Mattel recently announced the release of improved limited-edition Barbie Dolls for the Greater Saint John market.

Rothesay Barbie - This princess Barbie is sold only at Rothesay shops and specialty boutiques. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey, and a cookie-cutter house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

Quispamsis Barbie - The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

South End Barbie - This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small untraceable bills), unless you are a cop, then we don’t know what you are talking about.

Millidgeville Barbie - This Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Tim Horton’s cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won’t be able to afford any of them.

St. Martin’s Barbie - This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of her house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

North End Barbie - This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

Maces Bay Barbie -This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken’s butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get an Oilers bumper sticker absolutely free.

Last night was an exciting one for Fusion Saint John! It was the night we re-launched our website. With an updated look and feel, easy to use CMS backend, and support from a local company - we are now able to spend more time working to keep young people in Saint John and less time managing the website. It sounds pretty simple; however, this didn’t happen overnight. It took many months of hard work to gather the requirements, write the RFP (request for proposals), contact the companies, read through the responses, and finally select a company to do the work. I believe this process really helped us make the best choice.

The company we selected was Pulse Communications. They were able to offer exactly what we needed at a price we could afford. I have been very impressed with their staff and the work they did for us. I would definitely suggest speaking with them if you need similar work done yourself.

The location for the launch party was also very cool. It was at Uzone, an internet cafe and gaming centre located on King St. It features lots of brand new computers with a high speed internet and plenty of games to pick from, and XBox 360’s on big screens. They even have Guitar Hero and Rock Band setup! If you haven’t been in there yet, you need to check it out. The prices are low, the staff is friendly, and they even have beer available (assuming your old enough).

While the Telegraph Journal writes about students marching to save the Saint John campus, the Globe and Mail today included a feature that tells us another story. The University Report Card 2007 was included in todays newspaper. It is also available online here.

It surveyed students at Universities all across the country and graded them based on the responses. It also grouped them so that similar sized Universities were listed together.

The result? UNB-SJ received low marks when compared to similar sized Universities (under 4,000 students).

Some of the lower graded items include:

• Number of courses to choose from
• School spirit
• Assistance with locating part-time jobs to fund education
• Co-op/internship opportunities
• Career counselling services
• Career placement services
• Quality of the food available on campus

I want to see the University remain in the city; however, changes need to be made to make it better. Too much focus has been on marching to protest the education report, while issues like these, raised today by the national newspaper, are left alone. Doing nothing is not an option!

I believe the University needs to focus in on certain areas that we can do very well such as Business and Medicine. Courses and programs that are not being run to an above average quality should be removed. There shouldn’t be any average quality courses, what is the point, there are a number of other Universities, in this province alone, that could do the exact same thing. And why stop there? Work towards more focus areas such as a Pharmacy program. There isn’t a University in this province where you can earn your Pharmacy degree. Focus areas like this is what will keep people in our province and in our city.

Bring on the focus in areas where we can exceed average quality, enhance the reputation of the campus, and make a difference in this city. It’s all within reach when we start discussing the issues openly!

That’s right - and this new coordinator is me. I had a chance to sit down with Jeff Roach, the executive director of Catalict/PropelSJ, last week to discuss Freespots. I was very interested in helping out anyway I could. Luckily, I am getting that chance now.

I’ve signed myself up to work on promoting the brand, validating existing Freespots, and growing new Freespots all across the city! I’m really excited to get started. The place to watch in the meantime is our Facebook group. Join up and invite your friends!

So what is Freespots? Simply put - it’s the public wi-fi service for the city of Saint John, New Brunswick that covers the city with FREE wireless internet. That’s right - free!

So how does it work? Instead of asking the city to spend hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to provide wireless internet in the city, Freespots works directly with the community. Freespots encourages local businesses to install and maintain wi-fi access points according to an established standard and promotes participating businesses and city property owners that have installed wi-fi hotspots according to the standard. There are no fees required to participate.

Where can I get connected? Simply visit our website: http://freespots.ca/find-freespots.cfm

Where can I get more information? Visit our website: http://freespots.ca and our Facebook group: I Want More Freespots!

As I logged onto Facebook last night, I noticed something strange. My news feed showed that a friend has joined a “Boycott Moosehead!!!” group. That’s right, a group that wants people to boycott our local company. Why you might ask yourself. Did the company do something terrible? No, that’s not it. The real answer is because people are angry at Andrew Oland, President of Moosehead Quebec. He was the chair of the task force that released a controversial report on post-secondary education in New Brunswick last week. So there you have it - because people disagree with the report, they want to boycotting Moosehead. Pretty stupid logic isn’t it?

