By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily A new accounting quirk has the regional district sitting at over $8 million in net debt for 2009, its financial audit revealed recently. The Regional District of Central Kootenay is saddled with $8.5 million in net debt — up from $2.48 million in 2008 — according to the consolidated […]

NDP Leader Carole James mishandled the “Bob Simpson” problem several weeks ago ..and now that has come back to haunt her. At the time, I criticised James for having MLA Simpson turfed from caucus for publicly criticising as lacklustre a speech  she made to the Union of BC Municipalties convention. It was lacklustre.  But although he did not […]

So, next Saturday, Dec. 11, you’ll be out shopping, getting gifts for loved ones, buying cards, stocking up on staple holiday fare … what could be more in keeping with the spirit of Christmas than to share a little bit of the season’s bounty with those less fortunate? Mountain FM and The Bridge are making it […]

 Castlegar mayor and city council are calling for an independent analysis to determine the future configuration of local schools, after hearing the School District 20 board’s plan, which proposes closing Blueberry Creek Community School and Castlegar Primary School, as well as the Rossland Secondary School, among other changes.  This, after a closed meeting of the […]

Yesterday’s release of more US diplomatic cables by Wikileaks covered pressure on governments, Spain’s judiciary, and buying foreign assistance with detentions at Guantanamo Bay. El Pais, one of five mainstream papers partnering with Wikileaks’ release of documents, examined key output from Madrid’s US embassy.   The latest cables focus on US–Spain relations, particularly during the George W. Bush presidency, with Eduardo Aguirre serving as ambassador in […]

The massive Biotech lobby has spent nine months and hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting against New Democrat Agriculture Critic Alex Atamanenko’s seed bill.   “The amount of muscle flexing by big biotech against my simple bill has just been over the top,” said Atamanenko. “I am amazed that over 40 industry lobbyists – hired by […]

 Wikileaks‘ website is reportedly under attack as it prepares to release up to 2.7 million documents, described as “diplomatic dynamite”, detailing communication between United States embassies. “We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack,” the organisation said on its Twitter feed. The website, run by Julian Assange, retaliated by saying that even if their website goes down, several […]

Hearing Carole James declare that the challenge to her leadership is over – because the NDP’s Provincial Council backed her – reminds me of George Bush on the US air craft carrier with the huge “Mission Accomplished” sign behind him after the initial attack in Iraq. Talk about not getting it. The NDP is now […]

The Supreme Court of B.C. has found in favour of the City of Castlegar after owners of the City Centre Motel downtown requested a judicial review of city council’s decision to order the structure demolished. In the judgment, rendered Nov. 19, the Honourable Madam Justice Lynn Smith said, “I do not find the City to […]

Fight HST Leader Bill Vander Zalm is calling for the resignation of Elections BC Acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James in the wake of James’ decision to reject the application for Recall by Oak Bay-Gordon Head proponent Michael Roy Hayes on the basis that the Recall statement attached to the petition application is “too long”. […]