Omnibus Bills Leadership, the economy, and the reliable stand-by issue of taxation are the issues political parties will likely focus on in the coming federal election. These are undoubtedly serviceable election campaign targets, but the question that ought to rank foremost in the mind of citizens concerns the ever expanding...

To Mayor and Council of the City of Grand Forks, I write you today as a concerned citizen of this amazing City. I am compelled to write to you about some concerns I and many other citizens have arising from the Regular City Council meeting this past Monday January 12th, 2015.  I was unable to attend the meeting in person but...

History in Hollywood and Literature “Keep away old man, you won’t fool me -- you and your History won’t rule me.”                                        --The Who, Slip Kid “You can run out your Rules – but you won’t outrun the History Train.”                                     -- Paul Simon, Peace like a river By Charles ...

The day we were hit by the season’s worst (so far) snow storm was also the day I received my property assessment notice. I would have been delighted by the gain in our property’s value had it not been for the warning that it “will likely result in a tax increase in 2015”. It was no consolation that I did not have to trudge ...

Since 2005, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has researched and explored the natural and human history of the rivers of the upper Columbia River Basin.  She speaks frequently at conferences and symposia throughout the Basin on the history of the Columbia River Treaty and its effects on Basin residents.  She has recently completed a...

Arc of the Cognizant LXXXIV The Wolf of Wall St., The New York Times, and Joni “Keep your hands off of my stack, Jack.”   - Pink Floyd, Money “Money is an agreement. It doesn’t have any value at all, by itself.” -      Charles Eisenstein, Sacred Economics “Money can’t buy me Love.”                  - The Beatles By Charles ...

Dear Editor, I’m writing this because I am just livid.My neighbour is 70 years old. She has suffered a stroke, has had two heart attacks, and multiple surgeries on her pancreas. She is not in good health, to say the least. Doesn't stop her though, she was out shoveling snow yesterday! She is leaving tomorrow for surgery on ...

  I suspect that the federal election the country will experience this year will be unlike anything we have seen before. Passion and controversy are not strangers to Canadian elections, but I fear that the bitterness we will witness in our next federal election will be without precedent.  Attack ads are likely to proliferate,...

Santa Claus is on the hot seat, literally, after receiving some gentle criticism from local fire officials. Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue deputy chief Dan Derby said they felt a warning was due, given an incident last year involving a singed beard, soot stains, and a not-fully-extinguished fireplace. “We could have issued a violation ticket, […]

I’ve been in a total funk for the past few weeks – all the negativity and rage surrounding the current city strike have been so disheartening and demoralizing. I keep thinking, What about after the strike? We’re all going to have to go back to working together, shopping in each other’s stores, attending our children’s hockey...