Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Saturday morning.
Private KED partners still committed despite huge jump in costs
The Kingsway Entertainment District’s private partners remain on board with the project during a time in which the City of Greater Sudbury’s commitment is up in the air pending city council’s vote. These private partners include land developer Dario Zulich, hotel developer Genesis Hospitality and casino developer Gateway Casinos, whose facilities are expected to accompany a municipal arena/events centre at a property on The Kingsway as selected in 2017. The three private partners issued letters to city council this week reaffirming their commitments, which is one of two key developments highlighted in a supplemental events centre update posted to the city’s website this week, which is in addition to the report previously reported on and featuring the project’s new $215-million municipal price tag. The other news to come out of the supplemental report is that Ball/TESC Construction Inc. has been named the project’s design-build team after scoring higher in both technical and financial criteria than their lone competitor, PCL Constructors Canada Inc. A third bidder, EllisDon Corporation, was also shortlisted but ended up not submitting a bid, clarifying to Sudbury.com via emailed correspondence that the timeline did not work for them.
‘The Climate Action Show’ opens at Science North
The Climate Action Show exhibit opened at Science North today during a ceremony whose guest list included Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault. Between the new exhibit at Science North, two traveling displays and a digital version of the exhibit, Science North director Julie Moskalyk estimates approximately two-million young people will take in its climate change lessons. It’s an immersive 18-minute experience with objects, a tablet which allows people to choose their own adventure, a main video screen and “unusual surprises,” Moskalyk said prior to launching the exhibit’s inaugural showing this morning. “You come out of there with an incredible treasure trove of knowledge that is inspiring and exciting, so when people leave here, they know what they’re going to do and the areas they want to focus on.”
Suspect in July 7 Frood Road stabbing still at large
A 51-year-old man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries today and the man who reportedly stabbed him has yet to be located. At around 11:55 p.m. on July 7, a seriously injured man in the area of Frood Road and Jean Street flagged down a passing police cruiser. “The man explained that he had been involved in an altercation with another man while inside a residence on Frood Road and as a result of the altercation he had stabbed,” Greater Sudbury Police said this morning. The officer contacted paramedics who transported the 51-year-old to Health Sciences North with serious, life-threatening injuries. The Emergency Response Unit was dispatched to the area to search for the man who stabbed him and to ensure no one else at the site of the altercation was injured. The suspect couldn’t be located on Thursday. The man police allege is responsible for the assaults is described as standing 6-3 and weighting around 160 lbs. with a slim build, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing bright clothing at the time of the incident. Anyone with information related to the incident or the identity of the man is asked to contact our Criminal Investigation Division at 705-675-9171 or Crime Stoppers at 705-222-8477.
Amid rising violence hospital creates own in-house security team
The stress of the pandemic and hospital staffing shortages are contributing to higher rates of violence in the workplace for front line workers in Ontario hospitals, said a new poll conducted by Oracle Research for CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees). Details of the poll were released Tuesday and showed "a disturbing pandemic surge in physical and sexual violence against women and racially motivated attacks," said a CUPE news release. CUPE said there was also "a large increase in the use of weapons like guns and knives against hospital staff. The poll found that 63 per cent of respondents experienced physical violence and 53 per cent report an increase in violence targeting them or a co-worker during the COVID-19 pandemic." Nickel Belt New Democrat MPP France Gélinas said she is endorsing CUPE's call for better protection of hospital workers and said she is prepared to re-table a bill that would expose the problem of violence and harassment against nurses and other health care workers. The Speaking Out About Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment Act was introduced in 2017 and eventually passed first reading. The bill did not advance beyond first reading and was never passed into law.
Seventh COVID wave drives up case counts in Ontario
The seventh wave of COVID-19 in Ontario, caused by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant, is driving up cases after a near eight-week decline. Early indicators of the virus' spread in the province are trending upwards. The 56,642 tests completed over the last week produced an 11.2 per cent positivity rate (up from 8.4 per cent last week), and showed a 20 per cent increase in the number of cases among those eligible for testing. Test positivity rates have ranged from 10.7 to 13.5 per cent per day this week. There were 6,499 new cases confirmed this week, up from 5,420 cases last week. Between June 26 and July 2, testing confirmed between 514 and 1,241 new cases per day. There are currently 712 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and about 56 per cent of them were admitted to hospital for reasons other than COVID-19, but still test positive. That’s an increase of about 136 more hospitalized patients compared to last week.
Rainbow Board approves $225M budget for 2022-2023
The Rainbow District School Board said in a news release this week that it has approved a balanced $225.8-million budget for the 2022-2023 school year. Trustees approved the budget at the board’s June 29 meeting. “The budget maintains programs and services adjusted to include the terms and conditions of current collective agreements, some inflationary pressures, and the impact of ongoing declining enrolment,” said Board Chair Bob Clement. “More importantly, the budget provides the financial framework to enable the Board to achieve the priorities in its new strategic plan which enters its first full year of implementation.” That strategic plan aims to guide board decisions from this year through to 2027. It includes six priorities: student success and achievement; literacy and numeracy; truth and reconciliation; mental health and well-being; environmental education and sustainability, and; equity and inclusive education. The board projects enrolment for the next school year of 13,442 students across the 30 elementary schools and nine high schools it operates in Sudbury, Espanola, and Manitoulin Island. Fewer than two per cent of students will be in remote learning next year, the board said.
Read the full story on the Sudbury.com homepage.
Lovely weekend weather-wise
Expect a lovely July weekend weather-wise. The forecast calls for a high of 24 today under sunny skies. The humidity will make it feel like 25. The UV index today is eight, or very high. Tonight the skies will stay cloudy and the temperature will dip to 13. For Sunday, expect a high of 25 with increasing cloudiness as the day goes on. Sunday night, the skies will be cloudy with a low of 15.
