Garbage bag bylaw passes in third reading

A new Kingston bylaw that restricts garbage collection to one bag per week per household comes into effect on Sept. 10.

The bylaw passed in its third and final reading at City Council on Aug. 14, with eight councillors in favour and five against. The new bylaw applies to all individual households with access to green bins.

Residents will be required to purchase tags for extra garbage bags at $2 each. Tags can be ordered on the city’s website, as well as purchased in person at 17 locations including the AMS office.

Aims of the reduction includes increasing the volume of recyclables from 47 per cent to 65 per cent by 2012, as well as reducing waste in Kingston.

— Vincent Matak

Staff union agreement ratified

Voters from Queen’s and members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010 opted to ratify the first collective agreement between the university and the union.

The USW at Queen’s represents administrative staff at the University.

Over 90 per cent of the 697 people that voted were in favour of the agreement.

The collective agreement aims to provide consistency for the terms and conditions of employment at Queen’s. It also aims to provide an effective way for staff concerns to be resolved through a grievance process. Collective bargaining between Queen’s and USW started in November 2011.

A tentative collective agreement was reached on July 5, and staff reviewed the agreement in mid-July, and voted on August 1, 2 and 7.

— Rosie Hales

New Tim Hortons on campus

A new Tim Hortons outlet is slated to open in the JDUC by mid-September.

Construction of the new site was announced on Aug. 2. The University was unable to provide a specific date for its opening.

The new Tim Hortons, the third on campus, will be located on the first floor of the JDUC, with a set-up similar to the second Tim Hortons currently in the Biosciences Complex. Students will be able to quickly buy coffee, tea, and baked goods. The new location won’t accept debit or credit cards. It will occupy a space formerly used by the Queen’s Post Office, which closed on June 30, 2011.

— Rachel Herscovici

PhD students receive graduate scholarship

Five Queen’s students have received the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

The students – Emma Dargie (Psychology), Jay Jantz (Neuroscience), Yingli Rao (Chemistry), Shane McIntosh (Computing) and Kerri Froc (Law) – will receive $50,000 a year for three years towards their research.

The Vanier scholarships are awarded each year to Canadian and international students who are pursuing their PhDs at Canadian institutions. Recipients are nominated by their school and are selected based on academics, proposed research and demonstrated leadership.

— Holly Tousignant