The timing is incredible. A failure in the chlorination system forcing thousands of Saint Johners to boil their water all weekend and the news came on World Water Day. Nancy Moar from the City's Communications Department tells CHSJ News people in Millidgeville are being asked to conserve their water.
She says residents in Millidgeville will be accessing their water through a chlorinated storage tank but they are asking them to limit their usage over the weekend.
Two clear tests 24 hours apart are needed before a boil water order can be lifted.
Moar says it possible testing could begin Saturday night meaning the earliest it could be lifted is Monday. For more info on the boil water order, click here
Corrections Canada is reporting an inmate from Westmorland Institution has died after being found unresponsive in his cell.
Mr. John Allain, 70, was serving a 5-year sentence for Indecent Assault on a woman, and Sexual Interference with a woman under the age of 14. His sentence had commenced on March 6, 2012.
As in all cases where an individual dies while in custody, the police and coroner have been notified and Correctional Service Canada will be looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Representatives from Common Causes, the Council of Canadians, and other activist groups gatheredin King square this afternoon to protest the possibility of a public private partnership for the city's water utility.
Former Mayor Ivan Court was in attendance as the activists chanted and played drums. He tells CHSJ News P3 wasn't the only option when council examined the issue before and he doesn't understand why that has changed. Court says the new federal budget indicates there is a billion dollars available in the Canada Fund to help finance the water project. It's widely predicted that Council will decide to go ahead with the application on Monday evening's meeting.
People who criticized the previous common council's decision to build a multi-million dollar justice complex in the middle of a economic recession might have more fodder for their complaints now that the contractor who built Peel Plaza is filing a 7 million dollar lawsuit over claims of unpaid work. Former mayor and current councillor Shirley McAlary tells CHSJ News some cost overruns are to be expected in any major project, particularly when changes were made to the original work order. McAlary says the claims need to be better investigated because at this point it could be either the contractor's fault or the city's.
It's that time of year again when you light candles or sit in the dark for an hour joining the global movement that is Earth Hour.
It's aim is to draw attention to the large impact a small action can have if millions of people participate.
More than 680 employees of the City are being encouraged to take part between 830 and 930 tomorrow night. Sustainable Saint John and its 35 member businesses are also taking part.
Earthhour.org says more than 70 per cent of the world's CO2 emissions is generated by cities.
A "Lights Out" walk around Lily and Fisher Lakes in Rockwood Park is coming up tomorrow. Participants are asked to meet at the Interpretation Centre at 815pm.
The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia back in 2007 involving 2.2 million and 2100 businesses. It has grown to include 7000 cites and towns in a 152 countries across the globe switching off their lights for Earth Hour.
The city says it can't guarantee the safety of the drinking water after a failure in the chlorination system at Latimer Lake.
Without chlorine, the water isn't being disinfected so a boil water order has been issued for everyone east of Reversing Falls with the exception of part of Millidgeville.
Those water users in Millidgeville not affected live north of Spar Cove Road and Belleview Avenue, north of Millidge Avenue and Ropewalk Road as well as north of the Superstore on Somerset Street.
They're being asked to conserve their water and the city warns the boil water order might be expanded to include them as well.
Saint John M-P Rodney Weston is hoping to see more affordable housing built in the city because the Harper government, in the federal budget, is renewing its strategy to reduce homelessness. Weston says the focus will be on housing first because you can't do much of anything if you don't have a roof over your head.
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty releasing a stay the course or hold the line budget with tight controls on spending while still projecting a balanced budget by 2015.
Saint John M-P Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News there is money available to help pay for clean drinking water with construction of a water treatment plant on the east side. Weston says whether a deal is struck this year is in the control of the city.
He adds there will also be money available for other projects, like arenas, with the indexing of the gas tax transfer to the cites. Mayor Mel Norton has said a priority for him is to build a multiplex ice surface at Long Wharf. Fundy-Royal M-P Rob Moore says families in his riding will benefit because they won't have to pay higher taxes. Moore claims a family of four is saving 32 hundred dollars a year in tax since the Conservatives assumed power federally and he's hoping to be able to make a funding announcement on the Fundy Trail soon.
Weston takes issue with the contention that transfer payments to the province will be frozen. He argues there will be more federal money for healthcare.
A second person has been arrested and is expected in court sometime today to be charged in the robbery earlier this week at Daly's on Taylor Avenue. A court appearance is expected sometime today.
The first arrest was made two days ago during the storm after a 28 year old man jumped overboard into the bay from the Princess of Acadia ferry.
A 25 year old accused of holding a woman in a home against her will has been charged with assault with a weapon, assault, mischief and forcible confinement.
Joseph Davidson 'Sheldon' Mallaley of Black's Harbour appearing in court in Saint John to answer to the charges after he was arrested in Saint George Wednesday night. St Stephen RCMP getting the call that the woman had been held at the home in Tower Hill against her will, but the man had fled and she was able to call the cops. Police say the man and the woman knew each other.
