Norson Construction based in Kelowna, is in charge of the development of a new Home Depot big box store for Prince Albert, Sask. The construction company with offices in Kelowna and Vancouver has been very busy in the Valley. Building the two Hub locations on the Westside locally is just two of the many projects they have had on the books. When I first dealt with the company some sixteen years ago they were in construction of Orchard Plaza and they seemed to do all the interiors at Orchard Park. It has been a good ride for the quality builder...

Since the beginning of the year we have kept track of the number of houses listed for sale in the Central Okanagan with a price tag of $1 million or more. That number just reached seventy-seven sold...

Venture Kamloops has received a prestigious national economic development marketing award from the Economic Development Association of Canada. Gail Scott, CEO, received the 2008 EDAC award for the "Kamloops...Come find your Place in the Sun" bookmark at the annual EDAC conference in Fredericton, NS...

Barry Milner, the marketing manager at Geo Tility Systems Corp. sent me a note regarding the company. They have been in the business in this valley for over thirty years. In the BIV annual list they have placed three times. Top Alternative Energy Companies in BC - ranked 6th Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in BC - ranked 67th Top 100 High Tech Companies in BC - ranked 79th. The company now has an office in Richmond, soon Victoria and is looking very favorably on expanding to Washington State.

On another note, their sister company TerraSource Geothermal Utility Services, has secured six master planned communities (Kelowna, Vernon, Vancouver Island, Invermere, Lake Country)in which the developments will exclusively feature the cost savings of the geothermal utility as a means to significantly reduce the capital cost of the technology to the home owner. Always an interesting company and a leader...

A majority of Canadians believe al-Qaeda members led by Osama bin Laden carried out the 9/11 attacks. However, a considerable number of respondents think the U.S. government allowed these attacks to happen, and Canadians are split on whether Ottawa should call its own investigation into the event, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll reveals. In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,007 adult Canadians, three-in-five respondents (61%) believe the 9/11 attacks were carried out by 19 hijackers who were members of al-Qaeda—the conclusion of the commission that investigated the events in the United States. Less than one-in-five Canadians (17%) disagree with this explanation, and 22 per cent are unsure. I was really surprised by these numbers...

Starting January 1st next year, pharmacists across B.C. can exercise a new authority to renew customers' prescriptions and make limited changes to them based on their own judgment and without consulting the patients' doctors. The policy was initiated by the Health Ministry last spring and was announced in the throne speech. B.C. Medical Association president, Bill Mackie said the new rules give pharmacists powers that are far too broad, and could open the door to serious errors on the part of the pharmacists and abuse by patients...

Starbucks Coffee Company and Unilever have announced an exclusive licensing agreement for the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of Starbucks® ice cream in the U.S. and Canada.