Employment numbers in British Columbia dipped in July after slight gains in June, as full-time positions replaced losses of part-time positions. In B.C., 14,500 jobs were lost, reflecting a national trend, as 30,400 jobs were lost across Canada. However, full-time positions in B.C. increased by 9,600 from June 2012, and the...

George Dore's ethical, innovative and insightful woodlot management style has earned him the top provincial Minister's Award of Excellence for Woodlot Management for the second time. "It's humbling to get it a second time," said Dore, who also took home the prestigious award in 2003. The Rock Creek resident, now 65, manages...

Finally, some good news for a region beseiged by calamitous weather events – the province’s Disaster Financial Assistance Program has designated overland flooding from June 3 to 12 and June 22 to July 2 as “qualifying events”, meaning home owners and small business owners may qualify for between $1,000 and $300,000 in relief funding to […]

On July 25, Zellstoff Celgar Limited Partnership was sentenced in B.C. Provincial court for depositing acutely lethal effluent into the Columbia River, and for other offences under the Environmental Management Act. The sentencing is the result of a conviction on February 16, 2012, following an eight-day trial. Zellstoff Celgar Limited Partnership was fined a total of […]

The quadrennial Spirit of Innovation Awards are on again and KAST—the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology, the award organizers—want nominations for individuals, organizations, and businesses whose hard work exemplifies West Kootenay innovation and entrepreneurship.“The innovation, intellectual capital, and...

The times they are a-changing and housing in the Lower Columbia region needs to meet new demands on several levels, Attainable Housing Committee (AHC) chairperson Janet Morton told Rossland's council on July 16. Last year the AHC—a committee of the LCCDT (Lower Columbia Community Development Team)—hired consultant Matt Thomson...

The School Works Program pilot, which began its successful run in February, is being offered again this fall to Basin-based businesses and organizations. School Works provides an $8/hour wage subsidy to encourage small businesses and non-profit, First Nation and public sector organizations in the Basin to provide part-time employment for full-time high school and post-secondary […]

Have you developed a  new or innovative product or service?  Implemented an innovative process or system?  Turned your idea into a new venture? Tell us all about it in your nomination for the Spirit of Innovation Awards. Join KAST in celebrating Regional Heroes of Innovation by nominating yourself, your company, or another,...

The "Rossland Energy Diet," a unique energy-saving program that brought notable local rewards and has started to draw provincial and national attention, has celebrated great success in “phase one" and will now move into "phase two."A crowd gathered under a large tent beside the Rossland Mountain Market on July 12 to hear the...

With recent celebrations during Canadian Environmental week, Tire Stewardship B.C. (TSBC) is proud to announce that it has reached a milestone of 60 million tires recycled in British Columbia as part of the province’s progressive environmental platform. TSBC is the not-for-profit society that in 2007 took responsibility for B.C.’s scrap tire recycling program, first introduced […]