Mallaley is scheduled to appear in St. Stephen Provincial Court on March 25 for a bail hearing.
Harbour View is the only high school in the province that puts on its very own Relay for Life event to raise money for people with or impacted by cancer. Two assemblies at the school lauching the 2013 event where they hope to raise $18,000. Grade 12 student Brynn Aucoin tells CHSJ News the assemblies are the event's official kickoff.
She tells us she lost a cousin to cancer a few years and most people have been touched by cancer in some way.
Harbour View has raised over $110 thousand dollars in the 7 years they have been taking part. The school, it's students and staff will host a variety of fundraisers including bake sales and coffee houses between now and the event on May 31st at the school.
A warning from the provincial government.....while an ice jam along the Nashwaak River at Stanley Bridge has stabilized, local officials continue to monitor another ice jam is being watched down river at MacLaggan Bridge.
People living or working along streams and rivers should be on the alert for moving ice and the possibility of ice-jams which mean the water will rapidly rise.
A change in weather conditions could lead to localized flooding where drainage systems are blocked by ice and snow. You should take whatever precautions you can to guard your home against flooding at this time of year.
We think of Canada as being more racially accepting than our neighbors to the South; however, in reality there's a history of discrimination with deep roots here in Saint John.We often forget that slavery was even legal in Canada less than 200 years ago.
Randy Dickinson of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission tells CHSJ News the YMCA used to be whites only--and the Admiral Beatty once refused to let blacks in the front door, even when those blacks were renowned jazz musicians Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. It wasn't until an employee of the Beatty named Lena O'Ree refused to show up for work until she was allowed in the front door that the discriminatory policy changed.
Today is the International Day For the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and there are number events celebrating equality planned throughout the province.
Following a City man's extended jail sentence for a prison beatdown, the union representing prison workers is raising the red flag about overcrowding. Thomas Jack was attacked by his cellmate Jeremy David in November 2011 and will never work and drive again due to the impact of his injuries. Mike Davidson of CUPE tells CHSJ News they have concerns about the current management at the provincial jail on the Old Black River road.
He says under the current management they have had a riot, an assault on an inmate and the early release of an inmate involved in a homicide.
Davidson calls overcrowding a serious issue and they haven't been too successfull with the province on resolving it. Our newsroom has an interview request into Public Safety Minister Robert Trevors for his take on things.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is a bit uneasy about the next provincial budget that will be unveiled on Tuesday.
It's Atlantic Director Kevin Lacey fears an increase in taxes and licence fees. He tells CHSJ News to look what's happening with the property assessments which are tax increases by another name. Some homeowners are outraged by the increase they're being hit with. Lacey says it would be a mistake to roll back the 2008 tax reductions that were implemented by the previous Liberal government under then Premier Shawn Graham.
Those tax cuts are seen by some, including Rod Hill of U-N-B Saint John who ran for the NDP, as making the provincial deficit worse and not achieving the economic growth that was hoped for.
More information has been released about the seizure of a package containing unauthorized items on the perimeter of the minimum security Westmorland Institution at Dorchester.
The prison service estimates the contents of the package have an institutional value of more than 30 thousand dollars.
Police have been called in and the Correctional Service is also investigating.
The Correctional Service says the methods it utilises to control the flow of drugs into prisons include ion scanners and drug dogs to search buildings, prisoners and visitors.
The "Y" will be opening up a new Child Care location on the west side. St. Mark's United Church will be the new home for "Y" Child Care to provide preschool programming for children between the ages of 2 and 5 years from Monday to Friday. Full time and part time spaces are now available.
The early learning programs are modeled after the NB Early Learning and Child Care curriculum and the highly regarded YMCA Playing to Learn program.
We're told by the "Y" space is also available in the after school program at Barnhill Memorial School with arts, crafts, organized games, learning centres and sports.
Volunteers are being sought for the Day Care Centre. Adults and seniors interested in interacting with children and assisting with their development are encouraged to contact the Y.
For additional information call the Y at 646-2111.
Slim pickings at our local food banks, with donations hitting a yearly low. But Dianne Daigle, who manages the clothing room and emergency food service for Romero House, says demand, on the other hand, is sky-high.
She tells CHSJ news that because of pricey winter heating bills, people simply don't have the cash to buy groceries.
Daigle says they're always looking for canned milk, pasta and kids snacks. To donate, you can drop off food at the door at 647 Brunswick Drive , or if you're unable to get there, you can call Romero House at 642-7447 and a truck driver will pick up the items.
If you've been seeing a lot of notifications lately for something called Facebook Black, don't be fooled. It's actually a scam which can hijack your account and use it to spam your friends.
The scam happens when you click wall post with a link stating you can change the color of your Facebook theme from blue to black. After clicking the post, the user is then directed to a website that claims they can change their Facebook color to any color they want. The user is persuaded to click a button that says Change Your Color, and then the site hijacks the used Facebook account and installs a virus to your computer.
At the end of the day, your Facebook colour won't change. If you've fallen for the scam change your password right away and let your Facebook friends know not to click on it.
