Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to get you started this weekend.
Greater Sudbury to purchase Python 5000 pothole machine
A long-talked-about Python 5000 all-in-one pothole patching machine will soon be put to work on Greater Sudbury’s battered streets. The machine, which will come with an annual operating cost of approximately $200,000, is expected to apply an additional 592 metric tonnes of asphalt to local streets per year. The city’s elected officials unanimously approved the machine’s purchase price of $554,898 during Tuesday’s city council meeting. At approximately $155,000 greater than the $400,000 they budgeted for earlier this year, city council agreed to pull the balance from reserves. Read the full story on Sudbury.com's home page.
Public Health Sudbury warns of high-risk COVID exposure at Hanmer bush party
The Sudbury health unit has issued two more warnings about potential high-risk exposures to COVID-19 that have happened in recent days. One incident occurred in Hanmer, part of Greater Sudbury, and the other incident occurred at M’Chigeeng on Manitoulin Island. Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) is advising the public of a potential high-risk exposure to COVID-19 specifically for anyone who attended a social gathering in the woods near École Secondaire Hanmer (4800 Notre Dame Ave) in Hanmer on Saturday, Sept. 11, between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. The health unit is also advising the public of a potential high-risk exposure to COVID-19 for anyone who attended a social gathering at the Pow Wow grounds, 352B Hwy 551, in M’Chigeeng on Sunday, Sept. 5, between 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Read more here.
‘We’re thrilled’:Cinéfest Sudbury returns Saturday
The 33rd edition of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival kicks off on Saturday, and festival organizers are excited to welcome audiences back to the theatre. This year’s lineup is bigger and better than ever, with more than 150 film screenings offered in-person and online via the festival’s virtual platform as part of Cinéfest’s hybrid model. The festival will welcome a number of special guests, including All My Puny Sorrows director Michael McGowan, who will attend the Opening Night Gala. It was recently announced that all audiences attending the festival in-person from Sept. 18 to 26 must be fully vaccinated as per the Ontario government’s new vaccination guidelines. Read more on the Sudbury.com home page.
Little change in Greater Sudbury’s unemployment rate in August
There was very little change in Greater Sudbury’s unemployment rate in August, up to 8.7 per cent from 8.6 per cent over July, said Statistics Canada in its Monthly Labour Survey. In comparison, Greater Sudbury’s unemployment rate in August 2020 was at 8.8 per cent. Meanwhile, employment increased in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia in August. All other provinces recorded little or no change. Read the full story here.
Chamber celebrates 10 of Sudbury’s greatest entrepreneurs and businesses
The best of the best of Greater Sudbury’s business community was celebrated during Thursday night’s Bell Business Excellence Awards gala at the Caruso Club. The 24th annual event, hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, found 98 nominations submitted for its 10 award categories. The event is “an opportunity to not only acknowledge the contributions of area business owners, but to also learn from them – and about them,” said a press release from the chamber. Read more on the Sudbury.com home page.
Ontario rescinds funeral home vaccination proof requirements
The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) has rescinded proof of vaccination requirements for visitors to funeral homes. The regulation, announced earlier this month, would have permitted funeral guests across Ontario to attend an indoor funeral from Sept. 22 to Oct. 12, 2021 only if they had proof of a negative COVID-19 rapid test taken 48 hours before the funeral. After Oct. 12, 2021, all funeral guests, except for children under the age of 12, would have had to show proof of vaccination or written proof of a medical exemption from a doctor or nurse in order to attend a funeral. Learn more here.
Weekend weather:
There's some gorgeous weather ahead for the last weekend of summer. Saturday will be sunny with a high of 19 C. Saturday night will be clear with a low of 6 C. Sunday will be sunny with a high of 22 C. Sunday night will be clear with a low of 12 C.
