Hostage was on captor 
Combating drones over jails
2.5M-litre spill of effluent
Gen X is raking it in
LeBlanc laying groundwork
Métis groups will trudge on
12 Trump jurors picked
Zelenskyy assassination plot
Pivotal phase for Trump trial 
Google fires protesting staff
Starbucks redesigns cups
How to get the best rate 
Rockets live to fight on
Vees advance against rivals
Blazer moves up draft list
Tarantino scraps film
Munn talks cancer battle
Kelce 'has zero concern'
Top Stories for February 9, 2023
Oversize load gets stuck in snow shed on Trans-Canada Highway
It was a big oops. A transport truck hauling an oversize load got stuck in one of the snow sheds on the Trans-Canada Highway earlier this week. It happened...
Repeat offender found passed out in vehicle in Peachland, after recent escape from halfway house
Police didn't have to chase down a repeat offender who recently escaped from a halfway home in Surrey. Instead, they found him passed out in a vehicle in...
Kelowna woman celebrating 109th birthday
A Kelowna woman is turning 109 today. Margaret Cameron, a resident of Orchard Manor at Hawthorn Park retirement community, was born on Feb. 9, 1914 in Edmonton,...
Police swarm neighbourhood in Lake Country
Lake Country RCMP have reportedly swarmed Duck Lake Estates Mobile Home Park Thursday afternoon. A resident in the area tells Castanet the incident began...
Interior Health's employment of Dr. de Villiers after criminal charge 'extremely disturbing' says MLA
A BC Liberal MLA criticized the provincial government Thursday morning for continuing to employ Interior Health's former chief medical health officer for...
Police help distraught woman at downtown Kelowna parkade
Emergency crews rushed to a downtown Kelowna parkade Thursday afternoon to help a woman in distress. The woman was sitting on the top of the Library parkade on...
Edmonton company sells Kelowna Business Centre for $19.5 million
An Edmonton-based real estate investment trust has sold a Kelowna business building for nearly $20 million. Melcor REIT sold Kelowna Business Centre for $19.5...
Penticton woman captures 'neat looking" ice circles on Skaha Lake
A longtime Penticton resident was thrilled to spot unique, rare ice formations on Skaha Lake Wednesday, which she has only seen a few times in the decades she...
Slow start to 2023 filming season expected to kick into high gear with a major production in May
He won’t say who it is, what it is or where exactly they will be filming, but Okanagan Film Commissioner Jon Summerland says a major production is coming...
Kelowna man convicted in 2010 death facing trial for serious assault
A Kelowna man who's been previously convicted of killing a man is back in court this week to face trial for allegedly seriously assaulting a man back in...
'It has a mystery to it': Vancouver man finds 160-year-old silver dish at thrift store
Few in Vancouver have heard of Beriah Botfield. That's fair given he was a wealthy British politician and researcher who died years before Canada was...
Should Canada fast-track immigration for people in earthquake zones of Turkey and Syria?
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser signalled this week that Canada may fast-track applications to come to Canada from people in the earthquake zones of Turkey and...
Innovative affordable townhouse development planned
A local nonprofit developer trying to provide homes 25 per cent below market value now has a formal proposal before the city. The YeYe Housing Society has filed...
Red Bull buys Chilliwack site for first North American ingredient facility
Global beverage producer Red Bull has purchased a 15-acre site from the City of Chilliwack for a major new production facility to support its North American...
Major Vancouver condo developer seeks creditor protection
Rapidly rising interest rates have caused Coromandel Properties Ltd. — a major Vancouver developer specializing in high-density condominium towers —...
Alberta premier says landing missed on limp handshake with prime minister
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, weighing in on her limp hand clasp with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that went viral, says she wasn't expecting the...
Halyna Hutchins' family launch lawsuit against Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin is facing a lawsuit from the parents and sister of Halyna Hutchins. The cinematographer was killed when a prop gun went off on the set of...
