Top Stories – Nov 4 – Lots of Police Involved

Police from Kelowna, Penticton, the ERT and a helicopter worked together Tuesday to stop a car that had been stolen in Osoyoos. It was spotted just outside Summerland and followed by plain-clothed officers to a gas station on Highway 3A where the driver rammed a police vehicle in an attempt to get away. He didn’t, and a 32 year old man surrendered and was taken into custody. Police found a loaded gun in the stolen car.

BC’s minimum wage doesn’t measure up to the Living Wage, according to a report. Of the 14 communities surveyed, all had living wages higher than the 15-dollar and 20 cent minimum wage. Working parents in Kelowna have to each make at least 18-dollars-and-49 cents an hour to pay their basic expenses, while in Metro Vancouver it is $20.52.

British Columbians are being targeted with sophisticated crypto-asset scams through social media and online dating sites. Police and securities agencies say that in the first eight months of 2021, residents lost 3-1/2 million dollars to scammers. A couple of red flags are asking to take control of your computer and claim they will use your money to buy crypto-currencies.

The Central Okanagan saw a drop in covid 19 cases in the past week to 121 from 157 the week before. As for new cases, there were 88 in Interior Health yesterday as part of 430 in all of BC. There are currently 4,373 active cases of COVID in the province, and of those, 137 individuals are in intensive care.

UBCO researcher Dr. Jenn Jakobi has a new role as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the BC/Yukon region. (Imagine the business card!) It will help her provide leadership and empower change for underrepresented people in science, technology, engineering and math. She’s found young girls are interested in science and they need to make a connection with them as early as possible.

MPs are calling for the House of Commons’ “archaic” dress code to be scrapped. It requires men to wear a jacket and tie to speak in the chamber. There are no specific dress rules for women MPs, but they must dress in “contemporary business attire”. The NDP wants the rules to be more modern and to accommodate transgender, non-binary and two-spirit members.

Kelowna RCMP has identified the suspect involved in the hate incident that occurred on a city bus on Halloween. Through the help of the public and media reporting, the person who made the hate-motivated remarks has been I-D’d. Information regarding this person will not be released as it remains an active criminal investigation and no charges have been laid at this point.

Elections BC has released the 3rd quarter interim financial reports which includes total contributions to political parties up to September 30th. The NDP was on top with 717-thousand dollars, the Liberals were next at 217-thousand and the Greens took in 185-grand. The BC Conservative party reported just over 8-thousand dollars for Q-3.

The Bank of Canada says it plans to closely monitor how increasing severe weather events could impact the prices consumers pay for goods as part of its mandate to keep inflation in check. It will also explain how climate change could impact the path of the Canadian economy. The central bank is mandated to keep the inflation rate hovering around 2 percent.

Sports

There were 7 goals in the first period at Prospera Place last night and at the end of the game in overtime, the Kelowna Rockets had 7 and the Vancouver Giants had 6 after the Rockets tied it with 39 seconds left. Portland comes to the Okanagan tomorrow night. And in Prince George, the West Kelowna Warriors picked up a 3-2 win against the Spruce Kings. West Kelowna hosts Cranbrook tomorrow.

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed star center Sidney Crosby and defenseman Brian Dumoulin in the COVID-19 protocol after both tested positive. Coach Mike Sullivan said Crosby is dealing with mild symptoms while Dumoulin remains asymptomatic. The team did not say if they were vaccinated.

Two NFL teams with losing records will take to the field for Thursday Night Football. The New York Jets, who are 2 & 5, are in Indianapolis to take on the 3 & 5 Colts.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID and will miss this Sunday’s game versus the Chiefs. There was reporting from the NFL Network that Rodgers is not vaccinated, contrary to when he said he was ‘immunized’ back in August.

The PGA Tour is in Mexico this week for the World Wide Technology Championship in Playa del Carmen. Canadians making the trip to Mayakoba include Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith.

The name of former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich has been crossed out on the Stanley Cup, according to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The change was made Sunday when the names of last season’s Tampa Bay Lightning were added.