News

Copy by Will Pearson

We have two weather alerts to start this afternoon. The first is a warning of freezing rain with ice accumulation of up to 4 mm on some surfaces. The precipitation might begin as snow and ice pellets for some areas. And winds gusting to 60 km/h might worsen any tree damage. As temperatures rise above the freezing mark, freezing rain will transition to rain this afternoon. For locations over higher terrain, freezing rain might linger into early this evening. However, Environment Canada forecasts this freezing rain event will not be nearly as significant as the ice storm from this past weekend. The second alert concerns the rain, which could be heavy at times, amounting up to 40 mm., this afternoon through to tomorrow morning. Higher accumulations are possible if thunderstorms repeatedly affect the area.

Next, we have notices of meetings relevant for county residents.
First, we have a reminder of a meeting at 6 tonight in Shire Hall. Members of the community will have an opportunity to provide input on the municipality’s latest Draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law, which sets out rules for how land is used and developed.

The municipality and the Climate Action Plan Working Group will hold a community consultation this Saturday, April 5, from 10 am to 1 pm at the Wellington and District Community Centre. You can also attend other public consultations next Wednesday, April 9, from 4:30 – 6:30 pm at the Milford Town Hall, or on Saturday, April 12, from 12 – 2 pm in the Prince Edward Community Centre in Picton. You are invited to share your opinion on the best ways to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

And, finally, four meetings will take place next week to address poverty in the County. The first two meetings will be Monday, April 7, in the Sophiasburgh Town Hall at 2 pm and the Picton Town Hall at 5 pm. Next Tuesday, April 8, the meetings will be in the Wellington and District Community Centre at 9 am, and the Ameliasburgh Town Hall 2 pm.

According to a recent report from the Conference Board of Canada, consumer financial confidence has reached its lowest level on record. The decline in confidence in March reflected several experiences: a worsening in people’s current financial situation; their expectations of a worsening financial outlook; their anticipation of fewer job opportunities in the next six months, as rising economic uncertainty increases concerns about future employment prospects; and hesitations to make a major purchase. Consumer confidence has been on a steady decline since March, 2022, when the Bank of Canada began its cycle of interest rate hikes to curb inflation. And rising borrowing costs have significantly increased debt burdens. Subdued purchasing power, driven by persistent high prices, has further strained household budgets. Even with current easing inflation and falling interest rates, ongoing economic uncertainty remains a significant factor affecting consumer confidence. Concerns about the possibility of an escalating trade war with the US are also keeping Canadian households on edge.

Sports

In the AHL, the Belleville Senators host the Syracruse Crunch tonight. The Sens are currently 1 and 3 in their seven-game home stand, in sixth place in the North Division, three points behind the Crunch, and four points behind the fourth-place Cleveland Monsters, with nine games remaining in the season.

In the PWHL last night, the New York Sirens defeated the Montreal Victoire 1 – 0, still leaving the Sirens in last place, and the Victoire in first with a playoff position clinched. Tonight, the Ottawa Charge are at the Boston Fleet in the last game before the Women’s World Championship in Czechia from April 9th to 20th The PWHL season resumes on April 26 with three games remaining for each team.

After back-to-back losses to the Montreal Canadiens, the Florida Panthers are in Toronto tonight, in a battle for top spot in the Atlantic Division. Also tonight, the Vancouver Canucks host the Seattle Kraken, who have already been eliminated from the playoffs.

In the NBA, the Toronto Raptors lost to the Chicago Bulls last night, 137 – 118, ending their four-game winning streak, and officially eliminating them from play-in contention.

In MLB tonight, the Toronto Blue Jays play the Washington Nationals in the seventh game of a season-opening home stand. Thus far, they are 2 and 2 against the Baltimore Orioles and 2 – 0 over the Nationals. The Jays have three wins in a row, and are playing for a sweep tonight.

Finally, in the World Men’s Curling Championship, Canada defeated both Sweden and Italy yesterday, to sit tied with Scotland in second place with a round-robin records of 5 – 1. Canada plays Norway and Czechia today.