This Week in Durham Stories

One of the world’s most accessible buildings can be found right in the heart of Durham Region

By Jennifer Foden  

If you were to drive by Abilities Centre, a non-profit organization in south Whitby, you may not know about its world-class reputation. The multi-award-winning 125,000- square-foot facility was lauded as the most accessible building in the world during the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. This accolade is thanks to its many accessible design features like handrails lining all the hallways and inner lane of the facility’s track, colour-contrasted floors for people with low...

CSWB Fund powers youth robotics event promoting inclusion and innovation

When the Stormbots Robotics Team at J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate planned their biggest event of the year, they envisioned something more than a competition. They wanted an inclusive, student-led space where youth from across Durham Region could connect, learn, and thrive through robotics.

Thanks to the Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Fund, that vision became a reality.

The grant supported a robotics tournament that welcomed teams from across the Region, including the Stormbots and their...

Durham Region is not just keeping pace with the global energy transition. They’re leading it

By Jennifer Foden  

Durham may be known as a leader in the agri-food and automotive sectors, but they’re also trailblazers in the clean energy space too. So much so, they’re actually considered the Clean Energy Capital of Canada. What does that mean exactly? According to Sandra Austin, the Region’s commissioner of community growth and economic development, it’s the size of Durham’s clean energy ecosystem—companies, jobs, educational institutions, et cetera—relative to the area’s population. 
 

Meet the new face of financial leadership in Durham Region

Big news from Durham Region! On December 1, Nicole Pincombe will officially step into her new role as Commissioner of Finance/Treasurer for The Regional Municipality of Durham.

What does the Commissioner of Finance do?

Nicole’s new role is a big one! As the Region’s Chief Financial Officer, she’ll oversee finances for Durham Region, Durham Region Transit, and Housing Durham. She’ll also lead five key divisions:

• Risk Management, Economic Studies, and Procurement
• Business Planning and Budgeting

Thanks to Durham OneNet, over 2,000 rural residents now have access to high-speed Internet

By Jennifer Foden  

What do a farm in Brock Township, a family in Ajax and an innovative tech startup in downtown Oshawa all have in common? All three have equal access to reliable high-speed Internet.

However, this wasn’t always the case.

“In 2019, Regional Council endorsed the broadband strategy with the goal of bridging the digital divide in Durham,” says Riaz Razvi, Broadband Program Manager for Durham OneNet. “The initial focus was on supporting and enabling private sector Internet Service...