Spring Break Flights To Three Tropical Destinations Doubled

With more people travelling to Caribbean destinations out of the Saint John, Airport President and C-E-O David Allen saying modifications to the terminal may be needed in the future if demand keeps up. 

Allen tells CHSJ News Sunwing Vacation flights to Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic have doubled over the last year and he's heard feedback from people who said they didn't even know the airline flew out of Saint John.

Allen tells some of the people he heard from have been travelling to Fredericton, Moncton and even Halifax to fly down south on charters.

Hospital Workers Reach A Deal

Over 9000 hospital workers in the province have a new collective agreement.

CUPE and its union representing workers in patient care, institutional services and administrative support reaching a four deal.

It provides for two years of zero per cent increases followed by 1 per cent increases every six months.

How Can Our Growing Senior Population Live And Age Well?

The government and others want to focus on the healthy happy seniors in this province that want a say in the future.
 
A roundtable discussion on aging well and living healthy is coming up tonight on the West side, one of 9 public sessions in the province.    The first was held last night in Moncton.
 
Minister of Healthy and Inclusive Communities Dorothy Shephard tells CHSJ News says 97 per cent of our aging population are still living at home.

She says that's a really good thing adding they want to keep them at home as long as they can and want to remain at home.

Tonight's event begins at the Branch 69 Legion on Wilson Street at 6pm.

Shephard says the data collected by the provincial health council from the 9 sessions will be compiled to determine the priorities for seniors.

For more info, click here

Chicken Farmer Think Backyard Coops Work Well

A chicken farmer from the Hampton area doesn't see any problem with people living in the suburban areas of the city having chickens.

Bernadette Fowler tells CHSJ News chickens need space to move and a fenced in yard would work.

She doesn't see where it will be a messy, noisy problem because chickens don't make much noise or mess.

Fowler has 15 chickens in a coop on her farm and she tells they don't smell because she cleans it often.

MacKenzie Testifies In Her Own Defense At Murder Trial

29 year old Crystal Dawn MacKenzie, who's charged with second degree murder in the 2010 stabbing death of her common law partner admits she was plastered drunk and wasn't thinking clearly. 

The case goes to the jury tomorrow.
 
She also testified not being herself on the police video with half the stuff she said didn't make sense. 

MacKenzie telling the court she doesn't remember stabbing 29 year old Patrick Thomas to death on Alma Street and doesn't recall grabbing a butcher's knife and saying "I'm going to kill him, I'm done". 

She claims only to recall being choked and having her head banged but prosecutor John Heneffer maintains she was choked after approaching Thomas while armed with a knife.
 
Both she and Thomas were pretty drunk and MacKenzie admits she wasn't thinking clearly.

Mixed Opinions On City Chickens

The idea of pseudo-city chickens eliciting quite a reaction from our listeners.

Suzy finds the idea ridiculous saying the City already has enough problem without adding chickens.

Bill says it's about getting back to your roots people and showing your kids where an egg comes from adding he'd rather smell chicken waste than a paper mill.

Anita says there will be more problems for the SPCA to deal with if you allow chickens in the backyard.   She says the limit may be only 6 chickens but if she has six and her neighbour has six it will get messy and smelly.

Dave think it's a great idea adding he can speak for all cats in the city and they are fine with it too adding the fox's will have another option instead of kitty.

Any your thoughts to the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.  
Click here

Backyard Chickens In City Closer To Reality

Breakfast from your own backyard may soon be possible, with Common Council unanimously giving preliminary approval to a recommendation that would allow the keeping of chickens in some parts of the city. 

Raymond Breau spoke to councillors about his experience keeping a half dozen chickens in his backyard on John T. McMillan Drive for over a year. He says they're not noisy, and if a coop is set up properly, invading wildlife won't be an issue. Breau telling council he saves about $600 a year in eggs and reception from neighbours was positive.

Mayor Mel Norton tells CHSJ News a coop's success will depend on the quality of person raising chickens. Norton says if homeowners are responsible and do it the right way, he sees it as a good opportunity.

Sustainable Saint John Dares You To Walk, Bike Or Carpool To Work For A Week

Could you leave your car keys at home for a week? 

That's the idea behind the commuter challenge, hosted by Sustainable Saint John, which dares you to find greener ways to get to work during Environment Week, which runs until June 8. City planner Jody Kliffer tells CHSJ News it's to draw attention to the accessibility of more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation.

He says walking, cycling, taking transit, carpooling, even working at home can reduce our footprint by an extraordinary amount. 

Kliffer says last year we placed first in our size category of cities across Canada, and hopes we'll retain the title. To register your workplace, click here.

Port Saint John Receives AAPA Awards

The local Port's makeover is proving worthwhile in more ways than one.

Port Saint John being recognized by the American Association of Port Authorities for it's rebranding campaign,  it's video produced by Hemming House Pictures and its effective use of social media.

The rebranding campaign began early this year and Port Saint John developed a new logo and strategy that removed  the word "authority" from their printed materials. 

Port Saint John is considered a more approachable title for community members to identify with.

Port Saint John will receive 4 awards at the AAPA conference this fall.
 
To see the video, click here

Accused At Murder Trial Seen Sobbing On Police Video

The jury saw the rest of a police video of 29 year old Crystal Dawn MacKenzie being questioned in the stabbing death of her common law partner, 29 year old Patrick Thomas in March of 2010. MacKenzie is being retried for 2nd degree murder.
 
The video shows MacKenzie doubled over, rocking back and forth while sobbing. MacKenzie tells lead investigator Sergeant Dan Oram she didn't mean to kill Thomas but didn't want him in the apartment on Alma Street that night because she didn't want her kids to see them fighting. 

She tells Oram of stabbing Thomas in the shoulder after thinking he was coming after her. Sergeant Oram told the court he took that to mean MacKenzie was the aggressor after becoming so enraged. 

Defense lawyer David Kelly suggested she wasn't giving an academy award performance during the interrogation but Oram told the court, in his view, she was more upset at her own predicament than what had happened to Thomas.  

Kelly got into evidence Thomas' past criminal record for assaults including an order, at one point, to not have contact with MacKenzie.

Irving & Virmani To Receive Red Cross Humanitarian Awards

The 2013 Red Cross Humanitarian Award recipients are Arthur Irving and Alisha Virmani.

Irving is known as a strong supporter of youth establishing many scholarships, mentorships and tutoring programs all while supporting Junior Achievement throughout the province.

Alisha Virmani is the 2013 Young Humanitarian Award winner for the province.   She has experienced bullying and decided to share her story in the hopes of creating change among people and in government.

Virmani is a graduate of Fredericton High who is studying Life Sciences at Queen's in Kingston.

Irving and Virmani will receive their awards in a dinner in November at the Trade and Convention Centre.

Saint Johners Will Get To See The Best In Figure Skating

Saint John will welcome the best figure skaters in the world with the 2013 Skate Canada International event from Oct 25 to the 27th. 

Competitors include Patrick Chan, Yuna Kim, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.   60 Olympic and world competitors from 15 countries will be converging on the city. Tickets go on sale on June 14th. 


The event, which is expected to inject about 4 million dollars into the local economy, has 16 and a half hours of tv coverage. In Japan, 10 million viewers will watch 4 hrs of 
coverage. 

The competition will be the last major event before the next Olympics and many of the skaters will use the same routines.

Skate Canada International was last here in 1999.

 For the volunteer application form, click here

Combo Of Virtual Conversations And Real-Life Meetings Key To Keeping True Growth 2.0 On Track

With so many players participating in the city's revamped growth strategy, texting and e-mailing alone is not enough to keep everybody on the same page. 

Saint John mayor Mel Norton tells CHSJ News when it comes to True Growth 2.0 they'll depend on a combination of virtual conversations and behind the scenes, face-to-face meetings to make sure everyone is moving in the same direction. 

Norton says that the heads of organizations including the Port, the Airport or Discover Saint John need to be in the same room on a regular basis, so they can talk in real time about what they're working on and share their next set of goals. 

