The city’s new draft zoning bylaw, ZoneSJ, is being presented at tonight’s common council meeting.
The fall is a testing period for the draft bylaw, which will mean many public, industry and agency specific reviews, as well as third party professional planning reviews of the proposed community standards.
Public open houses are scheduled for October 30 through to November 7 in each ward where citizens can learn about the proposed changes. Saint John residents will receive a postcard in the mail this week with details of the open houses.
Information, maps and guides of the draft zoning bylaw, as well as the complete draft bylaw document, are all available onlinehere
Poverty is, unfortunately, a topic close to the hearts of many Saint Johners in these economic times.
A rally is being held at lunch time in the uptown tomorrow for the Eradication of Poverty. Sponsored by the Human Development Council and the Saint John and area chapter of KAIROS, it's going to feature music and facts on poverty in our community, and how people can change that.
Thousands of Saint Johners that work uptown and use the pedway every day may not appreciate what a unique and helpful system it is. The City will be doing some work on the Chipman Hill pedway including using smaller panes of glass in case they crash or leak. Finance Commissioner Greg Yeomans says the pedway's indoor access to the major hotels is used a when marketing for conferences and other events.
He says he thinks we may have to look beyond it's link to city hall and the convenience.
Upgrades will extend the pedway system's life expectency, which is over 30 years old now, to 75 years.
Crime Stoppers along with the Department of Natural Resources looking for some help finding out who dumping garbage on crown lands.
It's an offence to leave garbage, construction material or vehicles on crown lands.
Anyone convicted can face a minimum fine of the $500 for a first offence and you may also have to return the land to its orginal state.
The Mounties also pointing out that this activity can be harmful to wildlife and a risk for forest fires. If it's happening near water, it can become a environmental problem.
If you know anyone dumping illegally on crown land, contact Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
It's hard to believe in a water-rich country like Canada but we are a planet running out of clean water. That from Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians. Barlow tells CHSJ News you can find water but it may not be in good shape.
She says it's been polluted, mismanaged or displaced.
A study by the Royal Bank says the demand for water will outstrip supply by 40 per cent by the year 2030 which Barlow says means people will die along with entire ecosystems.
She says we need to turn our heads around and stop taking water for granted.
There were no injuries but five members of an extended family are without a place to live after a pre-dawn fire gutted their bungalow in Upper Gagetown, about 30 kilometres east of Fredericton.
The fire at 1172 Route 102 was reported around 4:00 this morning. There's no word on how it got started. The Red Cross was called in to provide some personal belongings.
A couple, their adult daughter and two grandchildren are staying with relatives in the community for the time being while awaiting an assessment from the insurance adjusters.
The Regional Service Commissions are not operating as they were intended. The big question is whether they are dysfunctional, as some people claim, or are just experiencing growing pains.
Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier who chairs the Fundy Regional Service Commission tells CHSJ News representatives from the local service districts who are on the Commissions need more authority to make decisions.
As it stands now now, everything discussed at the commision must go back to the local service districts for a vote by everyone. Losier claims that just creates division as evidenced by the proposals for regional funding of arenas in her town and Sussex.
Losier says it will be up to the province to change things for the better and stop being the mayor of the local service districts.
While admitting the road is bumpy right now, she's optimistic things will work out in the end once there's a better understanding of what the Regional Service Commissions are supposed to accomplish.
Show me a plan, if there is one, to ensure New Brunswick doesn't have a critical shortage of nurses down the road because of retirements. That plea coming from the President of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, Marilyn Quinn.
She tells CHSJ News the assumption should not be made that nursing grads who settle elsewhere will come back to the province, especially if they put down roots. Quinn says nursing jobs are going unfilled at the present time on top of the cuts already made.
The New Brunswick Senior Citizens Federation is now publicly speaking out against the nursing cuts, arguing there are other areas of healthcare where money could be saved.
