Charlotte Street Fire Gallery

CHSJ News had a bird's eye vantage point on top of the Beatty, where reporter Tamara Steele shot these images.

Demolition Continues At Charlotte & King Street

Fire crews and heavy equipment remain on the scene of a demolition at Charlotte and Princess Streets.

The building must come down as the Saint John fire department has deemed the situation a threat to public safety.

District fire chief Eric Garland tells CHSJ News the power is cut to the burned out structure, the Lantern House and another building next to it.

Piles of bricks and other debris can be seen on the ground on Charlotte Street and Princess Street where crews have knocked down part of the building.

A crowd has gathered in the area to watch it unfold.

Candidate Goes High Tech With Campaign

Tonight you can get some virtual face time with mayoral candidate Matthew Thompson. The rookie politico is attempting to improve his name recognition by connecting with voter via an online coference from 7-10pm. 

Thompson tells CHSJ News it works like this: a few hours before the virtual conference he'll post a link to his Facebook, Twitter and website. Simply click on it and follow the instructions.

Thompson says you can simply create a screen name then fire away with questions, who will be visible via webcam. 

Visit Matthew Thompson's Facebook with a link to the webcast site

here.

The link will be posted a few hours before the Q&A, and will go live at aproximatly 6:50. Thompson encourages people not to be intimidated by the process because even his grandmother plans on logging in.

Post-Fire Demolition to Begin Soon

Onlookers are gathered near the scene of an early morning blaze on Charlotte near Princess street. 

A small crane is preparing to knock down the structure.

The home of the old Lyric Theatre, Korner grocery and an accounting office destroyed by fire this morning.

Saint John district fire chief Eric Garland tells CHSJ News it's not usual for a building this damaged by fire to come down the same day it burned.

A View Inside Burnt Out 127 Charlotte

Photo for the extinguished fire taken from the roof of the Admiral Beatty.

Demolition of Burned out Buildings Set to Begin

Crews ready equipment to tear down the burned out shell of 127-141 Charlotte Street.

Provincewide Study On Cancer Released

When it comes to cancer, where you live matters. That, according to a provincewide study carried out by Inka Milewski of the Conservation Council.

Milewski tells CHSJ News some people might be surprised where Saint John stood which is at the edge of being high. Caraquet and the Gargetown area were among the lowest.

Milewski cautions the cancer types she studied may not be the cancers that are prevalent in Saint John.

Dalhousie, Belledune, Minto and Harvey were highest on the list. Those communities with higher rates of cancer were more industrial and the men in those places were stricken with cancer more so than women.

Starlight Children's Foundation Receives Entertainment Unit

The Starlight Children's Foundation donating a Fun Center entertainment unit to the Child Life Department at the Saint John Regional Hospital. This entertainment unit is valued at approximately  $4,500 and will provide endless distraction for pediatric patients with a DVD, monitor and gaming systems.

Young Mom and Baby Killed in Crash

A woman and her baby daughter have died as a result of a two vehicle car crash in Carleton County. The crash in Glassville claiming the life of 21 year old Kaitlyn Nicole Denny, who was driving when her car was struck by a transport truck hauling lumber.

Her 7 week old daughter, Brianne Rowan, was also killed.

According to RCMP it appears the car entered the intersection crossing directly in the path of the truck. The truck driver sustained no injuries.

Some Uptown Streets Closed To Traffic

Due to the Charlotte street fire, some Uptown streets are closed to motorists and pedestrians.

Charlotte Street is closed from King Square to Horsefield Street and  Princess Street is closed from Sydney Street to Germain Street>

The Saint John Fire Department tells CHSJ News the foam being used to fight the fire is biodegradable, non-toxic and will dissolve.

Rothesay Avenue at the train bridge has been reopened to traffic after being closed to flooding.

Burned-Out Charlotte Street Buildings Will Be Knocked down

An early morning blaze that gutted through the top stories of 127 to 141 Charlotte Street will be leaving a huge gap in the neighbourhood.

A fire broke out around 3 this morning and Fire Chief Kevin Clifford tells CHSJ News the entire building will have to be demolished.

The nearby Lantern House did suffer some damage but it will not be torn down.

22 people have been displaced because of the fire and the Red Cross is providing assistance.

Fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze.

Clifford says it was a significant fire because seven to eight units had to respond.  He says for a typical structure fire, a four unit response is typical.

