(Conservative Leader David Alward)
Saying it is not a suprise, the Opposition Conservatives are out with their own perspective on why Mike Murphy has stepped down. In a release, the party says the people of this Province have lost confidence in this government and clearly the Premier’s own MLAs are also unable to support the decisions this government is making. Minister Murphy is the second Liberal minister to resign his cabinet post but the first to declare he intends to leave, not just the cabinet but also the caucus.
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, T.J. Burke announced he was resigning from his cabinet position in June following a cabinet shuffle that landed him as Minister of Environment. The party applauds Murphy for his hard work and admit the decision has to be a tough one.
(Justice Minister
Mike Murphy)
Big news out of Moncton today. Justice Minister Mike Murphy is resigning his cabinet post and seat in the Legislature. That is confirmed to our news-room by Colin Caruthers who works at the Minister's office in Moncton. Caruthers tells CHSJ News, all of the details will be announced at a news conference this afternoon at one in Moncton at Murphy's riding office.
Caruthers adds Murphy is working on a few files he wishes to finish up before stepping away from the job in five weeks time. Murphy served as Health Minister for the first two years of the current Graham Governments mandate.
(Rothesay Conservative MLA
Margaret Ann Blaney)
The initial reaction from Rothesay Conservative MLA Margaret Ann Blaney on Murphy's annoucement is shock. With some speculating the Minister is stepping down to distance himself from the NB Power proposal, Blaney tells CHSJ News, that isn't for her to comment.
Blaney and Murphy have had some legendary battles both in and out of the Legislature and Blaney says he is a worthy advesary.
The investigation continues into a New Years Day Crash on the West-Side that killed a 19-year old man. He was killed when the vehicle he was a passenger in left the Sand Cove Road just after four in the morning and hit a hydro pole. The family has requested the man's name not be released to the media.
Sargeant Pat Bonner tells CHSJ News, it could be a few weeks before the blood sample taken from the woman driving is returned to them.
Growth and plenty of it is coming to the community across the bridge. President of the West Side Business Association Blaine Harris confirms to CHSJ News, Papa John's is opening a restaurant on Fairville Boulevard. No word on when construction will get started but the sit down restaurant will be open this year. Also set to start construction is crews on the new Canadian Tire-Marks Work Warehouse store, also on Fairville Boulevard.
Harris tells us construction on that store, which will be located right behind the current set-up, is set to get started in April. As for a movie theater, Harris tells us they are still in negotiations with Empire Theater and hope to have some good news this year.
City staff is looking into ways to fix the problem of flooding in the Westgate area and the acting city manager is recommending hiring a consultant. Engineering consultants CBCL Limited has put together a proposal to look for solutions, after a study was conducted by city staff. The proposal has a price tag of over $73 thousand dollars, and aims to conduct a thorough study on the drainage systems in the Westgate Park area.
CBCL has done other drainage studies for the city and this topic will be up for discussion at tonight's council meeting getting underway at 6:30.
Trees are our best friends..........So says Saint John High teacher Barry Ogden who also chairs the city's Recreation Committee. Ogden spearheaded the Marigolds on main Street campaign and now wants as many people in the city as possible to plant spruce trees.
Ogden says spruce trees would make the city more green in the winter.
(Country 94 and 97.3 The Wave From King Street View)
(Photo by Jim Hennessy)
Our radio stations are getting a make-over. Country 94 and 97.3 The Wave are under construction and that is why you don't see any one in the studio windows, for now. Phase one includes gutting of the front half of the main floor of the building at 58 King Street. When finished next month, both stations will have new state of the art, store front studios and newsroom.
The stations' reception area has also been temporarily relocated to the second floor if your coming in to pick up a prize. Most of the work will be carried out overnight but you may notice the sound of a hammer or other equipment in the background as you listen through the day. Total cost of the project is half a million dollars.
A weather bomb hit the Maritimes over the weekend dumping close to 30 centimeters of snow in the Saint John region. The cleanup is now underway with roads and sidewalks slushy and slippery in spots after the light snow turned to drizzl in the city. A parking ban was imposed in the uptown. City Police tell CHSJ News 15 vehicles have been towed. If you're parked in once of the city lots, your vehicle must be out of there by 7 this morning. Three deaths in the region over the weekend have been attributed to the storm. As of last night, NB Power was reporting more than 100 outages affecting almost 3 thousand people, mostly in the Miramichi. A state of emergency was declared in Port Elgin where two dozen people had to be rescued from homes that were flooded from the storm surge. Some cottages were lifted from their foundations.
It has been a tough 24 hours for NB Power crews as they have been battling the elements trying to get it's customers re-connected to the grid. Since yesterday's winter storm hit, the public utility had up to 15,000 homes and businesses off the grid due to the highwinds, heavy wet snow and tree branches coming down on top of utility lines.
As of six oclock, 3442 customers are still with-out power, the hardest hit area in Miramichi with 2528 customers in the dark and with-out heat. The Utility says it hopes to have everyone back on the grid by midnight.
If you or someone you know lives in the South Central Peninsula, a reminder that there is an overnight parking ban for the area tonight. As of eleven o'clock, all vehicles parked on a street in the area have to be moved to a designated lot. If you don't move your vehicle, it will be towed at your expense.
There are five designated lots where you can park your vehicle starting at six tonight. The corner of Princess and Charlotte Streets, KIng Street East, Peters Street, Carmarthen Street at the Vineyard Church and Mecklenburg Street at Wentworth. Vehicles have to be out of the lots by seven tomorrow morning.
A snowfall warning has been issued for several areas of the Province including the Kennebecasis Valley, Sussex and St.Stephen. Anywhere between 10-25 cm's is expected in those and these areas:
_new_ acadian peninsula
_new_ bathurst and chaleur region
_new_ campbellton and eastern half of restigouche county
_new_ fredericton and southern york county
_new_ fundy national park
_new_ grand lake and queens county
_new_ kent county
_new_ kouchibouguac national park
_new_ miramichi and area
_new_ moncton and southeast new brunswick
_new_ mount carleton - renous highway
_new_ oromocto and sunbury county
_new_ st. stephen and northern charlotte county
_new_ stanley - doaktown - blackville area
_new_ sussex/kennebecasis valley and kings county.
Enterprise Saint John wants the opportunity to address city council on the progress it's made during last year. Representatives will present with what the group has accomplished over 2009 and what the goals are for 2010. The request is to ensure council, and enterprise Saint John are on the same page and to further the city as a magnet for innovation, creativity, and business investment.
The request to present will be discussed at tomorrow nights council meeting starting at 6:30.
With most of the construction of the hull complete, a 23-year old dream is on the verge of becoming reality. The replica of the Marco Polo will be ready to be carried across the harbour later this year to it's yet to be determined final resting place. Chair of the project Barry Ogden tells CHSJ News, it was constructed so anyone wanting to climb on board can do so.
Ogden says a perfect spot for the vessel in his mind is anywhere between Long Wharf and Water Street. The replica is ninty feet long and sixty five feet high, one third the size of the original vessel.
No complaints from the Deputy Mayor of Quispamsis on where the town is and the goals it continues to move towards. Emil Olsen tells CHSJ News, the Q-Plex alone is a shining example of the go forward attitude among Town officials.
Deputy Mayor Olsen adds Quispamsis has alot to offer and that bodes well for both commercial and residential development.
(Saint John Portland MLA Trevor Holder)
(File Photo)
The MLA for the riding of Saint John Portland is gearing up for what he knows will be a busy year. Trevor Holder tells CHSJ News, with a Provincial Election in the fall and the future of NB Power still un-decided, there will be no rest for the weary.
Holder says he will also keep a close watch on what the Graham Government has planned for the future look of the Cresent Valley project.
Even with the weather as miserable as it was last night, a thief found time to hit a business on Rothesay Avenue. City Police tell us someone broke into Kustom Auto Sound just after one this morning.
The good news is the thief stole nothing and took off from the store as quick as he broke in.
As for accidents.......Police Forces in the metro area are reporting a good night. City Police tell us they were called to a few fender benders late yesterday afternoon but for the most part, no serious accidents or injuries to report. Same story for the Rothesay Regional Police. A reminder that the snow is heavy, so take you rtime and save your heart and back some pain.
The Saint John Airport is reporting all runways open and flights are arriving and leaving on time. As for the highways, there is a new service you can call.......511 to check the area your might be travelling to around the Province.
The first snow storm of the new year was a beauty. It snowed all day in Greater Saint John and left roads, driveways and sidewalks full of wet, heavy snow. The clean-up has been on-going since yesterday and the Deputy Commissioner of Municipal Operations for Saint John Kevin Rice tells CHSJ News, this storm kept crews busy because as soon as they would clean a street, it would need another pass in less than an hour.
Rice adds they had a few issues with vehicles parked on the street but for the most part, had good access to most area's. Rice also reminds private operators and home-owners that there is a bylaw about plowing snow on to sidewalks. You could face a fine of up to $500 dollars. As for the gear and the crew, Rice says both are holding up just fine.
(Snow Fall on King Street During Recent Storm)
(Photo by Dave Briggs)
So Just how much snow did we get? Environment Canada tells anywhere between 20-25cm's fell in Greater Saint John. Bathurst appears to be the early winner of the snow-fall contest with 27cm's of fresh powder. Meteorologist Andy Firth tells CHSJ News, it is a slow moving system, just south of Maine and give more snow this afternoon and into this evening.
NB Power continues to be plagued with problems. As of ten o'clock, the public utility is reporting 10,739 of it's customers around the Province are with-out power. 599 in the Sussex area, 1629 in Moncton, 2846 in Miramichi and just over 700 in the Fredericton area.
