City Man Gets Help From Immigration Lawyer

A New York state man that has been calling Saint John home for six years in back in the Port City.
Jeff Curley was told he could not re-enter Canada last week and crossing the border last week to have some paper work corrected.


Immigration Lawyer Lee Cohen is representing Curley and tells CHSJ News he is in the middle of two application processes...one for permanent residency and the other for a work permit.
He says some of the information between the two processes got confused and he believes if the Immigration authorities had been a bit more dilligent they would have been able to find the information.
He says the Canadian border still gets it's pound of flesh since Curley can't work until he completes all his paperwork and complete medical
Cohen believes the media coverage on Curley's sudden deportation last week is part of the reason he was able to meet with Canadian border officials on Friday leading to his being allowed back into the country that night.

Nursing Homes Closed Due to Norwalk Virus

The Church of Saint John and St Stephen Nursing Home is closed because of an outbreak of the Norwalk virus.

They are only accepting emergency visitation only. For family members and friends who need more information, call the Resident Info Hotline at 643-6113.

Update On Power Outages

NB Power making major progress on a series of power outages.

About 400 people in Fredericton are without power.  That is down from 2500 a few hours ago.

There are still some outages in Woodstock, Bouctouche, and even a few in Rothesay.

NB Power says the outages were due to trees being knocked into power lines from freezing rain.

NB Power Working To Get The Lights Back On For Nearly 3000 Customers

About 2500 people in Bouctouche and over 400 people in Fredericton are without power. NB Power says the outages are due to rain and freezing rain knocking trees into the lines.  There are also outages in St. Stephen and Woodstock. No word yet on when power will be restored.

Annual Wastewater Report Shows Harbour Clean-Up To Be Primary Focus

The construction of 3 lift stations and several improvements to existing facilities the highlight of the 2010 Wastewater report from Saint John Water.

Three lift stations were built last year: one in Monte Cristo Park and two along Red Head Road.

Graham Huddleston with Saint John Water says wastewater treatment in Saint John poses some unique challenges --  a high number of pumping stations and treatment facilities are needed to carry wastewater through the many hills in the city.

Additional highlights include upgrades to existing facilities and the additional certification of several employees.

Inquest To Begin Later This Month On Death At Potash Mine

A coroner's inquest into the death of Vincent Mitton is coming up later this month in Saint John.The 56-year-old died in November of 2009 after being injured at his job at the Potash mine.

Coroner Gregory Forestell and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding the death and the jury can make recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths under similar circumstances.

The four-day inquest begins on March 22nd at the Sydney Street courthouse.

Revitalization Plan of Crescent Valley Might Be Coming Soon

The revitalization plan for Crescent Valley was the brainchild of the former Liberal government under then Premier Shawn Graham.  Now it will be up to the Alward Government to see it through.

Social Development Minister Sue Stultz promised to be back in the city soon because of Crescent Valley when she attended a Saint John meeting on poverty last month.

Don Darling of Prestige Homes is optimistic about future housing projects in the area.  He says how successful the effort will be depends on whether there's enough capacity to carry through with the vision.    

Province Warns of Flooding Risk

River Watch and the Provincial EMO issuing a localized flood bulletin today.Because of the rain and mild temperatures over the last couple of days in the central, southern and southeastern regions of the provice the melting may lead to localized flooding where normal drainage systems are blocked by snow and ice.
Anyone living or working in areas prone to flooding should be aware and take the proper precautions to safeguard their homes and belongings.

Power Out Early This Morning

Saint John Energy customers in the uptown area suffered a loss of power for approximately one hour this morning.

The transmission line serving two central substations failed at about 2:30. Power was restored through switching to an alternate source at about 3:25.

The cause of the disruption is not known at this time.

Common Councillor Taking Swipe At Saint John Energy

Councillor Gary Sullivan is expressing his disappointment with Saint John Energy.

The energy utility saying no to council's request to providing a discount or donate power to the city's food banks. Sullivan claims Saint John Energy could afford to help out as the utility turned a 2.3 million dollar profit in 2009.

Sullivan says providing a discount wouldn't start a slippery slope of groups asking for similar breaks.

Saint John Energy says they already offer non-profit groups their lowest rates and additional subsidies would not be fair to other customers.

City's Bottom Line Boosted By Increased Property Taxes At Former Transit Garage

Despite criticism about the cost of the new transit building on the east side, the city's bottom line is benefitting from the additional tax revenue being derived from its old location on Fairville Boulevard.

Saint John Transit Assistant General Manager Brian Thorne says alot more property taxes are being paid than when it was a bus garage. Thorne says Saint John Ttransit paid something like 65 thousand dollars while the property bill on that new development now is several hundred thousand dollars.

Saint John Transit is still looking for some relief from its own property tax bill which is in the area of 380 thousand dollars.

New Technology At Peel Plaza Parking Garage Will Save Drivers Gas And Frustration

Those drivers who will be parking their vehicles at the new parking garage at Peel Plaza won't have to go round and round in circles looking for an available space, wasting gas in the process

Common Councillor Chris Titus, who chairs the Parking Commission, says there will be a digital screen showing where the next parking space is.

Even though it costs more initially to put in place energy saving measures, Titus says the extra money is paid back with lower energy bills in a relatively short period of time.