I’ve added more local blogs to my Blogroll!
The first is Bean Books, a small fiction bookstore located at 122 Germain Street in uptown Saint John. It was mentioned in a previous InFusion article – Book club for the rest of us. There are lots of events going on, and it’s a great addition to the city.
The next is Serf City, a blog abound current affairs and culture in Saint John. Don’t forget there is also a Serf City radio show that airs Thursdays at 6:30 on CFMH 107.3 FM. Check them out!
As always, be sure to visit them both.
There are lot’s of great things going on in Saint John – we just need to take the time to find them!
Posted on
July 3rd, 2009 in
Saint John |
1 Comment
I can’t help myself, I keep watching this video, it’s so awesome:
CANADIAN SING-A-LONG!
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Even if in winter things tend to freeze
We’ve got the world monopoly on trees
And our country’s bordered by three different seas
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
We invented the zipper, we’ve got expertise
We made insulin to combat disease
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
CHORUS
Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
Et si ce n’était pas assez
On a deux langues officielles:
L’anglais et le français
Ooh la la
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Where else do you find mounted police
Or go to the hospital and not pay fees
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
And when freshwater is in high demand
We’ve got the world’s largest supply on hand
So you know that we could make a pretty good friend
But it’s even better if you can be…
CHORUS
So you’re thinking to yourself,
“How do I live in this beautiful country?”
Well we’ve got some steps for you to follow…
STEP 1: Lose the gun
STEP 2: Buy a canoe
STEP 3: Live multiculturally
STEP 4: You’re ready, there is no more!
We got beavers, caribou and moose
We got buffalos, bears, and Canadian goose
And we’re sorry about Celine Dion
But she did do that good song for James Cameron…
CHORUS
Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The Greek chilled out with Socrates
Can’t build a wall like the Chinese
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
In Kenya they have safaris
We’ve missed lots of other countries
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
Posted on
July 2nd, 2009 in
Videos |
2 Comments
An article in the Telegraph-Journal this week caught my eye – A cheap solution for recreation woes.
Guy Barbara suggested a creative way to build recreation facilities that are cost effective:
He thinks that a building similar to the new city salt and sand shed on the west side could be erected beside arenas and then hooked up to existing ice-making plants.
The Charles Gorman Arena is one that he feels would be perfect for such structures. He believes there’s room for a trio of such structures that would house hockey, field sports and tennis.
The buildings, which are steel ribs covered in fabric attached to a concrete foundation and half wall, cost in the area of $600,000. The fabric could eventually be removed and the concrete foundation and walls could be part of a permanent structure.
I love his out of the box thinking!
While I’m having a hard time picturing the ice surface idea, many other sports such as soccer and tennis would be perfect for this type of complex.
“Saint John can’t afford grandeur,” Barbara said. “They should settle for what they can afford now and then when they have the money, do it.”
Almost a month ago, Barbara met with a city official – he wouldn’t say who – to discuss the idea, but the idea seemed to fall on deaf ears.
“City management is rather big, in Saint John,” Barbara said.
City hall, he said, isn’t interested in such a low-tech, low-grade solution. Taking the idea one step further, Barbara sweetened the deal by offering to lease some of the buildings from the city and then charge subsidized usage rates.
“I’m guaranteeing to rent one of them. If necessary, I’ll go out and find the person to rent the other one so it costs them (city) nothing.”
The idea, he said, will cost him money.
“I do many things that I don’t make money on.” But he believes the structures and what they contain could be operated close to break-even.
Barbara is urging people to investigate for themselves.
“They’re unbelievable,” he said of the structure on Manchester Avenue.
“The beautiful thing is how simple it is.”
A little searching found some pictures of what these type of facilities look like:
I think that they look awesome, and I would love to have this in Saint John!
Not to mention that they are more affordable then the traditional complex’s being built.
Saint John needs recreational facilities – and we need ones that we can afford.
Let’s hope Guy’s idea takes off!
Posted on
July 2nd, 2009 in
Saint John Politics |
1 Comment
While on vacation in Toronto, I was able to do a quick interview over the phone around the pension lawsuit issue. A few of my quotes made it into today’s Telegraph-Journal article:
SAINT JOHN – Those who want the city’s pension board to drop its defamation lawsuit against former councillor John Ferguson outnumber those who want to keep it going by a margin of five to one, according to a recent survey.
A Corporate Research Associates survey, conducted for the Telegraph-Journal during the first two weeks of June, found 56 per cent of respondents were in favour of dropping he lawsuit, 32 per cent had no opinion and only 12 per cent said it should not be dropped.
“That’s a pretty strong indication that the majority of people, not just those with an opinion, would like to see this lawsuit dropped,” said Don Mills, president and CEO of the Halifax-based polling firm.
