Cirque de Soliel Premier at Harbour Station

High-flying acrobats, contortionists, and world-class musicians at Harbour Station from tonight until Sunday with the latest show by world-renowned Cirque de Soliel.

It's called Dralion  and publicist Julie Desmarais tells CHSJ News it's going to be a dramatic spectacle. with a lot of energy.

Cirque de Soliel gets under way at 7:30. Tickets are available at the Box Office. Check out a video of today's rehearsal below.

PotashCorp Might Expand Terminal In Saint John

The potash expansion currently underway at Picadilly could lead to an expansion of the potash terminal here in the city -- that according to the president of PotashCorp.

Garth Moore says it would be a substantial upgrade because the company would need more rail lines and the ability to load larger ships.
 

Moore says there are no fixed plans yet but talks could begin later this year, which would include consultations with the community.

Manley To Speak On Depression Struggle Tonight

Elizabeth Manley winning the silver medal in figure skating at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary is a moment many Canadians will never forget.

At the time, the figure skater was battling depression.
Manley tells CHSJ News in the early 80's people didn't understand and were afraid of mental illness.

She says it was her and her mom struggling to get her diagnosed and when she was she had to choose between drug or talk therapy but being an athlete she was fearful of medication because of severe drug testing.

You can watch a shoe fashion and hear Manley speak tonight at the CMHA "A Day In Her Shoes" fundraiser in the Market Square atrium at 6pm.

Mayor Denies Allegations About His Leadership Style

Mayor Ivan Court firing back at Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase for his recent comments on the mayor's leaderships style. Chase described an employee-centric atmosphere of intimidation at City Hall, saying the mayor set a poor tone for the rest of city staff.

Court explains to us it wasn't his leadership style that was the problem--rather, the loss of Common Councillor Joe Mott meant the votes were often deadlocked 5-5 and it was difficult to move things forward.

The mayor said he's proud of what council has accomplished--and if some people disagree, that's just part of the job.

New Kent Location Over West

The Golden Mile being a boost with a new Kent Building Supplies location set to go up at the site of an old garage on Catherwood and Fairvale Boulevard. Mary Keith, a spokesperson for Kent, tells CHSJ News they don't have a definite time frame on the new build but it's going to happen soon.

She adds a local company has been awarded a contract to demolish the existing structure in preparation for the construction.

It's part of a broader more to revitalize shopping in the area with a new Walmart also being put in the former Zeller's location in Lancaster Mall.

Health Department Looking At Using Disposable Linen

19 jobs at what was known as Fundy Linen along with 6 or 7 jobs in Fredericton are under threat if the Health Department decides to go ahead with using disposable linen in the O-R instead of reusables.

The President of local 2291 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Giselle St. Pierre tells CHSJ News to go down this road would not only be bad for the local economy with more job losses but also for the environment.

St. Pierre says they send out 800 thousand pounds of linen out every year just in the Saint John region and to make matters worse, it's her understanding the disposables will be coming from Mexico.

BOT Hosts Candidates For Mayor

The four candidates for mayor facing the business community at a Board of Trade town hall meeting.
Matthew Thompson says other priorities are being overshadowed by the pension crisis.

He says we need to increase the tax base by working with businesses and developers to open our city up and cut the red tape making it easier for business to grow.

Mel Norton says Saint Johners are most concerned about pothole politics with the top 3 subjects he hears door to door being clean water, better roads and improved recreation facilities.

Drug Bust Near Pennfield

A joint investigation by the RCMP, City Police and Rothesay Regional Police resulting in the seizure of what's described as a large quantity of cocaine.

Two women and a man were arrested after their vehicle was stopped along Highway 1 near Pennfield.
 
25-year-old Dana Delbert Hanley of Elmsville, 34-year-old Amy Mae Bryant of St. George and 22-year-old Candice Jolene Cleghorn of Oak Bay have already appeared in St. Stephen Provincial Court on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
 
Hanley is back behind bars until his next court appearance. Both Cleghorn and Bryant were released on conditions. Their next court appearance is scheduled for May 11th.

Police Raid On West Side

Major Crime may have more to say about this later today but six people are behind bars after a search warrant was carried out on St. James Street West. 

City Police used uniformed officers backed by the tactical unit to make the arrests around 10:00 last night as a result of what are described to us as various investigations.     

Train Derails On East Side

Three rail cars going off the tracks on the east side. 

District Fire Chief Joe Armstrong says the derailment happened along Rothesay Avenue behind Shur Fit but there was no leakage of spin acid, molten sulphur or crude oil that were inside the rail cars. 

All that material was transferred to other rail cars. 

There's no word on what caused the derailment.

Questions Raised Over Local Campaign Financing

Over 20 candidates in the municipal election taking part in a public meeting at Harbour View High School.

About 100 people coming out for the event, which allowed the crowd to ask the candidates questions.

The most contentious point came when candidates were asked yes or no if they would submit to the media where their campaign finances come from.

While all of the other candidates but Greg Norton said they would be willing to give a list of contributors to the media, Mayoral candidate Mel Norton tells CHSJ News he purposely does not know who contributes to his campaign and keeps his fundraising at arms length.

Norton told the crowd he does so in order to be non-bias or appear to be under an influence should he win the mayor's seat.


He says he does not believe he is being backed by big business.

Is This Coffee Maker Worth $40,000?

Looks like Common Councillor Patty Higgins wants to brew up some controversy--in open session, she argued the city shouldn't be raising fees for sports fields when there's a $40,000-per-year coffee machine in city hall. She described the machine as having lots of different flavours, as well as instant.

Higgins tells CHSJ councillor Bruce Court gave her the scoop about the extravagant machine. But Court tells CHSJ News there's no way City Hall would give itself those kinds of...perks. He says the claim is ridiculous, and you'd have to live in a tunnel to think a coffee maker could cost that much.

CHSJ News has found the coffee maker is a rented Keurig B3000 SE. Some online retailers have it listed at $1000.