Quinn says all the cutting is accomplishing is more stress in the workplace which will lead to senior nurses retiring sooner than they might as well as prompting new graduates to leave the province.
Less urban sprawl, better-quality developments, an expanded parking exemption area in the uptown, and more freedom for homeowners to add to their property are just some of the ideas included in the new draft zoning bylaw, ZoneSJ. The new plan was presented at last night's meeting of common council.
Taxpayers will have a chance to weigh in on the new draft zoning by-law from October 30 to November 7th at a series of public meetings, where individuals and businesses are encouraged to bring specific questions about how the new plan will effect them.
While many provinces have a Prescription Monitoring program in place to battle prescription drug abuse, no such program currently exists here in New Brunswick, and the Executive Director of the provincial Pharmacists Association wants to see that change.
Paul Blanchard says there has been a lot of talk about implementing a drug information system where pharmacists and doctors can see
all the medications patients are have been prescribed, and from what he understands it may be coming in the next budget.
Blanchard says because we don't have this type of electronic system in the province, it's very important people make their doctors and pharmacists aware of all the medication they are taking.
The body of a missing 21-year old being discovered two days after his disappearance.
RCMP confirming search and rescue found Adam Joseph Andrews of Saint John at noon today. Rothesay
Regional Police say his body was in the Quispamsis area, so they
will be handling the investigation from this point forward. Andrews was reported missing to City Police on Saturday after not showing up to work. The search started in Saint John but moved to the Hammond River area after his empty vehicle was found in that location that same night. Police found his cellphone and sneaker near the car.
An autopsy being conducted tomorrow to determine the cause of death. The RRPD say they will be releasing a statement after they review the details of the postmortem.
Hundreds of dogs best known for their speed racing from the track to their forever homes through an adoption program in the province.
The Maritime Greyhound Adoption Program, which is based in Moncton, bringing up their 700th dog from the US this weekend and at the same time, celebrating their 10th anniversary.
President and Founder, Deb Levasseur, tells CHSJ News she started the program after she lost her English Setter and began researching the breed. Levasseur says one of the biggest myths about greyhounds is that they are overly energetic animals. She says they are a laid back, calm breed built for speed, not endurance. Greyhound races typically only last 30 seconds. MGAP is having a meet and greet in Brunswick Square on October 26 from 12pm to 2pm. For more information about the program, visit their website by clicking here.
Volunteer search groups looking for clues in a teenager's disappearance now moving into the upper West side of the city.
Search coordinator and family friend Amanda Hensey tells CHSJ News they have covered a large portion of the wooded areas on the West side, but so far, they have come up empty. She says 19-year old Gen Cormier was not the type of person to simply vanish without telling anyone where she was going and calls her disappearance very out of character.
Hensey says they are not losing hope that they will find her.
Cormier was last seen on September 29 in the back parking lot of the Reversing Falls restaurant. A fund has been set up online for people who want to donate to the volunteer search effort, click here for a link.
A heads up to drivers planning on crossing the border.
The Milltown International Bridge in St. Stephen is temporarily closed to traffic coming into the province today and tomorrow between 8am 1pm. Regular service starts back up at 1pm each day.
Drivers are encouraged to use the St. Stephen Third Bridge or the St. Stephen Ferry Point International Bridge as alternate routes in the meantime. The closure is because of construction in the US.
Progress is being made but more has to be done to ensure young people with mental disorders in the province get the treatment they need.
That claim being made by Maureen Bilerman of Dots NB who became an activist when her own teenage daughter ran into trouble getting the help she needed.
Bilerman tells CHSJ News the early intervention being done at schools in Charlotte County and the Acadian Peninsula is producing, in her words, some amazing results.
Bilerman uses Ashley Smith as her touchstone and, if she were here today, would the mental health treatment be there to make a difference in her life and avoid a tragic end.
The 19 year old Smith choked herself to death while jailed in Kitchener, Ontario. Her death is now the subject of an inquest in Toronto.