A random sample of 400 people from the Greater Saint John area participated in the phone interview with city residents more strongly favoring dropping the suit at 60 per cent, compare to 52 per cent of suburban residents. Only 27 per cent of city residents had no opinion compared to 38 per cent of other residents.
The survey results are considered accurate to within 4.9 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.
“It’s not surprising that there are a lot of people who couldn’t offer an opinion because they are probably not following the issue,” Mills said.
Thirteen past and present members of the pension board are suing Ferguson for defamation – specifically comments he made at a 2006 common council meeting about how the plan was being managed. The lawsuit was first thrown out by Justice Hugh McLellan of the Court of Queen’s Bench in 2007, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick. It now continues under Justice Peter Glennie.
There are still many steps to go through before the case will be ready for trial.
The survey found older residents are more in favour of dropping the lawsuit than younger ones. Of those aged 18 to 34, only 37 per cent thought it should be dropped, 40 per cent had no opinion and 23 per cent felt it should continue. People between the ages of 35 and 54 were 61 per cent in favour of dropping it, 31 per cent had no opinion and eight per cent wanted it to continue. Respondents over the age of 55 were 69 per cent in favour of dropping it, 25 per cent had not opinion and six per cent wanted it to keep going.
“It does make sense that older people would be more familiar with the issue,” Mills said.
That is why there are fewer people with no opinion in that age group, compare to the 40 per cent with no opinion in the 18 to 34 age group, he said.
However, Shawn Peterson, 24, is one young person with a strong opinion on the subject. He follows politics closely in Saint John and participated in the Fusion, Campaign by the Clock event, a year ago during the lead up to the last municipal election.
“I think it’s a bit ridiculous,” he said, referring to all the money being sunk into a lawsuit that might not go anywhere and which the majority of people want to see stopped.
Officials with the pension board estimated earlier this year that the legal bill so far was close to $500,000. Estimates are that Ferguson’s defence has spent an equal amount, although paid for by an insurance policy, which place the costs at around $1 million and running.
“There are so many things that the city should be putting money into like fixing roads,” Peterson said.
He believes issues like this are discouraging young people from buying homes in the city. He and his wife recently bought in east Saint John, but all their contemporaries are buying outside the city.
“There are some fundamental problems we need to look at before we start suing people for speaking their minds,” he said.
Posted on
June 27th, 2009 in
News,
Saint John Politics |
2 Comments
Claire Ryan’s latest Fusion Saint John article appeared in today’s Telegraph-Journal:
FUSION’s immigration committee will join forces with the Saint John Multicultural and Newcomers Centre (SJMNRC) to host June’s Party with a Purpose, which will take place this Friday and highlight the services offered at the centre.
The SJMNRC helps newcomers to Saint John settle in the city and effectively navigate the many obstacles that can arise when trying access services or find work or housing. FUSION offers newcomers a vehicle for establishing new contacts and broadening their social networks, allowing new Saint Johners to better acquaint themselves with the organizations and opportunities that exist in the city.
“Working with other community groups such as FUSION, PRUDE Inc. and the YMCA is critical to assist our clients in making a home in Saint John,” says Luisa Montoya, project co-ordinator with the SJMNRC. “Through these partnerships we can accomplish greater goals; we can maximize our resources by working with organizations with expertise in other areas.”
Developing a sense of community is an important factor that compels people to put down roots in a particular place. “The people who stay are doing so because of other people,” Montoya says of the volunteers who have mobilized throughout the city to help newcomers acclimatize to their surroundings. The diverse social networks that exist within Saint John are a result of these connections, and add to Saint John’s overall appeal, for locals and newcomers alike.
“I would like for the attendees to understand the challenges that newcomers experience in settling into the city, as well as to know our organization and the array of volunteer opportunities that we offer,” Montoya says. Approximately 70-80 people have accessed the services available at the SJMNRC since it opened, including accreditation and job preparedness. This event will give SJMNRC clients a chance to meet new people and learn about the value of joining FUSION. FUSION members, meanwhile, can learn about the services offered and volunteer opportunities available at the SJMNRC and other affiliated organizations, including Prude Inc. and the YMCA-YWCA.
Much of FUSION’s success can be attributed to the efforts of newcomers to Saint John. FUSION members have found themselves in Saint John for a variety of reasons, and joined simply as a way to get to know people. June’s Party with a Purpose will give Saint Johners an opportunity to learn more about the SJMNRC, and how we can work with the centre and its clientele to strengthen Saint John’s social landscape. Through these combined efforts, Saint John will be a better place to work and live, whether you came from North Africa, northern New Brunswick or the north end.
June’s Party with a Purpose will take place June 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at A Khord. For more information, please visit FUSION online at www.fusionsj.com.
