Following The Track Of Hurricane Earl

(Shot Of Hurricane Earl and It's Current Path)

Tropical storm watches have been issued for Saint John county, Moncton, Grand Manan and Fundy National Park as Hurricane Earl heads north.


Chris Fogarty of the Canadian Hurricane Centre says they are predicting a similar path as the Miami Hurricane Centre who say the storm could make landfall somewhere between Grand Manan and Digby, Nova Scotia by Saturday morning.


Fogarty says the storm's current track has it travelling over cold water which will weaken it's intensity.
Earl may be bringing wind gusts to 90 kilometres an hour in the Bay Fundy on Saturday and up to 70 millimetres of rain.

Emergency Measures Meeting This Afternoon

(City Of Saint John Communications Officer Nancy Moar)
                           (File Photo)

Officials from the Saint John Emergency Measures Organization is keeping a close watch on Hurricane Earl.

A meeting is underway this afternoon to discuss the response plan as the storm is expected to make landfall Saturday morning.


Officials are reminding all home-owners to have a 72-hour emergency kit on hand.
To find the link on what your prepardness kit should have click here.

Bridge Authority Is Prepared For Storm

What-ever Hurricane Earl may bring to the area this weekend, the Harbour Bridge Authority says it is ready for it.


With construction on-going and a lot of material vunerable to the high winds, General Manager Ken Anthony tells CHSJ News, they have learned some lessons from previous storms.


Anthony says depending on when the storm arrives, workers may have to shut down due to high winds but doesn't expect that will throw a huge delay into the over-all schedule.

Cruise Ship Schedule Thrown Off By Earl

     (Aerial Shot of the Saint John Port)

The Celebrity Summit is not in Port today due to the path of Hurricane Earl and other scheduled visits have or could be altered through-out the weekend.


The Carnival Glory is not set to dock until Saturday morning but is coming in tomorrow night.


Port Authority Harbourmaster John McCann tells CHSJ News, weather is nothing new to the Port.


McCann says the entire schedule is subject to the track of the storm with the Explorer of the Seas due in Monday but they haven't heard from her yet.

Body Found In Water Identified

City Police have identified a body that was found floating in the Saint John River near Highland Road last weekend.
No name is being released and officers say they have notified family.


The body had to be sent for DNA analysis to be identified as it was so badly decomposed.

Looking For Options For Former Paramount Theater

      (Front End View Of Former Theater)
             (Photo By Jim Hennessy)


What would you like to see happen with the former Paramount Theater?


That question is being thrown on the table by Uptown Saint John and the building owner Paul Daeres.


Both have signed into a short term agreement to explore uses for the building.


A feasibility study will be conducted over the next ten weeks to see if there is a solid case for the building’s renewal.

Cash for the study has been brought to the table by Saint John Harbour Liberal candidate Ed Doherty.

Union Picketer Charged

(Union Sign In Front Of Brunswick Square)
         (Photo By Jim Hennessy)

One of the strikers who was picketing outside the Chipman Hill parking garage has been charged with public mischief.


The 45 year old woman claimed she had been threatened and run over by a driver who was angry at being held up.


She will make a court appearance in October.

Drivers Wearing I-Pods Behind The Wheel

There is a new distraction for motorists......listening to your I-Pod while driving.


Several have been spotted in recent weeks with the earbuds firmly in place around Greater Saint John.


Sargeant Jeff LaFrance is Head of the City Police Traffic Division and tells CHSJ News, beside handing out a warning, there isn't much they can do.


LaFrance points out the dangers of wearing an I-Pod should be obvious and urgers all drivers to put them away while behind the wheel.

New Democrats Roll Out More Of It's Policy

N-D-P leader Roger Duguay is promising to appoint an efficiency officer to find ways of eliminating duplication and waste in government if his party wins the September 27th election.
Duguay says the efficiency officer would report directly to cabinet - and - that report would be made public after being presented to cabinet.
He says the goal would be to save 75-million dollars a year without making cuts in front line services like health and education.

Traffic Concerns Raised By Common Councillors

(Common Councillor Peter McGuire)
                  (File Photo)

After hearing safety concerns, Common Council now wants to get information from City Police about the number of collisions that have occurred along Loch Lomand Road. Some residents claim there have been 7 or 8 of them along one stretch because of a blind knoll.

Council wants to make the traffic flow at Simm's Corner less dangerous but the estimated cost of doing that is 13 million dollars. Councillor Peter McGuire says this might be a good time to press the case with the provincial election just around the corner along with the road being designated as a provincial highway.

As for how dangerous Loch Lomand Road is, Councillor Joe Mott, who lives there, says there's too much traffic, too much speed and not enough police patrols.

Councillor Patty Higgins warns expanding Highway One to six lanes from the K-V into the city won't make it safer for drivers. She points to research showing the widening of highways results in greater speed and lane changes.

Charge Laid Against Striker

A new development in the strike which has seen picketers outside Brunswick Square, the Delta and the Chipman Hill parking garage. City Police say one of the strikers will be formally charged with public mischief at a court appearance next month. The 45 year old woman claimed a driver who was angry at being delayed at the parking garage threatened and then ran over her.

People's Alliance Party Officially Kicks Off Provincial Election Campaign

(People's Alliance Party Leader Kris Austin)
                     (File Photo)

The People's Alliance Party officially kicked off its campaign for the September 27th provincial election by focusing on what it calls the financial crisis facing the province.

Party Leader Kris Austin says nothing or very little has been mentioned so far about the growing provincial debt and string of budget deficits.

Austin says the People's Alliance is not proposing any tax increases but modest tax cuts for small businesses to stimulate economic growth.

The Provincial New Democrats are accusing both the Liberals and Conservatives of being irresponsible with all of their campaign promises.

Price Of Gas In City Rises

Gas prices have taken a hike after the weekly setting with maximum prices rising by a couple of cents. Self serve regular is now selling for 96.4 cents a litre around town with diesel up to $102.5. The maximum price for propane is listed at $101.7 a litre.

Saint John Getting Evaluated For North America's First Geopark

(Bill Merrifield who chairs Saint John's Geopark Committee)
                 (Photo by Tamara Steele)

If you were to judge the response of 200 people to evaluators and the local committee, Saint John is a step closer to becoming the first Geopark in North America.

A keen crowd at the New Brunswick museum last night listening to evalutors from Germany and Ireland sing the praises of Greater Saint John after two days of touring local geosites. Committee chair Bill Merrifield says they are touring 9 of the 10 geocities in the area by air or by ground including the Fundy trail.

Dr. Patrick McKeever, who is one of the evaluators, says geoparks are not a list but, a network.

Merrifield says the evaluators are coping well in the heat as the tour so far taken to Norton and St. Martin's and there are no bad vibes about this project. Merrifield tells CHSJ news Saint John will know if it was successful by early October.