Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Nickel City hasn't seen a jobless rate this low in a decade:
Greater Sudbury continued to add jobs in April, bringing the city's unemployment rate to its lowest point in more than a decade. The city added about 700 jobs in April, Statistics Canada reported Friday, pushing unemployment down to 5.4 per cent. That's the lowest since August 2008, when the rate sat at 5.1 per cent, and nearly matches the lowest ever in the city's short 19-year history: 4.7 per cent reported in July 2008. According to StatsCan's monthly labour survey, 87,300 people had jobs in April, out of a workforce of 92,300.
Missing: Edward Jerome hasn’t been seen since May 5:
Greater Sudbury Police hope you can help locate Edward Jerome, who hasn’t been seen since May 5. Jerome, 60, was last seen in the South End, driving a black 2017 Chevrolet Silverado with plate number AR10873. He stands 5-11 and weighs approximately 180 lbs., with very short white hair. It's unknown what Jerome was wearing when he went missing. If you have info on Jerome’s whereabouts or about his vehicle, contact police at 705-675-9171 or Crime Stoppers at 705-222-8477.
Fund an idea: Entrepreneurs look to crowdfund Sudbury's first zero-waste store:
A group of women are trying to open Greater Sudbury's first zero-waste store, but they need your help to do it. An Indiegogo campaign with a $15,000 goal has been launched for start-up expenses such as purchasing equipment and refitting the storefront for The Nickel Refillery, located at 227 Regent St., across from Lougheed's Flowers. So far, the campaign has reached about 30 per cent of its goal, or nearly $3,500. The business owners hope to open up the store by the end of the summer. While zero-waste shopping is already available locally for some items thanks to Bulk Barn's move in 2017 to allow customers to bring their own containers, there's still a gap for many types of products. Lizanne Anawati, Trista LeBlanc, Sharon Roy and Julie Rodriguez plan to offer common household and personal care products that are unpackaged or sustainably packaged, many of them in bulk. This includes items such as shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, laundry supplies, dish soap, ingredients for DIY products, sustainable kitchen goods and products made by local artisans. They're also looking into food products including olive oil and maple syrup.
Two Sudbury high schools awarded for EQAO test scores:
Two local high schools — St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School and Sudbury Secondary School — have been awarded the 2018 Dr. Bette M. Stephenson Recognition of Achievement Award. The award is handed out by the the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), and recognizes schools across the province that have worked to improve EQAO standardized testing scores. The schools recognized through this program have used a wide range of evidence to develop action plans based on their unique circumstances and have seen notable improvements in student achievement, as demonstrated by an increase in EQAO results over time. Get the full story here.
Lotto Max doubles drawings, raises top prize by $10M:
If you don't play Lotto Max, you might want to rethink that: OLG announced it's not only doubling the chances to win a jackpot, but increasing the top prize by $10M to $70 million. Lotto Max now has a Tuesday night draw as well as the usual Friday night one. OLG also bumped the top prize from $60 million to $70 million. The odds of winning have changed too, to one in 33,294,800, with players now choosing seven numbers between 1 and 50 instead of 1 and 49.
Don't get taken in by this new hydro refund scam:
If you received a text recently claiming to be from Greater Sudbury Hydro regarding a refund, don't be fooled: it is a scam. Greater Sudbury Hydro sent out a notice this morning warning customers about the scam, and advising people not to click a link in the message. The message states the customer has received a refund and asks them to click a link in the message to receive. The rub is: Greater Sudbury Hydro says it never contacts customers by text message. In a news release sent out on Monday, Greater Sudbury Hydro said it received multiple reports regarding the scam over the weekend, and more Monday. "Greater Sudbury Hydro NEVER sends billing or account information via text message, and would not ask a customer to click on a link to access funds," the utility stated in the news release. "We would communicate with each customer in the same manner in which they receive their monthly bill." Find the full story here.
Ring of Fire: Will Northern Ontario ever produce its own stainless steel?
Could Northern Ontario manufacture its own stainless steel using chromite from the Ring of Fire? It was a popular topic of conversation during the 2019 gathering of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM). Held May 8-10 in Sudbury at the Holiday Inn on Regent Street, the conference welcomed close to 200 representatives from member municipalities scattered across northeastern Ontario, who discussed best practices, along with new challenges they’re facing following the April release of the provincial budget. With the conference following on the heels of the announcement that Noront Resources had selected Sault Ste. Marie for its chromite smelter to process ore from the Ring of Fire, industrial energy costs was another hot topic amongst attendees. FONOM president Danny Whalen said FONOM is pushing for the government to “at least maintain the programs they had for industrial hydro rates,” which will come into play once the smelter is operational, slated for 2028.
Tuesday Weather:
A beautiful spring day is in the forecast for Tuesday. A mix of sun and cloud today with a high of 17. Mainly clear skies into the evening with some clouds overnight. There's a 70 per cent chance of showers before Wednesday morning. Overnight low will get down to 6. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
