Branch 560 Legion

The Branch 560 Legion on Montreal Street in Kingston says it will be forced to close if it can’t find organizations to rent facilities on a regular basis.

The Legion had relied on rental income from a seniors dance club and the club has folded.

It also ran into problems with a lottery to help pay for its new HVAC system and can’t keep up with the payments.  The Legion says it will be forced to close in the next few months if the situation doesn’t change.

Bellevue House – Closed

The main home at the Bellevue House historic site in Kingston will be closed this summer.

The tourist season is officially underway…but Parks Canada says repairs to the former home of Sir John A. Macdonald will mean the actual house at the site will not be open to tourists this summer.

The grounds that feature gardens and the visitor centre that has a number of interpretive displays will remain open with the repairs are being made.

Bernardo – Court

Convicted killer Paul Bernardo will stand trial in October on a weapons possession charge laid against him at the maximum-security Millhaven Institution. Bernardo is facing one count of possession of a weapon…a shank made from a pen and a screw.  Bernardo appeared briefly by video link in a Napanee courtroom on Friday.

Horwath – Kingston

The New Democrats say Kingston General Hospital was routinely overcrowded last year with acute care, medicine and mental health units operating above 100 per cent capacity.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath stopped in Kingston on Sunday to hold a town hall session on health care at the Tett Centre.

The New Democrats platform includes a $19 billion investment in hospital expansion over 10 years and it says it will open 2,000 new hospital beds immediately.

Horwath says Doug Fords proposed cuts would led to the loss of 260 jobs at Kingston Health Sciences and Providence Health Care.

The NDP leader has admitted to a major blunder in the party’s financial estimates.  The party counted a 700-million-dollar reserve fund as revenue…instead of an expense.  Horwath says it will affect deficit projections for several years…but if her party is elected on June 7th it will keep its spending promises.

Medical Marijuana

The first Smoke Signals Indigenous Cannabis Cup took place over the long weekend on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and there are no reports of arrests. The festival featured marijuana and marijuana products produced by Indigenous growers.

It was the brainchild of Tyendinaga Mohawk Jamie Kunkel.  Kunkel believes cannabis is an opportunity for Indigenous peoples to create economic self-determination.

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