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program
China’s balloon that crossed the United States was equipped to collect intelligence signals and was part of a huge, military-linked aerial spy program...
Famed composer Burt Bacharach dead at 94
Burt Bacharach has died at the age of 94. The legendary composer - who worked on the likes of 'Walk On By', 'I Say a Little Prayer', 'Do You...
New riding for Kelowna's core, Kamloops split in new proposed federal districts
New federal electoral boundaries for B.C. were formally tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The maps revealed by the Federal Electoral Boundaries...
BC SPCA offering 50 per cent off adoption fees
If you have thought about adopting a four-legged friend, February is the month to do it. The BC SPCA is offering 50 per cent off all adoption fees from Feb.10 -...
A member of the Vancouver Police Department shot and killed a man on the Granville Street Bridge
A man has been shot and killed in a police-involved shooting. VPD have notified BC’s Independent Investigations Office following the fatal shooting on the...
Fundraiser launched for respected Cherryville fire marshal after medical emergency
Cherryville's Clint Whitecotton has always been ready to help others on a moment's notice. The longtime Cherryville fire marshal has made a career of...
Musk deputy's words on Starlink 'weaponization' vex Ukraine
Ukrainians reacted Thursday with puzzlement and some ire to comments by a top Starlink official that their country has “weaponized” the satellite...
Shea Gardecki to face trial Sept. 25 for alleged voyeurism in Vernon
A trial date has been set for a North Okanagan man accused of voyeurism. Shea Gardecki is charged with a single count of voyeurism following an incident alleged...
Mounties search for city man wanted on Canada-wide warrant
Police are searching for a Kamloops man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, accused of breaching the conditions of his release. Blake Bernhard, 37, is believed to...
Jeremy Renner moving around in wheelchair and laughing with pals, says Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly says it was a "miracle" to see her friend Jeremy Renner moving around in a wheelchair following his near-tragic snowplow accident....
John Horgan stepping down as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca
Former NDP premier John Horgan has indicated he will step down as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca. Horgan, 63, resigned as B.C.’s 36th premier in late...
Woman in crisis rammed police vehicles, taken to hospital for treatment
A large police presence on Tronson Road Wednesday evening saw Vernon RCMP apprehend a woman who rammed police vehicles while suffering a mental health crisis....
Three teens charged with Downtown attack on visiting Vancouver Island man
A 29-year-old man visiting Vancouver for the weekend was walking near Seymour and Dunsmuir Street around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 4) when he was assaulted by...
Lillooet man sues neighbour over 2020 grass fire that spread to his property
A Lillooet man is suing his neighbour, seeking $30,000 for damage caused by a “negligent” grass fire that spread to his property on a summer day...
Hundreds gather to mourn teen slain in Burnaby shooting
The Lower Mainland’s Afghan community gathered Thursday to mourn the death of a 17-year-old youth found shot to death in the parking garage of a Burnaby...
Report urges windfall tax to recover CEWS funds from large corporations
A new report by the non-profit organization Canadians for Tax Fairness says Canada should institute a windfall tax on all large corporations to help recover...
Reported sex crimes last year up 57 per cent over 2018, police data shows
WARNING: This story contains information some readers may find distressing. The number of sex crimes reported to Kamloops Mounties in 2022 is up by more than 50...
Northeast B.C. drug runners arrested
B.C.'s gang task force says 23 people are facing charges after a sweeping bust of a drug network in Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, and Fort Nelson. In a...
Former Canuck Virtanen being dumped by Swiss team
Former Vancouver Canuck Jake Virtanen is on the way out at his team in Switzerland. Swiss newspaper Le Matin is reporting Virtanen got into an altercation with...
Gap in services for Indigenous people in B.C. correctional centres: audit
British Columbia's Provincial Health Services Authority must "do better," the auditor general said, after his office found it was not consistently...
Rioter who menaced officer with Confederate flag gets prison
A Delaware man who threatened a Black police officer with a pole attached to a Confederate battle flag as he stormed the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Thursday...
