Top Stories – Apr 4 – Controlled Burn

The West Bank First Nation plans to burn about 18 hectares on the east side of Okanagan Lake in order to restore the ecosystem. It will be happening in southeast Kelowna near Gallaghers. It could happen today, tomorrow or Thursday depending on weather conditions, and smoke will be visible throughout the central Okanagan.

UBC is encouraging students to uninstall the TikTok app from their phones, citing concerns about data sharing with the social media platform’s Chinese parent company. Instead, the school recommends students use a web browser to access TikTok content. It says the app is one of UBC’s fastest-growing social media platforms.

A Canadian is scheduled to be among the next people to go to the moon. 47-year-old Jeremy Hansen was announced as one of the crew members of the Artemis 2 mission which is to lift off sometime in 2025. It will be the first time since 1972 that someone has been on the moon. MDA Canada which got its start in Richmond is building a lunar rover for the mission.

In the noon hour yesterday the Kelowna Fire Department was called to Cascades Recovery on Cambro Road and arrived to find a building full of smoke and possibly 2 missing employees. The workers were located and there were no injuries reported. The fire is believed to have started on a large conveyor belt consisting of recyclable materials and was quickly extinguished.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission has come up with its final recommendations for how to change the ridings in BC to create 93 as opposed to the current 87. Around here the West Kelowna-Peachland riding would gain Peachland but would lose a chunk of downtown Kelowna. There would be three Kelowna ridings … Kelowna Centre, Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream, and Kelowna-Mission. It now goes to the government for approval or changes.

The province has introduced a multibillion dollar plan to build more homes as quickly as possible in an attempt to build its way out of the housing crisis. The Homes for People Plan starts with a $4 billion investment over three years, going to 12 billion over a decade with incentives to build, laws to curb speculation and financial help for renters and homeowners.

The City of West Kelowna, and Interior Health issued a Water Quality Advisory, until further notice, for the Lakeview-Rose Valley Water Service Area due to conditions in the Reservoir. It’s advised that children, the elderly and those with weakened immunity use water brought to a rolling boil for a minute or more, or seek an alternative safe source such as the bulk filling station at Shannon Lake and Asquith Roads.

March was cooler than normal in Kelowna with the mean average temperature at 3.5 degrees compared to 4.6. Precipitation was way lower than normal at 4.5 mm compared to 21.6. That makes it the 6th driest March on record since they began keeping track in 1899.

Former US president Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in a Manhattan courtroom at 11:15 our time. He will be arraigned on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign. Trump and his team are focused on using what they call a weak case against him to his advantage.

Sports

The Kelowna Rockets will try to get within one game of the Seattle T-Birds in their WHL playoff series tonight at Prospera place. Seattle leads the best of seven two games to none. Pregame show on 1047 the Lizard with Regan Bartel begins at 6:35.

The BCHL playoffs between the West Kelowna Warriors and Vernon Vipers moves to the north Okanagan tonight. The best of seven is tied at one game each.

The Vancouver Canucks continue their home stand tonight at Rogers arena. It’s a 7pm face off against Seattle.

World Wrestling Entertainment and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 Billion sports entertainment company.