Top Stories – Aug 31 – Nominations Open

Those interested in running in the 2022 City of Kelowna election can now file nomination papers with the Chief Election Officer in person at the city clerk’s office at city hall. It has to be done before 4pm on Friday, September 9 and a nomination deposit of $100 is required at the time of filing. Local elections take place October 15.

Nomination papers for West Kelowna Council can now be filed in person with the city clerk and no deposit is required. Papers received before 4pm on September 9 will be officially declared to run as a candidate. Voters will elect a mayor and 6 councillors and full details are at westkelownacity.ca/2022election .

Like other areas, nominations are now being accepted for candidates to run in the Regional District for Electoral Area Director. Nomination papers can be downloaded online or picked up at the RDCO office on KLO, but they must be filed in person at the office by 4pm on September 9.

Another prolific offender in the Kelowna area has been arrested by the RCMP. He was spotted in the downtown core early yesterday morning and when confronted, tried to get off by using a false name. He is now facing two charges of break and enter, attempted theft, theft of a security camera and failure to comply with probation conditions.

The BCGEU calls it a ‘sign of good faith’. Picket lines are down at Liquor Distribution Branch Centres as the employer says significant progress has been made at the bargaining table. Some liquor sales had been restricted and provincial cannabis stores, which are supplied by the LDB, were running out of product. The overtime ban has also ended.

Kids will be back in class on Tuesday and that also means that school zones will be back in effect. In the Central Okanagan it’s 30K between 730am and 5pm Monday to Friday. Eleven children are injured in crashes in Kelowna each year while walking or cycling. In 2021, 6,500 tickets were handed out to drivers across the province for speeding in school and playground zones.

More than half of Conservative party members have returned their leadership ballots with one week left before next Tuesday’s deadline. Front-runner Pierre Poilievre, who has been at big rallies across the country, held his final meet-and-greet Monday in Vancouver. The next leader will be announced at a convention in Ottawa on September 10.

Maybe they’ll give some of it back. The provincial government says it ended the fiscal year with a 1.3 Billion dollar surplus as the economy outperformed both public and private-sector forecasts. The surplus can be attributed to a reopening economy which resulted in increased taxation revenue, federal contributions for COVID and disaster events, along with higher natural resource revenues

A TD Bank report suggests the average price of a home in Canada could fall between 20 and 25 percent from its peak seen earlier this year to the first quarter of 2023. Many are expecting the decline to continue well into fall and even winter and represents a decline going as far back as the late 1980s, when the data began.

Sports

The United States was the better team in a 5-2 win over Canada yesterday at the Women’s World Hockey Championships in Denmark. The Canadians were up 2-0 at one point. Canada will play Sweden in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 11am.

To say Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield is looking forward to the first NFL game of the season against his former team, would be an understatement. When asked for his thoughts about playing Cleveland, he reportedly said, I’m gonna ‘bleep’ them up.

The Blue Jays took a 3-run 6th inning to the end of the game for a 5-3 win over Chicago to make it two in a row. Their last home game against the Cubs will be today just after 4.

Hockey Canada’s board of directors is supporting president and CEO Scott Smith and his executive team amid calls for leadership change. Canada’s governing body of hockey is under intense scrutiny for its handling of sexual assault allegations against members of previous men’s junior teams.

The Kansas City Chiefs have released veteran wide receiver Josh Gordon as they trim down to their initial 53-man roster. Gordon has been suspended by the NFL six times, five for some form of substance abuse.