Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
City's hotel levy brought in $500K+ more than forecast:
A hotel room tax aimed at funding tourism initiatives and helping pay the mortgage on the new arena is bringing in more money than expected. The municipal accommodation tax (MAT) came into effect in September 2018, adding four per cent to the cost of each of the city's roughly 2,000 rooms if the renter is staying for less than 30 days. Half of the money collected must be used to fund local tourism initiatives, with host municipalities receiving the rest. Early estimates calculated the annual revenue to be around $1.7 million, leaving about $800,000 each for tourism and city coffers up once administrative expenses are deducted. The city planned to use its $800,000 to partially fund the mortgage of the new arena at the Kingsway Entertainment Centre, which has been delayed by legal appeals. Full story here.
Racist incident shakes Louis Street activist:
An outing to the movies with some young people from Louis Street – including child refugees recently arrived from Nigeria – turned ugly recently when the organizer and the children were subjected to racist taunts. Elizabeth Davis, who runs the Louis Street Community Association, said the insults started when she saw a man with what looked like a pit bull near the bus stop as the group returned from the cinema. The kids from Nigeria were not used to dogs, and were afraid, so Davis asked the man if he would mind moving while they got off the bus at Louis Street. “I said I have kids coming off the bus that are afraid of dogs,” she said. “And for whatever reason – I don't know what kind of day he was having — but you know, he just flew off the handle. He was accompanied by another gentleman. And before I knew it, this gentleman was calling me a black c-word, a black f—king whore – it was all very vulgar, very derogatory remarks. “And I just kept saying to him, all I'm asking you is just to move the dog, but he wasn't satisfied with that. He just continued to go on and to yell these racist, derogatory, ignorant hurtful names at me, and at this point all these little black kids were coming off the bus.” Davis was hurt that none of the other parents there intervened, especially as the man kept yelling as the children got off the bus. More on this story can be found here.
Escalating teachers' strikes show 'state of bargaining,' union prez says:
With two different teachers' unions hitting the picket lines in Sudbury this week, escalating strike action shows “the state of bargaining with this government and the crisis we've reached in this province,” said union official Barb Blasutti. All four Ontario teachers' unions are engaged in some kind of job action, whether that's work-to-rule or rotating strikes. “Clearly, that tells you where the fault lies, and it's with the government,” said Blasutti, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Rainbow teacher local. She spoke to Sudbury.com Tuesday morning as teachers belonging to ETFO and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) demonstrated together in solidarity at the Four Corners area of the city's South End. All told, about 1,500 teachers and other education workers belonging to the two unions were on the picket lines Feb. 4, meaning no school for hundreds of Sudbury students in two school boards. Get the full story here.
Garson thieves caught in the act thanks to home surveillance:
Home surveillance helped police stop a break and enter in progress this morning in Garson. Greater Sudbury Police said just before 10 a.m. Feb. 4 they got a call about a break and enter in progress at a home on Church Street. The caller said home video surveillance installed outside the residence caught a glimpse of theives breaking in to the home. Officers arrived minutes later, police said in a news releases and setting up a perimeter around the home while waiting for the Tactical Unit to arrive. From damage to one of the doors on the home, it was clear to officers the thieves had forced their way in. "Around 10:15 a.m. members of the Tactical Unit arrived on scene and made entry into the residence, locating and arresting two individuals without incident," police said. A 49-year-old man and 32-year-old woman have been charged with breaking and entering with intent, and theft under $5,000.
Get engaged: Group seeks input on improving veterans' services:
Sudbury will be included in a list of municipalities to host a series of outreach events to address barriers facing veterans wanting to access services. Representatives from the Military Family Resource Centre’s Veteran Family Program, Veterans Affairs Canada, Operational Stress Injury Social Support Peer program and the Legion Service Bureau have joined forces to bring a one-stop shop to six communities in Northern Ontario. The group will also be visiting with veterans, families, service providers and stakeholders in Haileybury, Timmins, Richards Landing, Bruce Mines and Sault Ste. Marie. Events will include town hall meetings, open houses, community tours, workshops for service providers, and presentations on a variety of topics relevant to the veteran and family community. They will also be available for individual drop-in meetings as requested. The group launches its outreach activities in Haileybury on Feb. 4. They will be in Timmins from Feb. 5-7, in Sudbury from Feb. 18-20, in Richards Landing and Sault Ste. Marie on March 4, and is concluding its outreach trip in Bruce Mines on March 5. A full schedule of events in each community can be found at www.veteranfamilyprogram.ca.
Sudbury.com sits down with filmmaker Valerie Buhagiar at the Indie:
Toronto filmmaker Valerie Buhagiar is a darling of the Canadian indie film scene, which is why it is so fitting that she'll be at Sudbury Indie Cinema this week for a retrospective on her body of work. Sudbury.com will be helping kick off that retrospective on Feb. 5 at around 12:30 when our editor, Mark Gentili, sits down with Buhagiar for a livestream chat from the Indie. Check out Sudbury.com this morning for the link to that event. Learn a little more about what it takes to be an independent filmmaker in Canada from a true veteran of the Canadian arts scene. The work of Buhagiar will be screened at the Indie over two days this week.
Wolves take on IceDogs in rare Sunday night game this weekend:
The Sudbury Wolves will look to get back in the win column this weekend as they visit the Oshawa Generals and Barrie Colts on Friday and Saturday, before returning home to host their divisional rivals, the Niagara IceDogs on Sunday night at 7:05 p.m. Sunday’s game is sponsored by Desjardins in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Fans will receive Desjardins light sticks upon entrance to the game. Visit a Heart and Stroke tables to donate and receive a paper airplane for the airplane toss during the second intermission for the chance to win a suite to a Sudbury Five game.
Five return home for games against Windsor and Halifax this week:
The Sudbury Five are back in action at home against the Windsor Express and Halifax Hurricanes this week with back to back home games. They will get set to host the Express on Thursday before battling the Hurricanes on Friday. Tip-off for both games is 7:05 p.m. The Five continue to sit second in the Central Division with a record of 7-5 through 12 games played. Several Five players are having strong starts to the season including Jaylen Bland who sits second in the league in average points per game with 25.6. Marlon Johnson leads the league average rebounds per game with 10.9, while Brady Skeens leads in average field goal percentage with 73.8.
Wednesday Weather:
Mainly sunny today with some chilly temperatures to start the day. Wednesday's high will be -8, feeling like -24 with the wind chill this morning. Becoming cloudy this evening with the low dipping to -11. Overnight low will feel like -17 with the wind chill. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
