Top Stories – Mar 10 – Daylight Saving Time

Don’t forget to ‘Spring Ahead’ this weekend as we flip to Daylight Saving time and lose an hour sleep. Before turning in tomorrow night move your clock ahead one hour, if you still have manual ones. It’s also a good time to change smoke detector batteries.

The City of Kelowna is getting ready to reopen its Parks after the winter. Kasugai Gardens opens Wednesday, daily from 9-5. Also next Wednesday, Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery will have extended hours from 7am to 8pm seven days-a-week. Knox Mtn Drive opens on the 27th and park washrooms will reopen April 3rd.

The RCMP watchdog has launched a systemic investigation of the force’s BC unit that deals with protests against logging and pipeline projects. Protesters against old growth logging on Vancouver Island allege police have used excessive force, such as pepper spraying people’s faces at close range, as well as shoving them to the ground.

The Central Okanagan school board has decided to suspend the second public question/comment period at public board meetings to ensure a safe working environment for staff, students, and trustees. It follows recent discriminatory comments made at board meetings and on social media. The Board also banned recording on personal devices during public meetings which will continue to be broadcast on Zoom.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been selected to lead a probe into allegations of historic misconduct involving members of the Prince George RCMP and Indigenous girls. BC Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says some of the allegations date back nearly two decades to 2004, when BC judge David Ramsay pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting Indigenous girls.

NATO’s Secretary-General is spearheading a new drive to see Finland and Sweden join the ranks of the military alliance. Jens (yenz’) Stoltenberg hopes they will become members of the organization by the time leaders meet for their next summit in July. NATO must agree unanimously for them to join, but Turkey and Hungary want extra guarantees and assurances from the two countries.

Riding the school bus in the Central Okanagan will cause families to dig deeper into their pockets. The annual fee will be going up in the fall from 350 to 400 dollars. The school district says it has not received more funding from the province, but its costs such as fuel continue to rise.

The mountain snow pack around here is still above average for this time of year, which could be a sign of potential spring flooding. It was at 124 percent of normal March 1, up from 121 percent last month.

Canadian credit card debt soared in the last three months of 2022 amid rising interest rates and high inflation with more younger Canadians relying on credit to make ends meet. Consumers without mortgages saw the greatest jump in missed debt payments in the fourth quarter. The delinquency rate among those aged 18 to 25 rose almost 31% year over year, compared to a 17% increase across all consumers.

Sports

Back on the Prospera Place ice for the Kelowna Rockets tonight as they host the Vancouver Giants. You’ll hear the entire game starting with the pregame show at 6:35 on 1047 The Lizard.

A group of 42 retired Canadian Olympians urged our Olympic Committee to reject the idea of allowing Russians to participate in next year’s Games unless it withdraws from Ukraine. The IOC is looking for a way athletes can compete without officially representing their countries.

Heading into day two of the PGA Tour’s Players Championship in Florida, American Chad Ramey is alone in first after shooting an 8-under 64 on the TPC Sawgrass Course.