Top Stories – May 9 – Funds For Parks

Almost 1.4 Million dollars in provincial grants will help improve amenities along the Kelowna waterfront. The bulk of the funding will be used to rejuvenate Island Stage in Waterfront Park. And 390-thousand will go toward a public pier as part of the city’s newest waterfront park on Cedar Avenue.

More than 380-thousand hectares of land, including many homes, have gone up in smoke and flames from wildfires in Alberta in the past couple of weeks. About 29-thousand people have been ordered out of their homes in several communities, and they don’t know if they will have a place to go back to when the fires are finally out.

A representative for Meta says the tech giant has a team that is working toward blocking news for its Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram. Meta says it will not remove other pages on Facebook unrelated to news, and that Canadian users will still be able to access pages for governments, politicians and emergency services. The news blockage will happen if the Liberal government’s online news bill passes.

With the weather cooling off over the weekend the amount of water flowing from the mountain alpine has slowed. The BC River Forecast Centre has downgraded the advisory for the Okanagan from a Flood Watch to a High Stream Flow Advisory. Things could change later in the week as the temperatures and freezing levels are expected to rise again.

A man who threw gravel at Justin Trudeau during a 2021 campaign rally has been sentenced to 90 days of house arrest, with a judge calling the assault a “manifestation of mob mentality.” Trudeau was unharmed when some of the stones hit him as he boarded a bus leaving a protest-marred event in London, Ontario. The lawyer for 26 year old Shane Marshall, who pleaded guilty, called the sentence ‘fair’.

It has taken a couple of years, but the Liberal government is expelling Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei. Canada’s spy agency alleged he was involved in a plot to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada has declared the Toronto-based diplomat as persona non grata, over what she calls “foreign interference in our internal affairs.”

Needing to scratch was a good thing for a Rutland resident. Marcel Poisson won $100,000 after purchasing a ‘5X the Cash’ Scratch & Win ticket at the Hollywood Market on Hollywood Road South. He has plans to purchase some property in Eastern Canada and may go back to school.

Alberta’s United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith has apologized after a 2021 video surfaced of her saying she wouldn’t wear a Remembrance Day poppy, while comparing those who got the COVID vaccine to followers of Adolf Hitler. Since becoming premier in October, she has been dogged by past statements, including saying that the unvaccinated faced the most discrimination of any group she has seen in her lifetime.

The Bank of Canada says it wants to hear from Canadians on what kind of features it should include in a potential digital currency. In an online survey running until June 19, the central bank asks what people think about a range of design options including being able to use the currency offline, to recover funds lost from theft and to make transactions without a bank account.

Sports

In Edmonton last night, the Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead in their NHL playoff series with a 5-1 win over the Oilers. Game 4 is tomorrow.

The Chicago Blackhawks landed first pick in yesterday’s NHL draft lottery. Barring a trade, they are expected to choose Regina Pats star Connor Bedard. The Canucks will pick 11th.

The Blue Jays have a couple more games in Pennsylvania before they get home. First one is tonight against the Phillies in Philadelphia.