Top Stories – Sept 1 – Kids Ride Free

Starting today, kids 12 and under can ride BC Transit buses and handyDART across the province for free. Transit is requiring children aged five and under to be accompanied by a person 12 or older. It is estimated that approximately 370-thousand children 12 and under will be eligible to ride for free.

Cooler weather is helping firefighters as they work to wrap things up for the Mt. Law wildfire, although they will be there for some time yet. Mop up will continue inwards from the fire perimeter on the north and west side. On the east side, crews continue to work directly on the fire’s edge with suppression activities.

Long term care and assisted living facilities in the Central Okanagan continue to be hit hard by covid-19. As of yesterday afternoon there were 7 homes that had a total of 136 cases among residents and staff. Interior Health says there have been a total of 15 deaths in this latest outbreak.

Kelowna’s main covid vaccination clinic is changing locations. Next Wednesday will be the last day at Trinity Hall, then on Thursday it will reopen at Capri Centre off Gordon. It will be open daily from 830 to 3 for both appointments and walk-ins, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 4 to 7 for walk-ins.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says covid-19 rates are going down in places they’ve been paying particular attention to like the Central Okanagan. In a modelling update for the virus she says unvaccinated people between the ages of 19-39 are driving the rise in the increase of cases in BC. There were 242 new cases in Interior Health yesterday. A week ago, there were 273.

Yesterday was International Overdose Awareness Day, and BC said just over 1,000 people died of an illicit-drug overdose in the first 6 months of 2021… the highest ever for that period in any calendar year. Drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in BC for those aged 19 to 39. There had been 25 deaths in Kelowna to the end of June.

No one is going yet, but a Returning Home Information Session for Central Okanagan West Electoral Area residents evacuated due to the White Rock Lake Wildfire, will be held today. It will happen between 4 and 5pm at youtube.com/regionaldistrict. CORD Emergency staff will livestream the meeting which will be posted on the channel after, for those who cannot watch live.

BC Wildfire has completed planned ignitions around the destructive White Rock Lake fire that’s forced the evacuation of 13-hundred properties west of Okanagan Lake. The burns resulted in control lines being established in several key areas at the fire’s northeast flank, reducing the risk of growth. Westside Road remains closed for more than 31 kilometres between Shalal and Irish Creek Roads until further notice.

The federal election road show yesterday saw NDP leader Jagmeet Singh promise to crack down on “big-money” house flippers by increasing the taxable amount of capital gains profits from 50 to 75 percent. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau talked about providing more accessible mental health services. And Conservative leader Erin O’Toole said his economic recovery plan would do a better job of getting the economy back on track.

Sports

A Gold medal for Team Canada at the Women’s World Hockey Championships. Captain Marie-Philip (phil-LEEP) Poulin scored in overtime for the 3-2 win over the United States. Canada had to wait, as play continued, to confirm the winning goal. The U-S had jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead before the comeback began. Canada wins Gold, the U-S gets Silver and Finland goes home with Bronze.

The Edmonton Elks released offensive lineman Jacob Ruby, due to a breach of COVID protocols… he told them he was vaccinated when he wasn’t. The cut came yesterday as the team’s Tier 1 players, coaches, and staff were in the final day of a 10-day isolation period

The New England Patriots released quarterback Cam Newton and named rookie Mac Jones their new starter. Newton started 15 games in 2020 and all three preseason contests this year.

The BC Hockey League will require spectators, players and staff to provide proof of vaccinations in order to attend games. The league says it’s following provincial health officer orders in order to protect players, staff and fans.