Rainfall Record Set

If you thought we received alot of rainfall earlier this week you were right. On Monday, we recorded 44.3 millimeters of rain breaking the previous record of 26.6 millimeters set on April 23rd of 1986 and then yesterday we got 39.1 millimeters breaking the record of 20.1 millimeters set on April 24th of 1970. Since Saturday night, Saint John received 116 millimters of rain, the highest in the province.

Candidates Tackle Big Issues at South End Q&A

The mayoral candidates and 4 of out 6 candidates for councillor at large gathering at Saint John the Baptist School for a Q&A session. Mayoral candidates Mel Norton and Shirley MaAlary emphasized the need to regain respect around the council horseshoe, while incumbent Ivan Court defended himself as a team player.

Former UNB Dean of Business Shelley Rinehart is running for councillor at large.

She tells CHSJ News Saint John needs to revamp its image in order to attract new investments, and rebranding will mean extensive consultation with the community.

The pension issue, clean water, and jobs also up for discussion:  MacAlary and Matt Thompson emphasized the deficit needs to be dealt with before those things can happen.

Major Uptown Fire

City Fire crews on the scene of a stubborn fire which broke out in a boarded up old appliance store on Charlotte Street. 

It then spread to the adjacent boarded up old theatre where fire was coming through the roof. Fire crews are attempting to stop the flames from spreading to the Lantern House on Princess.

There is a fear the roof of one of the buildings in the block down to Princess could collapse. 

Traffic is blocked off around the block from King Street to Princess and down to Germain. 

Smoke could be seen billowing over the uptown and it set off a smoke alarm in the nearby Admiral Beatty. There's no word yet on whether anyone has been injured.

Callahan Says Education Will Eradicate Poverty

He's one of two politicial newbies seeking to be the Mayor of Saint John.
Joe Callahan is also a newcomer to the Port City getting his citizenship 6 years ago.

Callahan tells CHSJ News fixing the pension problem will mean more money will be available to fight poverty.

He remembers when former premier Shawn Graham said you can build these trails but can't make people use them and Callahan adds older people don't want to be out there with bears and coyotes.

Callahan just become a Canadian citizen in the last decade and he believes education is the key to eradicating poverty adding schools should implement more of a challenge for graduation.
 
Our feature on the candidates for mayor in Saint John continues tomorrow with Mel Norton.

Province To Study Flood-Proofing Measures For Perth-Andover

The province is looking into into flood-proofing measures for the village of Perth-Andover in the wake of a ice-jam flood that devastated over 200 properties on March 23rd.

A working group consisting of the province, federal agencies, NB Power, and the village will be looking at things such as the known and anticipated risks of ice-jam flooding in the area and what structures could be built to recent such a disaster from happening again.

According to Environment and Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch, the group will have a report ready by August 30th.

You're also being reminded that if you have yet to apply for Disaster Financial Assistance, the deadline is May 15th.

Liberals Demand Moratorium On Shale Gas Exploration

The Alward government is turning aside calls for a moratorium on shale gas exploration.
The opposition Liberals have been pushing for the moratorium and full scale public consultations -- but -- during debate in the Legislature - Environment Minister Bruce Fitch says the government is moving slowly on the issue.
Fitch says work is underway on drafting regulations for the industry and a phased in Environmental Impact Assessment will require public consultations.
Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup says there will be seismic testing over the next two to three years with the possibility some exploratory wells will be drilled during that process to determine to find out if the natural gas exists in the rock beds.

Incumbent Mayor Goes On The Campaign Offensive

Incumbent Mayor Ivan Court opening up his re-election headquarters today as he tries to win a second term as mayor of the city.

Court told his crowd of supporters that economic growth is a chief priority and he will create an industry task force if re-elected.

But Court also taking the gloves off on the other councilor and mayoral candidates -- he says there are some in the running who want to sell the city out to special interest groups.

However, Court refused to name any specific candidates.

Court added that being a mayor is a full-time job and does not believe candidate Mel Norton, who plans to continuing working even if elected, will be able to honour both commitments.

SWN Resources GM Disputes Water Usage Fears

While the GM of SWN Resources Canada is pleased to see UNB researchers weighing in on the shale gas debate, he doesn't agree with all of the reaction.

Tom Alexander tells CHSJ News he doesn't buy the Conservation Council's theory that a thousand gas wells drilled in a year would use the same amount of water as two cities the size of Fredericton.