New Brunswick is missing the boat when it comes to funding clean energy projects according to Mark D'Arcy of the Council of Canadians.
He tells CHSJ News the provincial government could create jobs by following the lead of other jurisdictions in giving tax credits for investing in such things as a community economic development fund and co-ops along with payback loan programmes for residential energy retrofits to make your home more energy efficient.
D'Arcy says this is happening right now in Nova Scotia, P-E-I, Ontario, Vermont, Massachusetts, Germany and Scandanavia but not in New Brunswick.
Police sweeping the Hammond River area after finding a vehicle belonging to a missing Saint John man.
21-year old Adam Joseph Andrews was reported missing by his father on Saturday when he did not show up for work. Andrews was last seen at around 11pm that night near the
intersection of the Stock Farm Road and Route 100 near Quispamsis possibly
heading towards Hampton. Sergeant Peter Breen of the Rothesay Regional Police says the empty vehicle was found on the Nauwigewauk side of the Hammond River, around Porter's Deep Hole. Hampton RCMP, with help from the Fredericton and Kennebacassis Ground Search and Rescue
teams are searching the area near where his car was found. An RCMP police
dog and helicopter are also taking part in the search.
Andrews is described as being tall and slim. He is 6’4”, weighs about 160 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen
wearing jeans, a beige pullover shirt with a collar and white sleeves, and one
blue sneaker. Police found his cellphone and one sneaker near his
vehicle.
Anyone who has any information about his whereabouts is being asked to contact the RCMP, local police or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
A fleet of 17 fishing boats sailing out from the wharf in Alma bright and early tomorrow morning to mark the opening of the fall lobster season.
The town of 251 people celebrating the occasion with the fleet launch and a community festival. They are promoting the event as "pajama-friendly" because as Event Coordinator Jane Chrysostom tells CHSJ News, the festivities start bright and early.
The town kicking off the day with the ringing of church bells at 6am tomorrow morning and the launch of the boats a half an hour later, at high tide. A hot breakfast will be served at the wharf.
Chrysostom says the interpretive staff at neighboring Fundy National Park will be on hand giving demonstration about the habitat and life of the Fundy lobster.
Police say a 30-year old motorcycle driver and his passenger, a 27-year old woman, are dead after a crash between the bike and a pickup truck.
It happened at around 12:30 yesterday afternoon on Route 134 near Campbellton. The motorcycle colliding with the truck as it was turning into a driveway. Police say the motorcycle was trying to pass vehicles at the time of the crash.
RCMP say the names of the victims are not being released at this time.
After a half century of touring, the Irish Rovers will say goodbye to the road.
The band that shot to stardom with songs like The Unicorn and Black Velvet Band embarking on their last tour of the Maritimes this fall with a show in the Port City.
Frontman George Millar tells CHSJ News as you get older, touring starts to take its toll on you. But while he won't miss the grind of touring, Millar says he will miss playing shows which he calls the "prize" at the end of a long day of traveling.
In the new year, they will tour the US. Their global Farewell to Rovin' Tour ends in 2015. For a complete list of tour dates, click here. You can see them next Thursday at the Imperial Theatre at 7:30pm. To buy tickets, click here.
The demand for fresh, locally raised turkeys to top Thanksgiving tables has been on the rise.
That's according to Tim Cochran, the owner of Cochran’s Country Market in Rothesay who says since the business opened in 1996, the store has gone from selling 20 of their Sussex-raised turkeys around the holidays to around 300.
Over the last five years, Cochran tells CHSJ News he has seen more people taking a greater interest in where their food is coming from, how it was grown or raised and in the case of an animal like a turkey, what type of food it was fed.
The open for business signs in some storefronts will be lighting up a little earlier today, as extended Sunday shopping hours begin in the Port City.
June Anderson, the manager of the Liquid Gold Tasting Bar & All Things Olive on Prince William Street in the uptown tells CHSJ News they will continue to stay closed on Sundays but she is glad businesses are now able to set their own hours.
