The LocalSKIM for Tuesday, September 28
- St. Catharines city council approved the renaming of Centennial Gardens to Richard Pierpoint Park. Richard Pierpoint was one of Niagara’s first Black settlers and a Loyalist who fought in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. (St. Catharines Standard)
- After a lengthy debate at St. Catharines city council, a tax rebate to convert the Lincoln Fabrics building on Lakeport Road into condos was approved as the site may be contaminated and could require costly remediation. (St. Catharines Standard)
- A health care announcement will be made at the St. Catharines hospital tomorrow at noon with Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health Robin Martin and Niagara Health Officials in attendance. (610 CKTB)
- A national vaccine panel is recommending that Canadians living in long-term care homes, retirement homes and assisted-living facilities should receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. The panel also recommended that moderately to severely immunocompromised Canadians receive three doses of an mRNA vaccine. (CTV News)
The LocalSKIM for Monday, September 27
- The President of Niagara Falls Tourism said Niagara Falls is starting to recover from the pandemic as tourists visiting the falls has increased and website traffic is up 83% from 2019, indicating increased interest in visiting the falls. (610 CKTB)
- The District School Board of Niagara has decided to allow spectators to attend high school football games after a petition asking the DSBN to allow spectators was signed by 2700 people. (610 CKTB)
- Niagara public health is in the planning stages of offering COVID-19 vaccinations to children between the ages of 5-11 as Health Canada approval is expected later this year or early next year. (St. Catharines Standard)
- A new video scoreboard for Welland Stadium is going to cost $23,763 more than expected. A staff report going to Welland City Council is recommending that council approve the $193,763 scoreboard and ask the Welland Jackfish and Canada Summer Games to cover some of the shortfall. (Welland Tribune)
- COVID-19 cases in schools continue to increase as more than 16% of Ontario schools now have COVID cases with 135 new cases reported Monday for a total of 1,604 school-related cases. (Toronto Star)
Niagara joins group to attract companies to Canada
- Niagara has joined an elite group of regions across Canada that are working together to attract top companies and talent from across the world.
- The Consider Canada City Alliance (CCCA) accepted Niagara as its newest member.
- The Alliance unites 14 of Canada’s largest municipal regions to build a sustainable and globally competitive national economy built upon the collective strength of each member’s ecosystem.
- As a partner, Niagara will work with other leading regions as well as with national and international networks of partners to make Canada the preferred location for foreign investment and trade.
The LocalSKIM for Friday, September 24
- The Niagara Region has implemented new mandatory training for all staff. The training will be a series of three short videos developed by the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre that will introduce staff to the history of Indigenous People in Niagara. (610 CKTB)
- A Niagara-wide family scavenger hunt will take place on Sunday, October 17th to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. Participants are encouraged to dress up in Halloween costumes and the cost will be $60 per family. (610 CKTB)
- Bayshore Groups and its directors were back in court on Friday for a case regarding the demolishing of a smokestack at the former General Motors property without a permit. However, the case was adjourned as the lawyer representing Bayshore has passed away. (St. Catharines Standard)
- The Ontario government is increasing capacity limits as indoor settings will have a capacity limit of 50% to a maximum of 10,000 people while outdoor settings will have a capacity limit of 75% to a maximum of 15,000 people for standing events and 30,000 people for seated events. (CTV News)