Council – Ranked Ballot

Kingston City Council has approved a motion to have staff start the process to implement Ranked Ballot Voting.

City staff has been directed to provide a report on the process to implement the system by the end of June.  The city says the system will cost about $220,000 more than the current system.

The motion to use a ranked ballot voting system in Kingston passed by a vote of 12-1…with new councillor Simon Chappelle of Cataraqui-Loyalist District the only one voting against the motion.

Only 39% of eligible voters actually voted on the Referendum Question in the municipal election – but 63% were in favour of using a ranked ballot system to elect the Mayor and District Councillors.

The system requires people to rank candidates as their first, second and possibly even third choice, depending on the number of candidates running for Mayor or Councillor.

 

Obstruction – Kingston

A 38 year old Kingston man has been charged with trying to persuade a woman to not testify against him in a domestic violence incident.

Kingston Police sa6y the victim received numerous messages on social media even though the man had been ordered not to contact her because of previous domestic violence charges.

Investigators also say the man tried to convince the woman to change her testimony as well as denying the incidents occurred.  He faces charges of obstruct justice, breach of recognizance and breach of probation.

 

Tourism Survey

The 1000 Islands International Tourism Council says businesses in the region felt much better about the summer of 2018 than the summer of 2017.

It got responses to its annual survey from 1689 businesses in the region and found 70% were pleased about last summer and 77% were optimistic tourism will improve in the region over the next five years.

The results are in stark contrast with 2017 when high water levels and poor weather had a negative impact on tourism.

 

Holiday Fire Tips

Central Frontenac Fire & Rescue is urging everyone to pay special attention when cooking during the holidays, and to drink responsibly. Provincial statistics reveal that careless cooking is the number one cause of fires and the second leading cause of fatal fires.

Fire Chief Greg Robinson says, “All too often, these fires are started by unattended cooking and in many cases alcohol is involved.”

Smoking is another leading cause of fires during the holiday season.

Central Frontenac Fire & Rescue also is reminding everyone the law requires you to have working smoke alarms on every storey of the home and outside all sleeping areas.

 

Physicist – Humboldt Prize

A Queen’s University physicist has been awarded the Humboldt Research Award, also known as the Humboldt Prize.  It is granted to a maximum of 100 researchers each year.

The award recognizes Stephen Hughes contributions to optics and nanophotonics research.

Hughes says he is confident fundamental photonics research and emerging quantum technologies will have a similar life changing impact as computers have had.

The award comes with a cash prize of 60,000 euros and recognizes researchers at the peak of their careers.  Hughes will also spend a year in Germany working at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Berlin.