Paterson

Kingston’s Mayor says he’s in favour of high rise development in downtown Kingston.

Mayor Bryan Paterson gave a State of the City address to the Rotary Club yesterday.

He says it will bring more people into the downtown area – but told the gathering he’d be open to considering not allowing high rises on Princess Street to help protect the historical downtown area.

Paterson also told the Rotary Club he thinks funding from the federal and provincial government for the bridge over the Cataraqui River will be available.  He says the city has its $40 million share ready to go.

Sir John A. Day

While former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will lead Kingston’s Sir John A. Macdonald Day celebration on Monday…Idle No More Kingston is inviting people to a protest of what it calls Macdonald’s genocidal policies.

A news release from the group says it will hold a peaceful demonstration in City Park near the Sir John  A. statue on Monday.

It says Macdonald was instrumental in removing indigenous people from their land and in the death of thousands of indigenous people.  He was also influential in the establishing the Indian Act and Residential School policy.

Idle No More Kingston says knowing the truth about Sir John A.’s legacy is important to furthering a dialogue on how to reconcile past wrongdoings.

Voyeurism

A Kingston man who has been charged with secretly videotaping his love making with two women has now been charged with doing it again.

33 year old Benoit Vanasse was charged with two counts of voyeurism in August.  One of the women was identified but police still don’t know the identity of the second woman.

Police now say another woman has come forward to say she was also a victim.

Vanasse turned himself in to police yesterday.

He’s also been charged with breaking conditions he was under from the charges in August by contacting a woman on Tinder.

Corrections-Strike

The union representing correctional workers at Ontario’s jails and the Ontario government resume negotiations today in a bid to avoid a strike on Sunday.

The head of the corrections bargaining team for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, says they’ll keep talking past Friday if progress is made at the bargaining table.

Tom O’Neill says his membership wants to be declared an essential service, so their pay would rise with police and firefighters in binding arbitration, but they would also lose the right to strike.

CHEO Win

A Kingston Couple has won the CHEO Foundation 2016 Dream of a Lifetime grand prize.

The value of the prize won by Val Murray and his girlfriend Sara Porter is 1.7 million dollars.

It includes a furnished, 5,000 square foot home in Manotick, $100,000 cash, a Camaro and groceries for a year.

Theft Charges

Police say more charges could be laid against a Kingston man after a stash of stolen items was found on a property in Harrowsmith.

Police searched the property on December 22nd and 23rd and found four stolen ATV’s, a stolen hot tub and 13.5 pounds of marijuana.

31 year old Nicholas Kerr faces charges including possession of stolen property, theft and possession of a controlled substance.

Drug Trafficking

A drug raid on a Pine Street apartment turned up crack cocaine, crystal meth and hydromorphone was a street value of $8,630.

A 31 year old Kingston woman has been charged with four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

A 50 year old Kingston woman, a 27 year old man from Scarborough and a 27 year old man from Whitby have each been charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.