Pay cut for most at FreshCo

Safeway employees have a tough decision to make in the next few weeks. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1518 secretary-treasurer Patrick Johnson says closing Safeway stores in Kelowna’s Dilworth area and downtown Vernon and reopening them as FreshCo locations will have a major impact on current employees. Sobeys announced this week it would be […]

Ebus adds two B.C. routes

Ebus BC announced they will be adding two new routes in B.C. — Salmon Arm and Prince George. “With seven months of operations under our belt in B.C., we’re excited to have the chance to increase connectivity for people in our current and 14 potential new communities,” Ebus says in a release. The Salmon Arm […]

Millennial shift in real estate

The majority of millennials are now in the market for recreational real estate. A new RE/MAX survey conducted by Leger found 56% of millennials are looking to purchase a recreational property — up 14 per cent from 2018, when 42% were considering buying recreational property. RE/MAX says the increase in buying intentions among younger people […]

Economy indicators humming

The fourth-quarter numbers are in, and 2018 was another strong year for the Central Okanagan economy, according to numbers released by the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission on Tuesday. The most stunning number in the economic indicators report was job postings, as the region experienced a whopping 49.3 per cent increase in that category last […]

Conservation adds officer

There is another conservation officer working the North Okanagan. Last spring, 20 conservation officers were sworn in and they are now working at various locations throughout the province. The new faces mark the largest influx of recruits the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) has had in a decade and will fill existing vacancies and newly-funded […]

Motel will serve as shelter

BC Housing has announced plans to operate a new cold weather shelter at a motel on the south end of Penticton. The Swiss Sunset Inn at 2604 Skaha Lake Rd. will host 20 cold weather beds, possibly to be operated by ASK Wellness, which manages the Fairhaven transitional housing development next door. BC Housing would […]

Canada’s challenge at capacity

Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at RBC, will tell a Kelowna audience next month how red-hot economies on both sides of the 49th parallel can coexist in the time of Trump. Ferley is scheduled to be keynote speaker during a noon-hour speech at the Urban Development Institute’s annual general meeting on Sept. 20. The event […]

Profess love elsewhere, please

Stephane and Beatrice Facon have a message for the person or people responsible for spray-painting the windows and walls of their downtown Kelowna business overnight Tuesday. “We all know the reputation of the French lovers,” the owners of Bouchons Bistro wrote in an e-mail to the media. “We do encourage to love as much as we do […]

Big wins for Oliver winery

Oliver’s Covert Farms Family Estate has brought an impressive amount of hardware home from a wine competition in Germany. The winery earned five gold medals and one silver at the International Organic Wine Award for several of its 100 per cent organic, estate-grown-and-produced wines. Covert Farms was the only Canadian winery in the competition, which […]

Local earns Foodie of the Year nod

An Okanagan business owner has been named one of the top 10 foodies of the year by Western Living. Christine Coletta, who founded Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, was announced as one of the honourees today. Coletta has been a leader in the B.C. wine industry, most notably creating a B.C. wine and Alberta food […]