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Search-and-rescue aircraft like this CH149 Cormorant rescue helicopter from 19 Wing at Canadian Forces Base Comox conducted the search overnight Tuesday.

(Department of National Defence)

A search is underway in B.C. for a small plane carrying four people that went missing en route to Victoria from Penticton on Tuesday night.

The Piper PA24, a privately owned plane, left Penticton at about 5:10 p.m. PT, but no communication from the aircraft was received and the plane did not appear on radar in the Vancouver area as expected.

The Kamloops Flight Information Centre reported the aircraft missing at about 9:44 p.m., and officials with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Center in Victoria immediately began a search of the flight path.

A CC 115 Buffalo search-and-rescue aircraft and CH149 Cormorant rescue helicopter from 19 Wing at Canadian Forces Base Comox conducted the search overnight Tuesday. It was expanded with a second helicopter on Wednesday morning.

The air search is being assisted by Civil Air Search And Rescue Association aircraft and crews from Penticton.

The names of the missing pilot and passengers have not been released.

Piper PA24 Comanche’s are single-engine, four-seat, low-wing metal aircraft produced from 1957 to 1972.

Baby black rockfish from Ucluelet on the west side of Vancouver Island were raised at the Vancouver Aquarium for a year before being released at Point Atkinson in 1997. (Meighan Makarchuk/Vancouver Aquarium)

A fish that had been all but wiped out east of Vancouver Island is breeding after being reintroduced into waters off West Vancouver’s Lighthouse Park.

Researchers found baby black rockfish in nursery grounds this summer near Juniper Point, just under the Atkinson Lighthouse, the Vancouver Aquarium reported this week.

“It’s a nice little area with kelp beds and eel grass beds,” said Jeff Marliave, vice-president of marine science for the aquarium.

He said that marks the return of an important predator to the Strait of Georgia.

That’s significant because when some species are missing, that narrows the ecosystem, he added, and “it’s just not going to function the way it’s supposed to.”

Black rockfish were so plentiful in the early to mid-1900s that sport fishermen sometimes considered them a nuisance, Marliave said, but they were fished to local extinction by the 1990s.

At that time, there was one rockfish left that divers saw regularly at Point Atkinson.

“It had a damaged fin, so we called it Notch,” Marliave recalled. “And we’re pretty sure a poacher took it.”

In 1996, the aquarium staff decided to try reintroducing the fish to Point Atkinson, where they knew there was once a healthy population. They caught about 250 baby black rockfish, less than a year old, from the waters off Ucluelet on the west side of Vancouver Island, where the fish are still plentiful.

Raised in aquarium

The thumb-sized fish were raised in the aquarium for a year until they had tripled in length, and were much less vulnerable to being eaten by predators such as ling cod. Then they were released.

Point Atkinson was judged to be a good site because it had piles of rock boulders, where the fish like to hide, and varying depths, allowing the fish to move deeper as they mature.

The fish, which eat small crustaceans called krill, are typically able to breed once they are eight years old.

Research divers from the aquarium first spotted a young rockfish believed to be the offspring of the released fish, in 2006, when it was about two years old.

Since then, they’ve seen young fish, suggesting some young black rockfish have survived in four out of the past six years. But this year’s nursery find is the strongest evidence yet that the fish have established a breeding population.

“I’m much more confident that they’re our fish,” Marliave said.

He said he’s not sure how many of the original 250 have survived and stayed at Point Atkinson, but the fact they are breeding successfully means there are probably a few dozen.

Because the fish seemed to be doing well, some more fish were added in 2004 and 2005, when they began to outgrow and overcrowd a display at the Vancouver Aquarium and were slated to be euthanized.

They were saved when Marliave suggested releasing them at Atkinson Point with acoustic tags that would allow researchers to track whether they remained in the area. That study has shown the fish indeed stick around.

Jose Manuel Carreno, Alicia Alonso and Kevin McKenzie at American Ballet Theatre’s tribute to Alonso’s 90th Birthday, June 3 in New York. (Gene Schiavone/American Ballet Theatre)

President Barack Obama’s administration has granted permission for the American Ballet Theatre to perform in Cuba, clearing the way for the company’s first performance in Havana in 50 years.

The last time the New York-based company performed in Havana was in 1960 at an inaugural event at the Karl Marx Theatre. That was just before the U.S. embargo and travel restrictions to Cuba went into effect.

The American Ballet Theatre will perform at the Havana International Ballet Festival in November. This year the festival pays tribute to Alicia Alonso, founder of the National Ballet of Cuba and a former principal dancer with the New York company.

American Ballet executive director Rachel Moore spoke at a Havana press conference Tuesday to announce the tour.

“I can’t speak for the politics, but I do believe that the arts are a tremendous bridge between communities,” she said.

