Domestic Homicide

A 78 year old woman is dead and her 76 year old husband has died in hospital after suffering critical injuries in what Kingston Police are calling a domestic homicide.

Police say they received a call from a man in a home at 630 Graceland Avenue around 7:30 yesterday morning.  The man said he had a gun.

When police entered the home they found the woman dead in an upstairs room…her husband was suffering from a gunshot wound.  Police found a handgun at the scene.

Police believe the man shot his wife and then shot himself.

Day of Remembrance

The Kingston vigil for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women takes place this afternoon at Sydenham Street United Church.  Doors open at 4:30 and the event begins at 5 p.m.

There will be speakers, a rose ceremony, music and a candlelight vigil.

The event is taking place to commemorate the lives of women murdered at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal 28 years ago.

It will also pay tribute to local women and other women in Ontario who have been killed through gender-based violence.

Apartment Vacancy

The apartment vacancy rate in Kingston is at the lowest level it has been in almost 30 years and is the lowest in Ontario.

The vacancy rate is 0.7 per cent according to the latest rental report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.  The vacancy rate in Kingston last year was 2.6%.

The report says a number of factors are at play including a lack of new apartment construction…but…the simplest explanation is fewer people have moved out of apartments and more people are looking for rental accommodation.

The report also says rents have increased by 3% since last year and the average cost of rent in Kingston is 11 hundred dollars a month.

Happiest Places

Kingston is ranked 40th on the Expedia.ca list of The 40 Happiest Places in Canada.

Expedia says it sorted through over one hundred thousand social media conversations for hashtags like #cheerful, #blessed, and #happy to make its selections.

Lake Louise and Banff are ranked #1.

Belleville made the list at #20.

https://www.expedia.ca/travelblog/40-happiest-places-canada/

Gord Downie High

There could be a Gord Downie Secondary School in Belleville.

It’s one of the five names being considered for a new consolidated high school in Belleville.

The school board will make a decision after input from the public.  The deadline for input is December 12th.

Downie – Ontario Poet Laureate

An NDP member of the Ontario legislature has introduced a bill to create the province’s first poet laureate and name the position after Gord Downie.

MPP Percy Hatfield says Downie was a poet, singer and advocate for Indigenous issues and it would be fitting to remember him by creating the title in his name.

Rogers – Jays for Sale?

Rogers Communications is considering selling the Toronto Blue Jays and a stake in media company Cogeco.  Rogers Chief Financial Officer Tony Staffieri told a communications conference in New York City yesterday the company wants to free up capital for other investments.   Staffieri said there isn’t a deal in the making…but he said Rogers doesn’t have to own a team to have the rights to sports programming…pointing to the company’s 12 year deal with the NHL.

Rogers owns this radio station.

Filed under: Apartment Vacancy, blue-jays, Day of Remembrance, Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and Girls, Domestic Homicide, Downie, Gord Downie High, Ontario Poet Laureate, Rogers