Regional Proposal Focuses on Underutilized Jail Facility

Municipal officials and Indigenous leadership across the Okanagan are taking their pitch directly to provincial ministers at the upcoming Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, urging the government to evaluate converting part of the Okanagan Correctional Centre into a mandatory treatment facility.

Gathering in a field opposite the Oliver facility on Friday, representatives including Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas, West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom, Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield, Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming, Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen, and Mary Wilbur of the Osoyoos Indian Band advocated for immediate regional action on severe addiction.

Local leaders emphasized that traditional voluntary treatment options are insufficient given the presence of dangerous substances like fentanyl and xylazine in the illicit supply. According to Bloomfield, adapting an existing building would save billions of dollars and years of construction time compared to erecting a new specialized site from scratch.

Provincial Capacity and Regional Context

Data from B.C.’s Ministry of Public Safety indicates that the 400-cell correctional facility in Oliver, constructed in 2016, currently averages about 200 occupants. Local mayors noted provincial estimates showing a need for roughly 2,500 involuntary care beds across British Columbia.

In a statement addressing the proposal, the Ministry of Health noted that B.C. presently maintains more than 2,000 involuntary mental-health beds under the Mental Health Act, with 258 located within the Interior Health region. The province confirmed it is actively collaborating with Interior Health, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and provincial adviser Dr. Daniel Vigo to determine appropriate sites for expanding specialized mental health and substance use beds in the Interior.

Community Engagement and Local Concerns

The proposal also accounts for ongoing local sentiments in the South Okanagan. Since the correctional centre opened, area residents have expressed persistent concerns regarding local crime rates and prisoner releases, particularly following the discontinuation of regional bus services.

Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen, who is not seeking re-election, stressed that local residents and municipal leaders must be directly involved in future discussions regarding any operational shifts at the facility, acknowledging that while mandatory care is not a single cure-all, dedicated secure stabilization options remain critical for individuals unable to care for themselves.

Inquest Links Death to Hyaluronic Acid Injection

A fatal pulmonary embolism killed 43-year-old British-Nigerian businessman and influencer Igho “Tiny” Ubiribo following a cosmetic procedure in Thailand, a U.K. coroner has concluded. An inquest held at Inner West London Coroners’ Court revealed that cellular material matching the injected filler was discovered inside his lungs during a postmortem examination. Coroner Jean Harkin officially ruled that the cosmetic treatment directly triggered the fatal blood vessel blockage.

Timeline of Events in Bangkok

The incident occurred in March while Ubiribo was on a luxury trip to Bangkok with his wife, Danielle Simba Allen. At an unnamed local facility, he received a 40-milliliter injection consisting of lidocaine and hyaluronic acid into his penis. Shortly after the procedure, while receiving a massage at the couple’s Marriott hotel, Ubiribo reported chest pain and lost consciousness twice.

Although he was conscious enough to answer initial medical inquiries upon arrival at Sukhumvit Hospital via ambulance, he passed out again before doctors could administer a recommended CT scan. Medical staff identified a pulmonary embolism and moved him to the intensive care unit. Despite over 100 minutes of continuous CPR, Ubiribo died early on March 6.

Profile and Industry Context

Ubiribo, who was also known as Denisi or Ego, maintained a social media following of roughly 185,000 on Instagram and was recognized for a lavish lifestyle. His assets included a $600,000 London apartment and a $1.1 million property located in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. He married Allen, a socialite and fashion designer, during a 2022 wedding in Zimbabwe that cost $473,000. Following his death, he was buried in London in a gold coffin reported to cost over $745,000, with attendees including music star Davido and Cubana Chief Priest.

Hyaluronic acid treatments of this type can cost up to $9,000, with effects lasting between six and nine months. Medical experts in urology from the U.K. have previously issued warnings regarding potentially devastating complications associated with these procedures.

Why You Might Want to Think Twice Before Wearing Shorts on a Plane

By The Current

If you’re heading somewhere warm, shorts might seem like the obvious choice for the flight.

According to some flight attendants, you may want to reconsider.

Veteran flight attendant Charity Nelms recently offered travellers a rather unpleasant piece of advice: wear pants on the plane.

Nelms, who has worked as a flight attendant for more than a decade, says passengers would probably be surprised by what airline seats encounter between cleanings.

“I am letting you know, from a flight attendant, the amount of things I have seen on the seat,” Nelms said in a TikTok video.

Her recommendation was straightforward: avoid shorts, skirts and dresses if they leave your legs directly touching the seat.

“Wear full pants,” she urged.

And she isn’t the only flight attendant making the case.

Dallas-based flight attendant Cher Killough shared an even more graphic example, saying she witnessed four diapers being changed directly on passenger seats during a single flight.

All four, she said, contained more than just a wet diaper.

It’s the kind of information that can make you look at your economy-class seat a little differently.

How Clean Is Your Airplane Seat?

Airplanes are cleaned regularly, but the level of cleaning depends heavily on the aircraft’s schedule.

Between flights, crews generally conduct relatively quick turnaround cleanings. The priority is typically removing garbage and cleaning high-use areas such as lavatories and galleys so the aircraft can get back into service.

Aircraft parked overnight may receive a more substantial cleaning, including greater attention to passenger seating areas.

Then there are deep cleans.

Those can involve much more extensive work around seats, storage compartments and other parts of the cabin that passengers regularly touch.

The catch is that deep cleaning doesn’t necessarily happen after every flight—or even every few flights.

Schedules vary considerably between airlines.

That means hundreds of passengers may occupy a seat between more intensive cleanings.

Don’t Forget the Seatbelt

Nelms says the seat itself isn’t the only thing travellers should think about.

One of the most frequently handled items on an aircraft is sitting directly across your lap: the seatbelt.

Passengers grab the buckle, adjust the strap and pull on the belt throughout every flight.

Nelms recommends wiping down both the metal buckle and the fabric portion of the belt when you sit down.

Why?

Because everything from spilled drinks to food, baby vomit and other bodily fluids can potentially end up on them.

It isn’t exactly something airlines highlight in their safety demonstration.

And Please Wear Shoes to the Bathroom

There is another piece of flight-attendant advice worth remembering.

Don’t walk into an airplane lavatory wearing only socks.

Anyone who has flown regularly has probably encountered a mysterious wet floor inside an aircraft bathroom.

Nelms’ warning is simple: don’t automatically assume that liquid is water.

Socks also absorb whatever happens to be on the floor, meaning you’re potentially carrying it back to your seat.

Wear your shoes.

The Current Takeaway

There’s no reason to become paranoid every time you board an airplane.

But a little common sense probably doesn’t hurt.

Airliners carry hundreds—or sometimes thousands—of passengers over a relatively short period of time. Turnaround schedules can be tight, and cleaning crews don’t necessarily have the opportunity to scrub every surface between flights.

So the next time you’re getting dressed for the airport, you might want to consider three simple things:

Wear pants. Wipe down the surfaces around your seat. And keep your shoes on when visiting the bathroom.

It may not be the glamorous side of air travel.

But sometimes the things flight attendants know are exactly the things passengers would rather not think about.