Top Stories – October 26

In the northeast U-S last night, a lone gunman with a military style assault rifle, shot and killed 18 people and 13 more were hurt according to the Governor this morning. It happened in different locations in the area around the city of Lewiston, Maine. A suspect is still at large and identified as Andrew Card, a firearms instructor who recently reported mental health issues including hearing voices, and threats to shoot up a National Guard base.

On Tuesday morning, a West Kelowna RCMP officer saw a guy well known to police sitting in a pickup truck that didn’t belong to him. The guy saw the cop and the chase was on. Before being arrested, the suspect ran the truck into a house in Lakeview Heights, ran, and broke into another home occupied by a man and elderly woman. Police caught up with him, but he continued to resist arrest before being taken into custody.

Ben Stewart, who has represented the provincial government riding on the west side for a number of years, will not be seeking re-election. BC United, formerly the BC Liberal party says the Quails Gate Winery owner has decided it’s time to move on. He was first elected MLA in 2009.

Two people have been arrested and released by Kelowna RCMP in connection with a homicide in Rutland on the weekend. Police say the investigation is continuing as officers prepare a complete disclosure package for crown counsel. Investigators are grateful for the support and cooperation of the victim’s family and numerous witnesses who have come forward.

West Kelowna announced it has sold the public works yard land on Bartley Road to BC Housing for $3.7 million. The agency approached the City to help identify lands for various supportive, transitional and other social housing types. The City will lease the site from BC Housing and no changes to the existing Public Works Yard are expected until BC housing has provided its long-term development plan for the property.

With the cooler weather definitely here, Fortis BC has a few suggestions for keeping your heating bill under control. They include using caulking and weatherstripping on windows to seal gaps and cracks, heat only the rooms you’re using by closing doors or turn down the thermostat in unoccupied rooms if possible and set the thermostat to 17 degrees when out or asleep, and about 20 degrees when home and awake. For more tips: fortisbc.com/winteruse .

Ottawa and the City of Kelowna have reached an agreement to fast track an additional 950 housing units over the next three years. This will help create a potential for up to 20,000 additional homes over the next decade. It will allow for higher density development along rapid transit corridors and make city-owned lands available for affordable housing development in partnership with non-profits.

The BC Real Estate Association says “the anchor that is Canada’s monetary policy” will continue to weigh down home sales in this province over the next year. The association has released its fourth-quarter housing forecast showing residential sales are expected to dip nearly five percent to just under 77-thousand units this year. The forecast predicts sales will rebound in 2024 by about the same amount.

Just days after a hurricane swiped the Lo Cabos area, hurricane Otis made a “nightmare scenario” landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, as a Category 5 hurricane. A main highway into the city was blocked and all Communications were cut off. As it moved inland, it weakened to a tropical storm. Otis was the strongest hurricane ever to hit the Pacific coast of Mexico.

SPORTS

The Kelowna Rockets took a big 6-3 home win against the Victoria Royals last night. Andrew Cristall had 3 points and Max Graham had a pair of goals.

Thursday Night Football is in Buffalo to kick off week 8 in the NFL. Josh Allen and the 4-3 Bills host Baker Mayfield and the 3-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 5:15.

CFL Teams have named their award nominees. For the BC Lions, Vernon Adams Jr gets Outstanding Player, Mathieu Betts gets Outstanding Defensive and Canadian, Jarell Broxton is Lineman, Sean Whyte is Special Teams and Ryder Varga is Rookie.

Joe Buck and Dan Shulman are among the finalists for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Voters are past winners including Dave Van Horne, Bob Uecker and Bob Costas.