It’s Thursday July 7th. Good Morning I’m Karim Mosna with your daily news brief. In the news…
Service interruptions are still occurring for Kingston Transit users. For instance, for a few hours this past Saturday, one of the routes was reduced from a 30 minute frequency to hourly. According to Director of Transit Services Jeremy DaCosta, one of the biggest variables in service disruption is COVID-19.
He says, “The impacts of COVID are still real…staff on a daily basis may screen out of the workplace because they may have COVID or symptoms related.”
Another key factor is the layoff of part-time staff and reduced service during the pandemic.
He says, “Coming out of COVID as ridership is returning…we have a deficit of bus drivers…Every day we continue to hire staff…we have at least 7 more in active training and more that are planning to start training soon, so the situation is definitely improving.”
A gift will fund a music program for marginalized youth for the next three years. Sistema Kingston housed at Queen’s University has received a 533 thousand dollar donation from Bader Philanthropies.
Sistema Kingston Director Karma Tomm says, “Through group-centered learning and regular performance opportunities, we foster creativity and personal responsibility, and, of course, our goal is to spark joy.”
She says the donation is the most generous gift Sistema has ever received. The donation will allow Sistema to expand the program to the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, and provide more placement and learning opportunities to Queen’s students. The after school program runs from October to May and culminates in a final performance at The Isabel Bader Performing Arts Centre.
In-person summer camps have started up at Queen’s Campus after a 2 year hiatus. There are some brand new Q camps being offered this year. The Queens Summer Engineering Academy is launching a Girls Program, and a Black Youth in STEM program, free of charge. According to a release from Queens, these programs are aimed at reducing barriers for underrepresented groups. Queens Athletic and Recreation is also offering new Gaels Rugby camps this year. Additionally, there are drama, math and art camps. Annually, Q camps bring 3 thousand youth to campus and employ over a hundred post-secondary students.
Coming up at 10 this morning, a special edition of the Scoop hosted by station manager Dinah Jansen. It’s a Roundtable Discussion on the Constitutional impacts of Roe v Wade in the United States and comparative implications for abortion rights in Canada. Panelists include: Professor Nick Bala from the Faculty of Law, Dr. Paul Gardner of the Department of History and Dr. Ashley Waddington of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Queen’s University.
And that’s all for your daily news brief, I’m Karim Mosna. If you have any news tips email me: news@cfrc.ca