Top Stories – Mar 21 – West K Fire

You may have seen the smoke on the West Side yesterday morning. The fire department says two homes were damaged and an RV destroyed in the blaze on Shannon Woods Crescent. Damage is still being assessed and it’s believed the fire started in the RV. There were no injuries.

A school with about 1,700 students in grades 10-12 was locked down and then closed for the day yesterday. A student and two staff members were taken to hospital after a stabbing at the Halifax-area school and a 15-year-old student was arrested. Police say he was caught ripping gay pride flags off walls, which is apparently why he’d been called into a meeting with school staff a couple of times.

It may be the first full day of spring, but don’t forget about your tires if you are traveling the mountain highways. Winter tires are still required on most of them until the end of April. You don’t have to go too high to suddenly have snow all around you even though the grass is starting to green-up at lake level.

Kelowna Council endorsed its priorities for the next 4 years at yesterday’s meeting. They include: developing a strategy to address property crime; acquiring land to build affordable housing; exploring alternative modes of transportation between UBCO/YLW and downtown; and, creating a permanent home for the farmer’s market. There will be formal reviews and evaluations every six, 12 and 18 months.

The number of women-owned businesses is on the rise, despite challenges posed by the pandemic. The Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub estimates 18% of businesses are majority-owned by women. That’s up from 16.8% in 2020 and 15.6 in 2017.

The federal government says the Nexus program will ramp back up within five weeks, allowing border crossers to complete their applications. Registering for the program has been halted in Canada for nearly a year, due in part to a clash over U.S. agents’ right to carry guns on Canadian soil. Canadian border agents will now interview Nexus applicants separately from U.S. agents at eight airports including Vancouver.

It’s going to be VIP-central at Okanagan College this morning. The Minister of Post Secondary Education, the Minister of Tourism, and the president of Okanagan College will be making an announcement at 10:15. All we know is it has to do with students and employers in the food, wine and hospitality sectors.

A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite. The plaintiff says the popular video game is designed to be as addictive as possible for children. She says her son downloaded Fortnite in 2018 and “developed an adverse dependence on the game”.

A parliamentary committee wants Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg to testify as it reviews how big tech companies are reacting to the Liberal government’s Online News Act. Meta announced last week it would block news on Facebook and Instagram if Bill C-18 passes in its current form. The legislation would require tech giants to pay Canadian media companies for using their content online.

Sports

The Vancouver Canucks are back home for a couple of games this week. First up tonight, the Vegas Golden Knights visit Rogers Arena for a 7pm face off.

Roger Goodell and NFL owners are expected to finalize a multi-year contract extension for the commissioner at next week’s owners meetings in Phoenix. He got the top job in 2006.

Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz is signing with the Texans for a year for 9 Million. Houston is also adding former Buffalo running back Devin Singletary on a one-year contract worth up to 3.75 million.