Here is what the group is saying on Facebook:

“Given the argument put forth by Andrew Oland, President of Moosehead Quebec, that there is too much duplication of academic programs in New Brunswick and his desire to destroy our university, I think we should let him know, in no uncertain terms, that we think that there is too much duplication of beer in the liquor stores and that we are going to choose to drink Keith’s or Labatt’s.”

Some of the comments by it’s members:

“Despite the fact that I don’t drink but I take strong exceptions to this statement and will not let any of my friends buy Moosehead when they are with me.” - Waleed Yousaf

“This really annoys me. I’ve always made it a point to drink the local beer. I’ve even gone so far as to use it as an example of multipliers and spending in class. Remember Moosehead owns many different brands. Read the label when buying.” - Jason Childs

My response? I’ll start my own Facebook group and call it “Don’t Boycott Moosehead!!!“. Why? To show support to a company that has done nothing wrong and supports so many community groups and causes. Moosehead is Canada’s oldest independent brewery and as Canada’s two largest brewers (Labatt & Molson) are now foreign-owned, Moosehead is also Canada’s largest 100% Canadian brewery. They are a company that Saint John can be proud of!

Here is what my group is all about:

“Given the argument put forth by the Boycott Moosehead group, on Facebook, that suggests we punish one of our greatest local companies because the President of Moosehead Quebec was involved in a study that they disagree with, I think we should show these idiots, in no uncertain terms, that we support Moosehead and that we are going to choose to drink Moosehead products as much as possible.

If you have a problem with Andrew Oland, let him know, but don’t mess with a great local company that supports our city in so many events and causes!”

In less then a day, our numbers have hit over one hundred! I would like to continue building support over the next week. My hope is that people will realize the difference between a company and a person and direct their complaints to the right place. Moosehead is a local company we can be proud of. I’ll raise this glass to them!

This Friday, the education report that everyone has been talking about was released. The report recommends merging universities and colleges in parts of the province to create polytechnic institutions. One such merger would be between UNB-SJ and NBCC-SJ right here in Saint John.

Like most people, the first thing I thought was, “what the hell is a polytechnic institution?” Well, not really, most people are saying this is the end of the world. There are newspaper articles, letters to the editor, and facebook groups popping up left and right. However, the one thing I don’t hear anyone actually talking about is what the good ideas are in the report.

Personally, I’m not sure whether a merger would be a good thing or not. But, what I do know is that both UNB-SJ and NBCC-SJ are solid institutions on their own, and they offer students a broad range of education options. I really think the more reasonable approach would be to include more integration between the two campuses. There should be more programs at each campus that offer credits at the other one. Earning your BA degree at UNB-SJ should count towards credits when starting a program at NBCC-SJ, and vice-versa. We will be further ahead, as a province, when we work together at the local level to make sure that students can get a good education at home! We can have the best institutions in the world, but, if the students in this region can’t take the courses they want, they will leave.

I still look forward to hearing more about the proposed plan; however, no matter how good of an idea it may be - at the end of the day, the public is not behind it, and no government wanting seats in this region will push that agenda!

Toronto-based band Billy Talent rocked Saint John on Friday, September 7th. For more background on the band, check out Wikipedia or HereNB.

The opening band, illScarlett, was pretty good and did a great job opening for Billy Talent. However, once Billy Talent, came out they blew everyone away. I was really impressed with the lead singer, Ben Kowalewicz, as his voice was perfect the entire time. I have no idea how he can still sing after all of his screaming!

Their final song was Red Flag and it was the perfect end a great concert. For anyone who has the chance to see them in concert - do it, they put on an awesome show!

Here are their videos, check them out if you’ve never heard of the band before!

Devil in a Midnight Mass:

Red Flag:

Surrender:

Fallen Leaves:

Well, this week has brought the big news that Irving Oil and Repsol plan to build a third LNG tank at Canaport here in Saint John. But that’s not all. The bigger news is that they are way ahead of schedule for building this third tank. This is because the two tanks in progress are expected to be finished in mid-2008.

