Fusion Saint John is looking for input from its members on the proposed waterfront development.

“Fusion wants to hear from you on the latest waterfront development announced for our city.

Please take a moment to tell us what you think by filling out our short survey on the recent Long Wharf proposal, which includes an Irving Oil office building, extended public park spaces for Harbour Passage, a secondary cruise ship terminal, and the restoration of Fort La Tour.”

Help out by completing the survey here!

For more information on the proposed development, check out Irving Oil’s press release and frequently asked questions.

This week, the house that we purchased finally closed.

We are now officially home owners!

It’s an exciting time; but, it is also stressful because there are so many little things that needs to be done.

Changing the locks is one of them.

After doing some searching, and speaking with a few locksmiths, I decided to go with Mr. Deadbolt (not his actual name).

I found his contact information on Canada 411.  He explained everything very well, had great prices, offered good suggestions, and he was able to come out that day.

Now instead of four keys, we have one that works in all of our doors.

I would highly recommend calling him if you are in Saint John and need a locksmith.

Plus the business name is awesome.

Update: The results are now online. We finished in second place!

Yesterday, the 2008 Harbour City Amazing Chase took place in Saint John, NB. The money raised went to P.R.O. Kids.

The HCAC is designed with teamwork in mind. This event is not only based on collecting objects, but also solving clues to get to your next destination. Our event will require teams of 4 to put their heads together to solve puzzles, codes and riddles and perform tasks, each leading to a “mystery location”; it could be a historical location, a well-known statue, or even a specific person. To win the prize, teams will need not only to work together as individuals but as a team.

I thought it sounded like fun, so I sent out some emails and recruited some guys to join the team. Our team was called “Those 4 Guys” (T4G). Our team dressed in red 2007 Bluenose Marathon running shirts, white head and wrist bands, and running shoes.

The event began at UNB-SJ at 12 noon, where we were given a crossword puzzle to complete before receiving our first clue.

We began in the West Side, where we:

• Recycled at the Carleton Community Centre.
• Kayaked in Dominion Park.
• Ran up and down the hill by Alex Coffin’s Fitness Shop.
• Answered energy related questions at the Milford Community Centre for bonus points.
• Took pictures with us at Reversing Falls, Martello Tower, and Partridge Island
• Gathered scavenger items at Deluxe French Fries and the Aquarius Tavern.
• Carried shot glasses of water across the room to fill a glass (with feet tied together) at the Aquarius Tavern.

Next was the North End, where we:

• Beat another team at Ultimate Frisbee at Shamrock Park.
• Dressed in Firefighter’s gear (extra points for carrying the heavy oxygen tanks) and ran through an obstacle course (extra points for pulling ourselves through a long tube).
• Found out our blood types at the Canadian Blood Services building on University.
• Completed a math puzzle at Rockwood park for bonus points.
• Took pictures with us at the Old Museum, Regional Hospital, Saint John sign, Rockwood Bark Park, and with a yellow car.
• Gathered item’s at my Mom’s cousin’s house and attempted to get a piece of Lego by knocking on the door of a random house.
• Raced back to Reversing Falls to get a Fast-Forward card from the Wave Cruiser.
• Had to make a leg split at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre.

Next was the East Side, where we:

• Made a jigsaw puzzle at Benjamin Moore Paints.
• Played Guitar Hero at Future Shop.
• Stretched out pizza dough to fit a pizza pan at Vito’s.
• Gathered scavenger items at Future Shop and the Dollar Store. The items included money that was from a certain year and an American dollar bill.
• Took pictures with us at McDonald’s, the Jarvis Bay Artillery Gun, with an out-of-province car, Geraniums, and a person with a strange hat.
• Had to lookup SKU’s and take them to the Switchboard Operator at Kent.

Next was the South End, where we:

• Learned three types of kicks at Jay Chang’s Taekwondo. Russell and I also had to fight each other (sorry about kicking you in the neck).
• Climbed the rock wall and did the dance-dance game at the YMCA.
• Completed a crossword puzzle at First Steps by St. Joseph’s Hospital.
  
• Skipped the ball hockey course at Harbour Station by using our Fast-Forward card.
• Identified four different smells at SudsMuffin.
• Made a clay dish that held small glass items at Se’ramik.
• Dove off the highest diving board in the Canada Games Aquatic Centre.
• Answered music questions at A Khord.
• Found the large Whale Jaws at the New Brunswick Museum.
• Played “Are You Smarter Then A Fifth Grader” at Atlantica Centre for the Arts.
• Took pictures with us at the timepiece at Market Square and with the whale Jaw at the Museum.
• Collected a few items for the scavenger hunt.

