Linked Header

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Atlantic Premiers Discuss EI Changes In Saint John

The four Atlantic premiers getting a look at a draft of a report put together of the potential impact of federal changes to Employment Insurance on Atlantic Canadians. 

The Premiers were asked about the urgency of getting this report out since its been a year since the changes were first announced.
 

PEI Premier Robert Ghiz says they were still be work to be done after this report comes out.

Ghiz says we won't see the full impact of the changes to E.I. for another year so more research will have to be done and they will be expressing that to the Federal government.

Premier David Alward points out this report is being compiled by an independent panel across all sectors and all provinces.


New Head Of NB Trauma Program Appointed

Dr. Erik St. Pierre has been appointed the new medical director of the New Brunswick Trauma Program, Health Minister Hugh Flemming announced today.
The previous director was Dr. Marcel Martin.

Dr. St. Pierre has served as an emergency department physician, director of an emergency department and as chief of staff for a community hospital. He has also practiced emergency medicine at the Regional and  Moncton Hospital.

The Trauma Program works on injury prevention, clinical care, education and research on serious and critical injuries in New Brunswick.

Saint John Student Going On The Trip Of A Lifetime


A Saint Johner getting her masters in history will be in Normandy during the ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

30 year old Amanda Shepherd is a student at UNB Fredericton and tells CHSJ News she leaves on Friday for Belgium where they will visit World War 1 battle sites.

She says they will look at the Somme and Passchendaele in Belgium and in France they will go to Vimy Ridge and Dieppe before spending 10 days in Normandy.

Shepherd is one of 12 students from across the country chosen to go on this trip and the only Maritimer.  

University Students Graduate Today

Time for university students to start planning the rest of their lives....

The University of New Brunswick will award degrees to almost 18-hundred students at its spring graduation ceremonies starting today.

Ceremonies will start in Fredericton at the The Richard J. Currie Centre on the UNB Fredericton campus today with more to be held tomorrow. Graduating students and their families will be informed which ceremony they should attend.

Here in Saint John, the 40th Spring Convocation will be held on Friday at 2 p.m. at the G. Forbes Elliot Athletics Centre.

A Big Construction Project in Rothesay Starting

A major construction project underway in Rothesay and the town warns there will be some disruption to your comings and goings with improvements to the streetscape along part of Hampton Road from Holland Drive to Marr Road.
 

The construction will be taking place from now until September on Hampton Road, Dobbin Street and Sierra Avenue with all three roadways being widened.  Existing curbs and sidewalks on the north side of Hampton Road will be removed with construction of new curbs and sidewalks. 

New curbs and sidewalks will also be built on the east side of Dobbin Street and there will be curb and sidewalk reconstruction on the east side of Sierra Street. 

The town makes clear if you live there or run a business,  you'll still have access to driveways but there will be minor delays.

Report On Homelessness In City Released

One in five people in the city who resort to a homeless shelter are under the age of 24. 

That forms part of Saint John's annual Homelessness Report Card released by the Human Development Countil. It has data from 2013 when 338 people relied on shelters which was nearly identical to the 341 people served in 2012.
 

The shelter numbers for Saint John are from the city's three emergency shelters......The Salvation Army, Coverdale and Out of the Cold. 
 

The numbers don't include young women who stayed at First Steps, the women who stayed at any of the three Violence Against Women transition homes in the region, those who are sleeping rough or people who are couch surfing, living in cars or in abandoned buildings.

40-Year-Old Transformers At Union St Substation To Be Replaced

Users of the Harbour Passage walk by the Union Street Substation all the time--but few of us give it much thought.

That may change this summer, when some upgrades will be performed to the 40-year-old transformer and related equipment. Saint John Energy CEO Ray Robinson tells CHSJ News it'll be a little louder than usual in that area but the work needs to be done.


According to project manager Andrew Ahearn they're installing a new oil containment system that would keep any of the insulating oil from leaking into the harbour if there were ever an emergency.

Streets by the substation may also be closed when the transformer arrives. Power outages aren't expected as a result of the upgrades.

City's Hands Are Effectively Tied To Save Prince William St Building

A 135-year-old building on Prince William Street is slated for demolition in the near future--and Mayor Mel Norton says it's the result of an outdated municipalities act that doesn't give cities enough options for dealing with vacant buildings with absentee landlords. 

Norton says under the current Act, the main recourse when a building is left to decay for this long is demolition.

The Armstrong & Bruce Insurance building at 167-171 Prince William is in very bad shape on the inside. The firm first occupied this building in 1924 and a branch of it carried on business there for about 80 years.

Strikers At Three Radio Stations In City Returning To Work

After a bitter strike and lockout over the past couple of years, 7 employees at three Maritime Broadcasting radio stations in the city will be returning to work June 16th. 

The Canadian Media Guild says the tentative 4 year contract agreement came about with the assistance of Federal mediation and conciliation services. 

There's language in the tentative contract on job security and includes a signing bonus along with new wage scales.

Traffic Delay And Detour

The City letting us know that Rothesay Road will be reduced to one lane from 7 this morning until 7 tonight between Ashburn Road and the rail overpass for paving.

Milford Road between Kingville and Violet will be closed in both directions from 7 to 7 over the next four days because of construction.

Domestic Dispute In Valley Leads To Several Charges

Several charges have been laid against a 26 year old man in Rothesay after Kennebecasis Regional Police were called to a domestic flareup. 

He will be returning to court tomorrow for a bail hearing after being charged with two counts of making  threats, unlawful confinement, possession of a weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon.