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Good Morning, Sudbury! Here are six stories to start your day

Here's what's happening around Greater Sudbury today
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Recent poll data shows that declining working conditions at Ontario universities presents a potential threat to the quality of education in the province.

Good morning, Greater Sudbury.

Here are some stories to start your day.

Poll: Fairness among university professors key to quality education:

Recent poll data shows that declining working conditions at Ontario universities presents a potential threat to the quality of education in the province. A poll by Mission Research was commissioned by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) to look at how Ontarians perceive the quality of education at the province's universities, looking specifically at precarious (contract) academic work. The poll data was presented at Laurentian University on March 21. Ontario universities employ a mix of both full-time and contract professors; those professors working on contract however are not given the same pay or benefits or access to resources that their full-time counterparts are given. This has raised some concern among those polled, as 68 per cent of Northern Ontarians want professors with job security and benefits teaching university courses. Among Ontario youth (15-17 years old) considering a post-secondary education, support was even higher, with 71 per cent stating this as their preference. A total of 2,001 Ontarians were polled online between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4, with 500 respondents identifying as Northern Ontario residents. More on this story can be found here.

Tess Richey: Charge upgraded to first degree in murder of former North Bay woman:

The charge against 21-year-old Kalen Schlatter of Toronto was upgraded to first-degree murder today in the Tess Richey case, say Toronto police in a news release. He had been charged with second-degree murder. Tess Richey, 22, was reported missing on Nov. 25, 2017, at 3 a.m. and was last seen in the Church Street and Wellesley Street East area after a night out with a friend at a bar in that downtown neighbourhood. She was found by her mother, North Bay resident Christine Hermeston, and a friend a few days later, on Nov. 29, 2017, at 3:30 p.m., outside a building undergoing construction. A post-mortem examination was conducted and it concluded the cause of death was strangulation. On Sunday, February 4, Schlatter, was charged with Second-Degree Murder. On Feb. 5, at 11:30 a.m., Homicide Detective Sergeant Graham Gibson held a news conference on the case. On March 21, the charge against Schlatter was upgraded to first-degree murder. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The new charge suggests that police believe Richey's murder was planned and deliberate. Schlatter is scheduled to appear in court at College Park on March 22. 

It's still a bit chilly for maple syrup, says local producer:

It's a bit chilly just yet, but a maple syrup producer in this region hopes to start boiling its 2018 run of the sweet confection sometime next week. “Essentially we need a couple of days at three, four or five degrees above zero,” said Tracy Séguin of Sucrerie Séguin Sugarbush close to Monetville, in between Sudbury and North Bay. She said the weather is forecast to warm up a bit next week, so her family hopes to produce syrup by the Easter long weekend at least. Even though there's no 2018 syrup, Sucrerie Séguin Sugarbush is already offering tours of its operations every Sunday afternoon from 12-4 p.m. More on this story here.

March 22 is World Water Day:

March 22 is World Water Day around the globe. This annual day highlights the importance of the earth's fresh water. It is also used to advocate for the sustainable management of fresh water resources. World Water Day is celebrated around the world with a variety of events. This year’s theme explores how we can use nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century. Environmental damage, together with climate change, is driving the water-related crises we see around the world. Floods, drought and water pollution are all made worse by degraded vegetation, soil, rivers and lakes. When we neglect our ecosystems, it becomes more difficult to provide everyone with the water needed to survive and thrive. Nature-based solutions have the potential to solve many of our water challenges. We need to do so much more with ‘green’ infrastructure and harmonize it with ‘grey’ infrastructure wherever possible. Planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains, and restoring wetlands can and will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihoods.

Get your early bird tickets now to see Letterkenny's K Trevor Wilson in Sudbury next month:

Laugh Out Loud (LOL) Sudbury Comedy Festival has announced K Trevor Wilson will performing live in Sudbury on Thursday April 19. Wilson will be the third main stage performance in the 2018 LOL season. You can catch him April 19 at the Fraser Auditorium starting at 7:30 p.m.  "Wilson, the Man Mountain of Comedy, has spent over 20 years in entertainment," said an LOL Sudbury news release. "A star from Crave TV’s award-winning 'Letterkenny,' he’s also appeared on 'What Would Sal Do', Showcase’s 'Billable Hours', NBC’s 'Darcy’s Wildlife' and A&E’s 'Breakout Kings'." As a stand-up comedian he’s performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central’s Roast Battles and multiple times at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Tickets for the April 19 show go on sale to the public on Friday (March 23) at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at www.lolsudbury.com, at the downtown box office, 40 Larch Street – Unit 103, or over the phone, 705-688-1234.

Gloomy outlook from Northern contractors on 2018 building season:

Very few contractors in Northern Ontario have something to crow about heading into the 2018 construction season. The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) released its annual contractor survey of the outlook on the industry in early March. Overall in Ontario, 32 per cent of contractors expect to do more business in 2018, than they did last year. Fifty-one per cent expect to do the same amount of work this year as in 2017. About 16 per cent are forecasting less. The OCS survey reveals a slightly less confident picture than in 2017 when 35 per cent expected to do more business and 14 per cent projected less. Aside from Northern Ontario, about one-third of contractors in each of Ontario’s regions forecasted an increase in their business activity in 2018. Thirty-four per cent of contractors in Southwestern and Eastern Ontario expect to do more work this year compared to 33 per cent in Central Ontario and 32 per cent in the GTA. Only 22 per cent of Northern Ontario contractors expect to do more work with 24 per cent forecasting to do less.

Thursday Weather:

Mix of sun and cloud for Thursday with the cooler temperatures sticking around. Today's high is only expected to hit -3. Partly cloudy skies heading into the evening with a low of -13. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.


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