Author: John Draper

What’s Happening in Cobourg

John Draper

If the question is “what is there by way of entertainment in Cobourg”, the answer is “not much”.  It’s not zero although some of it – but not all – is virtual.  Way back when things were normal, the Victoria Hall Box Office had a whole collection of shows to book with venues such as the Concert Hall, the Loft, the United Church, the Firehall theatre and more.  Victoria Hall and the Box office are now closed – possibly for all of 2021.  However, the Loft is now operating albeit with fewer live shows.  A web site dedicated to Cobourg entertainment (Cobourg Calendar) was full of events – but most of these are now labelled “cancelled”.  There were also dinner… Read complete articleWhat’s Happening in Cobourg

Update on FSD Pharma and Kraft Building

John Draper

The company that bought the old Kraft building had big plans at first.  They wanted to be the biggest grower of Marijuana plants in Canada and they floated their shares under the ticker HUGE.  But in July 2020, they announced that they would be giving up on that idea and selling their Cobourg facility with an asking price of $19M.  They moved out and are now based in Toronto.  Work is now focused on developing medications and when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, they aimed at using Cannabis compounds for its treatment.  Their latest announcement is that they have a licence agreement with an Italian company to “develop U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved veterinary drugs for the treatment of… Read complete articleUpdate on FSD Pharma and Kraft Building

First Cannabis Store opens in Cobourg

John Draper

In January 2019, Cobourg Council decided to allow Cannabis stores in the Town and now the first one has opened at 38 King Street West.  The three owners already have a store in Kingston and they plan one in Campbellford. There are three others waiting to be approved – two downtown and one on Strathy Road.  If there are any others, they have not officially applied for a licence.  See the list below. Two of the other store applicants also have multiple stores and web sites.  Given the approx. eight existing stores in Roseneath, it’s not clear if there will be enough business for all stores to operate or even if the other applicants will actually open.  But Mary J’s… Read complete articleFirst Cannabis Store opens in Cobourg

Progress with Queen Street Condo Development

John Draper

In June 2018, Council agreed to sell the parking lot on the corner of Queen and McGill (opposite the Post office) to a developer.  One condition was that the developer include at least 64 parking spaces for public use which would replace those currently on the lot.  The development would also use the land of the adjacent old run-down curling building at 22 Queen Street.  At tonight’s Council meeting, Richard Tseng (with Virginia Lam) from EIE Corporation presented more details and asked for an amendment of zoning rules.  Given that it’s been almost three years, we could be forgiven for thinking that the project had died, but apparently not.  It will be impressive at 5 storeys with rooftop gardens.  At… Read complete articleProgress with Queen Street Condo Development

Harbour Repairs Clarified

John Draper

Council has supported multi-million dollar repairs to the harbour – the East Pier and harbour walls need to be fixed and engineering design work for this will be done this year.  But along the way some “options” were mentioned which implied that there would be provision for a Travel Lift which many residents oppose.  This is primarily because it’s associated with expansion of boat slips into the West Harbour.  But at last Monday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting, there was discussion of a motion to pay for pricing several “options”.  These included “Detailed Design of reinforced Concrete Boat Lift Platform”. However, it was clarified that this is not intended for a Travel lift but instead to support the crane… Read complete articleHarbour Repairs Clarified

Vaccine Update – March 10

John Draper

If you follow the Cobourg News Blog Vaccination page, the news below is a repeat of that.  Further, the vaccination page will be updated but this post will only be updated to correct any errors. Dr. Ian Gemmill, Acting local Medical Officer of Health with the local Health unit (HKPR DHU) today gave a comprehensive update on what’s happening with Vaccines in his Area which includes Cobourg. As previously announced, the Cobourg Community Centre will be used as a vaccination centre with the initial group being adults over 80.  (Officially, those born in 1941 or before). Volunteers will be given lists by family doctors and are now calling those eligible to make an appointment for them starting at the CCC… Read complete articleVaccine Update – March 10

Update on Cobourg Police

John Draper

In the midst of the pandemic, criminals continue to do their stuff and Police continue to catch them.  I don’t have statistics on comparative crime rates between 2019 and 2020 but based on what I’ve heard, they seem to be about the same.  Some Police reports say that a wanted person was observed and arrested and one wonders if the observed criminal was wearing a mask since that would make them more difficult to identify – but they perhaps are amongst those who object to wearing a mask!  There’s a wide range of criminals but most crimes are relatively minor – see a sample from the past week below. To see the full range, you can also see the Crime… Read complete articleUpdate on Cobourg Police

Covid-19 Update – Cobourg to Move to Yellow Zone

John Draper

If you have been following the statistics reported on this site (see links below), you will have noticed that the number of new cases has been declining.  Recognising this, the Province has now decided to move the designation of the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge region – which includes Northumberland – from Orange to Yellow effective 12:01 am Monday, March 8.  This will allow “some easing of controls … including for restaurants: the lifting of the 50-person capacity limit, the ability to stay open longer (to midnight) for in-person dining, and a limit of six people (up from four) being able to sit at the same table. Another change is that personal care services requiring the removal of face coverings can… Read complete articleCovid-19 Update – Cobourg to Move to Yellow Zone