Top Stories – Apr 27 – West Side Slowness

You might want to avoid the area around Old Okanagan Highway and Butt Road in West Kelowna today. FortisBC will be doing utility work affecting the traffic lights which will be in flash mode that will cause traffic delays in all directions. Also, one lane will be closed on the east side of Old Okanagan north of Butt.

The president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada says the government isn’t budging on its contract offer to federal workers that would see a nine percent wage increase over three years. Chris Aylward says the union has adjusted its initial ask for 13.5 percent to keep up to inflation but he wouldn’t say what that is. Both sides remain at the negotiating table even though they seem to be at an impasse.

Rogers will use SpaceX satellites to expand its coverage to remote regions and rural highways not served by any wireless networks. The company says it will provide customers with texting services in remote wilderness and national parks by the second half of 2024, with voice and data services to follow.

A new women’s shelter received approval from Kelowna Council for construction in the Pandosy urban centre. New Opportunities for Women Canada Society will operate the housing, which will have both shelter and supportive services. The 34-unit, five-storey building will be on Richter Street.

The Medical Services Commission of BC and Telus Health have reached a settlement regarding Telus’s LifePlus program. An injunction application had been filed to prevent the company facilitating priority access to MSP benefits through the program. Companies and health care practitioners are not allowed to extra-bill patients in order to maintain the integrity of public health care in the province.

A bipartisan group of US senators proposed legislation banning kids under 13 years old from joining social media platforms. It would mean they could not create accounts or interact with other users, but could still be allowed to view content without logging in. If it was to pass and become law, kids under 18 would need a parent’s consent before creating a new account.

A high streamflow advisory has been issued for most of the Okanagan including Kelowna and Vernon. The River Forecast Centre says the warmer temperatures are expected to result in sharp increases in snowmelt at mid-level elevations. The advisory means river levels are rising, and there could be minor flooding in low-lying areas, but no major flooding is expected for now.

The execution of a search warrant in Vernon resulted in drugs and weapons being seized and six people arrested. RCMP found a shotgun, an airsoft gun, and unspecified quantities of suspected fentanyl, cocaine and meth.

Despite what she said during the announcement yesterday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she hopes the provincial money she promised for a new arena project in Calgary doesn’t become an election issue. Smith linked 330-million-dollars for the Calgary Flames arena to her United Conservatives getting re-elected.

Sports

A couple of hockey games of note tonight. The Leafs will try and win their series against Tampa at home with a 4pm faceoff. Then at 6:30, Winnipeg will try and stay alive when they take on the Golden Knights in Vegas.

The Blue Jays wrapped up their three game series with the White Sox at Rogers Centre with their third straight win, this time 8-0. Toronto is off today before beginning a weekend set against Seattle tomorrow.

The Carolina Panthers get the No 1 pick at the NFL draft which gets underway today. They traded 2 first-round picks, and 2 others and wide receiver DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears for the slot.