Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Zulich group pitches plan to re-purpose Sudbury Arena:
As the debate rages in the city over whether a new events centre should be built on The Kingsway or downtown, one proponent is insisting both locations could benefit from The Kingsway location. Wolves owner Dario Zulich said during a news conference Thursday that the Elgin Street rink could be converted into a 1,200 seat auditorium to host music, comedy and other live events. The rest of the building could be used for a number of things, he said, including a new art gallery or library currently under consideration. The area behind the arena could house a new hotel, which he said would be key in supporting a new structure. Find the full story here.
BIA: Music city plan proves arena should be downtown:
Downtown Sudbury chair Jeff MacIntyre says he likes Dario Zulich's music city proposal for downtown Sudbury – but he liked it better when it was called the Synergy Centre. "It basically looks a lot like the Synergy Centre, stuck in the old Sudbury Arena," MacIntyre said Thursday, minutes after Zulich made his pitch at Fromagerie Elgin. "I'm ecstatic! They just made the case for the downtown events centre. They showed that the demand is here for the urban growth. They showed that hotels are willing to build in our community, which helps pay the cost of the new events centre." Zulich, who wants to see the new arena/events centre built on land he donated to the city on The Kingsway, said part of the old arena could become a 1,200-seat venue for music and comedy acts, while the rest of the building could house a new art gallery or library. Sudbury.com will have this story in its entirety later this morning so be sure to check back with us.
Outgoing LU prez backs downtown event centre in letter to mayor:
Supporters of a downtown event centre keep coming out of the woodwork following the release Monday of a report on the preferred location for this potentially $100-million project. The latest is from Dominic Giroux, the current president of Laurentian University and soon-to-be CEO of Health Sciences North. In a letter sent to Mayor Brian Bigger yesterday, Giroux pledges his support for a downtown event centre. Find out more on this story here.
$8.25M from province for Place des Arts; It's now the feds' turn:
After announcing Thursday the province is chipping in a total of $8.25 million to the Place des Arts project, Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault jokingly threw out this little barb — “No pressure, Paul.” He was referring to the work local MPs Paul Lefebvre and Marc Serré now need to do at their level of government to bring federal funding to the table for the downtown shared arts facility for Francophones. With the $5 million approved by Greater Sudbury city council last year, the provincial funds and a Place des Arts capital campaign reaching the $1 million mark, funds for the project are at the 50 per cent mark. Read more on this story here.
Sears Home Store among casualties of retailer's financial troubles:
Beleagured retailer Sears Canada is closing 59 stores and laying off some 2,900 people, and among the casualties is the Home Store in Sudbury. The court-ordered restructuring comes in the wake of the insolvent retailer applying for and receiving a creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Sears has a month (30 days) to restructure. Its continued operation in the meantime is facilitated by $450 million in fnaincing (so-called debtor-in-possession financing). As part of the process, Sears is shuttering 20 Sears stores, 15 Sears Home Stores, its entire outlet division (10 stores) and 14 Sears Hometown stores. The remaining Sears brand stores will remain open. Among the Home Stores to close is the Sudbury location, off Marcus Drive in the big box development on the hill.
Appeals judge overturns acquittal in Sudbury drunk driving case:
A Toronto man caught drunk driving on Paris Street in 2014 should have been found guilty, despite a delay in him taking an Intoxilyzer test, an appeals judge has ruled. The man initially beat the charge at trial in 2016 when the judge ruled that police had not given the man the test as “soon as practicable,” as required by the Criminal Code. The trial judge ruled that police could not justify 37 minutes of the 70 minutes between the man's arrest and him taking the test. The 37 minutes constituted an “unreasonable delay,” the trial judge ruled, and the man was acquitted. Read the full story here.
Sudbury is in critical need of blood donations:
National Blood Donor Week (June 13-18) is typically a time to celebrate donors across the country. This year, however, Canadian Blood Services is focused on a critical need for blood donations and is urging Canadians to make an appointment right away to donate before July 1. Donors are very busy and have lots of demands on their time. They are often already active in their communities, managing work, families, friends and many other activities. This sometimes leads to blood donation dropping down the list of priorities. With last week’s launch of National Blood Donor Week, Canadian Blood Services is still urging Canadians to put blood donation at the top of their list of things to do. Find out how and where you can donate by visiting blood.ca.
Friday weather:
Hopefully you've got your umbrella ready, because it looks like there's going to be a lot of rain in the coming days. Friday will be mainly cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Today's high will be 23. Partly cloudy this evening with chances of showers and the low dropping to 10. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
