On today’s CHMA local news:
- Construction numbers down in Sackville;
- Will there be a future for the Sackville Tribune-Post?
- Talking about gender diversity at work;
- Checking in with the Sackville Commons Co-op;
- and the Maritimes COVID update.
Two new cases in the Maritimes
New Brunswick reported another new case of COVID-19 yesterday.
A person in their twenties has tested positive in Zone 1, the southeast region. The person is a temporary foreign worker who had been self-isolating.
In a press release, Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell stressed the importance of self-isolation protocols, saying that when followed, they significantly reduce risk and help prevent outbreaks.
There are now three active cases in New Brunswick.
In Nova Scotia, officials have reported one new case of COVID-19 in the central zone, which includes Halifax. The province says the person is in hospital, and the source of infection for the new case remains under investigation.
Nova Scotia has two active cases of COVID-19.
Meanwhile over in PEI, no new cases have been found after hundreds of tests over the past few days.
The testing push came after a health care worker tested positive while working in a PEI hospital emergency room.
PEI currently has nine active cases.
Less construction this year could mean less revenue next year for town
The number and total value of building permits issued in Sackville are down from previous years, and that could mean stagnant or falling revenue for the town next year.
Town planner Lori Bickford told council on Monday evening that so far this year there have been 23 permits issued for a total of $800,000 in construction value.
She said last year at this time, there were 37 permits issued worth nearly $5 million.
In response to a question from Councillor Bill Evans, Bickford confirmed that the difference between the two years was due more to higher-than-normal values last year, rather than lower-than-normal values this year.
Click to listen:
“Obviously construction that involves institutional use or commercial use, those are, those are bigger scale projects that tend to come with a bigger price tag, which is is one of the main contributing factors to the change in the value.”
Mayor John Higham asked Treasurer Michael Beal to weigh in on what the financial impact of less construction might be.
The way the math works, explained Beal, one million dollars of construction in a given year would add less than point-two per cent (0.2%) to the assessed tax base for the town.
It takes $7 million in permitted construction to add enough for a 1% increase in tax base.
Beal says he and the CAO will meet with Service New Brunswick’s assessment division in advance of next year’s budgeting to see where things stand, but he’s not counting on growth.
Click to listen:
“At this point in time, I would see very little growth in our 2021 tax base, if any, and quite possibly a risk of small small reduction.”
No clear future for the Tribune-Post
In his report at Monday’s council meeting, Mayor John Higham gave an update on the future of Sackville’s weekly paper, The Tribune-Post.
Click to listen:
“First of all, let you know that I had some discussions with Saltwire communications about the future of the Tribune. Not at very high levels, but the discussion wasn’t promising”
Higham referred to a letter that was sent to some Saltwire subscribers recently, which made no clear commitment with regard to reviving suspended publications.
The letter said the company was “cautious but optimistic” and that it plans to “partner” with communities.
Click to listen:
“So some of the details of Saltwire’s suggestion was that they would need a minimum of 5000 subscriptions and a significant commitment to advertising from local businesses in order for that to take place. That’s a pretty high threshold for this area. I did talk a little bit with Amherst News about what their situation was, was it an opportunity for a joint paper of some type under those kind of terms? It’s a challenge. And there’s going to have to be a lot of work if somebody wants to pursue this, and I just wanted the public to know that if it’s something someone wishes to spend some time on and build that type of an opportunity, let me know and we’ll arrange a chat with the partners that be and I can give more detail about some of the things that I have heard in that.”
Saltwire announced a twelve-week shutdown of the Tribune-Post and other weeklies on March 24th, nearly four months ago.
The last story by local Tribune-Post journalist Katie Tower was also published on March 24th.
Trans at Work virtual panel discussion tonight
Trans At Work is a virtual panel and discussion about being gender diverse on the job, happening tonight over Zoom, starting at 6pm.
The virtual panel is part of a week of events and festivities being offered across the province in this pandemic Pride week.
The event will feature trans panelists, including musician and leader of BIPOC Pride Fredericton, Indigo Komiwonuhke [Com-ee-one-oh-kay] Poirier and LGBTQ+ advocate and professor Corey Hunter.
River of Pride Volunteer Tzomi [Zoh-Me] Parepa-Rose says tonight’s event will happen in two parts.
Click to listen:
“It’s kind of an interesting set up just because the audience splits halfway through. So that’s not something that’s standard in an event. Usually when you’re planning something you’d have your audience decided and that’s just who your audience is. So the first part of the event is more focused toward anybody in the community who has questions or would like to be a better ally.“
For the second part of the session, members of the audience who identify as transgender will be invited to join breakout rooms and talk with each other.
Parepa-Rose says the two-part structure is to ensure that trans participants receive information beyond the general basics.
Click to listen:
“The conversation is always going to be very different when it’s geared toward somebody who has very entry level amount of knowledge or experience in a situation versus people who live it every day and need practical tips.“
Anyone who wishes to participate in the event needs to pre-register.
Registration information can be found on the Facebook event page.
Checking in on the Sackville Commons
CHMA reporter Meg Cunningham has another instalment of the Check In. Cunningham called up Julia Feltham of the Sackville Commons to find out how to co-working and community space has adapted to the new normal.
Click to listen:
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CHMA Daily News is hosted Mahalia Thompson-Onichino, and produced by Erica Butler, with contributions from Bruce Wark, Meg Cunningham, Aura-Lynn Groomes, Geoff de Gannes, and James Anderson.
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