Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your week

Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your week

Pausing Junction East, KED referendum and ousting Vagnini from the police board slated for debate at Tuesday’s city council meeting

A number of contentious topics are up for debate during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Included in the meeting is a series of motions from city councillors, including those that request: That Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini be ousted as a member of the police board; Staff to investigate the implications of suspending the Junction East project; Greater information about agreements related to the Kingsway Entertainment District; That a referendum be held on the KED during the Oct. 24 municipal election; A review of the city’s museums is also on the agenda. Although these items are currently either on the agenda or councillors have indicated they intend to present motions to add them to the agenda, it’s not guaranteed they all get debated. 

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Ontario reports 604 patients in ICU, 57 deaths in latest COVID-19 report

There were 57 new COVID deaths reported in today's Ontario update, all of which occurred within the last month, a number that is down from Friday's Public Health Ontario report. Public Health Ontario is also reporting that one death was removed from the cumulative total based on data cleaning. There are 579 COVID-positive patients in Ontario intensive care units, according to the latest provincial update. In total, there are 604 patients in ICU due to COVID-related illness, but 25 are no longer testing positive for COVID.

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Science North gets half a million in federal funding to promote COVID-19 vaccines

The federal government is spending half a million dollars so that Science North can try to convince more people to get COVID-19 vaccines. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is providing the money through its Immunization Partnership Fund, which is to last two years, until March of 2023. The project, called "Give Vaccines a Shot!", is expected to increase vaccine confidence through a complement of exciting informal and entertaining learning experiences targeted to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, said Science North.  The project is also intended to focus "on engaging youth, Francophone, Indigenous and other underserved audiences".

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Majority of city council confirms they are seeking re-election on Oct. 24

Those municipal candidates who cite a need for change in their platforms will face opposition from at least eight of the city’s elected officials in this year’s election. Of the city’s 13 elected officials, eight have confirmed to Sudbury.com that they are seeking another term on council in this year’s municipal election, set for Oct. 24. Those to confirm they are seeking re-election include Mayor Brian Bigger, Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti, Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini, Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier, Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland, Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre and Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc. Outside of Bigger, none have specified they are seeking the mayor's seat. Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh, Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier and Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann all responded by stating that they are not ready to announce anything at this time. 

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Python 5000 pothole-filling machine put to work in Greater Sudbury

Greater Sudbury staff have started putting a newly acquired Python 5000 pothole-filling machine to work. In a video posted to YouTube, the city demonstrates how the machine works. A lone staff member within the machine’s cab drives up to a pothole, air-blasts debris, drops asphalt into the hole, spreads it out and compresses it down using controls within the machine. The manufacturer advertises the machines as completing three times as much work as a crew would in the same amount of time. It requires one staff member whereas a traditional pothole patching operation requires three to five staff members and several pieces of equipment.

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Bundle up, risk of frostbite Monday night

The forecast is calling form mainly cloudy skies with a 70-per-cent chance of flurries. Wind up to 15 km/h. High -12 C, with a windchill making it feel more like -23 C in the morning and -15 C in the afternoon. UV index 1 or low. Monday evening will be mainly cloudy with a 40-per-cent chance of flurries. Clearing overnight. Wind becoming north 20 km/h gusting to 40 in the evening. Low -27 C, with a windchill of  -16 C in the evening and -37 C overnight. Risk of frostbite.