Ian Arthur – Banning Plastics

 

Kingston and the Islands MPP Ian Arthur will be making a major environmental announcement at Queen’s Park in Toronto this morning.  Arthur will lay out the details of his private members bill calling on Ontario to ban single use throw-away plastics.  He is the New Democrats critic for Environment and Sustainability and will table the bill in the Ontario legislature next week.

 

School – Cell Phone Ban

 

The Ontario government is set to announce cellphones will be banned in school classrooms, starting in the next school year.  The province will issue a directive to all schools saying cell phones will have to be shut off in school unless they are being used for teaching purposes.  Enforcement of the ban will be up to individual school boards and schools.

 

Warrant – Retirement Homes

 

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the man who owned two Kingston area nursing homes that were closed last year due to fire code violations.

Mohammed Quazi of Mississauga wasn’t in court in Kingston last week when he was convicted on 45 fire code charges.  He was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay $212,615 in fines and court costs.

Quazi’s company owned Fairfield Manor East and West.  Both were closed by Kingston Fire and Rescue.  His license to operate the homes has also been revoked.

 

Terrorism – Kingston Court Appearance

 

The Kingston youth facing terrorism charges is due in court today for the first day of his bail hearing.  He was charged in late January after a police investigation sparked by a tip from the F-B-I and has been in custody ever since.  His identity can’t be revealed under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

He is facing charges of knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and counselling another person to deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device in a public place.

 

Domestic Abuse

 

Another case of domestic abuse in Kingston…this one involved a man under court orders to stay away from a woman.  Kingston Police say the woman was walking in downtown Kingston when he man approached her…began yelling obscenities…grabbed a carton of milk the victim was holding and squeezed it onto her.

Police located a man nearby and the 28 year old has been charged with assault and two counts of breach of probation.

 

Transport Driver Charged

 

The driver of a tanker truck that crashed on the 401 and forced closure of the westbound lanes between Trenton and Colborne for 23 hours has been charged with careless driving.

The truck was actually heading east when it hit the concrete median around 10:30 Sunday morning.  The tank containing tar flipped over the median into the westbound lanes and leaked tar onto the highway.

Nobody was injured in the crash.

The westbound 401 remained closed for the cleanup until around 9:30 yesterday morning.

 

Distracted Driving

 

Kingston Police says the message during their March Break distracted driving campaign is simple…leave the phone alone.

Deaths in Ontario from collisions due to distracted driving have doubled since 2001.

Kingston Police say taking your eyes of the road for one second can mean the difference between avoiding a collision or being involved in one.

Statistics show a driver using a hand held phone is four times more likely to crash than a driver focusing on the road.

 

Impaired Drivers

 

Prince Edward County OPP says there has been a 33% increase in the number of impaired driving charges handed out in the county during the first three months of this year…compared to last year…and a news release says it is not related to the legalization of cannabis.  Prince Edward County OPP say all 8 impaired driving charges were for alcohol.

The latest impaired driving incident involved a 35 year old man who was stopped on Main Street in Bloomfield for driving at a high rate of speed on March 7th. The man from Wellington has a date at the Picton Court House on April 10th.

 

Belleville – Accommodation Tax

 

Belleville is joining Kingston and other cities in establishing a mandatory accommodation tax for all hotels and other establishments like bed and breakfasts and Airbnb’s.

The 4% tax will kick in on July 1st and is expected to raise $900,000 a year.  The money will be shared by the businesses involved.