Richmond man wins 10-year battle to keep shipping containers in parking stalls
A Richmond man’s long battle against strata to keep shipping containers in his parking stalls is finally coming to an end after a B.C. Supreme Court judge...
Okanagan restaurants preparing for busy Valentine's Day
Restaurants in the Okanagan are gearing up for one of their busiest days of the year, Valentine's Day. The BC Restaurant and Food Association says its...
'Government boondoggle': Opposition mounting for plan to clean up Alberta oil wells
Alberta's United Conservative Party government is facing growing criticism for a plan to give oil companies a royalty credit for cleaning up their old...
B.C. lumber industry on edge after Biden ups the ante on Buy American policies
British Columbia's lumber industry is anxiously parsing U.S. President Joe Biden's latest Buy American language to better understand the implications...
Tide to Table delivery arrives in Central Okanagan, offering delicious Walcan seafood
Fresh fish from the West Coast now has a direct route to your stomach in the Okanagan, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Family-owned Walcan Seafood,...
Swinging with the Stars aims to raise $500K for hospice
The 14th annual Swinging with the Stars fundraiser takes place at Kelowna’s Delta Grand Hotel later this month to raise money for the Central Okanagan...
Former Vancouver school trustee sentenced in youth sex sting
A former Vancouver School trustee charged in a 2018 underage sex sting has been sentenced to 18 months’ probation and a conditional discharge. Ken...
Summerland crews douse attic fire spreading to roof in Trout Creek
Fire crews extinguished a small fire in the attic of a home in Trout Creek along Fir Avenue on Wednesday evening. Fire Chief Rob Robinson said his team was...
B.C. First Nation declares emergency over drug and alcohol crisis
A First Nation on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island has declared a state of emergency over what its leadership describes as the "unrelenting impact...
CRIS receives $10K donation from Cogir Foundation
Cogir Real Estate, the parent company of Regency Retirement Resorts, has donated $10,000 through its foundation to help those with disabilities enjoy the...
Summerland museum shares a look back at love with the first church wedding to have taken place in the district
The nearing St Valentine's Day had the Summerland Museum & Archives Society share a snapshot of romantic history, with a photograph of the first church...
Highway 1 reopens near Salmon Arm after vehicle incident
UPDATE: 9:05 a.m. DriveBC reports a crash that closed the Trans-Canada Highway this morning between Tappen and Salmon Arm has now been cleared and the highway...
Burnaby RCMP arrest five people after weapons complaint and an hours-long standoff
Multiple police units were called to assist the Burnaby RCMP Thursday following a weapons complaint. Cpl. Mike Kalanj said five people were arrested a residence...
Was the prime minister's offer of more money for health care enough?
This week, Canada's premiers are in Ottawa for what has often been reported as "negotiations" with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a new...
Mercedes impounded after driver clocked at 108 km/h past school
A police officer was “in disbelief” after stopping a motorist doing 108 km/h past a Qualicum Beach school, RCMP say. An 83-year-old in a...
'There are kids under the bus': Quebec father recounts moments after bus hit daycare
Grief-stricken community members dropped off flowers and stuffed animals on Thursday at the scene of an alleged bus attack against a daycare north of Montreal...
Neighbours of accused say no warning signs before Quebec daycare bus crash
Neighbours of the Quebec man accused of killing two four-year-olds when the bus he was driving slammed into a daycare were shocked by the charges, describing...
Impaired, prohibited driver found behind wheel of stolen car, police say
An impaired and prohibited driver was arrested Wednesday after a vehicle was stolen from outside a business in the downtown core, police say. According to...
RCMP say man and woman killed as fire sweeps through North Vancouver home
Two people have died in a house fire in North Vancouver. A statement from North Vancouver RCMP says the blaze engulfed the single-family home at about 3 a.m....