“Dance is an art form that doesn’t require a knowledge of language, so it’s a great way to bridge between two communities who don’t speak the same language,” she added.

It took more than a year of filling out forms and negotiating with the State Department and U.S. Treasury to win permission to travel to Cuba, Moore said.

And there are still restrictions that make it difficult for the company to finance its trip.

“We are not allowed to have any sponsors under our licence, so we are not allowed to bring any sponsors with us, and we won’t,” Moore said.

To afford the trip, their company’s hosts are covering accommodation and other expenses for the dancers.

The American Ballet has itself been able to cover the cost of flying the troupe to Havana.

Similar restrictions on sponsorship forced the New York Philharmonic to cancel its planned trip to Cuba last year.

There are reports in the U.S. that further easing of restrictions on cultural exchanges with Cuba may be announced by the Obama administration this summer.

American Ballet will perform scenes from ballets including Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas and Fancy Free by Jerome Robbins on Nov. 3 and 4.

Alonso visited New York this spring to celebrate her 90th birthday with ABT, where she danced from 1943 to 1948.

With files from BBC reporter Michael Voss

Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark returns to Patty Schnyder during second-round play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Wednesday. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Regular service has resumed at the Rogers Cup.

A day after No. 1 Jelena Jankovic was eliminated, a handful of seeded players booked their spots in the third round by earning victories Wednesday in Montreal.

No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark overcame a tough challenge from Swiss Patty Schnyder to emerge victorious 7-5, 7-5.

Wozniacki’s next opponent is No. 15 Flavia Pennetta, of Italy, who defeated Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday. No. 6 Francesca Schiavone, also of Italy, moved on to the third round with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory over Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova.

No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland began the day by beating American Vania King 6-0, 6-3.

No. 17 Marion Bartoli of France had a much easier time of it. She advanced to the third round after her opponent, Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan, withdrew from the tournament with a strained left quadriceps muscle.

Date Krumm, 39, defeated Monica Niculescu of Romania in three sets Tuesday.

In an all-Russian matchup, Dinara Safina outlasted No. 18 Nadia Petrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to book her spot in the third round.

There are no Canadians remaining in the field after the final two lost their first-round matches on Tuesday.

Russian Alisa Kleybanova, ranked No. 26 in the world, defeated Heidi El Tabakh of Oakville, Ont., 6-1, 6-2. Valerie Tetreault of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., had a quick first appearance at the Rogers Cup, losing 6-1, 6-0 in 69 minutes to Bartoli.

Fellow Canadians Aleksandra Wozniak and Stephanie Dubois were eliminated Monday on the first day of competition.

Second-round doubles results from Wednesday:

• Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defeated Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6-4, 4-6, 10-7.
• Monica Niculescu of Romania and Shahar Peer of Israel defeated Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 0-6, 7-5, 10-7.

Stars of the new CBS series Hawaii Five-O are Alex O’Loughlin, left, as Det. Steve McGarrett, and Scott Caan as Det. Danny Danno Williams. The series will screen on Indian airwaves. (Mario Perez/CBS/Associated Press)

American network CBS plans to operate three English-language channels in India in a joint venture with a local partner.

CBS Corp. announced a deal Wednesday in Mumbai with Reliance Broadcast Network, which has investments in radio stations, outdoor advertising and digital advertising.

This will be a first entry into TV for Reliance, which is controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, who already holds a stake in Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studios.

The three channels will feature new CBS shows such as Hawaii Five-0 and The Defenders, syndicated programs like Entertainment Tonight and old shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond.

Reliance will play a role in customizing programming for the Indian audience, as well as building on its ad expertise.

The channels offered will be:

• BIG CBS Prime, a general entertainment channel.
• BIG CBS Spark, aimed at young people.
• BIG CBS Love, geared toward women.

India’s TV audience is 500 million viewers and the ad market is growing by 15 per cent annually, with revenues of $5.6 billion US in 2009, according to KPMG.

“The opportunities for growth and all of the data that support those facts are obviously staggering,” Armando Nunez, president of CBS Studios International, said at a press conference.

Viacom Inc., Time Warner Inc., Walt Disney Co. and News Corp. have already ventured into India’s TV market.

The Canadian government says it regrets the “mistakes and broken promises” it made in forcing some Inuit to relocate to the High Arctic in the 1950s.

Indian and Northern Affairs Minister John Duncan issued a formal apology Wednesday for the government’s controversial High Arctic relocation program, in which 19 Inuit families from Inukjuak in northern Quebec were moved about 1,200 kilometres to the far northern settlements of Grise Fiord and Resolute, in what is now Nunavut.

Another three families from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, were also moved north to help the Inukjuaq families adjust to their new environment.

