Good morning, Greater Sudbury. Here are some stories to start your day.
We're LIVE with Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk:
Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk is today's speaker as part of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce President's Series. Lysyk most recently made headlines when her work showed how the then ruling Liberal government had used some creative accounting to make the province's deficit look smaller than it actually is. Lysyk will be speaking today at noon at Bryston's on the Park in Copper Cliff. Sudbury.com will be livestreaming Lysyk's speech. Check the homepage for the link.
Smile for the red light camera:
Three busy intersections in Greater Sudbury could soon be monitored by red light cameras, if the proposal is approved by the city's finance committee next week. Approved in principle in January, a staff report on the proposal says AECOM, an outside firm, was hired to determine which intersections in the city would benefit most from the cameras. Those intersections are: Paris Street at Cedar Street; Regent Street at Algonquin Road; and, Municipal Road 80 at Dominion Drive. Another three intersections will be identified later, the report said. The report estimates that operating and maintaining the cameras, as well as processing the fines, will cost about $500,000 a year, with $580,000 coming back in fine revenue, for a profit of $80,000. The $580,000 figure is based on one conviction a day when all six cameras are operating.
Read the full story here.
Mayoral, council candidates for October city election begin to emerge:
With the provincial election in the rearview mirror, the list of candidates running in October's municipal election is starting to grow. Incumbent Mayor Brian Bigger formally registered to run for re-election Tuesday afternoon at Tom Davies Square. In a news release, Bigger said Sudbury has made significant progress under his watch. Bigger's only declared rival for the mayor's seat so far – and more are rumoured to be running – is a novice to municipal politics, Cody Cacciotti of Capreol. Cacciotti, 33, is operations manager at the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre in Capreol. In a news release, he said he can translate his work at the rail museum to the city at large, spurring economic development and growth opportunities.
Read the full story here.
Hospital breaks ground on PET scanner suite:
It was a decade ago, while he was undergoing cancer treatment, that Sam Bruno made a complaint to the Ontario ombudsman that PET scans — a nuclear medicine imaging test — were not an insured service in the province. When PET scans were later covered under OHIP, Bruno made it his mission to bring one of the machines to northeastern Ontario. He passed away at the age of 55 on July 15, 2010, but his family set up the Sam Bruno PET Steering Committee to make his dream come true. Communities across the northeast eventually contributed $4.3 million to the project. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has provided $4.6 million toward construction costs for the PET suite and up to $1.6 million in annual operating funding. And now the ground's been broken.
Read the full story here.
Queer North Film Festival kicks off tonight
The month of June is LGBT Pride Month, and here in Greater Sudbury, you can mark the occasion by attending the third annual Queer North Film Festival, which runs June 14-17. Put on by Sudbury Downtown Indie Cinema Co-op, with all screenings taking place at the McEwen School of Architecture, Queer North is the only queer film festival in Northern Ontario. Featuring 11 full-length films, not to mention shorts, social occasions and educational talks, it celebrates the diversity of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and two-spirited communities through quality cinema. Beth Mairs, managing director of the cinema co-op, said in the festival's third year, it has expanded by about 25 per cent. She said she was getting submissions of so many high-quality films from around the world, it was difficult to turn them down. Mairs said there's some “beautiful gems” of films that have queer themes that have been shown in some of the top-tier film festivals around the world recently, and she's bringing in some of those films.
Read the full story here.
Celebrating a decade: Check out Rock the Farm's 2018 lineup
The Anderson Farm Museum Heritage Society's Rock the Farm free concert and farmers market summer series celebrates a decade this year. Everyone is invited to the centre court of Anderson Farm Museum every Wednesday in July and August for the farmers market (4-8 p.m.) and free concerts (5:30 to 8 p.m.). This year, St. Louis Bar & Grill is donating two gift baskets to give out as prizes each Wednesday, and there will be a 50/50 Draw organized by the Walden Lions Club with proceeds supporting free events at Anderson Farm Museum. The lineup includes The Bluez Brotherz, The Tremonics, Fiddleworks Youth Band and Roller Rink Rewind.
Read the full story here.
Thursday Weather:
Break out that parasol (if you happen to have one) and slather on the sunscreen, today's UV index is supposed to be very high (that's 8 on the UV index, folks). The UV will be high, but the sun will be bright. We're looking at a high of between 22 and 24 degrees today, without a cloud in the sky. Wind will be out of the north at 20 km/h. The skies will stay clear overnight, with the mercury falling to about 13 degrees. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
