Local Journalism Initiative

The Canada Revenue Agency says a scam is offering the new federal grocery rebate to West Kootenay residents. File photo

Scam alert: Messages being sent out across West Kootenay on ‘grocery rebate’

Canada Revenue Agency never uses texts or instant messages to contact anyone

The Canada Revenue Agency says a scam is offering the new federal grocery rebate to West Kootenay residents. File photo
Nanaimo has banned natural gas as the primary heat source in new buildings. (News Bulletin file photo)

Fossil fuels industry targets B.C. city after move to block natural gas

Canadian Energy Centre pushing campaign to restore possibility of Fortis hookups in new builds

Nanaimo has banned natural gas as the primary heat source in new buildings. (News Bulletin file photo)
Women dance during the Abyas song to cleanse and bless the ground for the cedar mortuary pole replica carved by Mungo Martin in 1955 was removed from Thunderbird Park during a commemorative ceremony on the grounds of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito)

‘Forbidden Music’ explores complex preservation of B.C. Indigenous culture

Film documents 1950s efforts to preserve music threatened by potlatch ban, residential schools

Women dance during the Abyas song to cleanse and bless the ground for the cedar mortuary pole replica carved by Mungo Martin in 1955 was removed from Thunderbird Park during a commemorative ceremony on the grounds of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito)
A new report compiled for the provincial government details a shortage of sheriffs across B.C., resulting in court closures and delays. (Photo: Province of B.C.)

Cash coming to address B.C.’s longstanding sheriff shortage: Sharma

Report reveals workplace culture issues feeding recruitment and retention crisis

A new report compiled for the provincial government details a shortage of sheriffs across B.C., resulting in court closures and delays. (Photo: Province of B.C.)
Kyley Gagnon is seen here on the floating home she owns on Kootenay Lake. The forestry ministry wants to evict her. Photo: Submitted

Facing eviction, Kootenay mom living on floating home pleads for reprieve

She says she’ll be left homeless if the forestry ministry removes her home from Kootenay Lake

Kyley Gagnon is seen here on the floating home she owns on Kootenay Lake. The forestry ministry wants to evict her. Photo: Submitted
Tashi Townley took this photo of a Mola mola in Kyuoquot Sound being observed by Megan Komori-Kennedy and Violet Komori. Marine Education Resource Society Facebook.

Hola Mola! Researchers tracking massive tropical fish off Vancouver Island

Marine Education Resource Society is collecting data on sightings from the public

Tashi Townley took this photo of a Mola mola in Kyuoquot Sound being observed by Megan Komori-Kennedy and Violet Komori. Marine Education Resource Society Facebook.
Old growth cedar in the Russell Creek drainage in the Slocan Valley. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

Old growth trees still falling despite B.C. promises: environmentalists

‘Any old growth inventory map is obsolete the day you make it’

Old growth cedar in the Russell Creek drainage in the Slocan Valley. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
Buttle Lake, high in Vancouver Island’s Strathcona Park, offers the type of snowpack-fed water supply unavailable in other areas, like Quadra Island some 50 kilometres away. (John McKinley file)

Rural B.C. residents work to protect water in face of growing drought

Quadra Island water security team works to get a handle on supply as supply grows more scarce

Buttle Lake, high in Vancouver Island’s Strathcona Park, offers the type of snowpack-fed water supply unavailable in other areas, like Quadra Island some 50 kilometres away. (John McKinley file)
File photo. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)

Extreme weather is sending Okanagan migrant farmworkers home early

Fires forced hundreds of workers to evacuate from West Kelowna and Lake Country

File photo. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)
Lumber company representatives want the Regional District of Central Kootenay to lobby for them at the Union of BC Municipalities conference. File photo

RDCK asked to advocate for West Kootenay sawmills

Lumber industry representatives are concerned by a number of issues

Lumber company representatives want the Regional District of Central Kootenay to lobby for them at the Union of BC Municipalities conference. File photo
Kokanee Salmon spawning. Photo: Roseanne Van Ee

Restocking of kokanee salmon on Kootenay Lake begins

Eggs will be gathered and then hatched at an incubator site

Kokanee Salmon spawning. Photo: Roseanne Van Ee
The 2021 census initially reported Silverton had a 23 per cent population decrease over five years, but Statistics Canada now says that was an error. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Census recount bumps up Silverton’s official population to 181

Statistics Canada admitted to errors on the 2021 census

The 2021 census initially reported Silverton had a 23 per cent population decrease over five years, but Statistics Canada now says that was an error. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Clams are being nurtured in a clam bed restoration project underway on the West Coast of Vancouver Island this summer. File photo THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Building walls: B.C. Indigenous youth reclaiming clam harvest heritage

Coastal First Nations youth make their mark by cultivating ancient food systems in their territories

Clams are being nurtured in a clam bed restoration project underway on the West Coast of Vancouver Island this summer. File photo THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Two music festivals in the Slocan Valley have raised the ire of locals complaining about noise. Photo: Gaby Tenda/Pexels

Rants about raves in Slocan Valley prompt RDCK noise investigation

The High Frequency Gathering and Labour of Love each took place last month

Two music festivals in the Slocan Valley have raised the ire of locals complaining about noise. Photo: Gaby Tenda/Pexels
A memorial for the five victims of the July 2021 fatal crane collapse stands in front of the Bernard Block construction site in downtown Kelowna in October of 2021. (Capital News)

2 years after Kelowna deadly crane collapse, B.C. considers safety improvements

WorkSafeBC has proposed new regulations, including stronger requirements that supervisors

A memorial for the five victims of the July 2021 fatal crane collapse stands in front of the Bernard Block construction site in downtown Kelowna in October of 2021. (Capital News)
A mother caribou and her calf at the Central Selkirk caribou maternity pen near Nakusp. Photo: Skye Cunningham

Conservation group releases its wards from Nakusp caribou maternity pens

But more males are being born than females

A mother caribou and her calf at the Central Selkirk caribou maternity pen near Nakusp. Photo: Skye Cunningham
A fully loaded fuel truck slipped off a forest service road and landed in Lemon Creek in July 2013. File photo

A decade after spill, judge scheduled to hear Lemon Creek class action

The lawsuit will be heard in January 2025

A fully loaded fuel truck slipped off a forest service road and landed in Lemon Creek in July 2013. File photo
A deep sea octopus. Dr Cherisse Du Preez Ocean Exploration Trust, Northeast Pacific Seamount Expedition Partners

Deep-sea octopus garden nursery discovered beneath B.C. waves

Researchers uncover rare nursery for deep sea octopus brood off the west coast of Vancouver Island

A deep sea octopus. Dr Cherisse Du Preez Ocean Exploration Trust, Northeast Pacific Seamount Expedition Partners
The Kootenays’ unemployment rate rose to 5.7 per cent in June. File image

Kootenays have third highest unemployment rate in B.C.

The region’s rate rose to 5.7 per cent, higher than the national average

The Kootenays’ unemployment rate rose to 5.7 per cent in June. File image
Carving by Ben Davidson. Credit: David Koppe, University of Victoria

From struggle to triumph: B.C. woman completes Indigenous Law journey

Mercediese Dawson shares her march toward finding and sharing her voice

Carving by Ben Davidson. Credit: David Koppe, University of Victoria