He says it's a stretch for them to start talking about a thousand wells when he says we are years from drilling a dozen wells.

Alexander says this province does not have the infrastructure to dispose of wastewater right now adding it is safe and in Arkansas they are recycling 99 per cent of the wastewater there.

Finance Minister Says Credible Reports Are Welcome On Shale Gas

Finance Minister Blaine Higgs says the Alward government is committed to protecting the environment -- this response in the wake of a critical report from a group of UNB professors on fracking.

The professors want the government to not use water for fracking unless the wastewater can be disposed of safely.  They are suggesting the use of liquefied propane gas or carbon dioxide.

Higgs tells CHSJ News he has no problems with critical reports and as long as they are credible, nothing is off the table.

He says Natural Resources Bruce Northrup is serious about protecting the environment.

Report on Shale Gas By UNB Researchers Gets Thumbs Up

Stephanie Merrill of the Conservation Council is calling the report on shale gas prepared by researchers at UNB positive, especially their concern with how much water would have to be used for fracking.

She claims a thousand gas wells a year would use as much water as two cities the size of Fredericton which raises the question what effect that would have on rivers, lakes and streams where it's taken from.

As for waterless fracking which uses carbon dioxide and liquified propane gas, Merrill says the big barrier to that would be economics and how much it would cost companies to use that technology.

She isn't holding out much hope that regulations to be unveiled soon by the Alward Government will safeguard the environment because they haven't anywhere else.

Resumption Of Work On Harbour Bridge Is A Go

The way is clear for work to resume soon on the Harbour Bridge upgrades and One Mile Interchange project.
Contractor ConCreate U-S-L was placed in receivership last month - but - an Ontario court ruling prevents receiver Grant Thornton from having anything to do with the jobs or seizing the performance bonds.
In an earlier interview with CHSJ News - Transportation Minister Claude Williams indicated those bonds are protecting taxpayers from additional costs.
The court ruling means the bonding company can o-k the hiring of replacement contractors to complete the jobs.
The Bank of Nova Scotia petitioned the Ontario based company into receivership  claiming the company owes almost 35-million dollars.

Four People Face Charges In Welsford Bust

Hampton RCMP using a police dog for a drug bust in Welsford.

Police entered a home and arrested four individuals last Friday.

A quantity of drugs was seized including marihuana and prescription medications.

All four people were released but a 59-year-old woman is scheduled to appear in Hampton Provincial Court in July to face drug related charges.

Province Remains Committed To Water Treatment

Even as the Alward government struggles to control the provincial deficit -- in an exclusive interview with CHSJ News - the Premier remains committed to the city's proposed multi-million dollar water treatment plant.
Premier says it's been a priority from square one and it remains a top priority for his local government M-L-A's.
Premier Alward says he's committed to working with both the city and the federal government to put a funding package in place for the project.

Many City Streets Are Under Water Today

A deluge of rain in Saint John leading to flooding in the regular trouble spots.

Brown Street and Simpson Drive are closed.  Retail Drive is closed at Rothesay Avenue.

Rothesay Avenue at the train bridge and Ashburn Lake Road are flooded but are open to traffic. 
Both outside lanes on Rothesay Ave by the fern hill cemetery are closed to traffic.

If you see flooding or overflowing catch basins, you are asked to let the City know by calling Municipal Operations at 648-4455.

More Information About The Discovery Of Bones

The bones that were found at Five Fathom Hole near Prince of Wales on Saturday have turned out to be human. 

City Police say they have also been there for a number of years and that will make an identification more difficult to determine.

Late Common Councillor Remembered Fondly

Plenty of tributes were paid by members of Common Council for their late colleague Joe Mott who died over the weekend at the age of 68. 

His colleague at Council, Donnie Snook became quite emotional when recalling Mott's quiet manner. 

Mott is being remembered as a man who loved Saint John as well as sports believing it gave young people self esteem, saw the good in everyone and would pay out of his own pocket to buy a young person a baseball glove. 

Mott served as a past President of the Saint John Horsemen's Association and coached three Little League Canadian championships. He also owned three harness racing horses, one of which "Stoney B" was named horse of the year in 2000.  

A funeral service will be held Thursday at noonhour in the Fundy Funeral Home Chapel.

