Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Rally to save Sudbury’s consumption site happening today
The countdown to the end of funding continues at The Spot, Sudbury’s supervised consumption site, but supporters hope that a rally Nov. 30 will demonstrate the need for that funding. To be held in Memorial Park (on the side nearest to the YMCA) at 4:30 p.m., the event is billed as a rally and banner drop. For the last few months, The Spot has been pushing for the provincial funding they applied for two years ago. Though staff has told Sudbury.com in previous interviews they are unsure why the funding was not approved earlier, the province is pointing to a shooting that took place at a consumption site in Toronto in July as a reason to re-evaluate every site in Ontario.
Feedback sought on proposed tax incentive for residential builds
Key details in a proposed tax incentive for the development of multi-unit residential buildings have been released in a report prepared for the city’s elected officials. The program would include tax increment equivalent grants, which serve to rebate a portion of taxes back to the property owner. Under a tax increment equivalent grant, the difference between taxes levied using a property’s assessed value both pre- and post-development are rebated to the owner for a set number of years. The proposed plan would offer a five-year grant to developers who build between 30 and 100 residential housing units. During the first three years, the grant to the property owner would be equal to 100 per cent of the tax increment. Years four and five would find the grant decrease to 50 per cent. A 10-year grant would be offered to developers who build more than 100 units. During the first five years of the program, the grant would equal 100 per cent of the tax increment, while years six through 10 would drop it down to 50 per cent.
Volunteer centre programs picked up by United Way Centraide
Sudbury's new volunteer Resource Centre is up and running thanks to the efforts of United Way Centraide North East Ontario (UWCNEO). The new volunteer services facility follows the September 25 announcement that the former Volunteer Sudbury/Benevolat Sudbury (VBS) was closing after being in operation for several years. United Way announced in October that it was stepping up to fill in and provide volunteer programming and services to the community. Through the partnership with UWCNEO, programming and services provided by VBS are now being delivered through United Way’s multi-regional Volunteer Resource Centre, resulting in minimal changes to the public or to local groups and organizations, said a news release from United Way. The new partnership will provide increased stability, funding and resources dedicated to the local volunteer sector, allowing for more time to be devoted to serving the community and its organizations, said the release.
Memory Lane: Sudbury’s first Christmas and more holiday memories
It’s that time of year again … Christmas cards, Christmas trees and decorations, alimentary overindulgence and, to the delight of some and the chagrin of others, non-stop Christmas music everywhere (I’m looking at you Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé). These “traditions” are all fairly recent in the grand scheme of Christmas, but they (and their consistency) are what gives the Yuletide season that warm and fuzzy feeling with which we can wrap ourselves in like a comfortable ugly Christmas sweater. A year ago, we took you on a downtown shopping trip through the ages. This year, we would like to stick a little closer to home, with a Christmas-twofer (no not that kind of two-four … though many have used that as a tradition to get through the holidays), and reminisce about the twin family traditions of dinner and decorations, which don’t make Charlie Brown cry out “Good Grief” and lament the commercialization of the holiday. To start our sentimental journey, as we near the end of Sudbury’s 140th year, let us go all the way back to the beginning, to the very first Christmas in Sudbury Junction.
Learn about McIntyre Powder at 80th anniversary event today
Members of the public interested in learning more about McIntyre Powder and its impact on Northern Ontario miners are invited to attend an informational session scheduled for the day that marks the 80th anniversary of its first use. Hosted by worker advocate Janice Martell, the event will take place Thursday, Nov. 30 between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at the United Steelworkers Hall in Sudbury. Free to attend, the event will serve as both a memorial to those miners whose health was negatively affected by McIntyre Powder and an educational session on mining exposures and the resources available to those who need them. Developed in the 1940s by mining executives, McIntyre Powder was a finely ground aluminum dust that miners were required to inhale before every shift. It was first administered on Nov. 30, 1943 at the McIntyre Mine in Timmins. Executives claimed it would prevent miners from developing the lung disease silicosis, but the practice was discontinued in the late 1970s after its benefits were debunked.
Wacky Wings property to be expropriated by the city
Filling the final piece of a puzzle, the City of Greater Sudbury has been cleared to expropriate 187 Shaughnessy St. in downtown Sudbury. The property houses the Wacky Wings restaurant, and is the final property on its block the city has yet to purchase. Expropriation “does not impede us at all to keep negotiating, but it’s making sure ... that we protect our ability to move in at the timeframe that we want to move to,” Lefebvre explained to Sudbury.com after the Nov. 28 city council meeting at which the decision was made. This timeframe is six to nine months, after which the city will own the property regardless of whether they’ve come to an agreement with its owner.
