Top Stories – Mar 14 – New Rewards

Canadian Tire is rolling out an upgrade of its Triangle Rewards loyalty program that will offer customers more perks… but, for a fee of 89-dollars per year. Members who pay for ‘Triangle Select’ will be able to earn C-T Money faster on eligible purchases at its stores. It says subscribers will also receive a ‘welcome gift’ valued at 50-dollars.

About 10 days earlier than last year, city crews will start to get all the winter sand and dust off the streets in Kelowna tomorrow. The sweepers will be out 20 hours a day, 7 days a week and residents are asked to move vehicles off the road as well as other things like basketball hoops. Sweeping sand from sidewalks and boulevards into the gutters is also helpful and signs will go up before streets are done.

The head of Flair Airlines went on the offensive Monday, saying the weekend seizure of some of its planes may have been instigated by another carrier. Four of the discount carrier’s leased planes, which had overdue payments, were seized over the weekend. One Flair flight from Edmonton to Kelowna was delayed about 10 hours yesterday.

Drivers are being reminded to leave their phones alone and make sure everyone buckles up. Police will be doing enhanced enforcement as March is Distracted Driving/Occupant Restraint Month. The fine for using an electronic device while driving starts at $368 and four penalty points for the first offence, and costs go up for subsequent ones.

A 17-year-old with a class N driver’s license was caught doing more than three times the speed limit in Abbotsford early yesterday. Police say he was driving his parent’s Mercedes at 150 in a 50 zone. The car was impounded and the teen was fined more than $1,000.

As regulators move to address the stunning collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, analysts say there is limited risk for the Canadian financial sector. The bank locked in too much of its money in long-term, fixed-rate bonds that have fallen in value as interest rates have climbed. A Calgary professor says Canadian banks have done better to manage rising rates and are positioned to be less at risk.

A trucker from Salmon Arm won $675,000 in the Set for Life lottery. Murray Wallace bought the ticket at a truck stop in Kamloops and checked it at a store in Enderby. He plans to have a big pig roast with family and friends to celebrate and looks forward to returning to his birthplace of Scotland to see family.

Eight skunks found dead last month in Vancouver and Richmond tested positive for avian flu. The Ministry of Agriculture says they may have contracted H5N1 by scavenging on infected wild birds. Avian flu in skunks is considered to be a low risk to human health.

Pfizer is spending about $43 billion to reach deeper into new cancer treatments that target tumor cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. The company’s CEO says they plan to let the biotech drug developer it’s buying continue innovating, except with more resources than it would have alone.

Sports

Kelowna Rockets captain Gabriel Szturc has been named WHL Player of the Week. He finished with 3 goals and 5 assists, including a shootout winner and overtime winner to help the Rockets collect six of a possible six points on the weekend.

The Vancouver Canucks will go for their 5th win in a row tonight when they host Dallas at Rogers arena. Face Off is at 7:00.

The Toronto Blue Jays have one of the best spring training records as they head into a game against the Yankees this afternoon at 3:30. Yesterday saw a 16-3 win over the Red Sox.

The Las Vegas Raiders are signing veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year, $67.5-million contract that includes 34 million guaranteed. Garoppolo spent the last six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.