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Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to get you started on this Friday morning.
Police trying to locate suspect in Memorial Park stabbing
Greater Sudbury Police are seeking the public’s help to locate a man they believe was involved in a stabbing in Memorial Park on July 1. At around 2:40 p.m. that day, officers were dispatched to the park after receiving a report of a stabbing. On the scene, officers located a man in Memorial Park with what was believed to be a stab wound to his arm. The 34-year-old man was transported to hospital by paramedics with a serious but non-life threatening injury. The man is described as being white, standing between 6-0 and 6-2, with a slim build and was wearing a grey zip-up jacket and baseball cap at the time of the incident (see image). Anyone with information related to this incident or the identity of the involved individual is asked to contact us at 705-675-9171 or Crime Stoppers at 705-222-8477.
Ready to get weird, Sudbury? Up Here ready for lift-off once again
After a year off thanks to the pandemic, the Nickel City’s annual celebration of music, urban art and weirdness — Up Here — returns Aug. 20. Festival organizers made the announcement this morning that Up Here 7 will be “tailored to the current climate” to ensure the safety of participants and artists, but will definitely include the same vibe that has made the festival so popular. The seventh edition of Up Here runs Aug. 20 to Aug. 22, and is presented by Downtown Sudbury BIA. The action will, of course, be centred around Up Here’s signature geodesic dome, pop-up bar and deejays down on Durham Street. “We’ll be opening Up Here Square a week before the festival for it to become a free space for people to safely reconnect with their city, downtown establishments, and each other,” said Christian Pelletier, co-founder of Up Here. “With all the patios and bustling activity downtown lately, it really is the place to be. Up Here Square will support those initiatives and grow as our comfort level grows around the idea of gathering together as a community again.”
Health-care workers rally outside Health Sciences North
Local MPPs stood alongside unionized health-care workers to rally at the Paris Street entrance of the Hospital Science North (HSN) today, shouting and waving at passing cars with a purpose: to push for better protective equipment against COVID-19 and to push back against Bill 124. The rally participants included registered practical nurses, personal support workers, environmental cleaners, and other unionized frontline staff who will carry signs expressing their concerns. "They are among nearly 70,000 hospital workers across Ontario currently negotiating a new provincial contract. But after working the past 18 months at a hectic pace in a pandemic, these workers feel devalued by both the province and their hospital employers," said a news release from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU). Also supporting the rally will be the SEIU Healthcare union, said the release.
Sudbury Airport gets a $3.5M lift-off from the feds to plug budget hole left by COVID-19
The Greater Sudbury Airport has been given a helping hand by the federal government to the tune of more than $3.5 million after the facility lost millions in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. This non-repayable contribution to the Sudbury Airport Community Development Corporation (SACDC) will help mitigate the financial pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting the operations of the Sudbury airport for a one-year period. The project is expected to help maintain 27 local jobs. The funds are being flowed through the Government of Canada’s Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI), launched in March 2021. The fund supports access to air transportation and regional ecosystems. In particular, it enables the continuation of existing air routes and ensures airports remain operational and able to contribute to regional economic growth, while adapting to new post-COVID-19 realities and requirements. With Greater Sudbury Airport passenger volumes down by about 72 per cent, it means total revenues were down by about $4.7 million last year, or 51 per cent from the previous year. The SACDC finished its fiscal year on Dec. 31, 2020, with a deficit of $3.4 million.
His name's Nation North, and at age 11, he might be Sudbury's youngest entrepreneur
At the age of 11, Nation North is likely Sudbury’s youngest entrepreneur. In January of this year, the tween obtained his Ontario Master Business Licence and created an aerial drone business called Sky Nation Productions. Last year, he sold Christmas ornaments and earned enough money to purchase a micro drone with a high-resolution camera (under Transport Canada rules, operators of drones under a certain weight don’t need drone pilot certificates). “I’ve always loved remote control vehicles when I was a kid,” said Nation. “More recently, I was fascinated by drones. I got a drone, but I realized there were better drones than what I bought. I raised money by selling Christmas ornaments to get a better drone, and then I came up with having a business.”
Public Health Sudbury reports no new cases of COVID-19 for the second day in a row, Ontario reports more than 200 new cases
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) reports no new cases of COVID-19 for today, July 29. PHSD also said there are now seven active cases being monitored by public health officials. Also, since the PHSD began tracking COVID-19 cases, there have been 2,183 total COVID-19 cases confirmed locally. PHSD also said 2,176 of those cases have now been resolved. Today's COVID-19 update from Public Health Ontario includes 218 new cases, 169 recoveries and three deaths.
Friday looks like it’s going to be a windy one
Expect a mix of sun and cloud today and a high of 21. The wind will be out of the north at 30 km/h but will be gusting up to 50. Today’s UV index is eight, or very high. This evening, the skies will be partly cloudy with winds out of the northwest at 20 km/h, but becoming light in the early evening. There is a 60-per-cent chance of showers before Saturday morning. Overnight low is 11.
