Top Stories – March 11 – Almost All Done

As you have no doubt heard, masks were no longer required in low-risk indoor places in BC as of midnight. However keep your vaccine card with you if you are going into a place where it is required. But even that will be going away as of April 8th. Masks may still be required in high-risk areas like doctor’s offices and care homes, and businesses can continue to require the use of them.

BC small businesses are a long way from pandemic recovery, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Only 35 percent have returned to normal sales, while debt levels and the share of businesses considering bankruptcy remain high. CFIB is also urging Victoria to fix the 5-day employer paid sick day policy by moving it back to government paid.

Remember that extra hour of sleep you got last Fall when we switched to Standard Time? Well, you lose it this weekend when Daylight Saving Time springs up. Before bed tomorrow night, clocks go ahead one hour.

As the bombing of a number of Ukrainian cities by Russian forces continued yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian leaders that the invasion will backfire on them as their economy is strangled. Western sanctions have already dealt a severe blow, causing the ruble to plunge, foreign businesses to flee and prices to rise sharply. Western officials said Russian forces have made little progress on the ground in recent days.

A robbery in West Kelowna last week resulted in the arrest of a man and woman yesterday afternoon. The investigation led police to a motel on Highway 33 near Highway 97 and the suspects were taken into custody without incident. The armed robbery happened at a business in the 1100-block area of Stevens Road where a man showed a gun and got away with cash and merchandise.

There were 115 new covid 19 cases in interior health yesterday as part of 336 in all of BC. There are 388 people hospitalized with the virus in the province and 52 are in intensive care. And don’t forget that as of midnight, masks were no longer needed in most indoor public spaces in BC.

A Kelowna RCMP officer has been charged with two counts of obstructing justice by the BC Prosecution Service. Sean Eckland allegedly sent explicit text messages to the victim in a domestic aggravated assault case in Lake Country. The Prosecution Service says the charges are in connection with the officer’s involvement as an investigator in the case.

The Regional District has been awarded a 250-thousand dollar grant to assist with FireSmart community projects. The funding comes from the province and the UBCM Community Resiliency Fund. A portion of the funds will also be used to develop fuel management prescriptions for three regional parks.

McCain Foods is ending a project to build a production facility in Russia and suspending shipments of its products to the country because of the invasion of Ukraine. The Canadian company says it stopped construction last month and has made the decision to scrap it entirely.

Sports

Just 2 games for the Kelowna Rockets this weekend and they are both against the Kamloops Blazers. The game tonight is in Kamloops while tomorrow’s contest is at Prospera Place beginning at 7.

Major League Baseball’s acrimonious lockout ended yesterday when a divided players’ association voted to accept management’s offer to salvage a 162-game season that will start April 7. Owners approved the five-year contract with a 30-0 vote.

The Vancouver Canucks have their 2nd of a 7 game homestand tonight. The Washington Capitals are at Rogers Arena for a 7pm faceoff. Then on Sunday it’s another 7pm start to take on Tampa.

Going into the second day at the PGA’s Players Championship in Florida, three players are in the lead at 6-under. The first round still has to be completed as the start yesterday was delayed by heavy rain and the weekend outlook isn’t much better.

Two games for the West Kelowna Warriors this weekend. Tonight the Wenatchee Wild visits Royal LePage place at 7, then the Warriors make the trip North to take on Prince George tomorrow.

Two more local golf courses are preparing to welcome duffers back. Two Eagles on the west side opens today and Kelowna’s Michaelbrook will open for members on Tuesday and the general public on Wednesday.