One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: Sorry - did you say, 'Take your old guns to the post office?'
SOMETIMES, A PLAN SEEMS GOOD on paper, but in reality, absolutely sucks. For a long time, the post office has shipped guns of all kinds all over the country. They were secure, the public never saw them, and no one was the wiser. Fast forward to the present where the government came up with another of its schemes to red...
Apr 26, 2024
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SOUND OFF
SOUND OFF: Police confirm diversion of government-supplied drugs
DAVID EBY PROMISED REAL ACTION that would save lives in the overdose crisis when he became premier. But a year and a half later, the results couldn't be worse. In 2023 overdose deaths hit an all-time high, with 2,511 people losing their lives to drugs. That's a five percent increase from the previous record of 2,383 de...
Apr 25, 2024
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ARMCHAIR MAYOR
ROTHENBURGER: A fond farewell to the airwaves from the Armchair Mayor
I'M AN OLD MAN. This is a fact I've been reluctant to acknowledge. I hate it when the media refer to anyone over the age of 60 as "elderly." I hate it even more when the opinions of older people are dismissed because... they're old, and therefore they don't count. My career as a full-time working journalist e...
Apr 25, 2024
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SOUND OFF
SOUND OFF: Short-term rental rules coming into effect in British Columbia
I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE who have concerns that they are having trouble finding options for a new home to live in, while thousands of short-term rentals are taking needed long-term homes off the market. That's why this past fall, our government introduced new legislation to help more people get into homes faster, includi...
Apr 24, 2024
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ARMCHAIR MAYOR
ROTHENBURGER: Board may as well not have asked public about school's name
IT WAS NO SURPRISE that the Kamloops school board chose an indigenous name for the new school in Pineview Valley.For one thing, reconciliation is on everyone's mind and an indigenous name for the school was part of that thinking. For another, the naming committee included "indigenous rights holders" who were ...
Apr 24, 2024
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One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: New wildfire training centre has great potential
IT WILL TAKE A WHILE, but when a new wildfire training and education centre opens down the road, it could well provide a focal point for vast improvements in how we understand the behaviour of wildfires and how best to fight them. Fighting wildfires has changed a lot. It's much more complicated especially with drought,...
Apr 21, 2024
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Armchair Mayor
ROTHENBURGER: A modest proposal for improving the citizen satisfaction survey
IT WILL SOON BE TIME for the Kamloops citizen satisfaction survey, when taxpayers will have an opportunity to say what they think of their city. The survey will be carried out in the fall and it's an important tool for letting City Hall know what's going well and what's not in the Tournament Capital. For example, the l...
Apr 20, 2024
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One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: 'Fairness' is not a word I would use to describe the federal budget
THE DAY AFTER the 'Fairness' budget was presented Tuesday (Apr. 16), Prime Minister Trudeau talked about how his budget was going to give priority to the millennials and Gen-Xers who are up against the wall. He said they weren't getting the same breaks as their parents and grandparents got.What a crock of crap. As the ...
Apr 19, 2024
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Sound Off
SOUND OFF: The NDP's mishandling of drug use in B.C. hospitals
RECENTLY EXPOSED internal communications and firsthand accounts have revealed that drug use in B.C. hospitals is not only tolerated but also facilitated by current NDP policies. This ridiculous approach is endangering dedicated healthcare staff and the patients they serve.Under the NDP's failed decriminalization policy...
Apr 18, 2024
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ARMCHAIR MAYOR
ROTHENBURGER: Who would survive if we had a recall law for City councils?
I'LL WAGER THAT if B.C. had recall legislation for municipal politicians, eight of the nine current members of Kamloops City council would be under threat of removal from office. The only one who wouldn't be is Coun. Margot Middleton, because while she's solidly in the Gang of Eight, she stands aside from the fray. She...
Apr 18, 2024
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