Columbia Basin Trust has released its 2025/26 Annual Service Plan Report. The Trust delivered $105 million in direct benefits across the Basin, including $81 million in grants and initiatives and $24 million invested through business loans, broadband infrastructure, commercial real estate and other investment activities. Working with residents, non-profits, local governments, First Nations and businesses, […]

According to preliminary data reported by the BC Coroners Service, there were 138 deaths due to suspected unregulated drug toxicity in British Columbia in June, equating to approximately 4.6 deaths a day. In the first six months of 2026, deaths among people between 30 and 59 accounted for 68% of drug-toxicity deaths in the province, […]

To all my Kootenay neighbors.  We can’t just sit back wringing our hands and let the West Coast Pipeline happen.  The Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith may think it’s a great idea for our tax dollars to help keep fossil fuel companies in business.  She may think our coastline and its wildlife is not that […]

Dear editor, I’m writing this to you as I just took off my mask,  which I now must wear to do anything in my garden these days.  It has been more than 10 years of me dreading rather than welcoming summer.  Our community was impacted heavily by the 2024 Slocan Valley wildfires.  Our highway south […]

The Province of British Columbia is developing a new road safety strategy that is expected to guide road safety work through 2030. The strategy is scheduled for publication in late 2026. The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) has shared information about the engagement process, including a presentation outlining the proposed direction for the B.C. Road […]

With employment insurance funding provided by the Government of Canada under the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement, people in the Kootenays will have new opportunities to train for careers in the skilled trades through the Industry-Ready Carpentry Foundation project. The program will be delivered by Kootenay Career Development Society in partnership with Selkirk College. […]

By Laura MacDiarmid and Mavis  Morton, with contributions from Noah Ramsammy Canada’s new Protecting Victims Act strengthens legal provisions for victims of crime, representing one of Canada’s most significant reforms to addressing intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet, the different needs of survivors — including healing, receiving answers from authorities, accountability and being provided the chance […]

Dear Editor, When BC needs to declare a state of emergency because the wildfires in the Okanagan are “creating their own weather system” —which includes creating lightening and flames beyond anything firefighters have ever seen— it is well overdue to declare a state of emergency on our energy system. This extreme weather is due to […]

“I know how the Greek and Romans viewed the Celtic people they absorbed into an empire, and how the English viewed the Irish, Scots, and Welsh Celts later in history,  –“civilizers” do not intend to let the weaker folks exercise cultural freedom. The subjugated do what they must to have peace. Always, the imperial folk […]

Into the Trees Music Festival has released its full lineup, inviting festivalgoers to spend three nights this Labour Day weekend under string lights in the forested grove behind the Ram's Head Hotel in Rossland. Early-bird passes are already sold out, and only a handful of weekend passes remain for the intimate festival, running Sept. 4 […]