Developer – High Rises

A commercial real estate broker in Kingston has come out in favour of Homestead Landholdings plans for high rise developments in downtown Kingston.  DTZ Eastern Ontario President, Peter Kostogiannis says the city needs to do whatever it can to encourage developers to build downtown and bring people downtown.

Kostogiannis says he made that call publicly 20 months ago and says the initiative by Homestead to build two 20 storey apartment buildings is exactly the step forward so desperately needed by the downtown.

The height of downtown developments will be a major challenge for city council this year.  There are several groups that have publicly said they are opposed to buildings higher than 4-6 stories in the downtown.

New MP Office

Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen has officially opened his new constituency office.

The office is located at 841 Princess Street near the Star Diner.

Gerretsen says part of the reason he moved the office to Williamsville is to help with revitalization of the area.

The offices of former MP’s Ted Hsu and Peter Milliken had been located in the LaSalle Mews in downtown Kingston.

Shared Services

The municipalities that make up Frontenac County are sharing services to help cut down on spending.

North Frontenac, Central Frontenac, South Frontenac, Frontenac Islands and the County of Frontenac have established Frontenac Municipal Information Services as the first step.  It will allow municipalities to acquire new computers and software through a shared service…something that should help reduce the cost and increase efficiency.

Man Charged – Domestic Violence

A man from Kingston is facing charges in a case of domestic violence.

Police say a woman reported four separate assaults…one in 2012 and the three others over the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Police say the recent assaults left visible injuries that were photographed for evidence.

A 23 year old man faces four charges of assault and one charge of uttering threats to cause bodily harm.

Impaired Arrest

A 20 year old Kingston man has been charged after police spotted a vehicle without its headlights on speeding on Old Oak Road.  Police say the vehicle narrowly missed a cruiser at 3:30 Saturday morning…almost hit a snowbank and kept going when they tried to stop it on Johnson Street.  The car (more info here about the place from where he bought it) pulled into a driveway near Portsmouth Avenue and hit the entrance to a garage.

The 20 year old now faces a charge of impaired driving.

Lighthouse Stolen

A lighthouse has been stolen from Wolfe Island.

The OPP is investigating the theft of the six foot tall lighthouse that acts as a well cover at a residence on County Road 96.

The owner reported the red and white lighthouse was taken sometime overnight Friday.

Woman Charged – Vehicle Theft

A 22 year old woman from Stone Mills Township has been charged after a Jeep was stolen from the parking lot of the Strathcona Paper Centre on December 23rd.

Police tried to stop the vehicle later that day on County road 38 near Hinchinbrooke but the driver failed to stop.

It was spotted again at the intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 2 in Odessa but failed to stop.

The vehicle was later found on Collins Bay Road in Kingston.

Lauren Hay has been charged with theft, two counts of flight from police and two counts of dangerous driving.