City police releasing the name of the teenager who was stabbed and died during a home invasion earlier this month.
18-year-old Andrew Jonathan (AJ) Dennison was from lower west Saint John and was transported to the Saint John Regional Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
There's now a Canada wide warrant for the arrest of 21-year-old Bradley Saia in connection with the home invasion. Police remind you not to approach Saia, but to call the Saint John Police Force at 506-648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) with any information.
Police were called to 348 Prince Street West on November 3rd to a home invasion where two young men were found stabbed.
A memorial service will take place this afternoon at 3:30 from Trinity Anglican Church for 57 year old Mike Patterson who was killed in a motorcycle crash last Sunday.
Patterson leaves behind two sons as well as his parents.
The crash happened near a turn on Milford Road. No other vehicles were involved.
The long term future of a national anti-bullying organization in Fredericton is still up in the air.
Rob Frenette, the co-executive director of Bullying Canada warned last month, without more financial support, the organisation would have to close down by the end of this month.
Since then, there has been a $10,000 donation from an Alberta company and a few hundred dollars in other donations from around the Maritimes but Frenette acknowledges that won't be enough to keep operating over the long term.
He and his co-executive director will probably have to go back to being volunteers within two or three months.
Renowned heart surgeon Dr. Jim Parrott underwent quadruple bypass surgery at the Saint John Regional Hospital, missing today's throne speech because of the surgery.
Provincial Health Minister Hugh Flemming said he was asked by Parrott's wife to inform members of the legislature that their lone Independent member was undergoing surgery.
Dr. Parrott
was elected in 2010 as the Conservative M-L-A in the riding of Fundy-River
Valley but was ejected from the party's caucus in September due to clashes over healthcare. He got into trouble for suggesting his own government wasn't listening to doctors when drawing up health care policy.
Flemming said Dr. Parrott had completed his surgery but couldn't comment further on his condition.
A beloved Saint John landmark and Christmas tradition won't be lighting up this year or ever again.
Christmas icon 'Murphyville' will no longer be maintained by Donald Coholan.
Karen Bethune tells CHSJ news every Christmas Eve since the 1960's she's gone to see the holiday display and now takes her own kids there. She says she's disappointed it will be gone, but understands it's a lot to take care of.
Bethune says her late uncle donated a picture of the Agony in the Garden in memory of his wife, and she was contacted by the Coholan's to see if she would like it back.
The display was built over 40 years ago by the late M-L-A Lou Murphy. Bethune remembers going to church with Murphy and says Murphyville is a legacy to a great man. A Facebook page called "Save Murphyville" has since been created, where people can share their memories and show support.
With the third session of the 57th provincial Legislature kicking off today, Liberal Energy and Environment critic Chris Collins says he's looking forward to spirited discussions on shale gas.
Collins says a moratorium is necessary until legislation that protects the environment is put into place.
The Liberals say they've been clear from the start........They want strong regulations that take into account research from around the globe.
There were both pro-shale gas and anti-shale gas demonstrations held outside the Legislature.
Two legendary Canadian performers are coming to the Imperial Theatre tonight.
Rita MacNeil and Frank Mills will be performing at the Imperial in a concert titled “Sharing Christmas”.
They'll perform both classic material from both their repertoires in addition to a number of songs performed together. MacNeil is known for her strong vocals, while Frank Mills is a renowned composer and pianist. Tickets are $65 and available at the Imperial Theater Box Office at 24 Kings Square. Call 1-800-323-7469 for more details.
With winter now upon us, stray cats in the city don't have it easy.
In response to the influx of unwanted cats in city shelters, Councillor Susan Fullerton is spearheading a spay and neuter program called Operation Catnip which "nips" the problem in the bud. Operation Catnip will partner with the P-E-I Vet's College and other institutions to spay and neuter 30 cats in the shelter before Christmas at a discounted rate. Fullerton hopes it will become an ongoing initiative.
The Uptown is covered in fresh, new parking signs that now clearly indicate where you can and can't park throughout the month. The 600+ signs replace the 6 year old ones that only stated where you can't park.