But the transplanted Inuit had to cope with unfamiliar conditions and little government support, Duncan said as part of his apology Wednesday in Inukjuaq.

“They were not provided with adequate shelter and supplies. They were not properly informed of how far away and how different from Inukjuak their new homes would be, and they were not aware that they would be separated into two communities once they arrived in the High Arctic,” Duncan said.

“Moreover, the government failed to act on its promise to return anyone that did not wish to stay in the High Arctic to their old homes,” he added.

‘Vibrant communities’ built

The federal government had insisted that they were trying to help the affected Inuit, who were having trouble surviving as subsistence hunters in northern Quebec.

However, many have argued that the Inuit were used to assert Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic during the Cold War.

The communities of Resolute and Grise Fiord still exist. The hamlets have populations of 229 and 141, respectively, according to Statistics Canada.

“Despite the suffering and hardship, the relocatees and their descendants were successful in building vibrant communities in Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay,” Duncan said.

“The government of Canada recognizes that these communities have contributed to a strong Canadian presence in the High Arctic.”

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the territory’s Inuit land-claims organization, has commissioned two monuments to commemorate the sacrifices the relocated Inuit made in Grise Fiord and Resolute.

The stone monuments, one in each community, are slated to be unveiled next month.

The former chair of the B.C. Arts Council said she stepped down from the post so she can speak freely on cuts to arts spending.

Jane Danzo’s resignation was announced Aug. 11 by the province and she spoke to CBC Wednesday about the lack of support for the council from the provincial Liberals.

“And it was made very clear the board of council has no independent voice from the government and therefore I believed very firmly that in order to serve, actually both government and the arts sector better, that I should step down,” Danzo said.

Danzo said she felt she had to leave her post to speak independently about the cuts to arts funding and act as an advocate for the arts.

The spring budget axed the funding the B.C. Arts Council hands out to groups by an estimated 50 per cent, from around $14 million to about $8 million.

Despite the cuts, the province then announced a new $10 million Arts Legacy Fund, without consulting the B.C. Arts Council, Danzo said.

“Even after the announcement, the board was not consulted for input, nor was it permitted to know the details as they were developed by ministry staff over a four-month period,” Danzo said in her resignation letter to Culture Minister Kevin Krueger.

“Meanwhile, the arts community struggled, some members with life-threatening uncertainty, as they reduced their programming, laid off staff, and made poignant appeals to patrons and donors for further support.”

The council has a mandate to advocate for the arts, she said, but “this responsibility is virtually impossible to accomplish because the board’s relationship to the government is not at arms-length.”

Danzo, who was named chair of the arts council in September 2009, has served on the Vancouver Foundation the BC Arts Renaissance Fund and the Medici Fund.

B.C. arts groups are bracing for deep cuts in this year’s grant allocations from the arts council. The council has decided to prioritize arts groups for funding rather than make cuts across the board, meaning some groups will be harder hit, according to a report in Georgia Strait.

A search is underway in B.C. for a small plane carrying four people that went missing en route from Penticton to Victoria on Tuesday night.

More to come

A hybrid icing rule aimed at reducing dangerous collisions is getting some extra attention at the NHL’s research and development camp.

After watching it during Wednesday’s morning session, organizers decided to add it to the afternoon session as well.

The rule gives the linesman the ability to make a ruling on whether a play will be called an icing based on which player reaches the faceoff dot first.

A number of NHL players have been injured over the years after crashing into the boards while in a race for the puck during a potential icing.

A similar rule is currently in place in the United States Hockey League and a linesman from that developmental circuit was on the ice at the Toronto Maple Leafs practice facility to make sure it was called correctly.

The hybrid icing rule seems to have some support among NHL general managers, who make rule change suggestions to the league’s competition committee and board of governors.

A few more seeded players are through to the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated American Vania King 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon at the women’s tennis tournament.

Also moving on is No. 15 Flavia Pennetta. The Italian defeated Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-3 in second-round action.

No. 17 Marion Bartoli of France had a much easier time of it — she advanced to the third round after her opponent, Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan, withdrew from the tournament with a strained left quadriceps muscle.

Date Krumm, 39, defeated Monica Niculescu of Romania in three sets Tuesday.

In an all-Russian match-up, Dinara Safina outlasted No. 18 Nadia Petrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to book her spot in the third round.

There are no Canadians remaining in the field after the final two lost their first-round matches on Tuesday.

Russian Alisa Kleybanova, ranked No. 26 in the world, defeated Heidi El Tabakh of Oakville, Ont., 6-1, 6-2.

Valerie Tetreault of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., had a very quick first appearance at the Rogers Cup. She lost 6-1, 6-0 in 69 minutes to Bartoli.

Fellow Canadians Aleksandra Wozniak and Stephanie Dubois were eliminated Monday on the first day of competition.