Landmark uptown restaurant closes

(Reggie's Restaurant on Germain Street)

(photo by Tamara Steele)

Reggies restaurant on Germain Street, a fixture in the uptown since 1969, is closed.
Reggie Belliveau started the business way back when but sold it in 2001 to Philip Brewer.

The store front has brown paper on the windows and the for lease and closed signs are up on the windows.

Atlantica Centre For Energy Weighs In On NB Power Deal

The Atlantica Centre for Energy likes what it sees in the revised agreement for bits and pieces of NB Power to be sold to Hydro Quebec. The Centre's Vice-President John Herron tells CHSJ News they do have a concern about getting a commitment from Hydro Quebec about growing the energy hub in Saint John. Another concern is future price increases being tied to the consumer price index. Herron says Atlantica would like to have any future price rise tied to the increases paid by Quebecers.
Herron says the centre believes all electricity users in the province will benefit from lower rates and industry will be more competitive.

Appeal Made To Remove Ice Fishing Shacks From River

If you still have an ice fishing shack on the river, You better get it to shore sooner rather than later. So says Gary Gower, President of the Renforth Ice Fishing Association. He tells CHSJ News the mild weather and rain that's on the way could make for quite a mess if you don't act now.
The deadline for removing the ice fishing shacks isn't until mid March but Gower says there's no way they can wait that long.

Housing Market In Saint John Described As Strong

Remax has released an optimistic report on the Saint John housing market with January starting out strong. Gordon Breau of Remax tells CHSJ News prices were 13.5 per cent higher than in January of last year with the average price of a home rising to almost 176 thousand dollars. Breau believes those price rises will moderate and wind up the year with an increase from 6 to 8 per cent. The number of listings in the Saint John market is up by 9 per cent which, Breau claims, will moderate price increases.
The Remax report calls the economic prospects in Saint John good with the concept of the energy hub driving sales and prices.

Vote Overwhelmingly In Favour Of Liquor Store For Peninsula

A dominant yes vote for moving ahead on finding a location for an agency liquor store in the Kingston Peninsula.
Over 200 residents showed up for a vote on whether or not NB Liquor should look into establishing a store in the area.
The Chair of the Chamber of Commerce Linda Dupuis tells CHSJ News she's not surprised by the large turnout for the vote. She concedes there was a bit of controversy over who was eligible to vote for the agency store with NB Liquor stating specific boundaries for people who lived in the proximity of another store.
195 people voted yes for the store while 36 voted no. The next step is for NB Liquor to issue public tenders to shop owners.

Provincial Energy Minister Wants Rate Increase Delayed

(Provincial Energy Minister Jack Keir)

(File Photo)

Provincial Energy Minister Jack Keir says more details about how the government plans to proceed with the N-B Power deal will be announced on Friday.
In the meantime, Keir is asking N-B Power to delay a three per cent rate hike on April 1st if he's unable to finalize the deal with Hydro-Quebec by the end of next month.
Keir says the 3.2 (b) billion dollar plan to sell 10 power plants is a complicated agreement and there's a chance it may not be finalized by March 31st.
Opposition energy critic Bruce Fitch says Keir's request just shows the government is flying by the seat of its pants with the power deal.

Ambulance New Brunswick Changes Policy On Speed

Ambulance New Brunswick has announced a change to its policies so paramedics can decide for themselves when they may exceed speed limits. This follows questions that arose in the Legislature last week over the death of a 56 year old woman in Norton. Concerns have been raised about response times being slower than they could be.
Paramedics, using their own discretion and judgement, can now deviate from the code 1 policy which stipulated they could exceed the speed limit along the highway by 10 kilometers an hour but they can't  go any faster than 130 kilometres an hour on the highway.

Opponent of proposed NB Power sale thinks Liberals are desperate

(photo courtesy of Greg Cook)

One of the groups opposed to the sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec thinks the Graham liberals are getting desperate.



Greg Cook of "No to the Sale of NB Power" which has nearly 30-thousand members on Facebook, tells CHSJ News that is the only explanation as to why the government hired a Washington public relations firm known for selling "lost causes".

The group has a rally planned for March 20th at the Legislature in Fredericton, 11 days before the final vote on the deal.

Fundraising Campaign for UNB Saint John unveiled tomorrow

(Construction at UNB Saint John campus)

(file photo)

The campus at U-N-B-Saint John resembles a huge construction site these days. To help pay for it, a major drive will be announced tomorrow afternoon to launch the University Common's fundraising campaign. U-N-B Saint John Vice-President Dr. Robert McKinnon tells CHSJ News the new Commons building with a state of the art library is being built near entrance.
Dr. McKinnon is hoping the building will reshape the look and feel of the entrance to the campus.

Forest Hills man wants better communication between City and residents

A father who lives in Forest Hills would like to see better communication with the city. Andrew Pettipas became concerned when he saw that his water yesterday was not only discoloured.


He tells CHSJ News he poured a glass of it and you could clearly see things floating in it.