Claire Ryan works with MT&L Public Relations Ltd. and is a member of the FUSION Saint John board. Her column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at cryan@mtlpr.ca.
Claire Ryan’s latest Fusion Saint John article appeared in today’s Telegraph-Journal:
My friends and I have batted around for ages the idea of starting a book club. It seems so sophisticated – tackling a piece of fiction, and then sharing your interpretations and insights with others. If we had quit talking about it and just started reading, we’d probably all have comprehensive personal libraries by now. However, we have never been able to move beyond the “we should start a book club” conversation. The problem hinged on the details – how do you actually figure out how to pick books, delegate hosting duties and agree on reasonable timeframes? Even as a pretty avid reader, the idea that I would have to start and finish a book within a pre-determined time period seems ambitious. Who needs another deadline?
Enter Sarah Jones of Bean Books with a solution for aspiring book clubbers with similar commitment issues. She has started hosting the Thursday Night Book Club, a weekly gathering for Saint John readers to meet and discuss books of their own choosing. The rules are simple: the book must be fiction, and it must be something you have read or are reading.
“I wanted to provide something less formal than the traditional book club,” says Jones. “More like a ‘let’s get together, drink some coffee and talk about books’ rather than an in-depth analysis of a single book. It gives participants the flexibility to come as frequently or as infrequently as they like. You can drop in any Thursday and still be a part of the conversation, no matter what you’re reading at the time.”
Last Thursday, a handful of Saint John readers gathered at the uptown bookstore, current read in hand. Everyone gave a brief synopsis of his or her book, asked questions about the other selections, and the conversation took on a life of its own from there.
“I’m hoping that a fluid dialogue will build up over time, so that conversations may start to sound like ‘I heard you talk about this book a couple of weeks ago, and it sounded interesting so I gave it a go and thought this or that’,” says Jones.
If the first meeting was any indication, this club is off to a good start; last week’s dialogue touched on pandemics, Biblical humour, CBC podcasts and historical Venice, all within the span of an hour.
The Thursday Night Book Club gives local readers the chance to meet one another, discuss preferences, and encourage others to test the waters with a new genre, author or historical period.
The Thursday Night Book Club is held Thursdays at Bean Books, 122 Germain St., from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Claire Ryan works with MT&L Public Relations Ltd. and is a member of the FUSION Saint John board. Her column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at cryan@mtlpr.ca
Interesting news from Moosehead’s Twitter account (@MooseheadLager) today, they will be launching “Moosehead Light Lime” this summer!
Here the the details from the Canadian Beer News blog:
MONCTON, NB – Moosehead Breweries are extending their popular Moosehead Light brand with Moosehead Light Lime, a lime-flavoured light beer to be available through the summer. Moosehead President Andrew Oland announced the new brand at a breakfast meeting of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick in Moncton this morning.
Moosehead Light Lime will be available in New Brunswick and PEI in 12-pack bottles until September. It will also be served at the Bon Jovi and AC/DC concerts at Magnetic Hill this summer, where Moosehead has secured exclusive beer pouring rights.
Posted on
June 15th, 2009 in
News,
Saint John |
1 Comment
Claire Ryan’s latest Fusion Saint John article appeared in today’s Telegraph-Journal:
Community engagement. It’s a term we hear a lot. But what does it actually mean? Community engagement is the result of a conscious decision to make a positive contribution in a community beyond the usual obligations of work, school or colleagues. The advantages are endless: meeting new people, learning about your surroundings, applying skills and developing interests while making an investment in your city.
FUSION’s community engagement committee serves as a conduit between interested volunteers and organizations in need, making connections with other local non-profit and charitable organizations to create opportunities for members to become involved.
“Before I even really knew anything about FUSION, I learned about the community engagement committee,” said Shawn Peterson, the chairman of the panel. “I really liked the idea of working to engage people in the community, especially working with other non-profit organizations, to make things better in Saint John.”
The community engagement committee meets monthly; in addition to identifying existing opportunities, it co-ordinates new projects and initiatives. Current projects include a “taking it to go green” campaign – working to encourage vendors in the City Market to use environmentally friendly packaging. Motivated by the success of a similar event in 2007, the committee is also planning Art Connect, which will be a component of the 2009 Volunteer Fair. The committee is working to secure sponsorship from city businesses to purchase pieces of art, which are then assigned to non-profit organizations and auctioned off for volunteer hours in lieu of actual dollars. Volunteers are able to claim their art once their volunteer hours are completed.
“I’ve helped organize other events – always the committee was focused on one event with a specific purpose,” committee member Carolyn Prebble says. “I’m excited about being a part of a committee with no end in sight. Any idea we come up with has the potential to be added to our agenda and improve life in Saint John in some way.”
