The BC Liberals and their friends in the corporate and media communities, have tried to sell the public on their supposed “business” abilities…unlike those “socialists” on the other side. And yet, after the voters ordered them to get rid of the HST, they are incapable of  returning for a full NINETEEN MONTHS to a provincial...

Back when I was a whippersnapper just out of high school, I took a job at Rossland’s now-defunct Co-operative Transportation Society, then commonly called the Rossland Co-op. It once stood where the Credit Union now stands and was once one of three Rossland gas stations, one of two Rossland garages where you could take your...

One way of looking at the energy industry today is to liken it to a horse race: coming out of the backstretch, oil is leading natural gas by a nose and coal is half a length back. If you had placed your bets before the race began, you would feel pretty comfortable as oil, natural gas, and coal head for the wire – a trifecta...

Something is happening in Canada that seems, in the context of a majority Harper government, counter-intuitive. Harper continues implementing his right-wing revolution by fiat, and Preston Manning’s “democracy” institute says Canadians actually want “less” government and more individual responsibility. Yet a flurry of polls...

What’s going on (or not going on) at City Hall about the tenders for the Columbia Avenue infrastructure project?  Tenders were opened on April 3 and there hasn’t been a peep about what the bids were.  If the bids had come in below estimates, staff and council members would have been bragging about the money they saved the...

Entomologist Lynn Westcott is coming back to Rossland for another round of talks and demonstrations about native bees. On April 12,  she’ll lead a workshop on the biology, ecology and habitat needs of native bees.  Part of this workshop  will be similar to what Lynn covered in last year’s workshop, in that she will describe...

On a soggy Monday afternoon, hundreds of people rallied against the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline from the tar sands in Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The protest was lead by the Heiltsuk people, whom proudly describe themselves as the care takers of their territorial lands and waters, in the Great Bear...

It might be useful for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to read a U.S. state department cable from Israel released by Wikileaks. It reveals that talk of Iran's imminent production of nuclear weapons goes back to the early 1990s: "The head of the MFA's [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] strategic affairs division recalled that GOI...

Starting to think about gardening and buying seeds for the fruitful season ahead? Some of the best local seed growers in the West Kootenays will have seeds for sale at Rossland’s annual Seedy Sunday at the Miners' Hall from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on March 10. The seed swap will be followed by a scrumptious $5 vegetarian dinner,...

One of the topics that few people talk about is bowel habits; however, it is one of the most important keys to health.  Long ago, I stopped asking how many bowel movements a day and now ask “How many bowel movements?” It no longer surprises me when someone says “Oh, once a week or every 3-4 days!” It is essential that people,...