Council talks tax increase
West Kelowna council began a detailed review of its 2018-2027 draft financial plan this week, digging into the details of the city’s spending that will, among other things, decide how much taxes residents will pay. When city staff originally presented the budget it featured a three per cent tax increase. However, council asked to see […]
Review of mall facelift
Council will get its first look Monday at the facelift scheduled for Kelowna’s Towne Centre Mall. The downtown mall, originally built in 1981, was sold in February of last year, to undisclosed buyers. In December, Colliers International began advertising retail space for lease in “The District on Bernard,” which will be the mall’s new moniker. […]
Massive pot facility planned
Penticton resident and owner of Poplar Grove Winery, Tony Holler, is preparing to build what would be the province’s largest medical cannabis facility in the South Okanagan. He wants to build a 700,000-square-foot greenhouse in the Osoyoos Indian Band’s Senkulmen Business Park. That building would produce about 125,000 kilograms of medical cannabis each year. “And it’s […]
Compost plan still far off
The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen is no closer to finding a location for its regional compost facility. After a 45-minute board discussion Thursday, the matter was punted to the next meeting in two weeks — the same result after a conversation of the same length two weeks ago. A motion to re-engage Summerland and Marron […]
Merritt by the numbers
Fewer tourists visited Merritt in the last quarter of 2017 than in 2016, but there was more going on locally. The city’s recently released economic indicators report shows that 3,526 people visited the city’s information booth in the fourth quarter of 2017, which was almost 15 per cent fewer than the 4,122 who stopped by […]
Egg research gets cracking
A professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus will use the money from a prestigious grant to undertake further research into sustainability in the Canadian egg industry. Dr. Nathan Pelletier, one of the country’s leading experts in sustainability, has been awarded an Industrial Research Chair by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council […]
BC Cider Week returns
As BC Cider Weeks returns for its fourth year, Kelowna will once again play host to some of the celebration’s most popular activities. B.C.’s Northwest Cider Association calls the craft cider celebration a “bonanza of cider events, tastings and festivities” that will take place across the province. “The BC Cider industry continues to experience incredible […]
New perspective on Aqua
The developer behind the massive Aqua development planned for Kelowna’s waterfront will hold an open house tonight, ahead of its Jan. 23 presentation to Kelowna City Council. Mission Group needs to pass one more major hurdle before it can start construction, and at next week’s meeting it will present a development permit application to city […]
Pot shop moves to OK Falls
An unlicensed marijuana dispensary in Penticton is ending its long-running fight with the city and moving south to Okanagan Falls. Herbal Green Apothecary owner Jukka Laurio has purchased a retail location at 936 Main St. in Okanagan Falls, and will be closing his dispensary business on Westminster Ave. in Penticton on Jan. 20. Laurio said he was […]
Professor in the kitchen
The Canadian Culinary Championships return to Kelowna Feb. 2-3. Eleven of the best chefs from across the country have competed to represent their regions, with the Gold Medal Plates grand finale at the Delta Grand Hotel. Proceeds from the event benefit the Canadian Olympic Foundation. Castanet is featuring an exclusive series of bios on the competing chefs […]
