St. Catharines News Briefs

Tuesday May 31, 2022
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  • Last Day For YMCA. The Walker Family YMCA in St. Catharines will officially close its doors today after 28 years. Toronto based Atria Development has purchased the building and is hoping to build condo units on the site. (610 CKTB)
  • Accommodation Tax Approved. St. Catharines City Council approved an accommodation tax that will see guests at hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and short term rentals charged an additional 4% tax on their bill.  The new tax is expected to bring the city one million dollars in revenue annually. (105 The River)
  • Walk Raises $191K. The IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s was held Sunday at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls and has raised $191,000 for people in Niagara living with dementia. (610 CKTB)
  • Arts Festival Downtown. In the Soil Arts Festival returns to downtown St. Catharines from June 10 to 12. The 3-day festival will showcase music, theatre and visual arts. (Niagara this Week)
  • Race Track Opens. The 125th racing season kicks off today at the Fort Erie Race Track with the first race set for 4:05 pm. The first 2,000 fans will get a free opening day t-shirt with a program purchase. (105 The River)
  • St. Catharines Adopts Vacant Building By-Law. In an effort to drive re-development of derelict properties, St. Catharines city council passed a Vacant Building Registry By-law that aims to address issues associated with vacant buildings and encourage property owners to not leave buildings empty for extended periods of time. Owners with vacant properties will be required to pay a $350 one-time fee and $850 annual fee. (City of St. Catharines)
  • Travel Restrictions Remain. COVID-19 travel restrictions, which include vaccine mandates, random COVID-19 tests and answering pandemic-related questions on the ArriveCan app are going to remain in place at the border for at least another month. However, MP Tony Baldinelli said the ArriveCan app is a mess and requires many fully vaccinated Canadians to quarantine upon arrival in Canada from the U.S. (610 CKTB)
  • Land Use Study For Old GM Property. The City is launching a land use study of the Ontario Street corridor from the QEW in the north to Welland Avenue in the south, leading into the downtown core.  The corridor includes the former GM lands and will guide future decisions for land use in that area. (City of St. Catharines)