We had one remaining stop in the South End (at the Bear making store in the mall); but, with fifteen minutes left, we raced back to UNB-SJ where we had all of the bonus clues needed to find and open the bonus locker. Inside was information on decoding a word puzzle. We raced downstairs to find the people with the decoding machine (like in the Da Vinci code). After we figured out the puzzle, we opened the machine to receive extra bonus points.

With five minutes to spare, we handed in our Passport and finished the Amazing Chase!

We stayed around for pizza and door prizes. After that, they announced several other prizes. Our team won the prize for finishing the most locations (we only missed one). We also anxiously waited to see if we won; but sadly, we didn’t. Today, the results were posted online, and we found out that we finished in second place.

Overall, the day was non-stop fun. We started at noon and didn’t finish until 6pm. We all had a great time and found it to be very well organized.

I hope they do it again next year, it’s another event that really makes this city a great place to be!

At tonights Common Council meeting, the Environment Committee presented it’s 2008 Environmental awards. The recipients were:

Fundy Linen Services

Last year, Fundy Linen Services completed an energy reduction program. The upgrades and changes they made to their existing technology reduced their water consumption by over eight million gallons per year, and also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 1,000 tonnes annually.

To reduce their water and energy consumption, Fundy Linen installed two Washex tunnel washers which use German technology that requires less water to operate, and started using a Performance program by Ecolab that kills bacteria at a lower temperature: it is that difference in washing temperature that resulted in the major energy savings.

As part of their Energy Reduction Plan, they also made the switch from Number 2 furnace oil to natural gas and installed two new vapour powered thermal water heaters, which are 23% more efficient at heating water.

Because Fundy Linen operates as a hospital laundry, there are strict standards for infection control. All operating room scrubs, drapes and gowns are computer monitored for quality. Any items with holes or tears are sterilized and recycled into rags to avoid the landfill.

The Blue Run

Our second Environment Award recipient is a small company known as The Blue Run that was started about one year ago.

This company is dedicated to recycling for you. Anyone looking for assistance with getting their recyclables to the depot would be a good customer for the Blue Run. For a small fee, Blue Run employees offer a curb-side recycling service on Saturday mornings. As a result, this company has decreased the amount of recyclables that were unnecessarily going into our landfill.

While the majority of their customers are residential, there are a growing number of commercial customers. Currently the material collected is mostly “lunchroom” recyclables.

Some comments from customers:

“I had always tried to be a loyal recycler but had at times become frustrated with the mounting piles of paper, cardboard and plastic accumulating in my garage. When time is tight it’s not always convenient to load up your car and truck recycling to the blue bins. (Especially on those cold winter days.) I immediately signed up. Without fail, every Saturday these hardworking individuals arrive at my door, and take my recycling. My garage is a lot cleaner. It takes care of my storing bags of recyclables and certainly makes me more apt to think about what I’m throwing out. I also know from talking to my neighbours how beneficial this program is for seniors, as well as children. My own son has become more aware of what we are putting into our garbage and even what we buy in terms of its recyclability.”

“I am a customer and it is a great service! It definitely eases the burden of being a busy working mom!”

Active Transportation Saint John (ATSJ)

This group of volunteers is committed to making a real and significant transformation of transportation in Saint John. ATSJ has been promoting the development of cycling lanes on roadways and walking and running paths within the City to facilitate and encourage human powered commuting as well as fitness opportunities. As part of this effort, they are developing cycling maps for Saint John to encourage more people to use this environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.

The nominator states:

“The traditional vehicle orientation is being replaced by one that highlights the importance of safe, accessible, environmentally responsible and integrated multiple-use to improve our street systems for pedestrians, cyclists, and users of the public transportation system – an essential part of our transition to a sustainable community.

The benefits are many: from a more active population to lowered rates of vehicle usage and lower greenhouse gas emissions, from improved mobility options to a variety of more responsible choices for us all.”

While this award is focused on ATSJ, the Environment Committee would also like to acknowledge key supporters that are helping to make the transformation real including Saint John Transit, Saint John Parking, and the staff of City of Saint John Municipal Operations including the Traffic Crew.

Here is a strange story that I read today.

The Saint John Police are spending $13,000 on a T3 personal mobility vehicle. This is a three-wheeled electric vehicle. The device can travel at speeds up to 40 km/h and has a siren and high beams.

