Author: Sam Allcock

The City of Prince Albert is celebrating a significant local donation that will enhance accessibility and user experience at one of the community’s largest public recreation projects. The Ismail family, long-time local business owners and community supporters, has contributed $50,000 toward the Aquatic Changeroom Entrance at the new Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre. The city announced the gift this week, highlighting the family’s sustained commitment to local initiatives and their role in supporting a facility expected to serve thousands of residents and visitors each year. The donation forms part of the Play it Forward Campaign, which is helping fund the…

Arts Orillia is bringing together young musicians from across the region for a seasonal celebration of music, announcing a collaborative youth concert titled Let it Snow, to be staged December 3 at 7 p.m. at the Orillia Opera House. The event marks a significant partnership between Arts Orillia, Brassworks, and students from Twin Lakes Secondary School, Orillia Secondary School, Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School and Kempenfelt Bay School. The concert highlights Arts Orillia’s ongoing commitment to supporting youth in the arts and providing opportunities for emerging performers to gain professional-level experience. Students will perform a variety of winter and holiday…

Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner has scheduled a December inquest into the death of David Johnson, nearly a decade after he died following injuries sustained while in custody at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton. The proceeding, announced Wednesday by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, will examine the circumstances surrounding the 67-year-old’s death and consider potential systemic recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents. Dr. Kenneth Peckham, Regional Supervising Coroner for Central Region, Central West Office, said the inquest will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. It will be presided over by Dr. David Eden, with…

Toronto-born, Ottawa-based vocalist, composer/arranger and tuba player Kim Kaskiw is turning a career-altering diagnosis into artistic momentum with the release of her new album, The Latin Jazz Fusion Project, a collection that blends jazz, Latin jazz, funk and fusion influences into an emotionally charged and deeply personal body of work. The album marks a major milestone for Kaskiw, whose lifelong attachment to music began in infancy. She recalls one of her earliest memories as sitting in a playpen, watching her mother play the piano and “shaking the bars of her play pen in frustration,” desperate to reach the instrument herself.…

TRUE Sports has moved to strengthen its executive ranks as it advances an aggressive growth strategy, naming former NHL goaltender and long-time hockey industry executive Geoff Sarjeant as its new president. The Toronto-based company announced the appointment Wednesday, describing it as a key step toward becoming “the #1 recognized hockey brand in the world.” Sarjeant, who joins the firm immediately and will report directly to TRUE Sports CEO, chairman and owner W. Graeme Roustan, brings more than three decades of experience spanning professional sport, major retail operations and high-performance athlete development. His career includes NHL stops with the San Jose…

Brantford City Council has approved a comprehensive business plan that will transform a former long-term care facility into a multi-stage housing hub, marking one of the most significant steps to date in the city’s long-term Housing and Homelessness Strategy. The ratification, made during Tuesday night’s council meeting, authorizes the City to move forward with a phased redevelopment of the 4.82-acre Fox Ridge site at 389 West Street. The Fox Ridge Business Plan lays out a three-phase roadmap intended to expand emergency shelter capacity, introduce transitional and supportive housing, and ultimately deliver new permanent affordable housing tailored to community needs. City…

Peterborough Musicfest is rolling out its largest Diner’s Book to date, offering local residents a way to explore the region’s culinary scene while helping sustain one of Ontario’s longstanding free summer concert series. The 2026 edition, released November 28, features 85 dining offers from restaurants, cafés, pubs and food establishments across Peterborough, the Kawarthas and surrounding communities. Priced at $30, the Diner’s Book provides more than $1,000 in potential savings through “buy one entrée, get the second half price” promotions and additional special offers. Revenue from every book sold is directed toward funding Musicfest’s free-admission concert model, which relies heavily…

Ontario is expanding its efforts to recruit the next generation of skilled trades workers with a $2.6-million investment aimed at bringing hands-on training directly to students. The provincial government announced Wednesday that the funding will allow Skills Ontario to add two new trades and tech trucks to its existing fleet, broadening access to interactive learning at a time when employers face mounting labour shortages. The investment, unveiled in Mississauga, comes as part of the government’s long-term workforce development strategy and its broader plan to support Ontario’s growing need for skilled trades talent. The new mobile units—essentially technologically equipped classrooms on…

Ontario has approved a multibillion-dollar refurbishment of four reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, a move the provincial government says will secure tens of thousands of jobs, bolster energy reliability, and strengthen the province’s position in global nuclear markets. Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce announced Wednesday that the government has given Ontario Power Generation (OPG) the green light to overhaul the station’s “B” units—reactors 5 through 8—in a project expected to extend the facility’s operating life by as much as 38 years. The work is slated to begin in early 2027, pending final licensing by the Canadian Nuclear…

A new entrant is preparing to disrupt the rapidly expanding mobile entertainment market. Chera TV, a female-founded streaming platform based in Los Angeles, is gearing up for its 2026 debut with a model that blends cinematic production standards with vertical, mobile-optimized content designed for modern viewing habits. Positioning itself as both a content producer and a creator-support ecosystem, Chera TV is targeting an underserved segment of the streaming landscape: high-quality, vertically formatted programming built specifically for smartphones. The company says its approach reflects a shift in how audiences consume media, with mobile-first platforms driving more daily viewership than traditional streaming…