He says part of the new mandate and mission the board of Enterprise Saint John has been given is to make sure the collaboration continues.

A Warning For Municipalities About The Weather

The Insurance Bureau is warning municipalities to upgrade their stormwater and sewer systems because of climate change and extreme weather conditions. It estimates shich upgrades would cost 69 million dollars.

Former Mayor and now Councillor at Large Shirley McAlary calls it a fair warning and tells CHSJ News the city is well aware of how much rain we can get in a short period of time which is why successive Common Councils have been allocating money through the years for that purpose. She says the key is devoting enough resources for maintenance.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities also coming out in support of a proposal made by Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair to allocate another cent of the federal gas tax to public transit which would be worth something like 420 million dollars a year.

Big Seniors Complex Comes Before Common Council

Despite some opposition, both the Planning Advisory Committee and City Staff are recommending the Shannex proposal for a campus style seniors development on Millidge Avenue at University be approved by Common Council. 

There has been concern over the cutting down of trees and possibility of flooding because the land is wet and details have not been finalised about the need for a stormwater pond. 

The developers, who want to construct five buildings. have suggested a meeting be held to answer local concerns. The development, if approved, would house an estimated 330 seniors in addition to 130 staffers.

Shannex wanted one of the buildings to be six stories high but the P-A-C is recommending that height be limited to five stories.

Chickens In The City

Common Council will be getting a recommendation tonight to allow for the keeping of backyard chickens in most parts of the city. 

If the councillors approve, you would be allowed to keep a minimum of two and maximum of six chickens but no roosters and they would have to be housed in a coop. 

The chickens would be for personal use only and the sale of eggs produced by the chickens would be banned. 

City staff telling Council, 6 chickens were kept in a backyard on John T. McMillan Drive for a year in 2011 with only minimal concern. The city has received a large number of letters in support of the proposal.

Sights & Sounds Of The Queen's Square Market

The first in a series of weekend markets opened to a throng of people this morning in the city's south end. The market features crafts - a variety of foods - and - entertainment for young and the not quite as young.

Warm Weather Means More Crime

When the heat rises, so does the rate of crime.

Sergeant Derrick Forret of the Rothesay Regional Police tells CHSJ News that in the valley, they see an increase in property crime when the weather warms up including stealing from cars that aren't locked and knocking over mailboxes because more people are roaming around during the nighttime.

Forret tells us that you should be making sure all your valuables are out of your car, or stored in your trunk. He says even bicycles in your driveway should be stored out of sight.

Local Surfers Brave The Bay Of Fundy

Turns out you don't need to head down to Lawrencetown Beach or way out to Tofino to go surfing if you live in the Port City.

A small but enthusiastic group of surfers are catching waves a lot closer to home. Firefighter and surfing fan Joe Cormier tells CHSJ News stand up paddle surfing, or SUP, makes use of the smaller waves we get in the Bay. Further, Cormier says the size of the wave is inconsequential compared with the ride you get and the shape of the wave.

It's possible to paddle  surf in Courtney Bay, occasionally Mispec, Red Head, and other secret spots. Cormier says he's also heard of people surfing in the river. 

As a firefighter, Cormier urges safety first: while the waves generally don't get too crazy, you should definitely wear a wetsuit and go with people who know what they're doing.

To see Cormier in action on the Bay of Fundy click here

Hundreds Attend Greenslade Park Dedication

The memory of 6 soldiers will live on in a beautiful new green space overlooking the Kennebecasis River.
 
Hundreds coming out to witness the dedication of the Private David Greenslade Peace Park in honour of the 20 year old Saint John soldier and his comrades of Bravo 22.


  
Plaques featuring their faces honour each of the soldiers lost on April 8th 2007 with a red maple tree in front of each one.

Kate Stannix is Chris Stannix's mom and says it's an uplifting day and here she is in tears but at the same time it's heartwarming to know everyone has supported this project to create such a beautiful tribute to them all.

Laurie Greenslade, David's mom, says she is very grateful to the City, Saint John high and the Peace Park committee for making it possible.

The black wrought iron gate that marks the entrance was built by students at Saint John, David Greenslade's high school.