New business honour goes to Vernon's La Carraia
Opening up an authentic Italian gelato shop in downtown Vernon was actually Plan B for Fakri Fituri. After moving from Libya in 2018, Fituri started a wine...
Will paying for dating apps make you more likely to find your love?
Jennifer Lopez might have sung "Love Don't Cost a Thing" more than 20 years ago, but these days, it’s not uncommon to drop some cash in the...
City has 'limited jurisdiction' to clean up Prince George homeless camp
The City of Prince George is aware of the safety and security concerns posed by an encampment in Millennium Park, but has little power to do anything about it,...
Trust in governments shows signs of life as pandemic starts to fade
An annual survey on how trusting Canadians are suggests their faith in governments is rebounding as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to fade. The 2023 CanTrust...
Greater Vernon Cultural Centre expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors a year
Vernon's forthcoming cultural centre is expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors a year. A project vision for the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre was...
RCMP's shorter version of injunction prompts court's acquittal of B.C. protester
An old-growth logging protester accused of criminal contempt of court for blockading a forestry road has been acquitted because Mounties read out a short form...
Canadian Pacific Railway reaches deal with workers represented by Steelworkers
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. says it has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing about 550 administrative support and intermodal employees in...
Kelowna city staff recommend against open mic sessions at council meetings
If Kelowna municipal staff have their way, an “open mic” session will not be coming to city council meetings any time soon. A staff report going to...
Survivors of Turkey, Syria quake struggle to stay warm, fed as toll tops 19,000
Thousands who lost their homes in a catastrophic earthquake huddled around campfires and clamored for food and water in the bitter cold, three days after the...
Watchdog investigating after woman injured following night in jail
B.C.’s police watchdog is investigating after a woman was taken to hospital with an injury after being held overnight in Kamloops RCMP cells. In a...
Health agency wants 32 staff for new mental health 'de-escalation program' in Vancouver
Vancouver Coastal Health is requesting 32 full-time staff including nurses and social workers be hired to create a non-police “de-escalation...
Hwy. 1 reopened through Chase after 20-hour closure due to geotechnical investigation
The Trans-Canada Highway has reopened to traffic through Chase after a near 20-hour closure due to a geotechnical investigation. DriveBC reports Highway 1 was...
Alzheimer Society of B.C. fundraiser offers behind scenes look at latest dementia research
Twenty-five years ago, armed with her newly minted degree in psychology, Heather Cooke answered a newspaper ad for home support workers. In this role, she met...
City auditor criticizes Ottawa police over handling of Freedom Convoy protests
The City of Ottawa's auditor general says police did not adequately share intelligence about last year's Freedom Convoy protests, affecting the...
Pettersson scores 2, Canucks beat Isles to snap 2-game skid
NEW YORK (AP) — Elias Pettersson scored twice in the third period and the Vancouver Canucks snapped a two-game skid with a 6-5 victory over the New York...
Turkish consulate says deadline for Canadian rescue teams in quake zone has passed
Turkey’s consulate in Vancouver says a private group of volunteers from British Columbia will be the only Canadian search and rescue team in the...
Tourism in Vernon strong through winter and pandemic
Tourism has performed well in Vernon during the pandemic, according to Tourism Vernon's five-year strategic plan. "Despite the economic uncertainties...
Canada may fast-track immigration applications from people in earthquake zone
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser signalled this week that Canada may fast-track applications to come to Canada from people in the earthquake zones of Turkey and...
Two children injured in alleged bus attack on Quebec daycare released from hospital
Two children injured after a transit driver drove a city bus into a Quebec daycare have been released from hospital, Montreal health officials said Thursday....
Carbon capture too expensive, takes too long to build: Report
By betting it can solve its emissions problem with carbon capture and storage, Canada's oil and gas industry risks saddling itself with expensive stranded...
Volunteering in a support role can really make a difference
Have you ever wanted to be a hero, someone who goes out and saves people’s lives? Unfortunately, many of us (and I include myself) simply don’t have...
