Top Stories – Jan 4 – New Apartment Plan

A 187 unit rental complex is in the works for just south of Orchard Park Mall. Kelowna 10 reports there would be two, five-floor buildings between Benvoulin Road and Court. It would be a mix of studio, one, two and three bedroom units offering affordable housing options for families. The project still needs approval from city hall.

From New Year’s Eve through yesterday, there were 9,332 new cases of COVID in BC. For Interior Health, there were 1,185. The province did not report the number of active cases, hospitalizations or deaths over the period. We could get an update on that this afternoon when Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix hold a news conference at 1:30.

If you get a paycheque, it will see some changes in 2022. Anyone making $40,000 or more will see the federal government deduct more money. The Canada Pension Plan will cost an extra $333 a year, while the Employment Insurance tax increase will rise $63. And the Carbon Tax goes up April 1 on gasoline, diesel and natural gas.

Central Okanagan School District staff are returning to school this week as scheduled, to prepare for the implementation of the enhanced covid safety measures. School buses are operating and schools will be available to provide care and programming for K-12 students with additional support for students under 12 who are children of parents employed in essential services. There was a form to fill out in a letter parents received last week to let the district know about a student’s early return.

If it hasn’t arrived in the mail, property assessments are now available online. It takes into account the condition of the land and any buildings as of July 1 last year. You can check out yours, and your neighbour’s if you want, at bcassessment.ca . Just type in the address.

The federal minister in charge of aid to the unemployed says jobless Canadians who refuse to get vaccinated may find themselves blocked from benefits as long as public health concerns remain. The Liberals have tacked conditions onto some benefit payments, saying none can go to workers who lose work or hours because they have refused to get vaccinated. The rules don’t apply to those who have a medical exemption.

BC workers that are covered under the provincial Employment Standards Act can now take up to 5 sick days a year. Your company may request reasonably sufficient proof. Workers are still entitled to 3 UNpaid sick days a year. You must have been with your employer for a minimum 90 days to qualify.

The first baby of the New Year in Interior Health waited a couple of hours before making an appearance. Grey Ron Allison was born just after 2am on New Year’s day at Kelowna General. He weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces.

Fortis BC is one of the BC companies that started charging you more for its products on New Year’s day. The price of natural gas for your home the average home that uses 7.5 gigajoules a month, will see an increase of about 8 dollars a month or 9 percent. As for electricity, residential customers with an average use of approximately 1,100 kilowatt hours per month would see their bill increase by about $5.36.

Sports

The Vancouver Canucks are on a few days off after that west coast road trip where they went 3 & 1. They were scheduled to host the New York Islanders tomorrow night, but the NHL postponed it due to attendance restrictions. The next scheduled game is Saturday against Ottawa.

Stelco Steel has taken a 40 percent share in the Hamilton Sports Group, owner of the CFL’s Tiger-Cats and Canadian Premier League soccer’s Forge FC. The TiCats have long been identified with the city’s steel industry.

The Kelowna Chiefs are back on the ice tonight for a KIJHL game against the North Okanagan Knights. Face off at Rutland Arena is at 7.

Antonio Brown was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he ran off the field midway through the third quarter Sunday after showing frustration on the sideline. Brown also threw some of his equipment into the stands before leaving while the Bucs’ offense was on the field.

Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh saw the Steelers, in what could have been Ben Roethlisberger’s last game, beat Cleveland 26-14. The Steelers still have a chance at making a wild card spot, but a lot of things have to fall into place in the final week for that to happen.

The Minnesota Wild are playing well so far this season and team management has said thank you to the head coach with a contract extension. In fact, Dean Evason and the entire coaching staff were given multi-year deals.