Over the last couple of years many elected officials in our region have been trying hard to improve collaboration and cooperation between our various local governments. Unfortunately, the region has just experienced a major setback. One area that was a sparkling example of regional cooperation was the economic development...

British Columbia’s Chief Electoral Officer, Keith Archer, has granted approval in principle on an initiative petition application. The petition will be issued to proponent Joshua Henshaw on Monday, January 9, 2017. The title of the initiative is: An initiative to amend the Fire and Police Services Collective Bargaining Act....

Kootenay West NDP Candidate, Katrine Conroy, hit the streets over the weekend, going door to door in the Village of Slocan, asking residents about what issues concern them and gathering signatures on a petition requesting the BC Liberal government stabilize funding for education in the province. “Education is an issue of...

Nelson City Council has taken a step back in its plan to pass a bylaw that would effectively ban all cannabis dispensaries from the city. Council withdrew its adoption of an amendment to the zoning bylaw prohibiting dispensaries on Wednesday morning, when it resumed its regularly monthly meeting. Council had given third reading...

A popular biking trail network at the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s Morning Mountain Regional Park in Blewett is connecting users to The Great Trail [Trans Canada Trail] (TCT), thanks to a multi-agency partnership. Representatives from the Regional District of Central Kootenay, TCT, Columbia Basin Trust, Recreation...

Updated:  Jeff Holden has had to cancel his appearance on Sunday afternoon due to unforeseen circumstances. Text corrected accordingingly below. With afternoons getting darker, a sobering election result in our neighbouring nation, and not much snow in sight yet, we need a bit of distraction.  Fortunately, there's a lot of ...

A recent scathing opinion piece by Murray Dobbin outlined the shortcomings of food in some health care facilities administered by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA). Both the quality and the quantity of the food served were reported as inadequate, even for institutional food which is understandably challenging to...

Here in southern BC, it is still alarmingly warm for skiers awaiting snow.  It rains, or the sun shines, and we wait, and look at a thin bit of white decorating local mountain-tops, and look askance at the thermometer registering over 12 degrees C. -- or whatever well-above-freezing, balmy temperature it happens to be at the...

Nelson City council says it doesn’t plan to close down any of the city’s marijuana dispensaries… even though it’s just given itself the power to do so. Council voted Monday night 4-3 to amend the zoning bylaws to define what a cannabis dispensary is, and to prohibit their operation in all land zone uses in the city. Violators...

It’s official – the urban chicken pilot project in Castlegar is set to soar, after city council’s regular meeting Monday night. But it won’t be a poultry free-for-all, and not everyone with a hen yen can fly out and buy birds. A key element of the project will be a steering committee involving members from SPCA, Bear Aware,...