City traffic engineer Tim O'Reilly tells CHSJ news the new signs will make parking rules easier to understand in hopes of issuing less tickets. He says they have received many complaints that the old signs were clear as mud.
2 hour parking on certain uptown streets change from one side to the other side halfway through the month.
The parking commission says $17,000 was set aside in the 2012 capital budget to install them.
With the startling news the city's pension deficit is actually sitting at 345.5 million dollars, New Brunswick Police Association Vice-President Jamie Hachey tells CHSJ News the city clearly needs to consider switching to the shared risk model.
Hachey says the Task Force brings a lot of expertise to the table and council needs to do its due diligence when it comes to weighing the information.
Paul Stackhouse of the Firefighter's Association agrees, saying he's glad the Task Force is assisting. Both Hachey and Stackhouse held off on further comments before next week's vote.
The unions and Common Council need to agree on any changes to the pension plan before they can be adopted.
With an aging population, skilled trades instruction is becoming more of a necessity in our local high schools.
That, according to the Coordinator of Technology & Skilled Trades for Anglophone South Moira Sherwood who says it has become crystal clear there is a need for skilled trades people across the province.
She warns the shortages will only get worse with an aging population and more boomers retiring. Sherwood says some courses like carpentry and cabinet making can use the hours spent in a classroom towards hours in an apprenticeship.
The "Q" League Commissioner stopping off in Saint John and says there are no plans for expansion. Gilles Courteau says 18 teams are are enough.
He acknowledges the league is getting more exposure because of the NHL lockout but on the other hand it's not good for the game in general.
Courteau also says not having the NHL is hampering the further of development of players like Jonathon Huberdeau of the Sea Dogs who would otherwise be in the NHL.
He's suggesting there could be more junior hockey shown on national television if the NHL season gets cancelled in its entirety.
It's a cold day for a long walk and even worse without gloves or a hat. That was the case for a 13-year-old Quispamsis Middle School student who was kicked off the bus yesterday and walked almost an hour home. Nick Sewell-Boudreau's mother Nicole Boudreau was not informed by anyone at the school. She tells CHSJ News in her experience her son can't leave the school unless signed out by a parent or guardian indicating the time and where he's going.
She says the school just allowed him to leave and when speaking with the school board this morning the person she talked to referred to the incident being 18 to 24 hours ago. Boudreau takes that too mean if her son was kidnapped or grabbed yesterday that no one cares.
Boudreau tells us she is baffled and can't believe she wasn't informed by the school that her son was kicked off the bus. Our newsroom has left a message with the Anglophone South School District.
Saint John's financial situation is even worse than many of us may have thought.
Susan Rowland, Chair of the Pension Task Force, explained last night at Common Council that the pension deficit is actually $345.5 million, which paints a very different picture than the $195.9 million estimated in the financial report the city filed earlier this year with the Superintendent of Pensions.
In light of the re-calculation, the Pension Task Force is strongly advocating the switch to a shared risk model, which in broad terms means city employees pay more and the city less.
Mayor Mel Norton tells CHSJ News the Shared Risk Model might be far less expensive than the current payment, but getting the funding in anything approaching reasonable shape would still be a long process. Common Councillor John MacKenzie referred to the shared risk model as "the best of the worst." Councillor Susan Fullerton disagrees, saying the shared risk model places too much of a burden on taxpayers who are not members of the plan. Further complicating matters is the need to have all unions on board before the transition could, in theory, proceed.
Council will take a week to reflect and receive input before voting on the next step Monday.
NB Power is looking at a number of ways to slash a billion dollars in debt.
NB Power's President telling a Saint John business audience it plans to do that in a number of ways including pilot programs and smart thermostats.
Gaetan Thomas says their rates forecast is based on an escalation factor, which is close to what is expected for the next 3 to 5 years.
He adds no one can predict oil prices 10 years down the road, which makes Point Lepreau valuable it's more predictable and less volatile. The cost of energy shifts dramatically with 6 to 9 cents per kilowatt hour in non peak times versus 20 cents a kilowatt hour in peak times.
