Top Stories – July 14 – Development Delayed

We don’t know if they are going back to the drawing board, but the developer of a project east of Knox Mountain has put on the brakes. The company behind the 227 unit residential development on Boynton Place says it received dozens of letters of opposition from nearby residents. The developer is going to come up with new plans, which will include more public engagement.

Stats Canada says more than 20.7 million people received at least some covid-related financial support from the government, including 16.9 million who received top-ups from existing programs. The data is part of its rollout of findings from the national census taken in May 2021. A total dollar amount was not part of the report.

The Conference Board of Canada is cutting its estimate for economic growth for this year and next as central banks around the world hike interest rates to deal with soaring inflation. The Board says it now expects Canadian economic growth will average 3.5 percent this year followed by 2.6 next year. That’s down from its earlier projections for growth of 4 percent in 2022 and 3.3 in 2023.

Music in the Park returns for another summer of free outdoor concerts celebrating West Kelowna’s music and culture. They go every Friday evening, starting tomorrow from 6:30 to 9pm in the Annette Beaudreau Amphitheatre. West Kelowna’s own country singer, Ben Klick headlines at 8, following bluegrass artist, Jackson Hollow. Take your own lawn chairs, umbrellas, blankets and water

Data from the May 2021 census shows that over the last 40 years, the number of common-law couples has increased by 447 percent. At 23 percent of all unions, that’s the highest in the G7. Stats Can also says 4.4 million people lived alone in 2021, up from 1.7 million in 1981.

The Bank of Canada increased its key interest rate by one percentage point in the largest hike the country has seen in 24 years. Inflation, which sits at a 39-year high of 7.7 percent and has made groceries, vacations and other purchases more pricey. The hike to 2.5 percent will also impact mortgages, loans and spending habits as at least 2 big banks said their prime rate was going up to 4.7% today.

The Regional District Waste Reduction Office is hosting a pop-up recycling depot in Lake Country on Saturday. It’s a chance for locals to recycle foam packaging, plastic bags, glass bottles and jars. Electronics will also be accepted. It will run from 10am until 2pm at the parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Hill Road.

UBC has announced that Santa Ono is moving on to assume the presidency of the University of Michigan, in October. He joined UBC in 2016, and under his leadership, it has continued to grow its academic offerings while building infrastructure, such as new student housing, academic centres and research facilities. A new president wasn’t immediately named.

Elon Musk, who is having his own troubles with Twitter these days, has told Donald Trump to sail into the sunset and blasted him as a ‘bull in a china shop’. The 51-year-old Tesla CEO has advised the 76-year-old former president to hang up his hat after ‘The Donald’ lashed out at the SpaceX founder as “another B-S artist”.

Sports

The 150th Open Championship is underway at the historic St. Andrews golf course in Scotland. Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes are the only Canadians in the field vying to take a drink from the Claret Jug. The winner also gets 2-1/2 Million dollars.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year contract with a 4.75-million dollar average annual value. The forward joined the Leafs as a free agent out of Russia for the 2019-20 season. The 27-year-old produced a career year last season with 32 points in 53 games.

Week 6 in the CFL gets underway tonight. The 1 & 4 Edmonton Elks are in Montreal to take on the 1 & 3 Alouettes at 4:30. The BC Lions are off this week.

Johnny Gaudreau appears to be taking his talents to Columbus. The coveted free-agent star agreed to a seven-year deal worth just over 68 Million dollars. Gaudreau was due for a substantial raise after playing out the final season of a six-year deal in Calgary.

The Blue Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo and said Bench Coach John Schneider would take over for the rest of the season. Meantime the Kansas City Royals will be shorthanded for their four-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto, which begins today as 10 players aren’t vaccinated against Covid, so can’t enter Canada.

An NHL player with ties to the North Okanagan has signed a 3 year contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Curtis Lazar was raised in Vernon and the 27 year old has been with 4 teams. The Canucks picked him up from Boston where he had 16 points and 16 penalty minutes in 70 games last season.