Sports Fans Tussle Over Rec Facilities

Sports fans duking it out at Common Council. Amid debate over a pricey project to make the LBR an Olympic-sized ice surface, dozens of coaches and parents showed up to protest proposed user fee hikes for sports fields.

Councillor Patty Higgins expressed confusion about renovating the rink, then jacking up fees for sports fields. Her reasoning is that rinks are seasonal, expensive to maintain, and used by fewer people, whereas fields are cheap and popular.

Councillor Gary Sullivan and others disagreed, saying an Olympic-sized rink would help make Saint John a destination for tournaments and other major sports events.

Mayor and council widely agreed raising fees would make it harder for kids to play but revenue isn't going to come out of nowhere. The matter was tabled until council's next meeting on May 7th.

City Puts Brakes on Speed Demons

Leadfoots will soon find it trickier to bomb around the city's residential neighbourhoods....at the latest common council meeting, manager of traffic and pedestrian services Tim O'Reilly putting forward policy to calm traffic around school zones in particular. 

O'Reilly says the goal is simple: to reduce speeds to below the speed limit, and get volumes of vehicles to where they should be on a residential street.

The proposed policy included 30-40km zones around schools and tougher penalties for speeding. He said it's a major issue, with over 90 requests to slow down traffic in neighbourhoods throughout the city, and you could be seeing more measures like speed humps and raised crosswalks as they identify where the priorities are.

Mayoral Candidate Says Direct Talk Is Key In Poverty Reduction

Mayoral candidate Matthew Thompson says reducing poverty in the city will not be easy but there are steps in the right direction.

He tells CHSJ News investing in people is one way to break the cycle of poverty.

He says it's also important to talk to people directly in the priority neighbourhoods to find out the best ways to improve them. 

Thompson says knocking down an abandoned building is not always the best answer.

As far as the hot button topic of city transit, he says we need to determine the most advantageous routes and come up with some creative ways to make bus service sustainable. 

He says he would invest money back into transit once the city got its financial cards in order.

Skate Park In Quispamsis Opens

Tony Hawk and X-games wannabes now have a new place to ply their craft in Quispamsis -- the town has officially opened the Ramps and Wheels Bike and Skate Park.

Skater Avery Theriault pushed to get the park built by presenting a petition with almost 700 signatures to town council over a year ago.

He tells CHSJ News the park was desperately needed and he is amazed how quickly it all came together.
 

The town of Quispamsis putting up100-thousand dollars while the province gave 50-thousand to the project.

The park is located at the Arts and Culture Park.

MacKinnon Says Condon's Legacy Is Long

A true gentleman, a friend and mentor to many....those words about Dr. Tom Condon who served many years as the Vice President of the UNB Saint John campus and passed away on the weekend.

Current VP-Dr. Robert MacKinnon tells CHSJ News his legacy is growing the Tucker Park campus and leading the charge on getting a residence built there.

He says Condon saw the need for a student centre and when he retired it was named in his honour.

MacKinnon says Condon also served on the board of Symphony New Brunswick and was involved in bringing the 1985 Canada Summer Games to Saint John including getting the stadium built on the University grounds.

A funeral mass for Dr. Condon will be held this Friday just after noonhour at the Cathedral on Waterloo Street.

Penalties For Not Filing Taxes Are Getting Steep

If you plan on skipping out on doing your taxes, you better have your wallet close by.

Brenda Avery with BrenTax tells CHSJ News the penalty for not paying the tax man is 5 percent of what you owe plus additional late penalties.

She says the fees have been on the rise and the reason why people don't file is because they think they will owe the government.

She says thankfully, more and more people are biting the bullet and are filing tax returns from previous years and and the Canada Revenue Agency is willing to work with you to sort everything out.

Warning About Online Scam In Province Targeting Renters

We have a warning from the New Brunswick Real Estate Association about an online scam which has cropped up in the province designed to extract both money and personal information from unsuspecting consumers who are looking for somewhere to rent.

The online scam copies information from legitimate ads, sometimes even with the name of a realtor, asking for you to not only send a deposit but also reveal your personal information.

Real Estate Association Registrar Carolyn Cameron tells CHSJ News there's one way to determine if an ad is on the level........There will be a local person listed to get in contact with.

Cameron says this type of fraud is more successful in cities where there is a low rental vacancy rate or for accommodations that are pet friendly.