Anderson says the time has come for businesses to be able to decide when they open.
Wal-Mart will now be opening at 7 in the morning and Costco will be opening at 10am. McAllister Place and Brunswick Square Shopping Centres will not be changing their hours.
A woman from Rothesay has been named a finalist for Canada's Best Sandwich Contest.
Ashley Seeley is one of four people who will compete for the title this Thursday in front of a judging panel led by Food Network Canada personality Bob Blumer. Seeley will be making a spicy berbere steak sandwich with fresh cheese and lemon vinaigrette salad on sourdough.
She tells CHSJ News the sandwich was inspired by Ethiopian cuisine, which she discovered while she was in university in Halifax.
If Seeley wins the title, she gets $10,000 for her and $10,000 for the charity of her choice, which is L'Arche Cape Breton. For more information on the contest, click here.
The New Brunswick Lung Association joining the Canadian Cancer Society in their call for a ban on all flavoured tobacco to curb youth smoking.
A recently released Youth Smoking Survey revealing more than half of high school students who used tobacco products in the last 30 days used flavoured tobacco.
Barbara Walls, the Director of Health Promotion for the NB Lung Association tells CHSJ News in 2010, the federal government banned flavoured cigarettes, cigarillos and blunt wraps, but tobacco companies were able to keep adding flavours like bubblegum, cherry and watermelon to cigarillos by avoiding the legal definition of the product.
Walls believes if there is another ban, the industry will find another way to continue selling flavoured tobacco, because that's their business. She says part of the reason for the call is about education and raising awareness.
Canadian Blood Services needs plasma all year round, and this long weekend is no exception.
Clinic doors are closed on Monday for the holiday, and Michelle Thibodeau Coates of the group tells CHSJ News because of the closure, they won't be getting as many people in the door donating plasma so she's encouraging more people to come out and roll up their sleeves.
Thibodeau Coates says many of us can be thankful for our good health this Thanksgiving, and we can share that good health with somebody who needs it.
To find a donation site near you, click here. They're open from 9am until 1pm today and on Tuesday from 11am to 3pm.
Grand Bay-Westfield is making a full court press to get a new elementary school built in the town.
Fundy-River Valley M-L-A Dr. Jim Parrot is on board even though he may not have as much influence since leaving the Conservative caucus.
Mayor Grace Losier tells CHSJ News she believes the town is second on the list but what's being used now is not up to standard with nary a blade of grass for the kids to play on and no way to provide hot lunches.
Losier also points out more young families with children are settling in the town judging by the latest figures from Canadian Mortgage and Housing that show housing values rising by 15 per cent.
Drivers in the province have paid 900 million dollars more for their auto insurance than they should have over the last ten years. That claim being made by Moncton East M-L-A Chris Collins who tells CHSJ News that works out something like 150 to 174 dollars more for their car than they should be.
Collins wants to see the New Brunswick Insurance Board disbanded because he doesn't think it's looking out for the best interests of consumers.
He tells CHSJ News the job it does could be taken over by a new more non-partisan body or the Energy and Utilities Board.
Provincial Justice Minister Troy Lifford doesn't see a problem with what drivers in New Brunswick pay for auto insurance, saying the rates are lower than in other provinces.
There was a brief traffic interruption uptown after a truck fire in the lower level of the Chipman Hill parking garage. One of the regular drivers making deliveries started up his truck and smoke starting coming from the engine.
The City fire department was called and it was quickly extinguished. Police blocked access to Chipman Hill at the top and bottom for a short period.
It's almost the long weekend, and NB Liquor advises customers that all of its corporate stores will be open from noon until 5 p.m. on Sunday and closed on Monday.
NB Liquor's agency outlets will be open during the weekend, but hours vary from location to location.
There doesn't seem to be any end in sight to that shale gas blockade along highway 134 near Rexton prompting the Commanding Officer of the RCMP in the province, Roger Brown to release a statement about what's going on.
