Top Stories – June 1 – Suspicious Fire

Lots of black smoke was a call for West Kelowna Firefighters to hustle to a property west of the highway yesterday afternoon about 2:30. It started in a travel trailer in a field behind WalMart and the wind driven fire quickly spread to nearby vehicles, grass, and a neighbouring structure on site. Due to the volume of materials on site and the construction of the exposed structure, the fire was stubborn to extinguish. Investigators deemed it to be suspicious and the file was turned over to the RCMP.

Outside of Nunavut at $16 per hour, BC has the 2nd highest minimum wage in Canada. It goes from $15.20 to $15.65 today. It’s tied to British Columbia’s average annual inflation rate which, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, last year was 2.8%.

It probably won’t come as a big surprise that Russia is the least-liked country in the world among Canadians. A survey by Research Co. shows 77 percent of us have a negative view while 12 percent said it was okay. At the top of the likeability list… the United Kingdom and Italy were number 1 and 2.

Ottawa has granted BC a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to remove criminal penalties for people who possess a small amount of certain illicit drugs for personal use. Adults who have 2.5 grams or less of Opioids, including heroin, morphine, and fentanyl; Cocaine, Meth and Ecstasy for personal use will not be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized. It will go into effect next January 31.

The Weather Network says BC isn’t shaping up to face the same conditions that led to last year’s devastating heat dome and wildfires. It says we are expected to gradually emerge from the cool spring and into near-normal temperatures starting this month, which will drag out the snow melt and slow the start of wildfire season. There could be a heat dome in southern Alberta.

The European Union agreed to ban the majority of Russian oil imports after tense negotiations that tested how far the bloc is willing to go. Ukraine estimated the ban, which will go into effect over the next 6 months, could cost Russia tens of billions of dollars. Also, Russia has prevented the export of 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain, much of it meant for people across the Middle East and Africa.

Another annual event is making a return to Kelowna this year. The Hungry Half Marathon in support of the Central Okanagan Food Bank takes place on Saturday. Participants will begin and finish at the Apple Bowl starting at 7:30am and will run along the Rail Trail, pass through Knox Mountain Park, Waterfront, Stuart and City Parks. There will be traffic control in some areas.

The Regional District Board has received an update on the draft recommendations for the Regional Housing Strategy. The goal is to provide a regional approach to address the challenges around affordability and supply of rental housing and home ownership. Draft recommendations will be presented this month and it’s anticipated the final report will be considered by the Board in late June.

Police say three men from Vancouver Island have been arrested for allegedly running a “dark web” drug-trafficking ring in Nanaimo. They say officers seized a variety of drugs, packaging, mailing envelopes, documents, cash, computers and data storage devices during searches. The suspects were using crypto currency to transact sales.

Sports

Game 1 of the NHL Western Conference Final saw 14 goals scored with Colorado getting 8 of them and 6 to the Oilers who had 3 points from Conner McDavid. Game 1 of the East final between the Rangers and Lightning starts at 5 at MSG.

Former All-Star pitcher J.A. Happ has retired from baseball after 15 years in the majors. The Illinois native produced a solid big-league career, earning 133 wins, including 20 victories during his best season in 2016 with the Blue Jays.

The New Jersey Devils have hired Dr. Angus Mugford as their senior vice president of player development and performance and promoted former Olympian Meghan Duggan to director of player development. Mugford spent the previous seven years with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays began a 3 game homestand against the White Sox yesterday with a 4-run, 6th inning on the way to a 6-5 win. Game 2 has the first pitch just after 4 this afternoon.

The BC Lions say American quarterback Antonio Pipkin has agreed to a contract. The 26-year-old native of Indiana was most recently a member of the Argonauts and completed seven of nine passes for 60 yards in last week’s pre-season opener in Ottawa.