Top Stories – Aug 19 – Longboarders Here

You’ve heard us talking about it. Longboarders from all over the world are in Kelowna this weekend for timed runs down Knox Mountain. It means the drive will be closed from 7am tomorrow right through the weekend. It gets underway at 9 and spectators are welcome and remember there is no smoking or vaping allowed in the park.

Researchers at UBC have discovered what they are calling a “weak spot” in the virus that causes COVID-19. A study says the key vulnerability is found in all major variants of the virus. They say exploiting that weakness could pave the way for new treatments that would be effective against all strains of the illness that has killed almost 6.5-million people across the globe since it was identified.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says 51% of BC business owners are yet to return to pre-pandemic revenue levels. And rising operating costs, coupled with a lack of demand and interest rate hikes, have 17% actively consider claiming bankruptcy. The CFIB says the government can help businesses by refunding WorkSafeBC’s 3.4 billion dollar surplus.

It was a tough couple of days for grocery stores in West Kelowna. Walmart started to run out of meat due to supply chain issues and Superstore had to pull products from its cooler areas after a refrigeration issue. Then yesterday, the power was out for just over an hour in an event that affected about 24-hundred customers.

WestJet has released more information on a privacy breach on its website and app on Wednesday. It says a technical issue was identified that impacted guest profiles on westjet.com and the App for about 30 minutes. The company says it was limited to only guest profiles logged in at the time and adds information such as passwords, credit card numbers and passport details were not exposed.

Amid a declining population, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reintroducing an award for women who have 10 or more children. According to The Moscow Times, Putin signed the decree which states that those who qualify will receive one million rubles, or 16-thousand-500 US dollars after their tenth child turns one, on the condition that the other nine children are still alive.

The Hollywood Road south parking area for the Mission Creek Greenway trail will be closed for most of the day. Heavy equipment will be staging there for the upstream repairs to the trail and three bridges that were damaged during the spring freshet. It’s expected to reopen around 5pm.

Whoever decided to release the wolves from the Greater Vancouver Zoo this week now has a dead one on their hands. The grey wolf was found on the side of a road, and a second is still missing. The zoo says the fence to their enclosure and the facility’s perimeter fence were deliberately cut.

Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad has been booted from the Liberal caucus following comments questioning the science behind climate change. On a social media post earlier this week titled ‘A Clear Case of Hot, Hotter…Hoodwinked’, he claimed ‘the case of CO2 being the control knob of global temperature is getting weaker every day.’ Liberal leader Kevin Falcon says Rustad was not supportive of the caucus team.

Sports

Tell the boss you’re taking a long lunch today. Canada plays Czechia at 1 in the semi finals at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton. The winner goes to the Gold Medal game tomorrow at 5 while the loser will play for bronze at 1.

Heading into the second round of the PGA’s BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, Keegan Bradley has a 1 shot lead on Adam Scott at 6 under par. Corey Conners is top Canadian 3 shots back.

The Toronto Blue Jays picked up their 2nd straight win last night. This time it was in New York against the AL East-leading Yankees. Toronto had a 5 run 2nd inning and won 9-2. They’ll play again today at 4.

There are two games in the CFL today. In the late one at 7, the BC Lions will go for 5 wins in a row when they take on the Roughriders in Regina. The early game at 4 has Edmonton in Ottawa.

The Flames are signing unrestricted free agent Nazem Kadri from the Avalanche, to a seven-year contract worth about 50 Million dollars. Calgary is trading longtime center Sean Monahan to the Canadiens to accommodate Kadri’s deal due to cap space.