February 16, 2021
By Nate Smelle
No matter what season it may be, Think Turtle Conservation Initiative’s founder and lead program director Kelly Wallace has her sights set on protecting turtles and the natural environment in Ontario. While during the winter she typically hosts public workshops and presentations to raise awareness of what can be done to reduce the impact of human activities threatening turtle populations, because of the COVID-19 pandemic Wallace has had more time to study provincial legislation, and how it is affecting species at risk.
By means of her investigation, Wallace discovered that since the pandemic took hold last year at this time, the Ford government has been using Minister’s Zoning Orders – a provision under the Ontario’s Planning Act to override protections for Provincially Significant Wetlands, municipal zoning and heritage designated buildings- at an “alarming rate.”
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A mask mandate passed in a split vote Tuesday by Webster County Supervisors brought the county in line with a similar mandate passed by the City of Fort Dodge in November.
The regulation, first drafted and passed by the Webster County Board of Health Dec. 3, requires masks or face coverings to be worn at all times in most indoor public locations, regardless of how long one is inside or how close one is to others. Tightening the more permissive language of a November mask mandate issued by Gov. Kim Reynolds, it would also require use of masks outdoors when six feet of distance cannot be maintained from others.
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After eight months, Congress is on the brink of sending another relief package to President Donald Trump s desk. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo
DRIVING THE DAY
THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF and government funding bill is on its way to the House and Senate floor today. The House is likely to take it up in the morning late Sunday night, sources told us the Rules Committee plans to meet at 8 a.m., as long as the bill is posted by 7 a.m., although this is fluid. Expect a late-morning procedural vote, followed by a midday final passage in the House. It’s wild that Congress is going to try to vote on a relief and
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Following backlash from local business owners after passing a mask mandate that would subject them to penalties for noncompliance, the Webster County Board of Health amended the regulation Thursday, suspending civil penalties.
“They’re suspended to see how the public reacts and complies,” said Webster County Attorney Darren Driscoll, saying the Board of Health did not want to be too “heavy-handed” in their approach.
The mask regulation passed by the board on Dec. 3 would have added teeth to weaker rules at the state and city level with a civil penalty of up to $750 for the first offense and up to $1,000 for second or subsequent offenses. The regulation, which would apply to nearly all indoor and public areas, must still be cleared by Webster County Supervisors to go into effect.
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