Thousands would typically congregate to the Kelowna downtown core to celebrate the beginning of winter.

Last week, the City of Kelowna closed down four blocks of Bernard Avenue to vehicle traffic to allow restaurants to create or expand outdoor seating capacity.

Reopening Kelowna's downtown won't be like flipping a switch.

According to regular and joint head counts there are between 60 and 80 people sleeping on the streets every night.

There's push back to Interior Health's preferred location for a safe injection facility for intravenous drug users in Kelowna.