News
It was a tense afternoon weatherwise. The Prince Edward County region was under a severe thunderstorm watch for this afternoon and evening. There was a risk of heavy rain, winds up to 110 kph, large hail and even a tornado. But things were worse just north of us where there was an orange warning in effect. A severe storm tracked through the Newburgh, Napanee and Kingston areas. That storm caused power outages from high winds and heavy rain as well as property damage and localized flooding. Kingston was also under a red tornado warning but that warning and the one for Prince Edward County are now lifted.
Hastings- Lennox and Addington and Tyndinega MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman has been appointed to Conservative Leader Pierr Pollievre’s shadow cabinet. Pollievre shuffled his shadow cabinet today, assigning Kramp-Neuman the role of Ontario Advisor. In other changes, MP Michael Chong moves from Foreign Affairs to Finance and Alberta MP Shuvaloy Majumbar takes over US Canada relations.
Canada’s technical recession may already be over. Economic data released by Statistics Canada today showed the economy growing by a strong half a per cent in April. Mining, and oil and gas were big contributors to the increase in GDP but manufacturing and defence also expanded. The forecast is lower for May but the economy is expected to continue to expand due to growth in finance, real estate and insurance. Experts say it’ s too early to see a trend but the strong April numbers are encouraging after sluggish growth over the winter.
Tyndinega Township cut the ribbon on a new network of cycling trails today. The six signed routes range from a 14 km ride to a 49 km gravel route that explore various back roads and trails in the area. The trails are open to all ages and riders can follow the accessible signs marking the routes themselves or use a GPS app. A route information kiosk is located at the Tyndinega Township Recreation Centre. The develoment of the network of trails and the associated infrastructure was done in collaboration with Bay of Quinte Bike and supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
And the Swiss were worried that the heat wave in Europe would prevent yodelers from practicing their skills at the annual Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest in Basel, Switzerland. But in spite of 39 degree temperatures, the enterprising yodelers found a practical solution. They practiced and performed in the city’s fountains. The festival attracts more than 12,000 yodelers, many of whom dress in traditional alpine dress and belong to yodeling clubs, as well as more than 200,000 visitors but this is the first year fountains have been part of the event.
Sports
The first knockout round continues at the world cup today. Cote d’Ivoire and Norway faced each other this afternoon in Dallas and Norway came away with a 2 -1 victory. France and Sweden were scheduled to kick off at 5 pm in New Jersey and Mexico and Ecuador get underway at 9 pm in Mexico City.
LeBron James told the LA Lakers today that he will play a record breaking 24th season in the NBA – but it won’t be with the Lakers. The Golden State Warriors are expected to pursue James with other possibilities being the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Miami Heat.
Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey has been named the WNBA’s Eastern Conference player of the week. Mabrey had a record tying 53 points in Thursday’s victory over Los Angeles. The Tempo also set a new WNBA record for most points scored in a regulation game by racking up 125 against the Sparks.
In Major League Baseball action, the New York Mets are in Toronto for game 2 of a 3 game series. The Jays are back under 500 but they won last night. Toronto will send Kevin Gausman to the mound against Nolan McLean for the Mets. First pitch goes out at 7:07.