Brown says this protest has to be resolved while conceding the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution have been disappointingly unsuccessful with emotions running high.
He's also asking people to respect the law and recognise the way things have been going is not producing positive results for anyone.
More than 2 thousand registered nurses in the province are over 55 and almost one-third of R-N's in New Brunswick will be retiring in the next five years.
The President of the Nurses Union Marilyn Quinn has been asking for a six month freeze in nursing layoffs but there has been no response from the province. 125 nursing positions have been cut in 2012-2013.
The union also pointing out there is little in the government's new five year healthcare plan about a strategy to deal with this.
There's a lot of smoke this morning from a fire at the remains of a body shop on Dever Road. That call coming in around 4:00. The body shop was destroyed in that recent blaze but the remains were reignited.
About an hour after that, a crash occurred along Loch Lomand Road by the airport sending one person to hospital.
Traffic in the immediate area by the Airport Arterial was blocked off because of a power pole appeared ready to come down and a pump at a nearby gas station may also have been hit. Saint John Energy has determined the power pole is safe as is so traffic is again being allowed to proceed along Loch Lomand Road in both directions.
The Port has landed more business with a second global container connection.
Hapag-Lloyd, a German company, will be offering a weekly service through Saint John in partnership with Tropical Shipping.
Port Authority President and C-E-O Jim Quinn tells CHSJ News Port Saint John is becoming a powerhouse and is now Eastern Canada's largest port by tonnage.
As of the end of June, container cargo tonnage was up by 100 per cent over the same period last year.
Quinn says a lot of effort has been made to market the port and it's paying off.
A 20 year old woman facing criminal charges of child abandonment will be back in court in January.
She was released on a promise to appear.
Police responded to the Park Place Apartments off Hickey Road early yesterday afternoon to check on some young children who were screaming.
Officers arriving on scene found a 1 year old baby and a 3 year old toddler alone in the apartment.
The Department of Social Development was contacted along with the Family Protection Unit and Forensic Identification services.
The kids were removed and taken to hospital to be examined for malnutrition and dehydration. They're currently in the care of the Department of Social Development.
The Stephenson Tower Tenants Association receiving 5 thousand dollars in federal funding for upgrades so seniors are likely to leave their apartments and mingle with one another so they don't become socially isolated which can be a killer.
Debbie McLeod is a community co-ordinator with Social Development and she tells CHSJ News it's hard to put a value on what this infusion of money means.
McLeod says they now have new tables and chairs in their Rec Room along with a big screen TV for electronic bingo and, after some initial reluctance, the new technology has been embraced.
McLeod just heard a presentation last week on the need to create bumping stations for seniors where they can literally bump into one another and socially interact.
A 41 year old Saint John man has been denied bail on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking after an undercover police officer testified he saw him hanging out on Peters Street dealing crack cocaine.
Kenneth Ward of Charlotte Street was seen with known drug users trading off a $20 bill for an small object which prompted officers to search him. They found 17 rocks of crack valued at $340, $120 in cash, and two cell phones.
He appeared in court with his jaw wired shut. The court heard the injury happened during a home invasion when he was hit with a hammer, the second such assault Ward has reported in a period of some months.
He is scheduled to reappear in court on October 31st.
It's been 3 years since anyone saw him and the RCMP are hoping new tips can breathe life into an old case.
47-year-old Fred Byram of Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska was last seen around midnight on October 7, 2010 as he got into a taxi at the former Rockin Rodeo club on Elmwood Drive in Moncton.
He has not been seen or heard from since.
He is described as 5 foot 10 about 170 pounds with brown eyes and salt and pepper hair.
He has tatoos on his arms and a gap between his two front teeth. If
you know anything, contact Codiac Regional RCMP at 506-857-2400 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)
Another call is being made for the Province to come through on their promise for catastrophic drug coverage for the people with disorders like PNH, a kidney disorder, that requires a very costly medicine.
