Top Stories – May 10 – Markets Tumble

It was another ugly day on the markets yesterday as Canada’s main stock index closed down more than 600 points or three percent, driven by falling commodity prices. The June crude oil contract ended down 6.1 per cent, at $103.09-US per barrel. Individually, Suncor was down 5% while Canadian Natural Resources tumbled 7 percent.

Kelowna Fire Department and RCMP were investigating a suspicious fire in Rutland yesterday morning. Arriving crews found two semi-trailers on fire in a compound in the 700 block of McCurdy. They were able to contain it to the trailers before it spread to any buildings.

Warmer weather and fading fears about COVID have immigration experts warning of more irregular migration at the Canada-US border. It’s not only people trying to cross into Canada. Authorities in Vermont and Maine have recently encountered carloads of people in the U-S illegally, including a group of Romanian nationals who entered from Canada.

This is the final week for input on future plans for Knox Mountain Park. The 10-year management plan prioritizes visitor experience at the first lookout, and overall operations, management, and investment priorities. You can read the plan, then participate in the poll questions until Sunday at getinvolved.kelowna.ca .

BC Wildfire Service says it’s conducting its annual training in the Coutlee Plateau area south of Merritt and at Stake Lake between Kamloops and Lac Le Jeune. Live fire will be used through the next week and will be supervised by trained and certified personnel. As of yesterday the Wildfire dashboard showed six active wildfires within the Kamloops Fire Centre: all are suspected to be person caused, but are under control.

The last civilians sheltering in bunkers beneath a sprawling steel mill in the decimated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have made it to safety in another city beyond the frontlines. The survivors spoke of constant shelling, dwindling food and using hand sanitizer for cooking fuel. Some families spoke of being in there for more than 2 months.

The West Kelowna RCMP has recovered some power tools and they are searching for the rightful owners. Last month they found a Ford F-150 that had been stolen on from a home in Kelowna and it was full of large tools including a floor sander, compressors and saws. There are pictures of them in the news tab on our website.

BC Ferries is doing it, so can airlines be far behind. Starting June 1 it will cost even more to take a trip on the water as BC Ferries is again increasing its fuel surcharge on sailings due to rising gas prices. The fee will increase to 2.5 percent from one percent so the dollar amount depends on the route and the fare chosen.

Experts say Canada needs to turn its COVID-19 aid attention to expanding vaccine production everywhere or the virus will continue to run wild, mutate and bring new waves of disease. They say Canada has to start supporting a proposal to waive patent protection for vaccines and help transfer the technology so they can be made in more countries.

Sports

Two NHL playoff series return to Canada tonight. The Leafs host the Lightning with a 4:30 start, while Los Angeles is back in Edmonton at 7. Both series are tied at 2 wins for each team.

Former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman is in discussions with Amazon for a role in its NFL programming. Amazon is now the league’s exclusive broadcaster of Thursday Night Football and brought in Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit to make up the TNF booth.

The Minnesota Wild signed Kelowna Rocket forward Pavel Novak to a three-year, entry-level contract starting next season. The 20 year old posted 72 points, a plus-26 rating and 14 penalty minutes over 62 games with the Rockets this past season.

That was kinda harsh. Barry Trotz is out as New York Islanders head coach. He guided the Isles to back-to-back semifinal-round appearances before they failed to qualify for the postseason this year.

Only 1 Vancouver Canuck has committed to play for his national team at the World Championships in Finland starting Friday. Oliver Ekman-Larsson will suit up for Sweden.

Maybe he can go back to TV. The Ottawa Senators have fired Pierre McGuire as senior vice president of player development after less than 1 year. The Senators finished season with a 33-42-7 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year.