John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Dec 20, 2012 / 5:00 am
We had a good laugh with NBC’s Emmy Award winning “Saturday Night Live” cast this past week as they tackled the “politically correct” Christmas on their two hour NBC Special. They did a whole group of politically correct Christmas carols, as only they can...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Dec 13, 2012 / 5:00 am
It was the Tiny Tim Christmas breakfast at the Coast Capri last week and 1150 people came through the doors for their free breakfast if they brought an unwrapped gift. They collected 1786 toys and with the money collected, the total was approximately $35,000. All of the toys and money were...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Dec 6, 2012 / 5:00 am
My information this week includes that the new owners of the Lucaya property on Sunset Drive have hired security to look after their property. There have been skate boarders using the site and I understand people sleeping there. The project as you know was purchased by Chinese investors. I...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Nov 29, 2012 / 5:00 am
It hit us like a ton of bricks when all of a sudden Canadian retailers decided to go with a full out promotion for Black Friday. This is the very successful American sales event that has been a feature at Thanksgiving south of the border for years. This year the numbers soared in what we believe...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Nov 22, 2012 / 5:00 am
A Kelowna landmark has been sold to investors from Alberta. The Paramount Theatre building has been a downtown institution since 1945. The theatre is leased by Landmark Cinemas and will continue to be one of Landmark’s premier locations for movies in the valley. It now is a three...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Nov 15, 2012 / 5:00 am
My sources tell me that Chief Robert Louie of the Westbank First Nation was told that it is time to start work on the land for the new medical centre across the lake. The medical centre proposed by the Westbank First Nation hopes through their negotiations to have a working relationship with...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Nov 8, 2012 / 5:00 am
Last week when George Lucas and Disney announced the sale of Lucas Films to Mickey Mouse for $4 billion it brought back memories of a book I read many years ago written by Walt’s brother Roy. Walt was a hero of mine all through my business career. Roy wrote in the book that one...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Nov 1, 2012 / 5:00 am
Sometimes it is difficult to understand the workings of Interior Health and the way they answer to serious health situations that require the public's knowledge. Of course I am writing about the weekend news that carried the story on the Novartis Agriflu serum that three provinces were...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Oct 25, 2012 / 5:00 am
The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce named her “Business Leader of the Year.” Nancy Cameron, the President & CEO of Tourism Kelowna, was given this most prestigious award last week. This is a very sharp lady and worthy of the award because she makes it all work and that isn’t...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Oct 18, 2012 / 5:00 am
It was about a month ago that a contractor told me his business wasn’t bad and that many of the enquiries about the lots he has for sale are coming from Saskatchewan buyers who want to move to the Okanagan and Kelowna in particular. I then received a follow-up to the story that land...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Oct 11, 2012 / 5:00 am
It is about to happen, the Zellers store that is twenty-years-old will be closing in the next ten days. It will be all cleaned up and turned over to Target Canada by the 29th of the month. Construction will then begin on the new Target store for the Orchard Plaza shopping...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Oct 4, 2012 / 5:00 am
It’s hard to believe, but the U.S.A. national press has finally figured out the scuffle in Bellingham over the Canadians buying all the milk available in the Costco store there. Big headline in U.S.A. Today, “Canadians Flock to U.S. for deals.” This is due to the increase...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Sep 27, 2012 / 5:00 am
We went to Rann Berry’s “One Hit Wonders” show last Friday night with friends. It was a winner. Most of those old songs held a meaning to the hundreds of people in the Community Theatre. Another great night for Rann’s show. The music brought back such memories....
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Sep 20, 2012 / 7:00 am
This past week I received two requests for donations from large charities for envelopes that were filled with address labels. The address label business must be good because many of the charities have the same idea, despite the fact that few people actual write a letter these days. The postal...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Sep 13, 2012 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed If you have driven out to the airport recently you have noticed the construction of the new hotel on the land across from the airport entrance. This will be the new Sheraton Four Points. There is a history of hotels for this site that never...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Sep 6, 2012 / 5:00 am
There has been a change in retail sales in Kelowna as the Robertson brothers Ron & Grant have sold their business on Pandosy St., Robertson’s Clothing & Shoes. Todd and Brenda Booker have taken over ownership this week. I have known so many people that shopped at...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Aug 30, 2012 / 5:00 am
I don’t know what you do to remind yourself of things that need to be looked into, but I write myself notes. I have pads in the car, my bedroom and the TV room. All these yellow pages with things scribbled on them. Some, especially the nighttime ones, are sometimes hard to decipher. So, I...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Aug 23, 2012 / 8:00 am
We have a new question on the roster this week: “Will Target sell merchandise at the same price as they do across the border?” Of course they won’t, but that doesn’t mean their prices in the Canadian market won’t be competitive. Certainly Target will set a new...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Aug 16, 2012 / 8:00 am
I read a story on the weekend about the success of Viking Air in Victoria, with a sale of $30 million to China for Twin Otter Floatplanes they build. They are built at the manufacturing plants in Victoria and Calgary. It could have been Kelowna. Well let me tell you a story… It...
John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!
Aug 9, 2012 / 8:00 am
I wanted to talk about gasoline prices at the pump because they jumped a little just before the big long busiest weekend of the summer. I called my friend Dave Skogland, who owns the Skogie’s chain of car washes called Skogie’s Auto Spa. Dave opened Orchard Park Car Wash in 1971,...
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