Ontario Morning - Thursday April 25, 2024

As of July 12th, you'll be able to drive some 400 series highways at the new speed limit of 110 km/h.Lewis Smith is a member of the Canada Safety Council. He shares his perspective on this decision...and what it could mean for road safety. Libraries are not just a place to borrow books, but a place where communities gather. So the Barrie Public Library hired a community navigator to help the city's vulnerable individuals using the institution. We spoke to social worker Ayesha Karim-Mian about her new position.Deborah Howe is a homicide detective from Barrie Police who also wears a different hat - as a family liaison officer.She tells us about her role entering a family's life when their world has turned upside down. 

Author Nicola Ross takes us to the Bruce Trail, in which she walks from Niagara to Tobermory in her own creative way in her newly released book: 40 Days & 40 HikesShe talked to us about how she covered 900 kilometers and why she decided to write a book about it.

Last January Port Hope's council decided to look for a twin city among Ukrainian municipalities. It found Nadvirna,  a town on the western side of the country, not far from the Carpathian Mountains. We spoke to the Mayor of Port Hope, Olena Hankivsky, about this budding relationship.The  Theatre of Orangeville is playing an original play called The Darktown Strutters' Ball. The play takes the audience on a musical journey, honoring artists from Nat King Cole to Bob Marley. Playwright Leslie McCurdy was overjoyed to chat with us about the show.

After 30 years of volunteering, Joanne Langlois has become the new United Way campaign chair for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. We spoke to her about her plans for the role, and where she sees the greatest needs right now. Huron County is hoping to keep its residents close to home. It launched a campaign to retain its working age residents, starting with two billboards. We spoke to Clara Leney,  a workforce coordinator for Huron County, about how the campaign is going.Innisfil resident Ninko Pangilinan was recently seen on season two of Canada's Ultimate Challenge. The reality TV competition features twenty players, divided into five teams, facing incredible physical challenges in obstacle races all across the country. We spoke to Ninko about his experience.

The Youth Haven Centre in Barrie is set to be demolished next month to make way for a bigger facility. The new space will have increased capacity and access to services like healthcare. We spoke with Lucy Gowers, the executive director at Youth Haven, about the renovations.Each year, hundreds of people die in workplace accidents in Canada. Tragically, many were preventable. This weekend, Johanna LeRoux, mother of Michael LeRoux, will be sharing her son’s story at an event to mark the annual National Day of Mourning on Sunday. For almost 20 years the international event has been inviting all lovers of rivers, lakes and oceans to connect with the paddling world through film.Now the festival makes a Stop in Orillia this weekend. We spoke to Dave Mitchell, Director for Associate Members, about the event.

Local news highlights from April 25, 2024 edition of ONTARIO MORNING:KINCARDINE PIER SAFETY​After two decades of fatal and near-fatal drowning incidents, Kincardine is looking at pier safety upgrades. City councillor and chair of the Ad-hoc Pier Safety Committee Rory Cavanagh described what is coming to improve water safety in the area.TINY TOWNSHIP, BIGGER BUILDINGTiny Township is growing -- and so are the needs of its council. But a $27 million dollar new municipal office building is too much for some residents, who have been protesting the project. Mayor David Evans explains why bigger spaces are becoming necessary for small communities like his.BIRD BARN SWANSThe Harrison Park bird barn in Owen Sound has long been a haven for feathered friends, but now a biologist is recommending to council that some of the majestic royal swans may be allowed to die off. We hear why, from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Christopher Sharp, a population management biologist .

Prince Edward County has recruited six new physicians and introduced a pilot project that included significant funding for the overwhelming paperwork doctors have to deal with. Now current doctors are taking on new clients and the county has renewed the project. We spoke with Adam Hambly, the head of Physician Recruitment with Prince Edward County Family Health Team, about it.Trent University and Fleming College are now partnering with SpacesShared to tackle affordable housing for students. SpacesShared matches students with older hosts for a home sharing arrangement. We spoke to Jen Coulter, the director of student housing and residence life at Trent University, about how it works.Richard Peddie's life is a journey filled with curiosity. Now this curiosity has taken him to small towns across Ontario like Picton and Huntsville to find out how they are preserving their history and what makes them so resilient. We spoke to him about his chronicles.The Keep Refillery in Kingston is tackling plastics in a big way. They've diverted hundreds of thousands of bottles from landfills in just 4 short years. We spoke with the owner, Jacquie Rushlow, about her war against plastics.Bradford West Gwillimbury Library is celebrating Sikh Heritage Month with the works of Canadian artist Kanwar Singh. Singh's Art of Punjab exhibit allows people to view his art with a lens towards sikh culture and history. It's meant to recognize the important contributions that Sikh Canadians have made to the province's cultural fabric. We spoke to Kanwar Singh themselves for details.

The City of Kawartha Lakes has confirmed cases of pertussis, which is also known as the whooping cough. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is now warning parents about the illness that touches the most vulnerable among us. We spoke with Marianne Rock, the manager of communicable disease prevention and control, about the rising danger.The Mayor of Haldimand County is rejecting the accusations from the Minister of Municipal Affairs about their failure to reach housing targets. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Callandra sent a letter to the County accusing them of failing to meet the target and The county has demanded a recount. We spoke to Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley, about the accusations. A small group in Merrickville-Wolford Township celebrated a huge victory against the town council vote to ban the pride flag. It came after a motion to prohibit the flag from being flown at Town Hall which was meant to declare June as Pride Month. We spoke to Carlson Card, an advocate who spoke up at the council meeting against the ban, about the celebration.Many local business owners expressed their fears and frustrations about a budding homeless tent encampment  showing up in the heart of downtown Peterborough core. Now the Trinity Center decided to respond to those fears. Christian Harvey, the executive director, gave us his perspective.

Recently, Peterborough finished building a complex of  tiny homes for 50  homeless people after shutting down an contentious tent encampment on Wolfe Street. But now there are renewed fears and frustrations of another tent city popping up at Trinity Centre, a social agency site run by One City Peterborough.  We spoke to Joel Wieba, Vice President of the Peterborough and Kawartha Chamber of Commerce, about these echoed frustrations.A mini forest project is developing in Smiths Falls as 300 trees will be planted in Corbett Park across from its new play structure. The project is driven by the Rideau Environmental Action League with the help of the town and local volunteers. We spoke with Lead Project Organizer, David Thornley, about the project. 

The Kingston Symphony is holding their annual vinyl sale all this weekend. Longtime volunteer Dan Murphy went 'on the record' to highlight some of the musical gems in the massive record collection. Feeling the pain when you pay for your grocery bills ? You're not alone.A Reddit post that encourages customers to boycott Loblaws has over 52 thousand signatures.....including that of Lisa Peterson, an Innisfil pig farmer. She talks about what the boycott it could mean to her and other farmers.Swifties will soon have their 'wildest dreams' come true at Queen's University thanks to a new course being offered in the fall. We spoke to Swiftie professor Mohamed Khimji, who told us all about Law (Taylor's Version).