Top Stories – July 27 – Cooling Centres

The City of West Kelowna is preparing to open one or two cooling centres if a heat emergency is declared by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Right now residents are encouraged to check out the spray park on May Street which is open from 830am to 10pm, hit the Johnson Bentley pool, or visit the Westbank Library and Museum. The city of Kelowna has released a list of its cooling centres, which you’ll find on our Facebook page.

At his Mass in Edmonton that was attended by tens of thousands yesterday, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of grandparents and the elderly. There were no more apologies a day after the pontiff apologized for abuses committed at Catholic-run residential schools. However, Francis prayed for ‘a future in which the history of violence and marginalization suffered by our Indigenous brothers and sisters is never repeated.’ The Pope now heads to Quebec City for 2 days.

Stats Canada says sales in the food service and drinking places sector increased three percent to 7.4 billion dollars in May, the highest monthly gain since the start of the pandemic. It says each province reported higher sales as most had lifted restrictions. Compared to a year ago sales jumped 62 percent.

A Vancouver jury has found former Canuck Jake Virtanen not guilty of sexual assault. The charge dated back to an incident in 2017, and when the allegations surfaced just over a year ago, the team placed him on leave and he went to play in Russia. Virtanen testified that the 18 year old woman was an “enthusiastic participant”. The Canuck was 21.

Okanagan College is one of the post-secondary institutions in BC that will benefit from a new program that will help students make an easier transition from academic upgrading to high-demand careers. The pathway programs are a new Adult Basic Education and English Language Learning initiative that will help address labour shortages by better supporting students in completing the pre-requisites they need for post-secondary programs of their choice.

Buckle up if you want to ride the wooden roller coaster in Vancouver. The classic coaster which was built in 1958 has undergone a major refurbishment which includes adding seatbelts to the cars to catch up with safety standards. It has won a number of awards including Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark from the American Coaster Enthusiasts group.

A 35 year old man has an October court date following an investigation into stolen bikes in Kelowna. RCMP tracked a stolen bike to the grassy area near Sunset Drive and Manhattan Drive and saw a man with it. As the officers approached, the man attempted run away, but was arrested after a short foot chase.

British Columbians jumped on board with energy conservation programs last year to save more than a Million gigajoules of natural gas. That’s the equivalent annual natural gas use of about 12-thousand-300 homes. Last year, Fortis BC saw 120 million dollars in both natural gas and electricity-saving programs and this year its investment in natural gas programs has already exceeded its 2018 investment by more than 200 percent.

Your summertime hot dog or hamburger may be a little more bland in the near future. A mustard seed shortage is driving up prices and could leave some store shelves with scant supply before the new harvest hits markets this fall. A drop in the number of acres planted last year in Saskatchewan and Alberta combined with a summer drought means crop yields are far lower than usual.

Sports

The Los Angeles Kings will retire Dustin Brown’s number and unveil a statue in the winger’s honour during a ceremony in February at Crypto.com Arena. He spent his entire 18-season NHL career with the Kings. Two other former Kings have statues outside the rink… Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is going to be short one appendix and he will miss some preseason practise time. He led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years last season.

The Toronto Blue Jays wrap up their quick 2 game series with the Cardinals later today. Last night at Rogers Centre, it was another biggie for the Jays as they outscored the Cards 10-3 for their 7th straight win. Toronto is back to 2nd place in the A-L East.

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson is retiring from the NFL due to a neck injury. The 27-year-old suffered the season-ending injury in November after racking up 232 yards and four touchdowns in four games.

Former professional hockey player and longtime abuse survivor advocate Sheldon Kennedy called for Hockey Canada’s CEO and entire board to resign. Addressing the organization’s new action plan , he said “the same people with a new plan expecting different results is the definition of insanity”.

Following 13 seasons with five teams, including winning a pair of Super Bowls with the Patriots, wide receiver Danny Amendola is retiring. The 36-year-old’s final season ended up being a 2021 campaign with the Houston Texans in which he played in only eight games