Barry Katsof of the Canadian Association of PNH Patients tells CHSJ News when they met with Health Minister Ted Flemming that gave him suggestion on how to implement a program that everyone can afford.
He says they pointed out to him that the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, a cost pooling program, exists specifically to make the high cost of prescription drugs affordable for small and medium-sized businesses.
Katsof uses a New Brunswick teen with PNH as an example of the problem saying he is currently covered under his parent's drug coverage plan while at university but how will he pay for the drug once he finishes school.
Katsof describes the Alward government's current health plan as a deceitful election strategy playing with people's lives.
Judge Alfred Brien described Donnie Snook as "reckless and uncaring" as he sentenced the disgraced former politician and church leader to 18 years in jail minus time served.
Defence lawyer Dennis Boyle tells CHSJ News it's not known where he'll be incarcerated--but that decision will be made by federal authorities after Snook undergoes at assessment at Springhill.
Snook's sister, Donna says she expects some of the victims will go on to repeat the behaviours if they don't get counseling---and she believes, had Snook received help himself, he wouldn't have committed the crimes.
Snook was described as meeting the DSM criteria for exclusive type pedophilia with a preferred age range of boys 8-12--and while treatment will help him manage his urges they aren't likely to go away.
Donnie Snook's defence lawyer, Dennis Boyle tells us his client is relieved the long wait for sentencing is over
Boyle says Snook is looking forward to starting the counseling available to him in jail.
As far as the 4 charges laid against Snook in Newfoundland are concerned, Boyle says they will be dealt here in this province along with the disposal of Snook's assets including his home, vehicle and electronics.
Donnie Snook receiving a sentence of 18 years in federal prison for 46 child exploitation charges.
Some people sitting in court today were visibly upset and crying at the news of his sentence.
Judge Brien is speaking court this morning saying mitigating factors in his sentencing include the fact that he does not have a record, he cooperated with police, he plead guilty plea and he received a positive pre-sentence report.
The judge also saying Snook appeared to have genuine remorse but failed to empathize with his victims.
The mother of one Snook victim says she deals with daily fear her son will commit suicide or die from the drugs or alcohol he has turned to.
Former Common Councillor Donnie Snook is scheduled to be sentenced this morning on 46 charges of child exploitation.
The prosecution at the sentencing hearing recommended he get 21 years in prison and serve at least half before being eligible for parole. Prosecutor Karen Lee Lamrock says she calculated what Snook should serve by the number of offenses and it worked out to 75 years in prison.
The defense recommends a prison term of 12 years.
Snook was described as being on the high end of a moderate risk to reoffend although he's willing to participate in rehabilitation treatment.
The court was told he did not empathise with his victims and did not have an emotional relationship with them....It was just about the sex. One of the victims was Snook's own foster child whom he used to get access to other children.
Defense lawyer Dennis Boyle says Snook wonders whether his sexual desires were sent by the devil to undermine his ministry with young people and describes his capture as the best day of his life.
The Police Department's Family Protection Unit was called to the Park Place Apartments off Hickey Road after two young children under the age of 5, a boy and a girl, were discovered alone in less than ideal conditions.
They were taken to the Regional Hospital to be examined for malnourishment and dehydration. There was hardly any food in the apartment.
The call came after police were told children had been screaming inside the apartment and not for the first time. They were found without proper clothing on, one was wearing a dirty diaper.
CHSJ News has learned there have been previous complaints about children screaming for long periods of time and Social Development had been to the apartment before.
Police were on the scene all afternoon, well into the evening.
The first day of the short work week is extra busy with two cruise ships in town.
While many provinces have a Prescription Monitoring program in place to battle prescription drug abuse, no such program currently exists here in New Brunswick, and the Executive Director of the provincial Pharmacists Association wants to see that change.
It's been 3 years since anyone saw him and the RCMP are hoping new tips can breathe life into an old case. 
