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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Camping season is gearing up

It feels a little cool to be talking about camping season but here is the latest. Eight of the Province's 10 provincial parks will open on Friday, May 21, just in time for the Victoria Day weekend. Mount Carleton will open on Friday, May 14 and Parlee Beach will open on May 29.


Also, the Mactaquac Golf Course opened last Friday as did the Herring Cove Golf Course and both are described as being in excellent condition.

Canaport LNG Terminal is complete


After years of planning and protests in between, the Canaport LNG Terminal in Red Head is fully operational almost four years after the first piece of land was cleared. The company says in a news release, the third storage tank is now finished and the entire terminal has a capacity of 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas. That makes it the largest above ground LNG storage capacity in this country and the U.S. Northeast.

Construction of the third tank began in May of 08. There are 70 employee's working at the terminal now and there were 1600 jobs during peak construction.



More Wildlife fencing in the Province


Wildlife fencing continues to be a priority for the Graham Government. Premier Graham and Transportation Minister Denis Landry announced construction of a new stretch of 29km's between Edmunston and Saint Basile on Highway Two. 
324km's of wildlife fencing are currently in place around the Province.

The province has committed to another 100 km's of new fencing between Oromocto and Saint John as part of the new Route One Gateway Project.
Every year, over 300 drivers in this Province are involved in an accident with a moose with 85% of the crashes between May and October.





Salty Jam set to Celebrate Musical Reunion







(Festival Chairs and Jim Lavigne announce Salty Jam line-up)
                             (Photo by Sherry Aske)


Salty Jam is celebrating its fifth birthday with a musical reunion this summer from July 8th to 10th.

Festival Chair Renea Sleep says people can expect to see lots of fresh faces, as well as some familiar ones.

Shows include jazz and blues performer Matt Anderson, country singer Corb Lund, and Melvin Seales & the Jerry Garcia Band to attract a younger crowd.

Sleep says these are only a smattering of the performances, and hopes to attract a large audience with multiple genres and venues.
Sleep says they have added an entire day to the festival, with the Moosehead Tent on Water Street opening to the public Thursday, July 8th.

Tickets go on sale next week at Harbour Station, Market Square News and Backstreet records.

City Police Taking Part in Rail Safety Week












It's Rail Safety Week and City Police are joining with NB Southern Railway to remind drivers and those walking near them to be careful.


Sargeant Jeff LaFrance is head of the Traffic Unit and says one of the problem area's is the tracks near Ashburn Lake Road and Rothesay Avenue where vehicles line up and get stuck on the tracks with no where to go if a train is coming.


LaFrance says one of the solutions is working with City Hall to synchronize the railway and traffic lights so that when a train is coming, the traffic lights will turn green which enables vehicles to get off the tracks.

Construction Work Starts On Waterfront Condos















(Three Sisters site for waterfront condo project)
           (Photo by Gary MacDonald)

The waterfront is about to undergo yet another change -- work has started on phase one of the Rocca condo project between Water and Prince William Streets.
Developer John Rocca tells CHSJ News the first phase will include 81-units and is scheduled to be completed by next summer. Rocca says no date has been set for construction of phase 2 -- he says that will depend upon demand. The project originally stirred controversy over concerns about restricted views of the harbour.

Gas Prices Up Slightly In City

If you're filling up today you'll find gas prices are just a tad more expensive than they were last night after the weekly setting. Self serve regular is a cent a litre higher at $102.7 while diesel is being sold for $104.7. Heating oil is at 92.1 cents a litre which is a bit higher and propane is a bit lower at $102.9 a litre.

Provincial Conservative Leader Accuses Graham Government Of Financial Mismanagement















(Provincial Conservative Leader David Alward)  
              (Photo by Sherry Aske)

Provincial Conservative Leader David Alward brought his message of building bridges and working together to the Saint John Lancaster nomination meeting last night and vowed to have an energy policy for the next decade in place six months after being elected.
Alward accused the Graham Government of abusing and damaging NB Power by calling the utility a basket case. He charged the Liberals with financial mismanagement saying the deficit will balloon to 800 million dollars and there's no plan in place to reduce or eliminate it. Alward praised local decisionmaking as being the best way to go but would not say whether he would bring back local hospital boards which have been regionalised by the Liberals.

Conservatives On West Side Choose Their Candidate For Provincial Election















(Saint John Lancaster Conservative Nomination Meeting)
                 (Photo by Sherry Aske)

It was described as perhaps the largest turnout ever for a provincial party's nomination meeting in the city. The Branch 69 Legion on the west side was packed as Conservatives in Saint John Lancaster chose Dorothy Shephard as their candidate for the September 27th provincial election.
Shephard won a second ballot victory over Common Councillor Chris Titus. Shephard, who grew up in Randolp, owns the Benjamin Moore Colour Centre. Dean Secord dropped out after the first ballot and threw his support behind Shephard. The actual vote count was not revealed. Shephard says the turning point for her was when the Graham Government cut funding to the Women's Homeless Shelter by 85 per cent forcing it to close and she has little time for cheap and petty politics.