A significant release of sulphur at the Irving Oil Refinery causing concern among people who live in Champlain Heights.
Gordon Dalzell of the Clean Air Coalition lives in the area, and noticed a strong smell just before 11 am yesterday.
He tells CHSJ news both the Provincial Environment Department and Irving Oil confirmed there was an air pollution incident. He was told the refinery was loading a large tank too quickly and the fumes were blowing into the air.
Dalzell says he was informed by D.O.E. that it's looking into the matter adding the air quality monitor at Champlain Height school went off for a good 10 minutes which is unusual.
Our newsroom has placed called to both the Department of Environment and Irving Oil on the matter.
Lots of talk from Mayor Mel Norton about True Growth 2.0 and the expanding economic horizons of our so-called "renaissance city", but the concept behind True Growth started with former Mayor Norm McFarlane.
McFarlane championed similar development principles during his 2004-2008 term, and he tells CHSJ News he supports Norton but warns PlanSJ might be a bit too restrictive.
McFarlane says Norton is bang on with his notion that Saint Johnners need to stop taking such a negative attitude about the city, because it only hinders our development.
The proposed economic development plan for the region comes before Grand Bay-Westfield town Council tonight.
Mayor Grace Losier was on hand for the launch and is gung ho about it producing the desired results. She was Mayor when then Saint John Mayor Norm McFarlane launched the true growth strategy.
Losier says it's all about making the core strong because everyone in the region then benefits.
Dayna Vettese from the Weather Network tells CHSJ news the temperature and precipitation will be above normal, with more snow and rain expected in Saint John. She says normally our winter daily highs are minus 1 and nightly lows are in the minus teens. We can expect more than 180 cm of snow and 200 mm of rain. Vettese says the warmer weather comes from storm tracks that are expected to go over the Atlantic provinces. When it comes to big snow storms, she says they're hard to predict but we'll have some cold spells.
Another court appearace for 27 year old Nathan Dean, who's charged with confronting a jogger on one of the trails at Rockwood Park October 3rd while armed with a knife.
He will stand trial January 14th with one day being set aside for testimony. In the meantime, he stays in jail.
A 33 year old Saint John man also appearing in court to be sentenced for accosting a 48 year old woman at the Irving Nature Park.
Ronald Parsons was sentenced to 6 months to be served in the community with conditions. The court was told he ran off when the woman took action in response to being assaulted.
Parsons has been ordered to stay out of the nature park and take counselling for mental health.
A passing driver on the 119 arterial in the K-V being credited by Rothesay Regional Police after calling them about a man who was wandering along the highway in just his pajamas.
As it turns out, the man lives in Quispamsis and is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.
Police say he managed to leave his home without other family members being aware but is back safe and sound having suffering no lasting effects from the cold.
We should find out tonight what changes will be needed to fix the city's financially strapped pension plan as Common Council will be hearing the the pension task force on what changes have to be made to stop the financial bleeding with the city's pension plan.
The next phase of true growth will also come up for approval complete with presentations from Enterprise Saint John and Waterfront Development. Deputy Mayor Shelly Rinehart wants to get a new comprehensive economic development plan started sooner rather than later.
Enterprise Saint John and Waterfront Development are also scheduled to give presentations.
Also on the agenda is the water budget.........Councillors have already been given the recommendation water rates go up next year by 7.4 per cent.
Now that it has been revealed drivers in the province have been overcharged for their auto insurance to the tune of 71 million dollars, provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy says it's time to revisit the 2004 report given to then Premier Bernard Lord on moving to the public system.
Cardy tells CHSJ News average annual premiums would drop by 20 per cent to just under a thousand dollars and the province would make a couple of million dollars profit each year and the province would make a couple of million dollars profit each year.
Cardy argues public auto systems don't discriminate based on age or gender but set rates according to your driving record.
He charges both the Liberals and Conservatives depend on campaign contributions from the insurance industry and, as such, don't want to rock the boat.