Being truly engaged in your community is more than just volunteering your time. It implies a deeper sense of connectedness, which is a key ingredient in keeping people in the city, and being committed to seeing it progress and move forward. Having this sense of belonging is just as important for people who have come from away as it is for the people who have spent their entire lives in Saint John.
“I’ve met some great people and get to see at the grassroots level the ideas that our generation is coming up with to make the city a better place to live for everyone,” said Prebble, who joined the committee shortly after moving to Saint John from Ontario late last year. “My work with this committee has helped me feel connected to this city,. I’m starting to make connections with the community that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
The community engagement committee’s next meeting is tonight at 6:30 p.m. For more information, please visit us online at www.fusionsj.com.
Claire Ryan works with MT&L Public Relations Ltd. and is a member of the FUSION Saint John board. Her column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at cryan@mtlpr.ca.
Not that anyone is actually surprised that the Mayor is wrong; but, today’s Telegraph-Journal had a good article on the issue:
Court stunned reporters and his fellow council members Monday night, when he said the province had pledged its share of funds for water treatment, which will be the largest infrastructure project in the city’s history.
The latest official price tag of the project was $215 million, which would require each level of government – including the province – to dole out about $59 million, with the city also committing its share of the federal gas tax rebate over seven years.
Councillor Chris Titus, shaking his head, asked Court to repeat the announcement several times.
“I can’t keep up with you tonight; this is just too much for me to comprehend,” Titus said. “The provincial government told Mayor Ivan Court, ‘You can tell the general public that we’re in for at least a third of the costs for ” a $200-million project,’ ” Titus exclaimed.
Court nodded his head.
When contacted for comment, Jamieson said he didn’t believe Court made those comments publicly. The Saint John-area MLA said he simply confirmed with the mayor during a breakfast meeting uptown on Monday the province had committed $8 million for six water pipeline projects and $6 million for a storm water diversion project at Glen Falls.
When asked to respond to Jamieson’s comments, Court refined his statement Tuesday, saying he believes the federal government will pledge the necessary funds once the city has a final price tag in the fall.
Even though the Mayor is consistently wrong (and incompetent), this latest story is a bit much.
How he could think that announcing such a large amount of money from the province at a Council meeting makes any sense boggles my mind.
He is wrong, and he still won’t admit it.
Municipal Elections in 2012 can’t come soon enough – this city needs a competent leader!
Posted on
June 3rd, 2009 in
News,
Saint John Politics |
3 Comments
Claire Ryan’s latest Fusion Saint John article appeared in today’s Telegraph-Journal:
This summer I’ll be making my foray into the world of gardening, having recently signed up for a plot in the south end community garden. In doing so, I’ll have the opportunity to spend time in one of my community’s green spaces and become better acquainted with my neighbours, most of whom I do not ordinarily see in my day-to-day travels.
“The garden is not just a place to plant flowers and vegetables,” says Mark Leger, a FUSION board member involved in overseeing in the garden. “It’s also a gathering spot for community members, a place to get to know your neighbours and share tips about gardening.”
The garden is located on Broad Street and has been home to a handful of south end gardening enthusiasts since 2001. As renovation efforts get underway for Rainbow Park, the garden will benefit from a series of improvements to the space.
The south end garden is one of three community gardens in the city that serve as green spaces for community members. In the south end, the garden has already served as the impetus for community engagement beyond the garden itself. This year, gardener Milville Couture and students from St. John the Baptist/King Edward School planted beds and he will help them tend to their plants throughout the summer, allowing the students to see the plants through to maturity.
“It’s a great experience for them to learn about growing food for themselves,” Leger said. “Over the years, they have come to the garden to watch us plant. They’ve always had questions and wanted to help and they are now getting the opportunity through the program at the school. Milville is nurturing a new generation of green thumbs, who will eventually have gardens of their own.”
The south central peninsula is a diverse area, but the lack of available green spaces is the common denominator that links neighbours. What appealed to me (and what will hopefully appeal to other would-be gardeners in communities throughout Saint John) is that becoming a part of a community garden is really a multi-faceted opportunity. The people involved will not only be honing their gardening skills, they will become a part of a social network in their community, one that is making a significant investment in a shared green space.
“People lead busy lives, shuttling back and forth between work and their homes,” Leger noted. “Green spaces like gardens and parks get people out in their communities in their leisure time.”
Sometimes getting involved in your community requires you to get your hands dirty. In this case, the analogy is quite literal. By digging into a community garden, gardeners will get much more than some perennials or a few heads of lettuce. They will be part of the network reinvigorating the south end, and on a larger scale, Greater Saint John itself.
Plots in the south end community garden, located on Broad Street, are available to individuals, families, businesses or organizations. For more information on the community garden, please visit us online at www.fusionsj.com.
