Local back alleys are getting another splash of colour as two people get work experience painting three murals in downtown Kamloops, thanks to more than $19,000 in government funding.

Effective at noon on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, campfires are once again permitted throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction.

The majority of the thick smoke blanketing many areas of southern B.C., is drifting northward from large wildfires in the United States.

British Columbia has invested over $63 million in Highway 5 safety improvements between Kamloops and Tête Jaune Cache in the last 10 years and has plans to invest more in the next several years.

There are 13 new wildfires burning in the Kamloops Fire Centre, including three new “fires of note” in the Penticton, Merritt and Kamloops fire zones.

Construction is now underway on a new air-quality monitoring site for Kamloops residents at Pacific Way Elementary school in the Upper Aberdeen neighbourhood.

British Columbia is rolling out the red carpet to celebrate the wide range of screen-based entertainment, which is created throughout the province, by proclaiming Monday, July 27, 2015, as “Screen in BC Day”.

More than 100 residents are now living in newly renovated homes at Sundergreen Apartments, an affordable rental housing development made possible through funding from the governments of Canada and British Columbia.

Up to 24 people will be trained as dietary aides and help ensure people in long-term care facilities receive the nutrition they need to stay healthy, thanks to $132,000 in government funding.

Due to the ongoing threat of wildfires, high-risk activities such as cutting firewood are subject to restrictions throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre.