No City Buses After 6pm Due To Weather

Saint John Transit telling our newsroom that all buses will be off the road by 6pm due to the weather.

Liberals Say Province Missed Chance To Save Money On Bridge Snow Removal

The provincial Liberals are not happy with the province's 11th hour decision to have the Department of Transportation handle snow removal from the Harbour Bridge.

Transportation Critic Rick Doucette tells CHSJ News the work could have been more cost effective if they had negotiated earlier with a contractor.

Doucette could not provide a figure as to how much could have been saved but says snow removal should have been planned for during the original negotiations with the feds.

Province Will Handle Snow Removal On Harbour Bridge

The Department of Transportation will do the winter maintenance for the Saint John Harbour Bridge.


The question of who will clear the snow and ice off the bridge was left in the air after the province took ownership of the bridge from Ottawa.


Transportation Minister Claude Williams says it will cost the province 275-thousand dollars and two other options were looked at : getting the city to do it or to outsource it to contractor.
 
The two plows that were used by the Saint John Harbour Bridge authority will be used by the Department of Transportation to plow the bridge.


The DOT will use the two plows that were used by the Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority.

The Worst Is Yet To Come With Today's Storm

The worst is not over yet with heavy snowfall this afternoon and this evening.
Environment Canada Meterologist Claude Cote tells CHSJ News between 5 and 10 centimetres on the ground in Greater Saint John.

Some flights in and out of the Saint John Airport are delayed or cancelled.
It would be wise to check ahead first before making the trek out there today.

St. Stephen and Sussex RCMP warning that road conditions are very poor and travel is not recommended.
The Mounties responding to numerous reports of vehicles going off the road or colliding with other vehicles in extremely slippery conditions.

New Polling About Attitudes On Abortion

Abortion remains a controversial issue for most people in the province and the region as a whole according to the latest polling done by Environics. 

More than 11 hundred abortions were performed in the province in 2009. Peter Ryan of New Brunswick Right to Life tells CHSJ News 69 per cent of the respondents in Atlantic Canada want to see some legal limits and women are more opposed to abortion than men. 92 per cent are against abortions based on gender.

Ryan says the polling has found only 20 per cent support unrestricted public funding of abortion but the politicians aren't listening.

He accuses them of being held hostage by a vocal minority.

Storm Warning Closes Schools

Get ready for our first visit from Old Man Winter today even though it's not officially winter yet.

Schools have been shut down for the day in Districts 6, 8 and 10 along with the Community College in St. Andrews.
 
Kim Petrash of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News how much snow you get will depend on where you are with up to 20 centimeters inland and anywhere from 10 to 15 along parts of the coast where 15 millimters of rain is being forecast. 

The storm will be at its most intense this afternoon and is expected to clear out after midnight with above freezing temperatures on the way for tomorrow and Friday.

CFIB Applauds City For Leadership In Pension Issues

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is giving the city a pat on the back for trying to reign it's pension deficit.

President and CEO Catherine Swift tells CHSJ News with the city suspending indexing and removing overtime pay from pensionable earning, along with the province taking a closer look at public sector pensions, things are moving in the right direction.

She says generous pensions, the sheer number of baby-boomers and early retirement options have all come together make pension plans simply unaffordable.

She adds it's not a question fairness but a matter of affordability.

Strong Smell Turns Out Not To Be Natural Gas

Alot of calls coming into the fire department yesterday afternoon from people who live in the area from Pokiok Road to University Avenue and smelled something strange in the air.

District Chief Joe Armstrong says they thought it was the smell of natural gas but that's not what it turned out to be.

There was the release of a sulphur product from Irving Pulp and Paper into the atmosphere for about 3 minutes.

The smell eventually dissipated. The Provincial Environment Department was notified.

Housing Starts To Remain Sluggish Next Year

Next year will not be a good one for new housing starts in the province. That forecast is coming from the Altus Group and its chief economist Peter Norman.

Norman tells CHSJ News he doesn't expect to see activity picking up until mid to late 2013 when the economy is expected to be stronger.

He also says the large number of homes for sale in Saint John also tends to depress new housing starts but this area's status as an energy hub bodes well for the long term future.

Winner Announced In Hospital Home Lottery

Give Sarah Jacquard of Saint John a hearty congratulations next time you see her -- she has won the Grand Prize showhome as part of the Hospital Home Lottery.

The home is located on Crosswind Crescent in Rothesay and is valued at 750-thousand dollars.

Other big winners are Stephen Delaney of Quispamsis who won the early bird prize which is either the Mercedes Benz roadster or 60 thousand dollars in cash and Ann Lockhart who won the 50/50 cash prize of almost 195 thousand dollars.

The proceeds from this year's draw went towards the Saint John Hospital Foundation, the New Brunswick Health Centre, and Mindcare New Brunswick.

The lottery was completely sold out this year and the list of all the winners will be released on November 30th.

More Underwear and Sex Toys Reported Stolen

RCMP receiving three additional reports of stolen underwear and sex toys.

That brings the total of thefts to 17.

The incidents have occurred in the Saint-Paul, Sainte-Marie, and the Bouctouche area. In all cases, no one has been home during the thefts and no one has been hurt

Police have increased patrols in the area and if you have any information, you're being asked to call Crime Stoppers or call police.

Two Arrests After Simpson Drive Robbery

City police getting a call last night about an armed robbery at a Simpson Drive home where two armed men entered the house with a 20 year old woman alone inside.  While she was not hurt, the men left with undisclosed items.

Two men were later arrested near Simpson Drive. 
19-year-old Brandon Pattman was in provincial court on robbery charges.  He will be held until a bail hearing tomorrow.

A 16-year-old was also in court pleading guilty to the robbery charge.  He was released on conditions and placed on house arrest until sentencing on January 5th.

Fire Crews Investigate Odour In North End

Fire crews checking out reports of a strong odour, possibly a gas leak, in the Millidgeville area.

However, there has been no confirmation of a gas leak and the fire department believes the smell could be coming from the pulp and paper mill.

Wet and White Weather Tomorrow

Gas up the snowblower and break out the shovels -- our first taste of winter is coming tomorrow morning.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Claude Cote tells CHSJ News the fun should begin around 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.

10 to 15 mm of rain and snow is expected to fall in Saint John while the valley, Sussex, and Grand Bay-Westfield should see about 15 to 25 cm of the white stuff.

Cote adds it will be windy but the snow and rain should let up by midnight.

The weather system will then move on towards PEI and Newfoundland.

New Development Off Loch Lomond Road Not Welcome By Some

The early approval to the building of bungalows and garden homes on 97 lots off Loch Lomond Road not sitting well with members of the neighbourhood.

The homes will be built between Ganong Road and Pauline Street and Seamus Hanley, who lives on Old Lake Trail tells CHSJ News people moved into that area for large properties and the scenery.

He feels the developer will try to make it into a high density area in order to maximize profit.

However, developer Gary Vincent argues that the demand is there for bungalows and garden homes and the city is losing people to the outlying communities.

Union Street Is Open To Traffic

To the joy of many, Peel Plaza project manager Bill Edwards announcing the infrastructure work on Union street is complete for this year.
Cue the Hallelujah chorus as many a Saint John motorist can finally drive the length of Union street after months of construction.

Edwards tells CHSJ News the street and sidewalks are again open to the public.

He says the base coat of asphalt is down so they can plow the street and the sidewalks this winter.
He adds you will see no more construction work on Union Street this winter, it will resume next spring.

Campbell Says Imitation Is Best Form Of Flattery

He's calling it a good idea -- and -- he says he was first out of the gate with the suggestion -- Councillor at large candidate John Campbell is flattered Councillor Donnie Snook is pushing to merge the Parking and Transit Commissions to reduce costs and possibly avoid proposed cuts in transit service.
Campbell tells CHSJ News he first raised the issue on his Facebook page two weeks ago as a way to help make the service more attractive to potential riders.
He also believes taxis should be included in any overall public transit discussions and solutions.

Ferry Back On Its Run

The Department of Transportation telling us both ferries are now operating at Gondola Point this morning after one of them was out of service because of mechanical problems.

Council Needs To Use Survey Results In Decision-Making

Common Council taking the results of the 2011 Citizen Survey to heart.

The quality of city roads came out as the number one concern for Saint Johners and the percentage of citizens satisfied with city streets dropping from 34 percent to 22 percent year over year.

Councillor Peter McGuire says council needs to take that feedback seriously and use it to help make decisions come budget time.

Councillor Donnie Snook says all councillors should talk to their constituents about the survey at their next ward meeting.

City Transit Should Not Be Limited To One Percent Increase

Councillor Donnie Snook says the reductions in transit services is completely unacceptable.

10 jobs will be lost and service will be reduced on Boxing Day due to budget constraints.

Snook says the one percent budget increase to city transit should be removed and savings should be found elsewhere.

According to him, having people in vulnerable communities worry about how they're going to get to work or buy groceries is wrong.

He suggests the transit and parking commission should be consolidated and city hall's administrative and legislative budget should be looked at for possible cuts.

In the meantime, Council has put through a motion to have Vibrant Communities and Saint John Transit organize community consultations regarding the impact of the service changes.