Time Change Weekend

Did you remember to put your clocks ahead one hour last night?
If you didn't, you might be waking up to find it's later than you think.

Everyone in Saskatchewan and a few other pockets of the country do not recognize daylight time.
For the rest of us, in exchange for the possible loss of an hour's sleep, there are months ahead with an extra hour of evening sunlight.

City Man Has Family In Japan

A City man who son lives in Japan felt the impact but was not hurt by the earthquake.
Bob MacVicar's son Mark and his family live near Yokohama about 30 minutes south of Tokyo. He tells CHSJ they felt the earthquake in Tokyo where transportation was knocked out.

His daughter-in-law and grandson were in downtown Tokyo at the time shooting a tv commercial and spent three hours on a bus trying to get back to Yokohama but ended up stayng in a shelter.
MacVicar says the aftershocks are the strength of legitimate earthquakes themselves registering magnitude 6.0.     To make a donation to the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan,
click here

Put Your Clocks Ahead Tonight

It's that time of year again.  Most Canadians lose an hour of sleep this weekend in the switch from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.


Before going to bed tonight, turn your clocks and watches ahead one hour.
The major Canadian exception is Saskatchewan, which is on Standard Time year round.

Fundraising For Japan

As the world watches in horror at the devastation in Japan, Maritimers are giving to the relief effort.
Of the 80,000 donations made by last night, 3000 were from this region.

Spokesperson Dan Bedell tells CHSJ News they have let Japanese red cross what they have to offer if they are called in to help and have also started a fundraising campaign.
He says you can go into any Red Cross office in Atlantic Canada to give just specify it's for the Japan earthquake/tsunami relief effort.  If you want to donate online, click here

Woman Dies Near Airport

A 50-year-old Saint John area woman died last night after a two vehicle crash on the airport arterial.
The driver of the other vehicle was treated in hospital and released.
City police say charges are possible as their major crime and traffic reconstruction units continue to investigate.
The crash happened about 8:30 last night and closed Highway 111 near the airport for three hours.

Liberal MLA Criticizes Job Losses

The Opposition Critic for Training and Labour Chris Collins says the province is losing jobs at an alarming rate.  New figures from Statistics Canada shows New Brunswick losing 12-thousand full time jobs since August of last year.   Collins tells CHSJ News he wants to see Premier David Alward set a job creation target.

He says this government has been caught napping with these numbers and he adds they do not have a job number target or a method for achieving that target.

He says the only thing the Alward government has done was create Invest NB. But Collins says that will only add another layer of red tape to job creation.

City Crews Clean Up Streets

City crews are out in force today cleaning up the streets in preparation for tonight's heavy rain.

City spokesperson Leah Fitzgerald says snow is being removed from curb lines in the North and South end.   Catch basins on the East and West sides will also be cleared out.

The city wants to remind you that you can help by checking and clearing catch basins near your home or business.

Crews will be monitoring rain levels overnight.

Port and Tourism Minister Attending Trade Show

The province and the Saint John Port Authority are teaming up next week to promote New Brunswick as a major cruise ship destination.

They will be attending Cruise Shipping Miami, the world's largest annual cruise trade show.

Tourism Minister Trevor Holder tells CHSJ News the province can be a huge draw for eco-tourists thanks to the Bay of Fundy and other natural phenomenon.

The Port of Saint John has welcomed 1.5 million guests since the cruise ships stared coming to Saint John in 1989.

Meanwhile, Chair of the Saint John Port Authority Stephen Campbell is thrilled to be teaming up with the province on attracting more cruise business to the port.

He says having the support of the province and the Tourism Minister in tow will enhance discussions with cruise line CEO's.

Snow Days Not A Concern In Saint John

School District 8 Superintendent Susan Tipper vows the entire curriculum will be covered in spite of the number of days school has been cancelled because of the stormy weather. That has been a concern raised but Tipper says there haven't been as many days in Saint John where school has been cancelled compared to other areas of the province.

Another concern coming to light from city police is the appearance of the drug "ectasy" in the area. Tipper says the discovery of drugs on school property means an immediate call to police and then home to the student's parents or guardians.

Tipper has told CHSJ News she fully supports sending students to jail if they are caught with drugs on school property.

Arrest In North End Murder

It didn't take long for an arrest to be made in the stabbing death of a 29 year old man in the north end early this morning.

Police say a 17 year old youth went to the RCMP in Hampton early this morning almost a couple of hours after the murder took place.

Police were called to Barker Street shortly after 12:40 this morning after receiving a 9-1-1 call. Police tell CHSJ News the victim was stabbed on the street itself and people who live in close by say they heard what appeared as an altercation beforehand.

Even though someone is in custody, Police are asking anyone who might know something about the circumstances to contact them at either 648-3333 or 648-3211 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-tips.

Deer Island Diver Drowns

The RCMP are reporting the drowning of a 56-year-old Deer Island man yesterday afternoon in the St. George area.

