A South Okanagan manufacturer is preparing to open a new mill in OK Falls next month. Structurlam will be opening a new 35,000-square-foot facility in the town’s industrial park on Oct. 15th. It will employ 20 people to begin and is expected to employ about 20 more once fully operational. The company already has a 105,000-square-foot facility […]

Potential cannabis retailers in Kelowna will have to pay higher than normal fees just to submit a rezoning application. Planning staff are suggesting prospective retailers pay a $9,495 fee for the retail cannabis sales subzone. That would go up to $9,685 in 2019. The initial rezoning fee is nearly three times what the city charges […]

Dr. Moshe Oz is this year’s winner of the Greater Westside Board of Trade’s Citizen of the Year award. The Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital owner was honoured on Thursday night at the Key Business Awards Gala at 19 Okanagan Grill+Bar. Dr. Oz and his wife, Dr. Noa Oz, always open their doors to Westside pet […]

Penticton will be the site of an inaugural business development symposium in early November. FutureBiz will bring together the city’s business community to hear from an expert speaker panel, discuss future business opportunities in the Okanagan and learn about trends that could be pursued. Some of the topics that will be broached are disruptive technologies, […]

TEDxKelowna has announced the speaker lineup for its sixth annual event on Friday, Oct. 5 in downtown Kelowna. The list includes Globe and Mail health columnist Andre Picard, sustainability scientist Dr. Nathan Pelletier, SecureKey’s Andre Boysen and Troika Group’s Renee Wasylyk. The event is designed specifically for the Okanagan and will cover topics like entrepreneurialism, […]

It is almost time for the legalization of retail marijuana in Canada, and Pretium Group realizes there is plenty of opportunity on the business side of the industry. That’s why the Vernon-based business firm will be hosting the Okanagan Cannabis Business Symposium on Tuesday at the Delta Grand Okanagan Conference Centre in downtown Kelowna. It […]

Kelowna mayoral candidate Tom Dyas doesn’t think city council has treated one of its biggest corporate citizens very well. And he’s made the relocation of Costco’s Kelowna operation a political issue. It’s been widely known for several years the warehouse giant has been looking for a new, larger location, one which would include a larger […]

The city’s last nightclub may be closed, but you have a chance this weekend to purchase a piece of Penticton nightlife history. The new owners of the Mule Nightclub are holding a “garage sale” Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to give the public the chance to purchase memorabilia and furniture from the shuttered […]

Regional district directors will be getting a 14 per cent pay hike in January 2019, but it is not as generous as it sounds. Regional District of North Okanagan directors approved the raise at Wednesday’s board meeting following a move by the federal government that would impact their current pay. Board chairperson Bob Fleming said until […]

A new state-of-the-art wine centre in downtown Penticton is preparing to open its doors this weekend. The Wine Experience Centre has been undergoing construction for four months at its location on the Penticton Lakeside Resort property, where it leases the first floor of a new building. Staff was putting the finishing touches on the 2,500-square-foot venue when […]

City council has reversed field in respect to where non-medical cannabis retail stores will be allowed to set up. Initially, council sided with a staff recommendation to keep retail cannabis stores off Leon and Lawrence avenues. However, at Tuesday’s public hearing council reversed that decision. While storefronts will be allowed throughout the city, certain distance restrictions […]

KF Aerospace needs to fill 100 new positions over the next years, so it will be hosting a career fair on Sept. 27. The company will need workers for entry-level positions like aircraft paint prepper and aircraft service technicians. Potential applicants don’t necessarily need aircraft experience. “We’re looking for candidates who show a real enthusiasm […]

The Central Okanagan’s tech industry is almost No. 1 industry in the region, and it could be considered the top dog depending upon you spin the numbers the right way. Accelerate Okanagan and the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission on Thursday morning announced the results of its 2017 economic study, and the numbers simply back […]

A work camp will soon be set up in Princeton for employees who will be building a new medical marijuana facility worth $21.5 million. Town council approved a 12-month temporary permit for a work camp at the site where the facility will be built, in the town’s industrial park. Mayor Frank Armitage said 40-50 staff will be […]

Penticton city council approved a new 10-year lease Tuesday with the Okanagan Hockey Group for its use of South Okanagan Events Centre facilities. The hockey school, which has been in operation since 1963, will pay $14 per square foot or $134,260 a year—rates to be indexed for inflation for the next decade. The fees are […]