A group of people, who live by the Loch Lomond water supply, want Common Council to ensure the safety of their water after they've spotted numerous helicopters flying over the lakes. Dr. Paula Tippett has written a letter to Council concerned these helicopters are carrying geo surveying equipment that could be exploring the possiblity of fracking for shale gas. Tippett tells CHSJ news the aircraft have been flying over the lakes daily for a couple of weeks. She says the government has told her they're just landing at the airport but Tippett wants to make sure councillors will protect the water supply from any harm. Council is scheduled to address the letter tonight.
It looked alot worse than it turned out to be, at least for the driver as a truck careened off Highway One near the Department of Transportation garage at Musquash shortly after 5 yesterday afternoon.
The U-Haul was motoring eastbound when it broke through the guard rail, hit a highway exit sign and overturned in a ditch. The driver sustained just minor injuries.
As Musquash volunteer firefighters responded to this crash, a car travelling westbound also left the highway and landed upright in a ditch but the driver wasn't injured.
Earlier in the afternoon, a motorcycle crashed on Milford Road with a 57 year old man transported to hospital where he later died.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you're about to get a new way to fight it.
New health coaches are gearing up here in Saint John and across the province as part of New Brunswick's new Live Well! program. The $1.7 million partnership between the Department of Health, the Canadian
Diabetes Association and the Medavie Health Foundation uses a community approach to prevent and manage diabetes. Lesley Melanson is one of the heath coaches here in Saint John and she tells CHSJ news she'll be helping people between the ages of 16 and 50 fight the chronic disease. She'll be a resource and mentor in helping people get healthy. They'll work with community groups that focus on healthy eating, active living and mental health.
Melanson says a big misconception about type 2 diabetes is most people view it as a disease only older people get and because of this, a lot of young people keep living an unhealthy lifestyle. She says about 10% of people living in Greater Saint John and over 70,000 people in New Brunswick have diabetes. That number is also expected to rise to 128,000 by 2032.
The service is free but you'll need to be refereed to the health coach by a physician or another health care provider.
Five people in are temporarily homeless after a fire yesterday afternoon that destroyed their duplex. No one was hurt in the blaze at 115 Smith Avenue in Shediac.
The Canadian Red Cross provided emergency aid with blankets, food and shelter.
Firefighters were on the scene for several hours. No word yet no the cause of the blaze. The second fire happening in Bathurst around 8 o'clock at night.
The Canadian Red Cross says two families are without a home after a fire broke out on Assaff Drive.
Fire crews say the blaze destroyed a row house and caused smoke damage in several other nearby row houses. No one was injured.
It turns out most of are pretty satisfied with our jobs according to a recent study by the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling. Jeff Landine, an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at UNB, has reviewed the study and found we also have a better balance between work and our personal lives than most countries. The study shows a whopping 81% of us are satisfied with our jobs, 86% like the work we do and 78% are happy with our overall lives It also found 88% of us like our coworkers and 62% are content and don't plan to switch jobs. Landine isn't surprised by the numbers explaining the more control we feel we have in our jobs, the happier we are. The downside? 39% of us feel we aren't paid fairly. Landine says when you look at pay, perks or interest in work, that can lead to dissatisfaction.
The folks at Gondola Point will be getting a gift by Christmas.
That's when the ferry William Pitt II should be fixed up, according to the Department of Transportation.
Since the ferry's been sent out for repairs in Nova Scotia, it has been replaced with the smaller F-79 Woolstock ferry that holds 8 fewer vehicles than the Pitt.
The smaller backup ferry has experienced a few mechanical problems itself, which D-O-T says is due to overuse.
The Lancaster Santa Claus parade on the west side will get underway this afternoon at 1:00pm. It moves along Manawagonish Road to Main Street and then down Ready to Catherwood before making the turn onto Fairville Boulevard, finishing up at the former Co-op store. Non-Perishable food items will be collected during the parade for local food banks as well as letters for Santa. The awards for the best floats will be handed out at 4:00 in the lobby of Sobeys. In the KV, the parade starts at 6:00pm. It'll make it's way down the old Hampton Road to the intersection of Marr Road and Clark Road. Aaron Kennedy from the Town of Quispamsis tells CHSJ News it's the 14 year for the event. Non-perishables food items will be collected for the KV food basket along with letters for Santa.
