All that action taking place on native land near the office of the Westbank First Nation Indian Band is the preparation of the land for the proposed Medical Centre we have written about many time times before.  There are those that don’t believe it can happen but they should hold back whatever criticisms they have for another day. There are those in the financial industry who want a piece of the action. This is a tremendous project in the millions of dollars and it will take a few years to complete it the way the medical profession wants it done. Chief Robert Louie has been busy with the officials from the Johns Hopkins Medical in Baltimore as the banner for the medical centre here. This is an exciting proposition for the Okanagan and the future of a destination medical center open  to the world.  

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What is going on with gasoline prices? This past week we went from a low to a high and for what reason? Is it Spring Break that brought on the increase?

I just bought gas the day before. What gets me all riled up is the fact that Alberta crude is selling to the United States for a much lower price than Canadians are seeing and in the meantime gas prices in the U.S. prices are going up as well.  Then when I was driving to go shopping on Saturday the price of fuel had gone down at the corner again. It is something I can’t worry about because we have no control over what big oil is going to charge us at the pumps and if there is a buck to be made we know who will be making it.

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A company from Ottawa, Brofort Inc., is handling the hiring for employees for the Vernon Target store cleanup.  This company is one of Canada’s leading suppliers to retailers across the country. The signs are up in Vernon.  They are advertising for temporary help at $15 an hour and there are all kinds of openings on the list that I looked at.  They are doing final cleanup and installing signs indoors.

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There is a drama being played out in the East and it all started with the opening of three “training” stores or “test” stores for Target Canada as they get ready for their introduction to Canadians throughout 2013. Seventeen stores are scheduled for opening this week in Ontario. The first three stores opened in Guelph, Milton and Fergus. The consumer spending really sent them then into a tailspin as merchandise disappeared off the shelves in record numbers.     

One of the three Target warehouses in Ontario in located in Milton. The marketplace was ready for their first Target shopping experience on this side of the border. The stores were well received and busy.

Overall the company is expected to have well over 100 stores in Canada by the end of the year. The reason I wrote it that way is because no one from the Target president in the U.S. to the information that is given to the media in this country seems to have that answer. When the U.S. retailer bought Zellers from The Hudson’s Bay Co. they immediately sold 39 stores to WalMart Canada. I always read that there would be 139 stores and now the number that is tossed around is 124. Even the president has been quoted stating that number.  One story from Guelph I just read said the company is expected to open between 124 and 135 locations in Canada - surely someone has a figure that is right.

According to David Gray, a Vancouver retail expert, and we have had him here to speak a couple of times, “Target has a high brand awareness among Canadian shoppers that goes back many years. They have 30,000 credit card users in Canada at the moment. It is spending $1.5 billion to upgrade all the stores.”

Target will open approximately 20 stores in each period up to just before Christmas sales begin.  The Minneapolis based retailer is also looking for more land to build or remodel a building to their design. That is the talk you here about the old post office building in downtown Vancouver and a new Target store.

On Monday of this week Target announced the “soft opening” dates for 21 locations across south western Ontario.

On Tuesday 17 stores swung open their doors to shoppers and another four will open next Thursday.

Some of the stores that opened two weeks ago were “slammed” as the customers cleaned the shelves and they have staff continually replacing the merchandise. The company called it a learning experience and has adjusted their systems accordingly. They immediately improved truck-to-shelf delivery.

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I was listening to the news at Global 1 and they had a story on a meeting where Enbridge was telling those who would listen that the government has already stated they will have many more inspectors looking at everything.  This is the same boys and girls in Ottawa that can’t seem to keep our food safe for us to eat. I know they are not the same kind of inspectors but the government’s record of hiring inspectors to do the job on anything seems to be less that perfect.

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(Photo: Tobiano website)

The Bowra Group is the receiver for the Tobiano Golf Resort in Kamloops and they have confirmed they could develop a $3 million marina before the end of the year pending provincial approval. A deal has been struck with Bruker Developments to build a floating break-water as the first phase of the 110 slip marina.

Tobiano is now operated by Bowra, the receiver appointed by major creditor the Bank of Montréal.   Bowra Group and another major creditor, Business Development Bank agrees with the changes.

Last year there were at least two groups from Hawaii and another from Eastern Canada looking the property.

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We ran this story a month ago but now Dyck’s Pharmacists have announced the opening of their fifth store in the Kelowna General Hospital.  A pretty good move I would say. The drug chain was started in 1955 and has built a very strong reputation for themselves.

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I know I write about this over and over again and I know that few people care or just give lip service to the situation and do nothing about it. When I walked into the doctor's office two years ago he flat out told me "salt is killing you.”

Sometimes, when it comes to convincing Canadians to reduce their salt intake, scare tactics work.

A group of researchers has created an online tool to help Canadians understand how much sodium they consume on an average day.

It asks users a series of questions, such as how often they eat bread, how frequently they eat out and how often they gulp down soup.

It then generates a total intake, as well as a breakdown of where the sodium comes from. Check out Big Life Salt Calculator.