Penticton warns residents of phone scam demanding immediate overdue utility account payment
Some Penticton residents are still receiving calls demanding payment for overdue utility accounts. The City of Penticton sent out a notice on Thursday reminding...
Canada's housing market to see listings fall in first quarter, before rebounding: TD
A new report says Canada's housing market will see new listings fall in the first quarter before rebounding later in the year and then, slowing to a more...
Justice minister says federal government giving bail reform 'serious consideration'
Justice Minister David Lametti says he is giving "serious consideration" to reforming Canada's bail laws in response to a request from premiers to...
TC Energy says combination of factors caused Keystone pipeline leak
TC Energy Corp. has pegged the cost of cleanup and remediation of December's oil spill from its Keystone pipeline at an estimated US$480 million. The...
Kamloops MP tables bill to enact stricter bail laws for those facing gun charges
The MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo has tabled a private-member's bill in the House of Commons intended to toughen bail laws for those facing gun charges....
Osoyoos Lake water conservation group seeking more volunteers with specific skills
Want to be a citizen scientist? The Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society is seeking more members who share the goal of keeping Osoyoos Lake pristine and beautiful...
Canadian assessment team deployed to Turkey as earthquake rescue efforts close
Canada deployed a disaster assessment team to Turkey on Wednesday in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands, as the federal government...
BC Hydro adds EV charge site on Highway 6 in Cherryville
A new BC Hydro electric vehicle fast-charging site is now up and running in Cherryville. It's the latest in Hydro's network of more than 130 public fast...
Popular TV shows earn top winter carnival decorating awards for Vernon businesses
Sesame Street and M.A.S.H. were the winning themes for this year’s best decorated for Vernon Winter Carnival contest. Carnival organizers handed out...
Vernon firefighters practise lake rescues, warn ice is melting quickly
With warmer temperatures, lake ice is melting quickly, the Vernon Fire Department warns. Members of Vernon Fire Rescue Services conducted cold water and ice...
Princeton and Keremeos receiving provincial funds to set up flood mitigation plans
A funding announcement from the province earlier this week will help set up flood mitigation plans for Princeton and Keremeos. New Democrat MLA Roly Russell...
Penticton Vees Hockey Club announce new contract extension for Head Coach
Fred Harbinson will continue mentoring the young players of the Penticton Vees, committing six more years to his position as president, general manager and head...
City receives $2M grant to fund gang, gun violence prevention
The City of Kamloops has received a $2 million federal grant to develop a gang and gun violence prevention program. The former council directed staff to apply...
New Middleton transit route for Vernon postponed to January 2024
Vernon and Coldstream transit riders won't be getting a new route in the Middleton Mountain area as planned. Route No. 10 was supposed to start in September...
Motion from Bass suggests time cap on public inquiries during council meetings
A Kamloops councillor wants to see city hall re-establish time limits for members of the public who speak up during council meetings, saying that running an...
Hydro work closes Kal Crystal Waters Trail
A section of a popular North Okanagan hiking trail overlooking Kalamalka Lake has been closed to allow BC Hydro to do work in the area. The Regional District of...
Council supporting resolution requesting matching donation from the province for all local affordable housing efforts
Unanimous support for Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield’s motion to press the province for a more significant financial contribution to local affordable...
City-wide Scrabble champion will be crowned next week at fundraiser tournament
Are you looking to put your Scrabble skills to the test? If so, the Kamloops Kiwanis Scrabble Tournament is making its long-awaited return after a two-year...
Penticton recognizes 'Real Acts of Caring Week' alongside KVR Middle School students
Tuesday marked the fourth year Penticton declared the 'Real Acts of Caring' (RAC) week. Following a special presentation by a Grade 7 class from KVR...
Stable funding sought for well-received Clean Team, NSIBA says
Stable funding and a possible expansion is being sought for a program which aims to keep city streets clean while providing vulnerable people with work...