The RCMP and NB Ambulance receibved a call about a diver in distress at Greens Point Road beach in Letete.

Police say fellow divers, after losing sight of a member of their group, went back down into the water and were able to locate their missing colleague and tried to resuscitate him but couldn't do so.

Even though drowning is the apparent cause, the exact cause of death is being investigated with an autopsy to be performed. Worksafe NB tells CHSJ News it's also investigating the circumstances.

Murder In North End

The Major Crime Unit launching a murder investigation.

A man, believed to be in his thirties, was stabbed to death on a north end street.

 City Police tell CHSJ News the stabbing occurred between 12:30 and 1:00 this morning.

No one has been arrested yet. Police say they do have some leads.

Environmentalists Want Shale Gas Moratorium

With both Quebec and New York State declaring a 2 year moratorium on shale gas exploration and development, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick wants Premier David Alward to do the same.

Spokesperson Stephanie Merrill tells CHSJ News the fact that two other jurisdictions are putting on the breaks to evaluate environmental and safety concerns says a lot with studies done in other jurisdictions show that shale gas exploration can have negative effects such as groundwater contamination and toxic emissions.

She says the Conservation Council has been calling for a moratorium since last November. The province is in the first year of a 3 year-exploration for oil and natural gas. 
 
Testing suggests there is trillions of cubic metres of shale gas in the province but Merrill warns while the provincial government is under pressure to find ways to pay off huge debt, we could end up paying a bigger price down the road due by damaging the environment.

Education Council Honours Teacher Who Saved Student

The District 8 Education Council giving special recognition to Saint John High Vice-Principal Micheal Chaisson for helping to save a 16 year old student at the school from drownming almost two weeks ago.

Jordan Murty was discovered not moving at the bottom of the pool.

Chaisson tels CHSJ News it was like time stood still as he applied what he learned from training in C-P-R.

Two other teachers later took over with the chest compressions and clearing Jordan's air way until he came round.

Police Investigating Several Scams

City police are currently investigating a number of scams going around in the city.

One such scam involves being contacted by someone posing as a lawyer or police officer. 

They claim that a relative of the intended victim needs money immediately to help pay for a motor vehicle accident or bail.  The scammer requests the money to be sent immediately through Western Union and for the situation to be kept on the down low for fear of embarrassment.

You should notify police if you think you have been contacted by a scammer or have been defrauded.

Most Travelers Believe In "Jetiquette"

Someone you know is jetting off for the March break and a new survey by Travelocity made some interesting discoveries about travelling etiquette or "jetiquette".Brian Simpson tells CHSJ News finding out 34 per cent of us would give up or window or aisle seat to allow others to sit together says a lot.

Simpson says it was surprising to find out most people are ok with the person sitting next to them taking off their shoes as long as they don't smell.

Digital Fistfights To Be Held This Weekend

Calling all gamers -- there is a video game tournament coming up in Saint John this weekend.  Fight For Infinity is a day-long event featuring the games "Super Street Fighter 4"  and "Marvel Vs. Capcom 3."

One of the organizers, Adrian Silva, tells CHSJ News this event is the first major gaming tournament in the city and another is already being planned in September.

Registration for the tournament starts at 10am Saturday at the Chinese Commerce Centre on Cobourg Street.

The first game gets underway at 1pm.

Gas Prices In City Up Again

No surprise with the price of gas after the weekly setting.........It continues to increase.

Self serve regular is now up to $1.19.6 which is more than 2 and a half cents higher.

Diesel rose by 2 and a half cents and is being sold around town for an even $1.31 a litre.

Heating oil rose even more, by almost 3 cents a litre, and is listed at $118.1.

The price of self serve remains below the Canadian average.

Feds And Province Say No Delays With Removing Tolls

The provincial government says as far as it's concerned, there are no delays when it comes to removing the tolls on Harbour Bridge at the end of the month.

There have been reports that the Federal government would not be able to take the necessary legal steps to forgive the bridge's 22 million dollar loan by March 31st, which would keep the tolls alive until at least June.

Saint John MP Rodney Weston says that is simply not true. He says the debt will be forgiven once ownership has been transferred to the province and the tolls have been lifted.

Saint John Portland M-L-A Trevor Holder says he has been told by the Premier's office that negotiations are continuing.

City Judge Gets Support on No Tolerance For Drugs On School Property

Saint John Provincial Court Judge Bill McCarroll has the backing of School District 8 Superintendent Susan Tipper for his intention to send students to jail if they are found using or even possessing drugs on school property.

Tipper tells CHSJ News the school district also take a dim view of such criminal behaviour with the imposition of an immediate suspension, a meeting with the student's parents or guardians and the implementation of an intervention plan.

The judge sentenced a 19 year old student at Harbourview High to 15 days in jail for having marijuana on school property.