Council – Red Light Cameras

Some members of Kingston City Council aren’t convinced red light cameras will be a good thing for Kingston.  City council decided last night to put off making the final decision on installing the cameras at 10 of the city’s busiest intersections.  It will make the decision after hearing from Kingston Police at the next city council meeting.

Downtown Shopping

It’s shop till you drop in downtown Kingston with shopping now legal every day of the year.

City council has approved exemptions to the Retail Business Holidays Act.

It means businesses in downtown Kingston can remain open on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Property Assessments

Higher property taxes are on the way for homeowners.

Ontario’s Municipal Property Assessment Corporation has started mailing out notices for the first time since 2012.  The agency says property values have gone up an average of 18 per cent over the past four years.

The assessed value is used by your municipality to determine your property taxes.

Noise Bylaw Changes

Proposed changes to Kingston’s noise bylaw are on the agenda at an open house in Memorial Hall from 4-7p.m. today.  The city conducted public consultation last fall and came up with proposals to make the changes.  The city is accepting comments on the changes until Friday afternoon and staff will prepare a report for the administrative polices committee in May.

http://www.CityofKingston.ca/City-Hall/Get-Involved/Noise-Bylaw-Review

Homeless Count

Volunteers will take to the street tonight to conduct a count of homeless people in Kingston.

Kingston is one of 30 communities participating in the first nationally coordinated Point in Time Count of homeless individuals.

The count will be conducted on the streets, at shelters and with data collected from detox facilities, hospital emergency rooms and other institutions.

The United Way in Kingston is coordinating the count tonight and says information collected tonight will help with the long term goal of ending homelessness.

Woman Charged – Facebook Threat

A Kingston woman has been charged with one count of uttering a threat for a message posted on Facebook about her ex-boyfriend.

Police say a 44 year old man and 37 year old woman broke off a relationship in March.

They’ve charged the woman with posting a threatening message on Facebook under an alias on March 20th.  Police say the message promised to pay someone to beat up the man and send the woman pictures.

Herc – Last Flight

A military Hercules transport plane flew over CFB Kingston and the Royal Military College on its final flight.  The Department of National Defence has donated the last Herc still in service to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.  The aircraft made its last flight yesterday morning from CFB Trenton to the museum in Ottawa concluding more than fifty years of service.

Grass Fire

Kingston Fire and Rescue says a grass fire on Accommodation Road was caused by an unattended fire in a small pit.  Grass and fence posts were on fire when crews arrived shortly before three yesterday afternoon.  Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire and put out hotspots.

Woman Wins $75,000

A Kingston woman has won the $75,000 top prize on the Instant Fruit Explosion scratch and win game.

Julie Kathryn Timbrell is a regular scratch and win player and says she started shaking when she scratched the ticket at Sunshine Variety on Weller Avenue.

Timbrell plans to use some of her winning to buy new furniture and appliances (Visit Website) for her home and says she’d also love to go to the Bahamas.

United Way – Volunteer

The United Way will recognize workplace volunteers today.

Workplace award winning will get their awards during a luncheon today at the Days Inn.

The 2015 campaign raised $3.4 million dollars.

2015 campaign chair Mike Ryan will hand over the reins to Colonel Stephen Kelsey – the 2016 campaign chair.