What gets me is the following:

The T3 will allow police to quickly and easily manoeuvre through crowds and hard-to-reach parts of the city, Hanley said.

“It just allows our officers to get from point A to point B quicker,” Hanley said. “If he’s running, he’d be tired when he got there. This will allow him to save his energy. Plus it’s a green vehicle.”

The device will likely be used in the Harbour Passage area along the Saint John waterfront and at parades and other community events, Hanley said.

“We’ve had some robberies there, some people have been beaten up along here, so this allows an officer get along through here,” Hanley said. “It can get in and out of traffic and crowds easy, and we’re looking forward to purchasing more of them.”

Police are undergoing training now to drive the vehicle, he said, and it will begin to be used in the summer.

What I would like to know is - wouldn’t a bicycle work?

They are: fuel-efficient, cost effective, and they don’t require any training!

Heck, it’s even good exercise, and it would keep our officers in great shape.

I could see upwards of $1,500 for a bicycle; but, that’s really pushing it. $13,000 for this vehicle seems like an awful lot to spend.

Is it worth it? Well, I’d like to hear more.

Call me crazy; but, I can’t be the only one thinking this!

Today, I attended ACAP’s March Creek Cleanup with Stephen Chase. The event was sponsored by Canaport LNG.

While the weather wasn’t the nicest, the turnout was more then the organizers expected! I think that says a lot about our community. Freezing weather along with the chance of rain won’t keep people from making Saint John a better place to live!

I was on team 8, and we cleaned the area behind Michael’s to Rothesay Avenue. I was pretty suprised by the amount of garbage and trash that ends up in the waterways around the malls.

One interesting thing that we did discover was the remains of a copper stripping operation. It looked like the wire was stripped for the copper, and the insulation was left in a pile not far from Rothesay Avenue.

Anther discovery was a groundhog living nearby this mess. We found several deep holes, then we found him sticking his head out of another hole near the water. Just goes to show the wildlife that lives right beside our malls!

I do feel bad for the groundhog though, The water was really gross. It was reddish colored, and it smelled pretty bad.

After the cleanup, we headed back behind Parkwall mall where we were able to see the amount of garbage picked up by each team. It blew me away to see so many rusting shopping carts that were picked up.

The strangest thing that I found was several backpacks containing crushed beer cans near an empty bottle of Colt 45. As strange as that may be, that is nothing compared to the winner of the “strangest item” contest. Someone actually found a bong. How stange of a thing to end up in Marsh Creek!

It was definitely a successful event, and I would be interested in participating again next year!

Do you enjoy walking along Harbour Passage? Looking to give back to your community?

Well, here is your chance. It’s the 2008 Harbour Passage Garden Party!

When is it?

Saturday May 24, 2008 / 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
(Rain date: Sunday, May 25th)

What do you do?

When you show up, you will find the organizers who will place you on a team with other volunteers. There is a lot of work to do including: help tidy, weed, plant, and spread compost and mulch.

It’s a great way to meet people and contribute to making the trail look nice.

Do you have plants to drop donate?

Plant drop off, Friday 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM or Saturday 7:30 AM.

Need more information?

Jane Barry
Phone: 672-8880
sjfoundation@nb.aibn.com

Karen Speight
Phone:694-1253
karen.speight@kinek.com

Last week, I was invited to talk about Politics on Serf City, a local community radio show about politics and culture in Saint John.

The show takes place Thursday nights on CFHM 107.3FM in Saint John (also available streaming online).

Check out their Facebook group, and listen to the interview below:

It’s a sad story; but, a baby monkey was stolen from the Cherry Brook Zoo on Tuesday night.

The monkey, a marmoset from South Africa, was less then a year old and part of an international breeding program.

The zoo is asking for the monkey back and does not plan to press charges, “We will not give a name, just please, please bring this animal back”.

A Facebook group has also been started to show support for the baby monkey.

One comment on the group is quite troubling, “We were told they baby would not survive long away from it’s parents and is on a strict diet and feeding schedule.”

Anyone with information should contact the zoo immediately at 634-1440!

It’s hard to believe; but, the Saint John Sea Dogs are heading into the QMJHL semi-finals in only their third year as a franchise!

They have been playing solid hockey and it’s been great to watch.

While tickets for games 3 and 4 against the Rouyn-Noranda Hukies go on sale tomorrow, I thought I would share a video montage for our team heading into the semis:

Playoff Round One Intro Video

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Ladies and Gentlemen

Hockey Night In Saint John