Local research tracks how Meta’s Canadian news ban and a decade of wildfires have eroded trust in the information Canadians rely on during fire season

[Ken Gray - As evacuated Summerland residents continue to receive news of safe return, social media channels are rife with misinformation, some mischievous, some ignorant, some ill-informed, and some raw with anger. The research described below offers analysis and possible solutions.] First published by UBC Okanagan News August 5, 2026 On August 1, 2023, a... Continue Reading →

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A day-5 evacuation story

Image: Hope, Susan Norie From Facebook [Ken Gray - I don't know Banu Tülümen's but they tell a beautiful story admist so much uncertainty.] I don't quite know how to describe these past five days. There are stories everywhere. Some heartbreaking. Some heroic. Stories of loss and uncertainty, but also extraordinary stories of kindness, generosity... Continue Reading →

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Picture this — Wildfire

These images were created prior to our evacuation from Summerland late Friday night. Given our hurried packing there was no time to take shots of the fire itself though we did witness the Cartwright Mountain Ridge (our dog walking area) fully aflame. Many such images are sprinkled throughout social and news media. Our evacuation story... Continue Reading →

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The lazy (hazy) days of summer

With thanks to Tzeporah Berman who writes: Yes I do grieve for the carefree summers of the past.This piece by Rebecca Solnit is exactly how I have been feeling this summer as I watched in horror as the numbers of the dead due to heatwaves in Europe have climbed and feared for my son who... Continue Reading →

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‘It’s about dignity’: Anglicans call for relief as U.S. blockade strangles Cuba

Alongside Hope executive director Will Postma (fourth from left) visits a rural community in Cuba in 2018 By Matthew Puddister - Published August 5, 2026 - Reposted from the Anglican Journal Everyday life for the average Cuban today starts without electricity, Jose “Pepe” Bringas, general coordinator of the Episcopal Church of Cuba’s Integral-Missionary Development Program... Continue Reading →

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One wildfire evacuation story

An image of our condominium behind an approaching helicopter captured Saturday, August 9. We live in the left unit in the building on the right, top two floors. So far, our home is safe, but I suspect very smelly and smoky. From CBC News. So much for the lazy, now hazy days of summer in... Continue Reading →

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Love changes everything

Read this poem as you will. God's love? Our love? Simply, love. I imagine the poem below as a modern day Beatitudes, a collection of sayings that birth images of blessing and peace we receive in amidst chaos of "today." There is so much we can receive through our senses, through the very physicality of... Continue Reading →

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Jann Arden — Always surprises

Reposted from Facebook I am getting married in 12 days. There isn’t a single thing anyone could have ever said or done to have prepared me for the future I find myself standing in right now. It is as surreal and as deliciously whimsical as you might imagine. Change is the thing that makes us... Continue Reading →

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Assistance regarding assistance dogs

Copied from another well informed writer referring to the post of an individual demanding their dog be allowed in a local restaurant. There are different kinds of "assistance dogs." Some are fully certified; others are not. As a past vice-president of a therapy dog organization and a service dog handler, I just wanted to make... Continue Reading →

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