Top Stories – May 3 – Flood Watch

The BC River Forecast Centre has upgraded its High Streamflow Advisory to a Flood Watch for the Okanagan. In the above-normal heat, water levels are rising and will approach or exceed their banks. Flooding adjacent to affected rivers may happen over the next few days, especially with wet weather predicted for the end of the week.

It will be another two weeks before legal proceedings begin at the sexual assault trial of former Kelowna mayor Colin Basran. An arraignment hearing had been scheduled for yesterday, but the Crown and defence are still working on a couple of disclosure items. Basran faces a single count from the charge laid in December.

The volume of spam calls is on the rise according to Seattle-based Hiya, a company that tries to protect phone users from spam through its voice security platform. It found 6.3 percent of unwanted calls Canadians received in the first three months of this year were considered fraud, compared with 5.9 percent in the final quarter of last year. Spam calls made up 18.3 percent of calls from unrecognized numbers.

West Kelowna RCMP arrested a man on the weekend after finding thousands of illegal cigarettes. After an extensive investigation they raided a home on Webber Road and discovered more than 30-thousand packs of smokes, marijuana, weapons, cash and money-counting machines. Police say evidence found in the home suggests a sophisticated cigarette trafficking operation.

The Okanagan Indian Band issued an evacuation order due to flooding caused by rising levels of Whiteman’s Creek. It covers a number of homes in the Parker’s Cove area. OKIB was asking for help from anyone that could lend a hand with sandbagging and is cautioning boaters about large debris flowing into the lake.

There are reports weight loss company Jenny Craig is preparing to shut down its corporate offices and transition to an e-commerce operation. Weight Watchers already announced it’s rebranding, after buying a telehealth service that will provide users with prescriptions to diabetes medications now used off-label as weight loss drugs.

As Mission Creek runs faster and continues to rise, the Casorso underpass on the Greenway has been closed. Further restrictions could be put in place later this week with showers in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. The Regional District continues to monitor the water and reminds people and pets to stay back from creek banks, which may be slippery or subject to erosion.

The Regional District has issued a precautionary Water Quality Advisory for all customers of the Westshore Estates and Killiney Beach water systems. The advisory affects about 600 properties. It’s the result of increased turbidity in the Okanagan Lake water source due to high stream flows, particularly in areas impacted by the White Rock Lake wildfire.

Financial statements from Elections Canada show the Conservative Party brought in most donations in the first quarter. They raised more than 8.3-million dollars, beating the governing Liberals by nearly five-million. The NDP raised almost 1.3-million, while the Greens brought in about 400-thousand.

Sports

Round two of the NHL playoffs for the Maple Leafs got underway in Toronto last night with the Florida Panthers doubling the Leafs 4-2. Game two is tomorrow at Scotiabank arena. The Oilers have game 1 against the Golden Knights in Vegas tonight at 6:30.

With Aaron Rodgers gone to the Jets, the Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms with quarterback Jordan Love on a one-year contract extension worth up to $22.5 million.

Jim Furyk has been named captain of the U.S. team for the 2024 Presidents Cup. He captained the team at the Ryder Cup in 2018.