Two Key Rezonings Coming Before Common Council

Common Council is being urged by City Staff to approve rezoning of the Coast Guard property. The final acquisition of the property will take place at the end of June.

Kent McIntyre of Saint John Waterfront Development anticipates there will be new developers later this year for what he envisions as a mixed residential-commercial development with 230 condos, a 130 room hotel, 70 thousand square feet for retail and commercial space along with a promenade around the perimeter.
 
He's also optimistic about things picking up telling the city the site will undergo a phased in redevelopment beginning later this year.
 
Council is also being asked to approve rezoning for the new "Y" on Churchill Boulevard which is viewed as a key step to revitalising that part of the north end around Crescent Valley..

Music Festival Kicks Off

It's time to face the music--and we mean that literally. The 75th annual New Brunswick Competitive Festival of Music is kicking off today (April 23) at venues throughout the city. It's a chance for young performers between the ages of 6 and 20 to compete in singing and playing instruments in a variety of styles and genres.

Organizer Valerie Dingee  the kids get excited about it every year and it's a great galvanizing force for the community.

She says the festival is always looking to boost attendance, as well as for more volunteers.

For more information, click here.

Court Says Pension Reforms Will Bring Back Some Funding

Being re-elected in Saint John's current political climate might seem like a challenge.
Incumbant Mayor Ivan Court tells CHSJ News he was the only person to vote against the budget that features deep cuts to police and fire budgets and the reduction of transit service.


He says he didn't think it was necessary for us to take 7.9 million dollars out of the budget but rather the intention was to lobby the provincial government with regards to the  whole issue with pension disorder.


Court adds if pension relief does come, they hope to reinstate many of those projects and programs.


Our feature on the candidates for Mayor in Saint John continues tomorrow with Matthew Thompson.

Common Council Urged To Slow Down Traffic

Common Council will be receiving a report tonight asking it put into effect a more comprehensive traffic calming policy. 

This comes about after consultations with more than 20 community and neighbourhood organisations as well as the city receiving more than 80 requests from Saint Johnners since early 2008 to either reduce speeds or the volume of traffic through various residential neighbourhoods. 

3 comprehensive traffic calming plans have been implemented in recent years including on Heatherway after a woman was seriously hurt by a speeding car as well as Simpson Drive and Rockwood Park. 

Council is being told some streets should have speed limits of 40 kilometers an hour or even as low as 30 and Police can't enforce speed limits under 50 kilometers an hour

John Ferguson Defamation Trial

Three Well Known Saint Johnners Pass Away

We hear from the City's Cultural Affairs officer Bernard Cormier that Dr. Tom Condon has passed away. Funeral arrangements for him have not been announced yet.

Dr. Condon was in charge of U-N-B Saint John from 1977 to 1988. He began his teaching career as an Assistant Professor of History at U-N-B after receiving a Ph.D from Harvard. He also graduated with degrees from Yale and Boston College. 

Dr. Condon retired from teaching in 1996. He was honoured with the Order of New Brunswick in 2009 and was involved in many cultural activities in the city including the restoration of the Imperial Theatre.

Saint John contractor Billy Chown, the owner of Regency Construction, has also died at the age of 66 from natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 Wednesday morning in the L-B-R.

Common Councillor Joe Mott has also passed away after a period of failing health.

Two Cars Leave Road In Separate Crashes

One woman was taken to hospital after her car left Route 790 near the South Musquash Road early yesterday morning winding up on its roof.  

It was raining and she was driving around a sharp corner which has been the scene of several similar accidents over the years. 

Another car left Bay Street in South Bay yesterday afternoon and landed in the water. The driver was already out of the car when fire crews arrived and didn't have to be taken to hospital. 

The Environment Department was notified because the car had to be towed out of a pond.

(Photo Courtesy of Lt. Paul Poirier)

Candidate For Rothesay Council Wants To Visit Every Home In Town

One of the candidates running for a seat on Rothesay Council claims to have made over 2 thousand stops to guage the feeling in the town hitting over 150 homes a day.

Miriam Wells wants to visit all of the estimated 35 hundred homes in the town during the campaign. 

Wells tells CHSJ News the town is doing well running its financial affairs but any organisation can use the infusion of new ideas and energy. 

One common concern she hears going door to door is the number of deer roaming about with drainage issues in some parts of the town.

Wells is in favour of co-operating with neighbouring municipalities but she doesn't favour amalgamation.