Residents riled over post-midnight train
Many Castlegar residents got a rude awakening at roughly 12:40 a.m. this morning when CP Rail’s new nighttime train whistled its way through Castlegar. City councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, who lives directly adjacent to a train crossing, said the new schedule is a source of great frustration. “I’m extremely upset –...
Leaders discuss rural health care at UBCM in Whistler
The following is a press release issued by the B.C. government: Mayors from throughout B.C. discussed the future of rural health care yesterday in discussions with Health Minister Terry Lake and health authority representatives at the annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Whistler. "We know there...
Privacy commissioner says lack of provincial response, 'erodes the public's right to know'
The B.C. government has taken a step backward in providing timely responses to access to information requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, according to a special report issued today by Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham. "This is my office's fourth report examining...
LETTER: Water Meters – What The City Is Not Telling You
Dear Editor, Why is information on water meter installations so hard to get? We contacted Doug Allin at City Hall to get more info on one of the available options - the manually-read, human-friendly, non-RF, non-radiating meter (the “ProRead”), and we were just pointed in various directions and given no hard data. There seems...
Letter from former Robson Community School Coordinator
For the past 18 years, I have had the pleasure of being the coordinator at Robson Community School. Twenty years ago, the school principal at Robson applied for Community School Status and as a result, $75,000 was brought into this district to set up a community school. A year or two later, Blueberry Creek also received these...
MLA shares opportunities for residents to engage
Dear Constituents, This fall the citizens of Kootenay West have the ability to participate in a number of public consultations and services. I wanted to make sure that all of these opportunities were highlighted to have as much participation as possible from our region. Each fall, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and...
Local governments 'fragmented', need control: Report
The relationship between local governments and the provincial government reached a new low this week, said RDCK area D director Andy Shadrack, when a provincial review on government wages was leaked to the public. The report prepared by Ernst and Young claimed that salaries and wages in local government are now higher than...
Public election hearing slated for Trail
The ninth independent and non-partisan British Columbia Electoral Boundaries Commission wants your input on the area, boundaries and names of provincial electoral districts to be used for the next two provincial general elections. “Now is the time to have your say and shape your province,” says Commission Chair Justice Tom ...
RANT: On mental health, YOLO, rainbows and elections
Okay, time to stick my head in the lion’s mouth again. I posted a photo back on Aug. 26 about the city’s new banners reading , “YOLO” and “XOXO” (neither one of which is as bad – or as funny – as the ones with goofy cartoon faces that read, “A Great Place to Grow”, here in marijuana central. Those still make me giggle every...
UPDATED: Teachers vote overwhelming for binding arbitration
Teachers from across the province voted overwhelmingly to accept binding arbitration B.C. Teachers' Federation president Jim Iker said Wednesday night during a livestream news conference. More than 30,000 teachers of the 41,000 cast ballots Wednesday in voting with 30,490 of the 30,669 voted "yes" to accept binding arbitration...