Pettipas says he tried to get information from the city by calling a few numbers without success. He finally did get someone who appeared nervous about saying much of anything and hung up before Pettipas could find out if the water was safe to use.

City fined $3000

The city has been fined 3 thousand dollars for violating the Clean Environment Act.
The charge was laid after a delay by Saint John Water in notifying the Health Department between June 29th and 30th of 2008 which was stipulated as a condition of its approval to operate.

The city maintains at no time was public safety compromised.

Costco Opening and Job Fair Drawing Closer

(New Costco Store At Eastpoint)

(Photo by Jim Hennessy)

If your a fan of Costco, May 27th is the date you want to have circled on your calendar. That's when the largest store in Atlantic Canada in East Saint John will open it's doors. There will be a three day job fair next month with the company looking to hire close to 100 people. Gary Swindells is Regional Operations Vice-President and tells CHSJ News, the starting wage is between $11 and $22 dollars an hour because they want people to have careers and not just jobs.
The job fair starts at the new store in Eastpoint on March 5th between 10 in the morning and 8:00 at night, March 6th between 10 in the morning until 5PM and the 7th from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon.

House Destroyed In Rothesay By Explosion And Fire

A house in Rothesay has been destroyed by fire on Colonsay Place near Iona Avenue. Rothesay Regional Police tell CHSJ News there was some sort of explosion or popping heard just after midnight before the fire started. They received a few 9-1-1 calls from people who heard the noise. When police and fire crews arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames. A car was also destroyed in the fire and part of a garage. Police also tell us a couple got out of the house after being alerted by the family dog. The explosion may have been caused by a propane cylinder in the garage.

Traffic Disruption Today Along Highway 7

Traffic along Highway 7 at Welsford about one kilometers north of the intersection with Highway 101 will be disrupted this afternoon around 4:00 because of blasting. The Department of Transportation says it will last for about 15 minutes.

Free Seminar on Budgeting

As the credit cards bills from Christmas start to squeeze your finances, some expert advice might be needed.
Tamara Kelly of Credit Counseling Services of Atlantic Canada tells CHSJ News they are offering tips on how to budget your money. Kelly says the most important thing people should know about budgeting is how much is coming in and going out and the implications of carrying debt.
Tonight's free seminar will be held at Gentle Path Counselling on Germain Street from 6:30 to 8pm.

Meeting To Be Held Tonight on Liquor Store For Kingston Pensinsula

The Kingston Peninsula might soon be home to an NB Liquor agency store. There will be a meeting at the Legion on the Peninsula tonight to explore the possibility. The meeting gets started at the Legion at seven o'clock. The NB Liquor Corporation says there has been an expression of interest in the community but approval will be needed from the people who live there before the next step is taken. That would be to determine if there is an existing business willing to house an agency liquor outlet.

Water In East Saint John Could Be Discoloured

You might have to run your taps for a few minutes before you get in the shower if you live in East Saint John.
Saint John Water tells CHSJ News that a transmission line was returned to service yesterday and that stirred up some sediment in the system.
They expect the issue was cleared up overnight and assure us the water is safe to drink, cook with and bathe in. Brent McGovern of Saint John Water reports 22 million litres of water a day is leaking from one kilometer of pipe between Finney Hill and Lakewood Heights. He maintains a system of district metering will allow the city to get a better handle on where the heaviest leaks are occurring with alot of water being lost.

Saint John company gets over $300, 000 from Ottawa

The federal government is giving a Saint John Company 333 thousand dollars to develop technology that will monitor offshore call centres simultaneously and fix any problems that crop up. The simple ones would be fixed automatically and the more complex ones would be left to the skills of computer engineers in Canada. John Munro of the Ambir Technology Group says this type of government funding is critical.

Munro says its also getting tougher in this part of the country to find the computer specialists who have the right skill set. He calls it a labour market issue that has to be addressed otherwise growth will be impeded.

RCMP seek help in solving 2007 case of theft

St. George RCMP is asking for the public's help in a case of theft and mischief in Lepreau almost 3 years ago.


Between September 29th and October 1st 2007, a grey Morooka crawler belonging to NB Power was stolen. It was parked on the East side of Route 790, and driven several kilometres to a gravel pit on Seven Mile Lake Road.

The crawler was used to knock over a rock crusher which damaged it’s frame and tracks.
It was found near the Route 790 & Seven Mile Lake Road intersection against a tree.

Damages is estimated at $80,000.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Local Teacher says students need exercise

The Provincial Legislature is debating whether or not to spend a few extra dollars on getting more young people active when they're in school. Saint John High teacher Barry Ogden tells CHSJ News students who exercise regularly not only behave better.........they also do better academically.


Ogden says we have to make sure students get at least forty minutes of aerobic exercise daily for their brains to work well.


Ogden, who also chairs the city's recreation committee, points to a study done by Harvard University that shows comprehension increased by as much as 400 per cent for some young people who did engage in daily exercise.