Top Stories – Sept 13 – It’s Back!

Coffee with a Cop returns to Kelowna every Thursday for the rest of the month. This is your chance if you want to have a chat and you don’t have to buy a coffee if you don’t want. Tomorrow it’s at Milkshed Coffee on Lakeshore, on the 21st they’re at Bean Scene on Dickson and on the 28th it’s at Model Bean Cafe on Asher in Rutland. The time at all locations is from 830-10am.

City of Kelowna and its employees who are members of CUPE have a new 2-year contract agreement which goes into effect next January 1st. It provides for 4% wage increases each year plus an additional 4% next month. CUPE local 338 consists of approximately 850 members representing about 75% of the City’s workforce.

A new evacuation order has been issued in BC while several others, including one for 25 homes on Westside Road have ended. The new order is for a rural area north of Prince George, where a wildfire is burning. The BC Wildfire Service says just over 400 active blazes are burning across the province, with 163 listed as out of control including McDougall Creek.

Health Canada has authorized the use of an updated Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 for Canadians over the age of six months. The new vaccine targets the XBB.1.5 variant of the virus. When Moderna submitted a request for approval of the vaccine in June the company said it anticipated having supplies available for Canada in the fall.

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations rescinded the evacuation alerts for La Casa and the area north of the resort yesterday. That brings the number of properties remaining on Evacuation Alert in the Central Okanagan to about 4,800 with 380 still on Evacuation Order. Orders and alerts remain in place in parts of the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area and the City of West Kelowna in the areas hardest hit by the McDougall Creek wildfire.

An RCMP bust of a major drug lab in Lumby five years ago has resulted in the final two suspects being sentenced to prison terms. Trent Fussi and Robyn Bryson were each given 11 years for the production of fentanyl and six years for making meth. Police say those two were identified as “the cooks” at the industrial-scale lab which had drugs worth a street value of 258-million dollars.

Liberal MPs are gathering in London, Ontario, to plan their strategy as the party grapples with rising discontent toward Prime Minister Trudeau. Polls show the Liberals have sunk to their lowest levels of support since taking government in 2015, largely to the benefit of the Conservatives. Most of the party’s 158 MPs are meeting for three days to plot out their strategy for the fall parliamentary session.

Alberta’s Opposition leader is pointing a finger at the government for a massive E-coli crisis. Rachel Notley says the commercial kitchen that served multiple Calgary daycares hadn’t been inspected since the spring despite repeated health violations. While the outbreak has affected well over two-hundred people, 25 children and one adult are receiving care in hospital, with 21 severely ill since the outbreak at 11 daycares.

Apple is getting its iPhone and watch in line with the rest of the World by introducing a USB-C port on its iPhone 15. The company says the new phone to be released next Friday, mirrors that of the 14, with a standard 6.1″ model; a 6.7″ plus version; and more powerful pro incarnations with the same screen sizes. All four will have USB-C connectors.

SPORTS

In Toronto last night the Blue Jays lost their second straight to the Texas Rangers making a wild card spot even more tenuous. They will play their third of four games just after 4 this afternoon.

His new career with the New York Jets lasted one drive. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reported to be out for the rest of the season with a torn achilles tendon from Monday’s game against Buffalo.

The New York Mets are hiring David Stearns as their first ever president of baseball operations. He was Milwaukee Brewers general manager and president of baseball operations from 2015 until his resignation in October 2022.