The funeral of Saint John firefighter Dale Clinton taking place today. A graduate of Saint John High School and UNB, he served as a firefighter since 1999. The 39-year-old was also secretary of the Saint John Firefighters Association Local 771. He's survived by his mother Lynn Doyle, his brother Chris, and aunts and uncles.
According to Castle Funeral Home, a funeral liturgy will be held at 10:00 am from the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception,
Waterloo Street. Interment will take place at Greenwood Cemetery.
Clinton died after falling from a hydraulic lift in Ottawa on November 16th while attending a Canadian Political Training Academy in
Ontario.
A coroner ruled Friday that an inquest into the prison death of a New Brunswick teenager will be broadly based despite objections raised by several doctors who treated her.
The three Ontario doctors argued the inquest should focus only on the last days of Ashley Smith's life at the Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener, Ontario.
Smith's family, backed by other parties, wanted the coroner to examine much more, including how Smith was treated at other prisons in other provinces long before her death.
The 19-year-old Smith choked to death in October 2007 as guards essentially stood by. (Courtesy of the Canadian Press)
It may not come as a surprise, but the province's oil giants the Irvings are among the wealthiest Canadians.
That's according to Canadian Business magazine's annual ranking of Canada's wealthiest, putting industrialists James, Arthur and the late Jack Irving at # 3 on the list.
The trio have a combined net worth of about 8-billion dollars.
Topping the list was the Thomson family, owners of Thomson Reuters, at more than $20-billion dollars.
Making physics a little less intimidating and a lot more fun.
That's the goal of Physics–Ploration, a series of exciting physic presentations and experiments at the Saint John Free Public library.
UNB Saint John physics professor Dr. Li-Hong Xu sets up and explains the experiments to get students from elementary to high school curious about the science. She says very few people get into physics because they think it's hard, but Xu stresses that anything is hard and just like anything you have to work on it. She says physics is part of our everyday life and it's interesting to understand the world you're living in. The experiments are designed as hands on activities for students. Today's session will focus on forces. Xu describes some forces as visible -- such as push and pull -- while others are invisible like electromagnetic and gravity. Other sessions in the past have even focused on physics in the kitchen, like how a microwave can measure the speed of light.
Today's presentation will run from 1:00 until 2:00 pm in the multipurpose room on the second floor.
The Algonquin Hotel is getting way more than a new coat of paint.
When renovations are completed by June 1st of 2013, the resort in St. Andrews will have private balconies along the second floor, an indoor pool with a two-story water slide, along with energy-efficient wings conditioned for all seasons.
Vice President of New Castle Hotels and Resorts Guido Kerpel tells CHSJ News it's a unique and iconic property.
Kerpel adds both sections of the hotel will now match, with the same color white paint, and the Tudor-style trim will reach from end to end.
People on the west side will be able to take in the 8th annual Lancaster Santa Claus parade tomorrow afternoon starting at 1:00.
The parade will make its way eastbound along Manawagonish Road to Main Street, turning at Ready Street down to Catherwood and then making another turn onto Fairville Boulevard before winding up at the former Co-Op store.
Non-Perishable food items will be collected during the parade for local food banks as well as letters for Santa by Canada Post.
The awards for the best floats will be handed out in Sobeys at 4:00.
It's being called the dawn of a new era of co-operation between the airport and the port to boost the number of visitors to the city.
Tourism Minister Trevor Holder is pressing forward with promoting the Bay of Fundy as a world class tourist destination.
Port Authority President and C-E-O Jim Quinn tells CHSJ News the Bay of Fundy was in the running a couple of years ago to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
He says if Saint John becomes the starting off point for cruise ships, it would not only mean passengers spending more time in the city before the depart but could result in more flights in and out of Saint John because they would have to get here somehow.
Remembrance Day has passed, but our veterans aren't forgotten.
Saint John MP Rodney Weston announcing a contribution of up to over $20,000dollars to restore a memorialhonouring those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, peacekeeping operations and modern missions.