I am still pissed about the LNG tax deal; however, I am supportive of this LNG project. It’s now employing hundreds of construction workers from the area for another year! Iving Oil says that there are more than 500 workers are on-site every day. About 95 per cent of them come from the Greater Saint John area and New Brunswick, officials have said.

Another cool fact is how fast the tanks are being build. The second tank was built in record time, noted Pat Darrah, executive director of the Saint John Construction Association. It took only 15 days once the substructure work was done. The world record had been 17 days, he said. “We’ve got the best per capita trained workforce in the country,” contends Darrah. They’re also contributing to the economy, each earning an average of $1,000 to $1,500 a week, he said. “The whole spinoff of 500 people working, making that kind of money, think about it; it’s just, whew!”

Mayor Norm McFarlane agrees. They’ll be shopping in stores, eating in restaurants, and buying homes, the mayor said. And having them here makes it easier for the city to attract new retail projects, such as the free-standing Starbucks retail outlet announced Thursday, he said.

Another good thing is what the city gets for the permit on the third tank - $100,000! Hopefully, these workers will gain new skills that will allow them to find work more easily. Irving Oil hopes to build a second refinery in the city, which would employee these workers well into the future. It’s just another sign that the city is really starting to pick up and move!

Unfortunately, another backyard on Red Head Road has fallen into the Bay of Fundy due to erosion. Since 1995, several backyards and condemned homes have fallen into the Bay. The provincial government attempted to fix the problem by placing 4,000 steel cable anchors at the foot of the bluffs; however, several storms eventually blew the cables apart.

Roly McIntyre, the MLA for the area, said that while he feels concern for his constituents, he’s not sure what responsibility the province has in this situation. “Back in 1995, we did compensate some people that lost their houses. Now, the question of will we compensate again, that’s a question we would have to raise, because some of these properties were only purchased in the last two or three years.”

Red Head resident Peter Hilder said his family and his neighbours have been meeting with different levels of government about the erosion problem for the past decade. Hilder said an engineering company is monitoring the situation on Red Head, but nothing’s been done by city officials to fix the problem, and he’s wondering how long it will take.

For once, I actually agree with Roly. I really can’t see why the province should be responsible for people who choose to live there. The people who had lived there for years may have a point, because this wasn’t an issue at the time when they built or purchased their house; however, the people who have moved there since this became an issue are on their own. They would have known the risks and should not be expecting us, as taxpayers, to compensate them. I think any development along that stretch of the road should stop, and the homeowners should be making all attempts to move.

A second teenager has changed his plea in connection with attacks on Chinese students earlier this month in Saint John. Jonathan Martin, 19, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to possession of a knife and damage to public property.

Students were assaulted two weekends in a row earlier in August, near the University of New Brunswick campus. The attacks terrified members of the city’s Chinese community. Summer Mu, a former University of New Brunswick student who lives in Saint John, says one victim in particular has been scarred by the experience. “She still cannot sleep at night, and so scared. She’s also thinking about if she should be back to China,” Mu said.

Now here is the strange part.  A man and his girlfriend walking on University Avenue late at night and heard footsteps running toward them from behind. When they turned, three young men stopped and apologized, saying they thought the couple were Chinese.  Martin was not charged with the attack on July 28, but he was with the group on Aug. 9 when they confronted the man and his girlfriend. The trio told the couple they were doing random beatings on Chinese students to scare them into going back home and to keep others from coming to Canada. They asked the man to join them, but he declined and called police when he got away from them.

Martin was not the one who did the talking when the trio approached the man on University Avenue, but he was present, said prosecutor Kelly Winchester. The witness told police all the young men had shaved heads and were carrying pieces of pipe.  When police arrived a short while later, they found the three young men, but they were not carrying any weapons. So after getting names and an address, they were sent on their way. But a short while later another officer found the pipes, a knife and spray paint under a car a few metres away from where they questioned the young men, so they were arrested at the address given.

The man that called police said he had recently started working with a Chinese student and had heard how scared the local community was because of the two attacks. He wanted to help, so he called police, said Winchester.  When Martin was arrested he told police he had not done anything like that before, and had only shaved his head that night. The police report indicated he still had shaving cream and bits of hair on his head, said Winchester.

This comes just one week after another teen pleaded guilty. The remaining teen, a 15-year-old, has been sent to the Miramichi Youth Detention Centre for a psychiatric evaluation. I can only hope that the sentencing is as brutal as the attacks were to the students.