True Leaf Medicine International Ltd. has named former Lululemon Athletica vice-president Kerry Biggs its chief financial officer. He has more than 20 years of finance and business experience. “Mr. Biggs has held leadership roles for several prominent Canadian public companies with premium global brands,” True Leaf founder and chief executive officer Darcy Bomford said in a […]

There are only a few more weeks left this season to get out to the new cidery that opened its doors in Armstrong this past June. Farmstrong Cider Company has already made a name for itself across the North Okanagan. “It’s been fantastic,” Farmstrong Cider Company co-owner Halee Fried said. “We’ve had a great response […]

An Edmonton-based company is looking to take over some of the routes formerly served by Greyhound. Ebus has an application before the provincial Passenger Transportation Board to provide bus service from Kelowna to Vancouver, Kelowna to Kamloops and Kamloops to Vancouver. There would be a minimum of two round-trips daily. Trips between Kelowna and Kamloops […]

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce is hosting a luncheon next Friday to examine what effect Brexit could have on Canadian business. The United Kingdom’s Consul-General in Vancouver, Nicole Davison, will be the guest speaker for the season’s first instalment of the chamber’s luncheon series. She will be able to shed some light on the Brexit […]

Kelowna’s Les Bellamy could not have picked a more action-packed time to slip into the president’s chair of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Central Okanagan chapter. The speculation tax is almost here, there is a housing affordability issue in the region, and the government red tape required to build a home keeps getting thicker. “I will […]

Kelowna International Airport is taking part in Canadian Airports Safety Week to promote healthy and safe work practices among employees. All airport staff, whether they work in the terminal or on the airfield, will have a chance to take part in safety-themed activities and events throughout the week. “At Kelowna International Airport, every team member […]

After seeing the highest value of construction in more than a decade last year, the Town of Osoyoos is on pace to have more construction this year than in 2017. Through the first eight months of this year, the value of building permits issued in the town was just over $10.8 million—just over $1 million more than […]

Prospera Credit Union has retained the naming rights to Kelowna’s downtown arena for the next five years. The financial institution and GSL Group made the announcement Tuesday. The new contract will kick in next year and run through 2024. Prospera has held the naming rights to the more than 6,000-seat arena since 2003, after the original […]

A Bernard Avenue building next to the Royal Ann Hotel will be coming down soon to make way for a new two-storey building. Owners received approval from council to demolish the building, which previously housed Ichiban Sushi. The restaurant is now closed. A new two-storey building will be erected in its place. It will include […]

A gap left in the late-night scene in Penticton could soon be filled by recently opened pub Brexit, which is seeking a liquor primary licence from the city. The licence would allow for later hours. The change, which has yet to be discussed and approved by council, would see the establishment have food primary hours from […]

The Penticton Fire Department is trying out a new hiring process to fill their upcoming vacancy, aiming to make sure new additions are a good fit. Four candidates are in the running to fill a new spot with the department, following Cpt. Ken Younghusband’s imminent retirement. Fire chief Larry Watkinson said the candidates will be going […]

Brooklyn at Bernard Block has already sold 70 per cent of its units before it opens up to the public this weekend, and the Mission Group developers behind the project believe that is because the people who are buying are actually going to live there. There is still a wide variety of price points available […]

It would appear the gas war that has gripped the Central Okanagan the past few days is over. Prices began falling to $131.9 for a litre of regular on the weekend. That is coming to an abrupt end. The Petro Can at Richter and Harvey has boosted its price to $145.9 Tuesday morning. One gas […]

Longtime Penticton resident Jas Garib has donated $30,000 towards the expansion project at the Penticton Regional Hospital. Garib’s donation is part of a $500,000 pledge from the local Indo-Canadian community to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s campaign for the PRH expansion. To date, Indo-Canadians in the South Okanagan have now contributed nearly $450,000 to that […]

The Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission has been honoured as one of Canada’s best. The COEDC received the 2018 Marketing Canada Award from the Economic Development Association of Canada. It won because of the Sugarplum Ball, an annual event created by the COEDC’s Okanagan Young Professional’s Collective in partnership with Kelowna Pride Society. The OYP […]

The Kelowna Fire Department is expanding its regional fire dispatch service north. The fire department has been awarded the contract to dispatch fire calls for the City of Vernon and the Okanagan Indian Band for the next five years. The contract also includes a five-year renewal. Fire Chief Travis Whiting says the contract will bring […]

Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran took some of his councillors to task after a decision on the long-range redevelopment of the Capri-Landmark town centre hit a snag. The plan, as laid out by staff, would include a massive re-do of the area stretching from Gordon Drive to Spall Road over about a 30-year period. The realignment […]