Top Stories – Dec 23 – Gospel Mission Helps

Kelowna’s Gospel Mission is expanding its mat program and operating a 25 bed temporary shelter at Kelowna Unitarians, at 310 Bertram Street. The program is expected to open in phases beginning in early January and will run through the end of March. The Richter and Doyle shelters have been expanded to provide an additional 10 beds each, and the Cornerstone Shelter has been renovated to increase capacity by 16 beds.

BC reported 1,528 new COVID-19 cases yesterday – another provincial daily high – but with only 136 of them in Interior Health. Active cases in the region increased by a dozen to 706. Once again this week, the Omicron cases were not reported.

The federal government has temporarily expanded eligibility for two COVID benefit programs to help those affected by measures imposed in response to Omicron. It has expanded the definition of a lockdown, so that wage and rent support programs can support workers and businesses that see capacity restricted by 50 percent or more.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended the government’s public health response to the Omicron variant as Canadians struggle with overwhelming demand for tests. He said concerns about ease of access to and speed of delivery of PCR tests, rapid tests and vaccine boosters should be aimed at the provinces. The PM added they used the time of border restrictions to stock up on necessary supplies like vaccines and rapid tests.

A reminder that the 3 days each year the Glenmore Landfill is closed are coming up: Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The rest of the year it’s open from 7:45 to 4:45. The Westside transfer station is open Friday to Monday from 7:30 to 4, but is closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Central Okanagan Search and Rescue had its 102nd and 103rd callouts of the year on Tuesday. The first was for an elderly woman with dementia who was eventually found in Rutland. The 2nd was on Jackpine forest service road looking for a man and his 2 dogs after a car accident. He was found walking back to town and suffering from hypothermia.

Have you had problems finding Christmas treats lately? Candy canes and other festive sweets may be harder to find this year due to supply chain challenges affecting the food industry. Candy makers have been having trouble sourcing everything from sugar and cocoa to packaging supplies.

The New York New Years party for Kelowna has been cancelled again. Plans were underway for the waterfront event, but then Omicron hit and the province changed the covid protocols for all events. Stuart Park was to be the venue from 5-9pm on New Year’s Eve.

California prosecutors say Walmart illegally dumps more than 1 million batteries, aerosol cans of insect killer, toxic cleaning supplies and other hazardous waste into California landfills each year. The state attorney general, 12 local prosecutors and the state’s hazardous waste regulator sued Walmart. The company calls it unjustified.

Sports

The exhibition games for the world junior hockey championship are today in Alberta. All 10 teams play just one game and Canada takes on Russia at 4 PM in Edmonton, on TSN 5. The tournament gets underway on Boxing Day.

The NFL Thursday night game has the 8 & 6 San Francisco 49ers taking on the 9 & 5 Titans in Tennessee. Kickoff is at 5:20.

The Toronto Raptors did not play last night as their game with the Chicago Bulls was postponed due to covid. Toronto didn’t have the required eight players available to play in the game.

Final 2021 payrolls for the 30 major league baseball teams have been revealed. The Dodgers shelled out the most at 262 Million dollars, while the Blue Jays made cheques totalling 152 Million.

Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson has been fined for an inappropriate on-field incident with a cameraperson following the Eastern Final on December 5. And Argos defensive back Chris Edwards has been suspended for six games next year for his role in a fan altercation following the game.

It looks like plans to demolish the Rogers Centre and replace it with a new ballpark for the Blue Jays have been shelved. Rogers has reportedly opted for a quarter-Billion-dollar renovation that would modernize the 32-year-old stadium which now the seventh-oldest in Major League Baseball.