketing efforts appear to be bearing fruit, as per business license and building permit reports submitted to city council, according to city councillor Kevin Chernoff. Chernoff said a substantial increase over last year’s numbers in both licenses and permits indicates the city is successfully attracting...
UPDATED: Petition to save Pass Creek Fall Fair
The link to sign a petition letting the RDCK know you'd support taxpayer investment to save the Fall Fair is here: http://passcreekfair.com/ Previous story: The 19th Annual Pass Creek Fall Fair last weekend was, by all accounts, a screaming success … but will this popular regional event still happen next year? That’s not ...
Work in the age of anxiety
Working Canadians, from blue collar workers to middle class professionals to hamburger flippers are facing the worst economy insecurity, most stressful working conditions, the slowest increases in real income and the most cynical anti-worker governments literally since the 1930s. At the same time the 1% and the powerful...
Nation-state independence and the state of happiness
Scotland's Referendum Readers will be aware of the story last week of Scotland's independence referendum. The “yes” side lost its bid for an independent Scotland, as Quebec’s yes side has lost in two recent referendums, whereas Ireland succeeded -- for 26 of its 32 counties – in seceding from the United Kingdom. I feel...
STATEMENT: Canada uses World Conference to continue indefensible attack on UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples’ organizations and human rights groups are outraged that the federal government used a high level United Nations forum on Indigenous rights as an opportunity to continue its unprincipled attack on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On Monday, the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples...
Residents riled over post-midnight train
Many Castlegar residents got a rude awakening at roughly 12:40 a.m. this morning when CP Rail’s new nighttime train whistled its way through Castlegar. City councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, who lives directly adjacent to a train crossing, said the new schedule is a source of great frustration. “I’m extremely upset –...
Leaders discuss rural health care at UBCM in Whistler
The following is a press release issued by the B.C. government: Mayors from throughout B.C. discussed the future of rural health care yesterday in discussions with Health Minister Terry Lake and health authority representatives at the annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Whistler. "We know there...
Privacy commissioner says lack of provincial response, 'erodes the public's right to know'
The B.C. government has taken a step backward in providing timely responses to access to information requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, according to a special report issued today by Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham. "This is my office's fourth report examining...
Call for Nominations for BC Community Achievement Awards
They come from BC's biggest cities and the smallest towns. They are young, old and in-between. They are people who boldly develop the grand plan or who quietly put it into play. They are the recipients of the British Columbia Community Achievement Awards, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on those British Columbians...
Acclaimed local education program starts second year
This week’s return to classes is especially good news for participants of a local alternative education program. Students and staff of the Take a Hike West Kootenay program are eager to embark on the second year of an adventure-based learning journey that mixes traditional classroom time with a unique blend of outdoor education,...
