Buses

Tri-Board Student Transportation announced early this morning there would be no school buses operating today due to the weather forecast calling for ice pellets and the chance of freezing rain.

There is one exception…buses are operating in North Hastings today.

 

City Council – Development

Kingston City Council has decided it doesn’t want anything to do with changes to the planning act in Ontario aimed at speeding up local developments.

Council agreed to an amended motion last night from councilor Bridget Doherty saying Kingston will not support legislation that contravenes the Clean Water Act, the Great Lakes Protection Act and the Cataraqui Source Protection Plan and opposes the Schedule 5 which repeals the Toxics Reduction Act.

The motion was passed unanimously.

 

Council – Wright Crescent

City council has agreed to sell a portion of the 2 acres it owns on Wright Crescent and develop the rest for affordable housing. The former home for nuns was bought by the city for $1 million dollars in 2012.

The proposal approved last night will see the city sell 1.3 acres to CJM of Kingston.  It is proposing a six storey apartment building with 120 residential units.

The Kingston and Frontenac Housing Corporation will use the rest of the proposer for a 4 storey…40 unit affordable housing development.

 

Housing Crisis – Prince Edward County

A new study says Prince Edward County is facing a deepening housing crisis and it is holding back the local economy.  The study was done by the Ryerson School of Urban and Regional Planning. It has found housing prices have jumped by over 40% since 2006 and there has been a decline of nearly 10 per cent in the number of rental units on the market since 2011.

The recently established Prince Edward County Housing Corporation will take the lead on an action plan to tackle the problem.

 

Shooting – Third Arrest

Kingston Police have made another arrest in the case involving shots being fired at an apartment building on Fraser Street.  A 30 year old man from Brockville was arrested in Monday.  Police say he was the driver of one of the getaway vehicles after a group of three men opened fire on the outside of the building at 73 Fraser Street.  He has been charged with attempted robbery, attempted break and enter, two counts of attempted murder, four counts of recklessly discharging a firearm, and using a firearm to commit an offence in relation to the incident of January 29th.

Police arrested another man from Brockville and a man from Perth on the weekend in connection with the shooting and say they are still looking for another man who was involved.

 

KT – Bus Arrest

A Kingston Transit bus driver gets the credit for the arrest of a man for assault and intoxication charges on a bus.  The driver saw a man who was causing a disturbance on the bus pretending to throw punches at an older man around 7:00 p.m. on Monday.  The driver pulled over on Princess Street near Midland Avenue and tried to get the man off the bus.  Police say the driver was hit in the back of the head but was able to take control of the situation. He forced the man to the ground and held him until police arrived.  A 29 year old is facing charges.

 

Kingston Driver – 401

A 38 year old man from Kingston is facing charges after being involved in at least three collisions on the 401 and didn’t stop.  The OPP stopped a vehicle on the 401 near Highway 15 around 6:45 on Friday night after reports of an erratic driver.

Sean Ivall has been charged with dangerous driving and three counts of failing to remain at the scene of a collision.

 

Queen’s – Climate Change Coalition

Queen’s University has joined the University Climate Change Coalition.

It is a group of 19 leading North American research institutions and Queen’s is just the third Canadian University to joining the group’s collaborative effort to accelerate local action against climate change.  The idea is to share information on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lead the search for solutions to reduce climate change.

 

Downie’s Birthday

Today is a special day for fans of The Tragically Hip and its lead singer.

Gord Downie was born on this day in 1964.  He would have been 55 today – but cancer cut his life short and he passed away on October 18th of 2017 at 53.

Guitarist Paul Langlois posted a message on Twitter early this morning…It’s GordD’s birthday today. If he could hear me I’d say: To someone who is so loved and so missed by so many, I love and respect you, and we remember you fondly always, this is your day. love Paul xo

 

Lottery Winner

The luck of the draw has blessed a man from Glenburnie.

Paul Goudreau matched the last six of seven ENCORE numbers on the September 28th LOTTO MAX draw and won $100,000.  The winning ticket was purchased at Glenburnie Convenience on Perth Road.