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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SOUND OFF
SOUND OFF: Strengthening our wildfire training
LAST SUMMER, B.C. saw its most devastating wildfire season on record. Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate from their homes, disrupting lives and communities. As the impacts of climate change continue to accelerate, I think it's clear to all of us that we need to take bold steps to keep people safe, prot...
Apr 17, 2024
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ARMCHAIR MAYOR
ROTHENBURGER: City caught flat-footed with sale of The Loop drop-in property
CHEERS OF APPROVAL have already begun over the impending closure of The Loop after the announced sale of its current leased building. The Loop is a volunteer-run drop-in centre that provides meals and other occasional services for street people on the North Shore, and it has a chequered history there. It is an eyesore ...
Apr 17, 2024
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One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: The changing face of business
WE ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME these days dealing with change. Trying to determine the best way to tackle the homeless crisis, the rent and ownership crisis, the health crisis - and the list goes on. Here's another thing cities are wrestling with - the changing face of downtowns, how to deal with mass changes in philoso...
Apr 14, 2024
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Armchair Mayor
ROTHENBURGER: In days of old, before Kamloops City Hall became a fortress...
CONTRARY TO PREVAILING public opinion, City Hall has not always been a place of discontent between councils and administrators.While there have been times when administration has bullied council, and times when administration has happily stepped into the gap when leadership from elected representatives was lacking, in ...
Apr 13, 2024
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