Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Young man, 18, drowns in Meldrum Bay on Manitoulin Island:
An 18-year-old man has drowned on Manitoulin Island, OPP in the area said in a news release Tuesday. The Manitoulin OPP responded to a report of a possible drowning in Meldrum Bay at 1:26 p.m. July 22. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation into the death is ongoing under the direction of the Office of the Chief Coroner and Forensic Pathology Service. The victim's name is not being released at this time pending the notification of the next of kin.
EcoLife owner and teen who made Instagram threat both in court today:
EcoLife Home Improvements owner Dave Murray is scheduled to appear in court once again on July 24. Murray is facing more than 20 counts of fraud (https://www.sudbury.com/police/ecolife-owner-charged-with-more-than-20-counts-of-fraud-1489804). The embattled contractor made his first appearance in court on July 3, and his matter was quickly adjourned as he told the court that he would be seeking legal aid. Also in court today is teenager Zack Pilon, who was arrested and charged in March after police determined that he was responsible for a threatening Instagram post targeting students at Collège Notre-Dame. Pilon was released on strict bail conditions on March 20. Sudbury.com will bring you updates from both of these procedings, so be sure to check back with us.
No decision yet on same-sex marriage for local Anglicans: Bishop says more consultation needed:
Anglicans in this area who belong to the LGBT community and wish to be married in the church will have to wait a bit longer to find out whether or not that's going to happen. Earlier this month, a motion to add same-sex unions to Anglican Church of Canada laws was narrowly voted down at its General Synod. To pass, the resolution required "yes" votes from two-thirds of each of three orders — lay, clergy and bishops. Eighty per cent of the lay delegates voted to adopt the motion, as did 73 per cent of the clergy. But the bishops were two votes shy of what was needed to enter the proposal into law. But at the same national gathering, the church also decided to allow individual dioceses — including the local Diocese of Algoma — to make their own determinations on the matter. Some Anglican dioceses have already issued statements, saying they're going ahead with same-sex marriages, while others have already allowed same-sex marriage for the past three years. Anne Germond, Bishop of the Diocese of Algoma, has issued a “pastoral letter” on the matter, which was read in all Anglican churches within the diocese Sunday. In it Germond, who was a pastor in Sudbury for many years before being installed as bishop in 2017, said she's not going to make an executive decision on the matter herself — it will be determined by church members in the diocese. Full story here.
Boom possible: Demand for electric vehicles bodes well for nickel ... and for Greater Sudbury:
While nickel analysts expect the price of nickel to dip again despite the impressive gains it has made in recent weeks, demand for the metal is bright thanks to the increasing demand for electric vehicles. Nickel was trading at US $6.40 on Monday afternoon on the London Metals Exchange (LME), down from last week's high of US $6.85, but still up more than 20 per cent in the last two weeks. Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar told the Financial Review that the reasons some have given for the recent surge – falling LME stockpiles and an impending export ban in Indonesia – are not new revelations, and are factors traders have known for a long time. The reason many are bullish on prices long-term is the expected demand for nickel for EVs, a key component in electric batteries. Right now, two-thirds of the world's nickel is used for stainless steel production, and three per cent for batteries. More on this story here.
Funky art display nearly complete at corner of Elgin, Durham:
It's almost a year late because of issues with the glass art installation, but the Brady Green Stairs project at the corner of Elgin and Durham streets is almost completed. The $1.2 million job combined needed repairs to a storage building and hydro vault that provides structural support for the nearby ramp, with public art. An ambitious multi-coloured dome in the original plan was scrapped because of concerns about snow accumulations in winter, replaced with a green glass structure crews have been working on all winter. “There were some issues with the glass,” said Brad Johns, the city's manager of project services, explaining why the completion was delayed. “We had to do some redesign on the glass and that caused some of the delay.” Johns said finishing touches will be made to the area this week, and scaffolding will be removed.
On a riverbank in Field, artists from Netherlands, Niger and Texas celebrate River & Sky:
There’s something about River & Sky that attracts performers from around the world to Fishers’ Paradise in Field each year. Whatever it is that draws them, this year saw musicians trekking from as far away as Texas, the Netherlands, and Niger, specifically for the 11th edition of the music and camping festival. River & Sky got off to a start Thursday night with guests from The Netherlands: Altin Gün. While they played a little later than expected — switching spots with Orville Peck so one of their members could have an injured rib attended to — their 1970s Turkish funk was unlike anything else all weekend. Find out about the other acts from River & Sky and check out photos here.
Crime rate rose in 2018 but country still safer than a decade ago, StatCan says:
The rate and severity of crime both ticked up in 2018, for a fourth year in a row, according to Statistics Canada. The national statistics agency said Monday the overall crime rate was up two per cent over last year, with over two million incidents reported by police in 2018. That works out to a rate of 5,488 incidents per 100,000 people. The severity of crime also rose by two per cent, according to a Statistics Canada calculation called the crime-severity index. But Statistics Canada noted both the rate and severity of crime were still substantially lower than they were a decade ago, both down 17 per cent compared with 2008. The crime rate in Canada peaked in 1991 and has been in dramatic decline since then, falling by more than 50 per cent until 2014. Since 2014, however, the rate is up just over eight per cent. Most of the movement in the crime rate is the result of changes in non-violent crime.
Wednesday Weather:
A mix of sun and cloud for Wednesday with a 30 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon. There's a risk of some thunderstorms later today. Afternoon high will get up to 25, feeling like 27. Partly cloudy this evening with 30 per cent chance of showers early in the evening and risk of a thunderstorm. Skies clearing overnight with the low sitting at around 15. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
