Most of us think Saint John streets are fairly safe--but should we think otherwise?According to the magazine, Saint John has the highest rate of reported sex crimes in the country. The rate in the city is 132 per cent above the national average at 97 per 100,000. And our provincial capital, Fredericton has the third-highest rates in the country after Belleville, Ontario. The numbers don't necessarily mean that Saint John and Fredericton have more sex crimes. It does suggests that more people report the crimes here compared with other places.
The University of
New Brunswick working a little Christmas magic for students stranded by
the strike at Acadian Coach lines. In response to the lock-out at the
bus company, the UNB Student Union chartering buses to get students home
for Christmas Break.
Rides
will be leaving on December 21 from the Student Union Building in
Fredericton and heading to Saint John, Moncton, and Amherst. Tickets
will cost between $40 and $25 depending on the destination. Contact the Student Union for more details.
More controversy in the provincial legislature about the Alward government's decision to charge seniors more for their prescription drugs.Cecile Cassista, Executive Director of the Coalition for Seniors, says that there are other options out there. She says they're urging government to work with pharmaceutical companies, and seniors, to find different solutions. Seniors in the province are often over-medicated, says Cassista. The coalition presented its series of recommendations to health minister Madeline Dube when the changes were first announced earlier this month.The Alward Government has proposed doubling yearly prescriptions costs for seniors from $250 to $500 per year. According to the health minister, the change will save the province $3 million per year.
A fire breaking out on Ellerdale Street this afternoon. A wall in the apartment on the corner of Margaret Street and Westmorland street caught ablaze after some work was being done on the pipes in the walls.The fire department put out the fire after demolishing the wall to determine whether it had spread. Despite the damage, no one was injured. Killam Properties is moving the residents displaced by the fire to another unit.
A man found dead in an uptown Saint John parking garage.On Friday evening, police responding to reports that someone appeared to be laying trapped beneath some furniture in the garage. When city police arrived on the scene, they found the body of a 50 year old man behind some items which were being stored there.Police are looking into what happened. They also say they're not treating the death as suspicious at this point.
