Someone, please! Tell Dan Albas what to think. Westbank First Nations (WFN) plans to open a private hospital, but the rookie MP for the area, Okanagan-Coquihalla, doesn’t know what his opinion should be. He has no problem throwing public money around. Albas supports upgrading the Merritt Civic Centre with your tax money, and...

The negotiating team of the B.C. Nurses Union have reached a tentative agreement with health employers on a new provincial contract that addresses their members’ main concerns — providing safe patient care through safe staffing, enhancing job security and improving compensation a press release said Wednesday. “We are pleased...

A damning new peer reviewed study, ‘Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize ‘is calling into question not only the safety of genetically modified (GM) food but the stringency of government regulations and assessments.  For the first time, a long term and comprehensive study...

The residents of Greenwood are reeling after the potential contamination of their drinking water was announced on Monday, Sept. 17. "There is a level of stress in the community, especially for some of the older folks," said Greenwood mayor Nipper Kettle. "Who ever did this -- it is ludicrous. It is unthinkable who would do ...

Greenwood residents are being warned not to use their tap water for anything but flushing their toilets until Interior Health Authority (IHA) has ruled out a possible contamination. Today, Monday Sept. 17, a City of Greenwood crew member discovered the lock on the access hatch to the community's reservoir had been removed by...

The B.C. Nurses union is not taking a decision by Interior Health to change hours at the Victorian Health Centre ER lightly. The BCNU fired off a release Friday calling the decision "an unacceptable denial of healthcare services to area citizens." “Nurses are extremely disappointed the health authority took this action, instead...

The City of Nelson plans to create interconnected bicycle pathways and bike parking facilities throughout the city. That’s a goal that will be incorporated into a new draft of Nelson’s 2008 Official Community Plan (OCP) at a council meeting in October. The city will also “establish direct and accessible, human-powered...

In September 1962 – 50 years ago this month – a book was published which changed the way we looked at the post-World War Two chemical revolution. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring – a clarion call about the perils of pesticides – is largely credited with launching the modern day environmental movement. Soon after its publication,...

The numbers are disturbing. In Canada suicide claims the lives of more than 3,500 people each year. In 2010, over 450 deaths in B.C. were attributed to suicide. Hospitalization due to self harming and suicidal behavioursis even more common. Between 2010-2011, there were over 2,800 self-inflicted injuries that required...

Numerous cities throughout Texas, United States have begun broadening their efforts to fight mosquito populations, in an effort to reduce transmission of the sometimes-lethal West Nile virus. Officials in Dallas county have declared a public health emergency. Officials there have requested use of five planes, intended to spray...