The monument will be cleaned and polished, and various parts of it will be updated and replaced.
It's been a long time coming, but the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is back online as of today.
The facility is expected to provide 25 to 30 years of power to both New Brunswickers and export customers.Gaeten Thomas, president and CEO of NB Power, tells CHSJ News the customer rates will level out in the long term despite the project's widely-broadcast cost overruns.
There have been seemingly endless delays in the refurbishment project, which began in 2008. Tests and monitoring will continue during the early weeks of the plant's operation.
There's been a significant amount of buzz around around Saint John about the idea of fining sex workers for jaywalking
In fact, at least 75 people protested Thursday in support of sex workers rights on the back of a controversial motion floated by Councillor Susan Fullerton last week.
Councillor Shirley McAlary tells CHSJ News she's heard from a lot of constituents and none of them have been in favour of singling out one group when enforcing the by-law. McAlary, who voted against the motion, says police have better things to do and at the end of the day it's up to them.
Further, she says the only reason the motion got so much support among her fellow Councillors is that they probably didn't fully understand it.
Organizers, spectators and participants are hoping for good weather for the 14th annual KV Santa Claus Parade tomorrow.
It's a joint effort between the towns of Quispamsis and Rothesay.
Aaron Kennedy of the Town of Quispamsis tells CHSJ News this year's theme is "Christmas Around the World" and will feature a whole lot of floats coming down the Old Hampton road.
He says they have over 50 entries in the parade adding a lot of the familiar favourites will be there.
Non-perishable food items will be collected for the K-V food basket along with letters for Santa.
The parade begins at 6pm from K-V High on Saturday night. For more info, click here
The Saint John region doesn't need mega projects in order to prosper according to the General Manager of Enterprise Saint John Steve Carson. He says companies here can generate alot of work by tapping into the mega projects that are happening elsewhere in Atlantic Canada and building the components that are needed for these projects in Newfoundland, Labrador and Halifax. Carson adds he has been told providing supports for these projects has the potential of becoming a real gold mine.
Research has shown Saint Johnners overwhelmingly want their own community based economic development agency instead of relying on the province. Carson says its role will be determined by the Mayors and Councils in the region.
Saint John is seen as being strategically located as a gateway with affordable housing and the potential to have a skilled workforce led by U-N-B Saint John and the New Brunswick Community College.
True growth in the Saint John region is being revitalised with a call to action from Deputy Mayor Shelly Rinehart who says "It's a new day. We're back on the boat rowing together again in the right direction".
She says a comprehensive economic development plan will be put together in the new year which will include aggressively seeking out new business from elsewhere.
Rinehart admits Saint John has not done a good job of promoting itself elsewhere and she warns we need a ready and capable workforce but shortages of skilled workers are looming as the baby boomers retire.
Rinehart says the aim is to create the environment for economic growth to make it happen. She sees lots of opportunities for economic growth in I-C-T, Health Sciences and financial services.
Another court appearance for a 27 year old Saint John man on charges arising from an attack on a jogger in Rockwood Park early last month.
Nathan Dean waived his request for bail and was remanded until Monday morning when a trial date will be set. The woman was confronted on a trail by a man with his face covered and armed with a knife but managed to fight him off.
Today marked a big announcement from the folks at Safe Habour, an emergency shelter for homeless youth that's looking to open its doors in 2013.
The shelter will be built on the former site of Saint James Anglican Church on Broad Street. Coordinator Colin McDonald tells CHSJ News they hope starting to build the shelter will get Saint Johners thinking about how they can help all our marginalized groups.
The 10-bed facility will house at-risk youth for up to six months as they transition from street life to a more permanent home. It will also make counseling and other services available to help the young people transition back into society.
A significant fire has been reported on Westfield Road this afternoon; fire officials got that call shortly after 1pm.
According to early reports heavy black smoke is billowing from the storage building and fire fighters are preparing to begin taking off the roof to fight the blaze.
It's thought to have originated between the floors of the building, which contained a number of boats and RVs.
NB Power and Saint John Water have also been called to the scene.
