They are very proud of the project they put together and it has been so successful. The PennyLane Store has created a workplace for young people to learn about business and are making a profit for the many Youth Club opportunities in town. The things they do are quite amazing with the money they make from their business. Sears is the supplier of the new goods. They filled a need in the community and it has paid off handsomely.

This is also the home of Licks & Wags Dog Bakery, the original Canadian dog bakery and David Bastin, the owner, is shipping his special treats for dogs all over the world. I am told there is another company that has one truck after another bringing in wine bottles to be washed and cleaned and returned to the wineries for reuse. I didn’t even know there was a company that did that...

Did you know that 812 million pounds of food stuffs from China arrived in Canada last year and at some point made there way into your cupboards, fridges and dinner tables? China is Canada’s second source of food imports after the U.S.. This is serious stuff because we don’t have enough inspectors to be checking these shipments and they simply can’t keep up. You don’t realize because you are consuming this foodstuff under Canadian law and the ingredients can come from anywhere in the world and still get a “Product of Canada” label. As I have stated before, “Product of Canada” only means that at least fifty one per cent of the manufacturing coast were incurred in Canada...

Viking Air, the Victoria manufacturer of the new Twin Otter deHaviland aircraft has just signed a multimillion dollar contract with the Argentine Airforce to upgrade their current fleet of Twin Otters...

WestJet seem very confident that their workers won’t strike. The Canadian Auto Workers Union is after the employees to change the picture. I have always felt the 7,300 employees liked working at the airline and own a piece of the action. The union says they have received a number of calls. I guess that could always be true - some won’t like it no matter what the deal is...

Vernon’s Mike Duggan, from the old days as the boss-man of Silver Star Mountain Resort, started his Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia a few years ago and has quickly placed the company as the leading boutique hotel chain in the province. Now he is looking at a new hotel for the Nanaimo Convention Centre. Eighteen stories and 170 rooms. The hotel chain operates hotels in Whistler, Victoria, Westbank, Vernon, Vancouver. This fall they have scheduled the opening of the Ucleulet property...

Actor, director and now producer, Paul Gross, has just released his new movie filmed in Canada about Canadians. “Passchendaele” is a war epic. As Canadians we really should see this picture. Paul raised the ten million dollars needed for the film and ran into a slight problem just before they were ready to go with the ten-week shoot when he realized he didn’t have enough money. Someone had backed out. A single investor saved the day. One of the players was David Asper of Canwest Global Communications (CHBC-TV) so at some point we should see the film on TV as well. Paul Gross directed the successful “Men With Brooms”...

Sobeys could have a new format that would allow them a piece of the Kelowna food market. It is called Sobeys Urban Fresh, a 13,000 square foot store that features a European-style downtown store look, customized for the clientele. There will be a chef that cooks food right there, a large produce section and frozen food section. Ready to go meals. Just everything in the store is fresh...

Banks would like to get homeowners to lock in their mortgage rates but if you have a mortgage rate that you negotiated below prime, you have what the industry calls a dinosaur. It really doesn’t exist anymore. You should not make any changes until the end of the term...

I am always being asked when Red Lobster is going to open their first outlet here as well as their other chain, Olive Garden. Darden Restaurants who own both chains are down in sales this year. Darden owns four chains in total. The closest they have come to us is Langley with an Olive Garden...

Lots of changes are coming in retail for this Christmas shopping season. Some we have seen already as the stores have chosen things like the ten hottest items and they have discounted them already. It will be beginning to look a lot like Christmas sooner than ever. Consumer conformance is tattered a little and the stores want them shopping at any cost. There could be fewer choices of merchandise in your favorite store but priced right. You have to be aware of earlier promotions this year and shop with a plan. Retailers are focusing on value over style...

Dominion Construction, a division of Vancouver's Seacliff Construction Corp., has been awarded a $50 million construction management contract to build the new engineering and management building at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus in Kelowna. Construction is scheduled to begin in this year's fourth quarter completion is slated for late 2010. The 186,000-square-foot building will house lecture theatres, classrooms, research labs and office space. It's partially funded by the provincial government, which is providing $40 million of the project cost. The building is part of a $100 million government contribution to expand UBC Okanagan's facilities...

I received a call from MCS with a recorded message. They said that I hadn’t replied. The wanted me to know I am being over-charged interest on all my credit cards. If I pushed "one" now I would find out how to save and if I pushed "three" they would go away. The call was from Maryland...

The BC Summer Games paid off handsomely for the Kelowna business coffers according to the government report that show visitors paid $2.6 million into the cash registers...

If you’re a CFL fan like I am, you watch TSN like I do and each week on two of the games there is a sharp TV commentator working the sidelines. The best looking reporter on the broadcast team, Sara Olesky, is a very talented presenter. She works for the network out of Toronto who does well researched and written stories. She was a communications student at Simon Fraser working weekend sports at CITY-TV in Vancouver as the anchor. She is very good...

We are expecting food prices to fall as they have in most countries. This month should show us by how much. There is no reason prices in this country are not going down...

The question: How do manufacturers reduce the sugar content? To compensate for less juice they add more water and then usually add a few no-calorie artificial sweeteners. You need to read the label. If all you want is few calories, stick with the 100% juice and cut your portions by adding your own water. You’ll save on calories and avoid the extra chemical additives...

There is still lots of construction going on in the Valley. It is not a doomsday crunch like some of the media carry with them everywhere they go. Nothing positive just hit the negative button. Yes there are changes, yes we may have to do some things differently. Certain projects will be delayed and for a good reason they are not needed in the marketplace at the present time. For instance, construction of the Lucaya 21-story residential tower is not the doom and gloom some try to make it. This tower, although delayed for whatever reason, will be built. Can I repeat that? This project will be completed.