City Man Picks Up Lotto Winnings

                            
(Josh Clain, Morgan Sellars, Mary and Anthony Clain)
 (photo courtesy of Atlantic Lotto)


                                   
Saint John's latest millionaire has his 7.6 million dollars from Atlantic Lotto.
Josh Clain's winnings were held up because of a family connection to a lottery retailer.
Clain's girlfriend Morgan Sellars tells CHSJ News they are glad the wait is over.
Clain bought his winning ticket at a store on the west side and won the money in the February 20th draw of Lotto 6-49.
He says they plan to take a cruise, travel across Canada and invest some of the winnings.
Clain is sharing his lottery prize with his parents and girlfriend.

Alward says future energy planning in jeopardy after failed deal

Future strategic energy planning in the province is now vulnerable because of all the information that was handed over to Quebec in the failed negotiations to sell some of the assets of NB Power. That charge being levelled by Provincial Conservative Leader David Alward. And he has a warning about the ground shifting in the political landscape of the province because of all the people who were riled up over the proposed sale.



Alward will be in the city tomorrow night for the party's nomination meeting in East Saint John at the Hampton Inn. Former Fire Chief and Common Councillor Glen Tait announced back in the fall that he would be going after that nomination.

C.U.P.E. calls for changes to Canada Pension Plan

The Harper Government is looking for new ideas on how to reform this country's pension system. That's one of the issues the Canadian Union of Public Employees will be talking about at its annual convention in Fredericton. The President of CUPE New Brunswick, Daniel Legere tells CHSJ News more money will have to be put into the Canada Pension Plan by both workers and government.

Concern over whether baby boomer retirees will have enough to live on has escalated since the financial meltdown decimated R-R-S-P's.

Homeless Youth in Saint John

There could be from 150 to 200 young Saint Johnners without a place to live. That, according to Colin MacDonald of the Resource Centre for Youth. He tells CHSJ News there is an immediate need in the city to help them from a downward spiral.


MacDonald says many times they will be given a place to live by crack dealers who turn them on to the drug trade or use them as prostitutes. According to the report on homelessness, there are 70 emergency shelter beds in Greater Saint John and 934 people used them last year.

Last Of Education Town Hall Meetings Tonight

The last of the District 8 town hall meetings goes tonight with organizers looking for feedback on their schools from parents.
The meetings started back in January in Grand Bay-Westfield and have also been held at Bayside Middle School and at St. Malachy's.
If your child attend's a different school, you can still come to tonight's meeting at Princess Elizabeth School.
Tonight's meeting gets started at 7pm.

No Big Change With Gas Prices

If you're filling up today, there has been very little change in gas prices following the weekly setting. The maximum that can be charged for self serve regular is a bit lower at104.2 a litre and it's being sold around town for 101.9. The maximum for diesel is unchanged at 106.3 and is being sold in the city for 103.7 a litre. Furnace Oil is a bit lower at 90.1 with another decrease in the price of propane which is now listed at 105.2 a litre.

Fire Causes Power Outage

There was a power outage after a transformer caught fire on a utility pole along Pugsley Avenue. Fire crews responded first but had to wait until Saint John Energy arrived. There was alot of sparking from the transformer which caught the attention of nearby residents and caused some concern.

Fallout From Shelving Of NB Power Deal

The President of Saint John Energy found news of the cancelled NB Power/Hydro Quebec deal yesterday a bit surprising.
Eric Marr tells CHSJ News a new provincial energy policy should address the aging infrastructure that all municipal utilities but the main thrust should be protect consumers from rate shock.


The New Brunswick Forest Products Association is appealing to all parties to find an immediate solution to rising power rates. This on the heels of the NB Power Hydro Quebec proposal being squashed. President Mark Aresenault is disappointed with the decision as a major piece of their business plan was the five year rate freeze. Arsenault says now they are faced with rate hikes in electricity rates near or over 20% with the proposal gone.


The death of the energy deal between NB Power and Hydro Quebec is great news for the many provincial groups who spent months fighting against it. Tom Mann of NB Power-Not for Sale! tells CHSJ News they are thrilled it's not happening but, are focused now on what comes next. Mann adds when you tally up the costs associated with negotiating the deal and adverstising it, the cost to provincial taxpayers will be in the millions.

Green Leader Calls Failed Deal An Opportunity

The leader of the provincial Green Party says now is the time to open discussion on the future of renewable energy in our province.
Jack MacDougall says his party's energy platform has been on the table for some time -- and -- he's hoping the others will follow.
Meantime -- MacDougall tells CHSJ News he's not about to count Premier Graham out just yet despite the political damage he's suffered as a result of the failed deal.
But -- MacDougall says support for the Green Party is growing across the province.

Saint John's Newset Car Dealership Is Open

(Open House at New Lexus Dealership)
       (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

Saint John's newest car dealership is officially open for business.

Lexus held an open house tonight to let everyone get a good look at what it has to offer.

General Manager Cathy Coyle tells CHSJ News, this dealership has been ten years in the making with the leg work carried out by Keary Coyle.


Coyle says there has been a lot of traffic since they opened two weeks ago with 15 staff on the payroll.

Political Scientist Says Graham Government Not Out Of Woods

An example of cutting your losses-is how UNB Saint John political scientist describes the Graham government scrapping of their energy deal with Hydro Quebec.

Don Desserud tells CHSJ news the Premier and his government are not out of the woods yet.
Desserud says this will give them a chance to recover but time is not long enough to roll out another policy that would make people forget the failures of the past.
He adds he would not be suprised if the Premier stepped down but he does not think that push will come from his caucus saying the Liberal party will support him.

Missing Moncton Woman Found

A missing Moncton woman has been found alive -- 54-year old Donna O'Rielly was found over the noon hour in Moncton.
She was reported missing February 26th after she failed to arrive home from her job at downtown shopping mall.
Police are piecing together the details surrounding her disappearance and are expected to release more details later this afternoon.

Group Opposed To Energy Deal Pleased It's Not Proceeding

The Coalition to Stop the Sale of NB Power calls today tremendous with news the deal is scrapped but concede their work is not finished.

Greg Cook tells CHSJ News the Graham Government never properly answered the questions the people had on the deal.
Cook adds the answers did not make sense and even the public relations firm the government hired could not spin it.
Cook says he's telling their Facebook group members to keep watch because there are some very unhappy corporate interests and more questions to be answered.

Energy Board Will Hold Public Hearing On Profit And Cost Margins

The provincial Energy and Utilities Board is going to hold a public hearing as part of its review of maximum profit margins - delivery costs - and - full service charges.
The Board says the hearing will be open to both petroleum dealers and members of the general public for comment.
The hearing will be held in the fall -- but -- the Board hasn't given a specific date.

Baby Sling recall

(courtesy of Canadian Press)

The warning issued early this month about baby slings is now upgraded to an outright recall.
More than one-million baby slings made by Infantino are being called back after claims linking them to three infant deaths.
The recall covers 15-thousand Infantino ``SlingRider'' and ``Wendy Bellissimo'' slings sold in Canada.
The U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning that babies can suffocate in the soft fabric slings.
Parents are being told to stop using the slings for babies under four months immediately.

No Apologies From The Graham Government

The Opposition Conservatives have failed in a bid to have the Graham government apologize to New Brunswickers for its handling of the controversial N-B Power sale.
Energy Minister Jack Keir says there won't be any apology for trying to do what was right for New Brunswickers.
Keir says the only plan the Tories have for fixing the utility is to "manage it better" -- something he says they failed to do during their seven years in office.

Conservative Leader responds to news of cancelled power deal

Opposition leader David Alward says the Premier shouldn't expect any brownie points from those who opposed the deal just because it's not going ahead.

Alward says the Premier called it his deal and the people of the province will hold him responsible when this is done

Alward says the Premier fell victim to his own arrogance.

Energy Deal between NB and Quebec cancelled

A political bombshell in the Legislature from Premier Shawn Graham.
The premier says it's with much regret they are no longer proceeding with discussion to finalize the energy agreement with Hydro Quebec.
The Premier still maintains the original deal announced last October and the revised agreement in January were in the best interests of the province.
He says over the past several weeks Hydro Quebec asked for changes that Graham says would take value and added risk to the agreement for New Brunswickers.
Graham does concede he could have done a better job of involving people in the process.

West Side robbery

City Police are investigating an armed robbery early this morning.
Sergeant Pat Bonner tells CHSJ News that police were called to Woodville road on the west side where an 18 year old was robbed with a weapon.
The victim wasn't hurt and the major crime unit is looking for a suspect.

Hydro Quebec Deal Off

Breaking news from the Legislature in Fredericton - Premier Shawn Graham has announced the proposed deal to sell N-B Power to Hydro Quebec is off.
Graham says Hydro Quebec was demanding too much as negotiations continued.
We will have more details and reaction throughout the day.