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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Province Will Try To Keep Group Home Clients In The City

Social Development Minister Sue Stultz says her department will do its best to keep 13 ousted group home residents in the city.

3 group homes for the mentally ill are shutting their doors in December and Stultz says their safety is paramount and province will do its best to keep them in the city.

The union for the 27 employees losing their jobs has been critical of the Department of Social Development, saying the province has not been making placements which led to the money drying up.

They have written to the Minister for funding.

Saint John Places In the Middle Of Business Survey

 The Canadian Federation of Independent Business finds Saint John ranks in the top 50 of 100 business friendly businesses across the country.
Atlantic Vice-President, Leanne Hachey tells CHSJ News they would like to see our city doing better than that.

She says it has room to grow and they would like to see all of the Atlantic cities in the top 20 if not the top 10.

Moncton has the highest ranking in Atlantic Canada at 16 out of 100 and the #1 ranking in the country goes to Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Trickle Down Economics Branded A Failure

Do tax cuts for the wealthier in the province translate into job creation for the rest of us?

That question is at the core of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Jean-Claude Basque of the Common Front for Social Justice tells CHSJ news there is no evidence the last tax break for the better off back in 2009 did anything except widen the gap between rich and poor.

Basque says the income tax cut did reduce government revenue by 325 million dollars.

Seismic Testing For Shale Gas Done In Sussex Before Town Council Meets

Unlike Hampton, Sussex Town Council didn't get the chance to have a say on whether seismic testing for shale gas would go ahead or not.

Seismotion, in behalf of Windsor Energy was to go before Town Council at a special meeting tonight but the testing has already been done. It happened last night

 As you might expect, Mayor Ralph Carr is not happy about it calling the action bad public relations.

Carr says he was belabouring under the misapprehension the town had the final say but concedes it looks like he was mistaken. 

When asked by CHSJ News what people in the town think about shale gas exploration, Carr estimates opinion is split right down the middle.

Saint John High Collecting For Romero House

If you have winter boots that are still in pretty good shape and you don't need, Saint John High would like to have them so they can be given to Romero House.

 A teacher at Saint John High Barry Ogden has been at this for a long time and seen a change in public attitudes over the years when, at one time, no one really wanted to talk about poverty.

Ogden says in ordfer to defeat poverty, they city will have to get rid of its slums and expand its post secondary school opportunities.

The school is also collecting, all year round, children's books for the food banks . The 26th annual food drive for the Community Food Basket in the South End will be getting underway shortly.

Occupy Saint John Protest Becomes Tent Village

The Occupy Saint John protest continues as a group of mostly youth are living in tents in King Square.
The movement is opposed to the growing separation between the rich and poor and what they believe is increasing corporate greed.
Carl Beardsell tells CHSJ News they plan to stay as long as it takes.

He says they want to stay at least until next Saturday but he says as long as they have two or three people they can stay as long as they want.

Beardsell says no one including the City police has asked them to move along.
He adds most people are supportive and some of the local businesses have made donations including food.  

 

New "Y" Facilty Will Be A Catalyst For The Crescent Valley

Saint John Portland MLA Trevor Holder says the new YM-YWCA facility to be built on Churchill Boulevard will be a game-changer for the neighbourhood.

He tells CHSJ News for many years the north end did not have an anchor tenant and it was something residents really wanted.

He says they have been telling him for years that they wanted recreational facilities nearby so they would not have to leave the neighbourhood.

He adds the new Y building will attract new businesses and help transform the Crescent Valley into a mixed-income area.

Sussex Council To Vote On Shale Gas Testing

The controversial issue of seismic testing for shale gas comes up tonight before a special meeting of Sussex Town Council where a vote is expected on whether or not to allow it to proceed.

Seismotion, which is working on behalf of Windsor Energy, would like to test on two pieces of land owned by the town along Highway 1. 

Mayor Ralph Carr says if town council votes in favour of allowing the testing to go ahead, it doesn't necessarily mean it supports shale gas development. 

There have been two towns in the province, Hampton and Sackville which have voted not to allow any testing to take place at all within their municipal limits.

Police Warn About PayPal Scam

If you use PayPal a lot, you need to hear this.
The Fraud section of the Saint John police service warning that users may get an email entitled  "Dear PayPal user" with official looking logos, graphics and format which provides a link to verify account info and identity.
City police describe this type of fraud as "phishing".

The police point out an email from PayPal will address you by your first and last name or by your business name and would never ask for sensitive information like your password, bank account or credit card.