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Friday, January 7, 2011

Lily Lake Is Not Safe For Skating

The City of Saint John is advising everyone that Lily Lake is not safe for skating.
You are asked to stay off the ice until the ice surface is officially opened by City officials.

For more information, contact Leisure Services at 658-2908.

Upper Floor Development Will Be Part Of New Municipal Plan For City

Part of the new municipal plan involves developing the upper floors of buildings in the uptown in a bid to boost the population of the city centre.

This has been talked about for years but nothing has happened. Urban strategist Mark Reid tells CHSJ News there will have to be changes with some flexibility and softening of the building code.

Building owners complain one major impediment to developing the upper floors is the cost of installing elevators.
 
Reid says you don't need to build huge high rises like you see in such cities as Toronto. He maintains buildings that are five stories high work very well as a way to increase population.

You Can Influence The Conversation With The Premier

The Saint John Board of Trade and the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce teaming up to give anyone the chance to ask the Premier a question.
By going to the Board of Trade website you can submit a question for David Alward that will be asked during the State of the Province Address in Fredericton on the 27th.

BOT President Imelda Gilman tells CHSJ News they encourage their members, the business community and everyone to get involved and post a question.  She says the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce will be posting all those questions on their website, shortlist them and on the day of the event have people vote on the questions they would like the Premier to be asked.  To submit a question, click here

Saint John Woman Sentenced To Prison In Death Of Her Friend

Emotions run high at another sentencing in a Saint John courtroom.

19 year old Erika Simms of Loch Lomond Road has been handed 3 years in prison with a 5 year ban on driving for impaired driving causing the death of her friend, 19 year old Chad Simon. He was killed on New Year's day of last year when her car speeding along Sand Cove Road went out of control and collided with a hydro pole.

Simms had consumed alcohol, marijuana and cocaine before getting behind the wheel. She was speeding at 91 kilometers an hour in a 50 kilometer an hour zone.

Chad's mother, Cynthia broke down in tears several times reading her victim impact statement to the court telling Judge Bill McCarroll she has a hole in her heart and not a day goes by she doesn't feel haunted and tormented calling Chad the glue that held her family together.

The 3 year sentence was a joint recommendation from the prosecution and defense. While accepting the recommendation, Judge McCarroll says two families have been devastated.

More People Were Working Last Month

A nice drop in the unemployment rate in the City last month.
It was 6.3 per cent last month down from 7.0 in November.
Provincially, it went down as well from 10.3 in November to 9.4 last month.
Across the country, the rate is unchanged from November at 7.6 per cent.

An additional 22 thousand jobs in December were enough to keep pace with an increase in the size of the labour force.

Construction Of West Side Metal Shredder Not Expected For A Few Weeks Yet

There seems to be some confusion about when construction will begin on a metal shredder at port property on the lower West Side.

There was a report it would start Monday but a spokesperson for American Iron and Metal tells CHSJ News the company is still waiting for final approval from the province and she doesn't expect construction to get underway until mid February.

Stephen Campbell, who chairs the Board of Directors, at the port tells CHSJ News this won't be as disruptive to the neighbourhood as people fear. In fact, he describes the operation as "cutting edge" and predicts it will revitalise the area.

The Environment Department wants the company to take on an independent noise consultant and monitor the air quality.



Saint John Is Losing West Jet

WestJet is pulling out of Saint John.

The president and CEO of the Saint John Airport Authority, Bernard Leblanc says the airline told him just before Christmas that it would not be back in May to offer its seasonal service to Toronto.

LeBlanc says traffic was down about 20 per cent last year over previous years.

The airline began offering flights to Toronto from May to October in 2007.

The loss of WestJet means Saint John now has two carriers........ Air Canada Jazz and during the winter, Sunwing.

Saint John Board of Trade president Imelda Gilman calls the news ``disappointing.''



Market Square Telethon Tomorrow To Aid Flood Victims

A 12-hour telethon coming up tomorrow at Market Square and other locations to help flood relief efforts began with two Fundy High students. The performers include Gene O'Connor, Steve Waylon, Devin Cook and Ryan Leblanc.

A live webcast can be found at http://www.bellaliant.net/.

Organizer Paul Evans tells CHSJ News he learned about Justin Gosse and Jonathan Barrieau of St. George hosting their own fundraiser in Pennfield through his wife.

Bell Aliant is donating $10,000 to the cause and will be providing the webcast at http://www.bellaliant.net/.

You can donate $5 automatically by texting "REDCROSS" to 30333.

For more info on tomorrow's telethon which begins at 10am, go to our website...country94.ca and click news.