Top Stories – Dec 22 – Coming Up Short

The goal for the Central Okanagan Salvation Army kettle campaign this year was $850,000. However they are falling about 9 percent short right now. The donations will go towards the Christmas Program where they supply a gift card so people can buy Christmas dinner and get toys at the Sally Ann toy store for their kids.

The Kelowna Airport is still being impacted from all of the weather-related issues this week. YLW reported several cancelled flights and numerous delays yesterday even though five extra flights were added by airlines to help ease the backlog. Today is expected to be even busier and airport users should expect long lines and a busy terminal building.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington yesterday in his first trip outside the country since Russia’s invasion began in February. He met with President Joe Biden where he was told the US would be supplying a Patriot missile battery. Later, Zelenskyy went to Capitol Hill where he addressed a joint session of the US Senate and House of Representatives and thanked them for their support.

Kelowna RCMP is currently looking for 24-year-old Kelowna area resident, Lenny James Lipscombe. He is wanted throughout BC for failing to comply with his probation order. He was released from custody on November 6 after being incarcerated for one year for multiple charges.

While the median price for a single family home in Kelowna just tops a Million dollars, in all of the Okanagan, the BC Real Estate Association says the average price for a home in November was 740-thousand. That compares to 758-thousand a year ago. There were 506 homes sold in the region last month, down from 765 in November 2021.

Canada’s population this year has already grown more than in any other year since Confederation. Stats Can says we grew by 362,000 people, between July and October alone. It’s due to a rise in non-permanent residents, including work-permit holders and people escaping the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As of late yesterday Kelowna said 23 plows were clearing and sanding roads in the city. Efforts were focused on hillside and Priority 3 routes, but crews are returning to Priority 1 and 2 routes for sanding as needed. So far they’ve spread more than 1,500 metric tonnes of sand.

BC Hydro will suspend electricity-connection requests from cryptocurrency mining operations for 18 months. The government says it will preserve the electricity supply, while giving sufficient time to develop a permanent framework for any more operations. Victoria says it consumes huge amounts of electricity to run banks of high-powered computers. Currently 21 projects are requesting permission that would need the energy to power about 570,000 homes per year.

The federal government is proposing that one-fifth of all passenger cars, SUVs and trucks sold in Canada in 2026 will need to run on electricity. By 2030, the mandate will hit 60 per cent and by 2035, every passenger vehicle sold in the country will need to be electric. In 2021, the proportion was 5.2 percent.

Sports

Kelowna Rocket captain Colton Dach scored first for Canada at the World Junior exhibition game in Moncton last night. They went on to beat Slovakia 6-1. Canada’s last pre tournament game is tomorrow against Finland.

The Canucks will try to break their 2 game losing streak when Seattle visits Rogers Arena tonight at 7.

Thursday Night football is an AFC tilt as the 6 & 8 Jacksonville Jaguars take on the 7 & 7 Jets in New York.