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cITY OF kINGSTON
Proposed casino ignites debate City Council appeals to residents for input on bringing a casino to town B y vincent M atak Assistant News Editor A proposal to bring a new casino to Kingston has caused some residents to raise concerns over its effects on the city. Proposals to bring a casino to Kingston came in May after the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) devised a new five-year plan that would transfer casino ownership from OLG to private sector businesses. The OLG plans to determine a location for a casino in the E3 gaming zone, which includes Kingston and nearby Gananoque; opening a casino in Kingston would therefore mean closing the existing one in Gananoque. Mary Rita Holland, past NDP candidate for Kingston and the Islands, attended a public forum held by the City on Aug. 8 to discuss the issue. She said one of
the main arguments presented by speakers against the new casino was its effect on target populations, specifically young and old people on fixed incomes. “Considering the plight of these people generally, it’s a major problem knowing you’re attracting that demographic,” she said. “I’m not trying to be paternalistic and say people shouldn’t go gambling, but the city and OLG need to be aware of these issues and how these people will be affected.” She also said she thinks a new casino could drain local economic resources without any return investment. “If we get the casino, people from [Gananoque] will be unemployed and they will be entitled to get the jobs because they have the experience,” she said, referring to the nearby Gananoque casino. Around 200 people showed up Gaels running back Ryan Granberg rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns in Queen’s
pHOTO BY COlin TOmCHiCk
See Council on page 6 season-opening victory over York. See page 21 for story.
ENTrEprENEurS
Student business tackles travel market ‘The Kingston Rocket’ to offer students bus trips to and from Toronto for $25 each way DIALoGuE
B y R achel h eRscovici Assistant News Editor
Debating the merits of SONAG. Page 9
A new student-led business venture is set to rival popular transportation companies, including the Tricolour Express and Megabus. The Kingston Rocket, a low-cost busing service, was started by second-year Commerce students Bill Mei and Darren Cole, who met through their first year commerce classes. Mei and Cole created the company to solve what they believe to be problems with the transportation and busing options within Kingston and on Queen’s campus. “I don’t feel like there are enough options,” Mei said. “We’re really trying to bring more options to students and really give students a choice in how they want to get home.” Kingston Rocket will be offering a one-way trip between Kingston and Toronto for $25 dollars flat. A Tricolour Express a one-way ticket costs $42.94 with tax and a Megabus ticket can cost anywhere between $10 for tickets bought in advance and online to $44.97 when purchasing a ticket at the terminal. “The Rocket runs at the most convenient times at the same price
ARTs Interview with former Queen’s band Highs. Page 10
In focus Frosh week in photos. Page 16
every time and only needs to be booked at least a week in advance,” Mei said. “We’re keeping it simple. No hidden fees, no extra charges.” To keep costs down, the company will be renting school busses (rather than coach busses) from an existing chartering company whose name has yet to be released. Their new company draws inspiration from the student-run busing service called the FedBus at the University of Waterloo, which is a part of Waterloo’s Federation of Students. Initially, the Rocket will only run on Fridays and Sundays. During
their start-up, the Rocket buses will only run on major holidays and only from Kingston to downtown Toronto. Megabus tickets can be purchased for anytime during the week, but Tricolour runs only on the weekends as well. In the last academic year, students traveled with Tricolour over 13,000 times. Both Megabus and Tricolour offer trips to several places like Ottawa and Montreal in addition to Toronto. Mei said they’re looking at eventually making possible stops in Scarborough or Ajax. They hope to eventually expand
further to common destinations such as Ottawa, Montreal and Hamilton. Pickup for the Kingston Rocket will be on main campus and drop off will be at Union Station. The Tricolour Express also departs from campus, while Megabus leaves from the Kingston bus terminal on John Counter Blvd. Although it has yet to operate, Kingston Rocket has reached over 1,000 sign-ups and counting since it first launched in the middle of August. The sign-up system allowed Mei and Cole to gauge the response to See Rocket on page 6
FEATurE
Private school pedigree Strong evidence of private school graduate presence, says student B y M egan c ui Features Editor When Farialle Pacha came to Queen’s three years ago, one-fifth of her graduating high school class went with her. To Pacha, ArtSci ’13, evidence of Queen’s relatively larger private
school population was quite clear. “I have definitely observed over my past three years here that many private school students have come to Queen’s, myself included,” she said. A graduate of Toronto’s York School, Pacha was one of 10 who came to Queen’s, out of a
graduating class of 54 students. Most who chose other schools applied regardless. “I think the reputation can be problematic, as most people think that being from a private school automatically makes you snobby or entitled,” she said. See The on page 3