The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[q12]

Brunswick News to charge for online content

December 2, 2011 - 6:23pm By BRETT BUNDALE Business Reporter

Brunswick News Inc., the Irving-owned news chain with a near-monopoly on print media in New Brunswick, is slated to launch a revamped website Monday that will charge users for content.

The publishing company will put the online edition of its 19 newspapers — 10 French-language weeklies, six English-language weeklies and three English-language dailies — behind a pay wall.

Rob Warner, editor-in-chief of Brunswick News, said all news content will now come at a cost to readers.

“It will differ from other pay walls, which allow a certain number of stories to be read by individuals,” he said in an interview from Saint John on Friday.

“It’s a hard pay wall, and beyond that I can’t say too much.

Read more here:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/38844-brunswick-news-charge-online-content

[MonctonRad]

Well that's unfortunate.

This means that in the future when something interesting is spotted in the paper, instead of copying it here and/or providing a link, we will be paraphrasing and making statements such as "I read in the T&T today that...."

The information will still get out but risks being a little less accurate in the translation and will be a lot less rich. I guess I'll have to browse News91.9 and CBC.ca more often.....

I really don't think this will make any money for Brunswick News. I buy the paper at the newsstand every day and would be rather disinclined to also pay for an online subscription. I'm sure most people would be like me. Why pay for the same thing twice?

I feel sorry for ex-pats who keep in touch with what's going on at home by reading online.

[porchmouse]

A few weeks ago there was discussion about UPS offering direct delivery services here in Moncton and Halifax and we were speculating what that would look like moving forward as far as jobs are concerned.

As someone who regularly checks out the various job sites, all I can say is here we go....

Yesterday the following positions were posted for UPS in Moncton:
On Car Supervisor, Feed Supervisor, Package Handler, Automotive Fleet Supervisor, TSG Technician, Security Associate, and Hub Supervisor.

Check it out below. Great news for Moncton!
http://www.eluta.ca/search?order=rank&q=&l=moncton

Cheers,

[MonctonRad]

Well, given the little missive that q12 gleefully posted on our thread, this will likely be the last direct quote from the sleuth to be posted on here for some time....

Starbucks poised to expand Metro Moncton empire?

A certain shopaholic sherlock of your spymaster's acquaintance says there's news of special interest to coffee-loving columnist Brian Cormier and others of like mind, especially those who adore complicated coffee orders.

Overheard by Mall Rat at a nearby shopping mecca is a plot brewing to establish several new Starbucks outlets in the Metro area right smartly. Word has it the left coast-based worldwide coffee octopus is spreading its tasty tentacles in at least three directions from its coffee capital around the Champlain Place/Crystal Palace complex, which is currently home to Metro's only two outlets. The Rat says the first tentacle will land somewhere in the neighbourhood of Trinity Power Centre and all three new locations will be free-standing shops.

Let my people go

More news on the mall front comes from hard-working store clerk Exodus, who predicts shoppers will soon notice a mass departure of locally owned and operated stores from Champlain Place because the giant mall now wants to deal exclusively with national chains.

Your spymaster sent out an APB on this one, however, and got mixed if not downright confusing results. Business-like blabbermouth Bean Counter says it's true some local stores are indeed leaving but are not actually being cast out of Eden; rather a long-standing 'local store subsidy' offered by CP is either ending or being altered this year, which means rents might be going up, which means some businesses are going down the road. Spy Central now seeks input on who they are, and where they're going.

All things bright

But some local stores at CP are not only hanging in but moving deeper, if we are to believe a report from Crow's Nest, who says her favourite store in all the world has big plans at Champlain. What on Earth - which features the jewelry of many a Maritime artist such as famed Fredericton-based artisan Trudy Gallagher - has been on an exodus of its own in recent years having moved from a kiosk near CP's food court to similar digs near the Wal-Mart entrance. Now, says our bird with an eye for all things sparkly, Ms. Gallagher and the gang have done so well that What on Earth is looking to move from the kiosk into regular store space. Your spymaster wrings his hands with woe, blessed as he is with an all-female cast at home who share our snitch's taste for the shinier things in life and keeps him plenty broke at Christmastime.

personal notes:

- three new Starbucks. Well, that is interesting. I wonder where they will go? The Sleuth alludes to the power centre area. One of the buildings in the map of the Mapleton Centre development had a drive-thru. I imagine that this would be it. As for the other two, I imagine one downtown would be a given. My vote would be for the empty lot where the bikers successfully set off their fire bomb a decade ago. We know that the developer has something in the works for that spot. As for the last one, that's more debatable but I have thought in the past that drowsy gamblers out at the casino at Magnetic Hill might like some high end java in order to keep themselves juiced.
- I'm not surprised that Champlain would end their local store subsidy. There are national retailers lined up for space at the mall. It will be interesting to see who is waiting in the wings (Banana Republic & Victorias Secret anyone?). It will be interesting to also see where the local retailers decamp to.

[q12]

New Brunswick only province to see negative job growth

Published Saturday December 3rd, 2011

By CODI WILSON
Canadaeast News Service

The latest employment rates released by Statistics Canada on Friday reveal New Brunswick is the only province to experience negative growth since the employment trough in July 2009.

The province has experienced an employment decline of 8,000 or 2.3 per cent since the trough.

New Brunswick's unemployment rate rose to 9.8 per cent in November, up from 9.4 in October.

The most significant loss of employment in November was in Quebec, which lost approximately 31,000 jobs, and Saskatchewan.

New Brunswick lost 1,700 jobs in November, with the hardest hit in the manufacturing sector, with a loss of 1,100.

Read more here: http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/gleaner/article/1461066

Here is another article that doesn't paint a very good economic picture for New Brunswick unfortunately. Seems like an odd time to try and force people to pay to read the news online.

[MonctonRad]

As usual q12, you are a purveyor of negative news to this thread (and any thread connected to NB). If I didn't know any better, I would think you had something against us.

[mylesmalley]

Maybe we shouldn't be so damn quick to break out the pitch forks and bullhorns when potential new industries come to town.

There, I said it.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Maybe we shouldn't be so damn quick to break out the pitch forks and bullhorns when potential new industries come to town.

There, I said it.

Are we referring to hydrofracking?

[q12]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

As usual q12, you are a purveyor of negative news to this thread (and any thread connected to NB). If I didn't know any better, I would think you had something against us.

I just found that on the New Brunswick news service website and thought it was relevant. As you stated this weekend would probably be your last chance to post online news from that service.

On a positive note about Starbucks, I would really enjoy a drive-thru location easily accessed from the Trans-Canada Highway when travelling through the Moncton area.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Are we referring to hydrofracking?

Hydrofracking doesn't even scratch the surface. We've decided we don't want to take anything out of the ground. We've decided we don't want to actually build anything. We say we like tourists, but we don't actually mean it. We say we want jobs but we never stop criticizing every action of some companies, both internal and external. We say we want the government to do a better job of economic development, but nothing they is ever actually good enough. We want highways and hospitals and community colleges in every two-bit town but nobody wants to pay for it. We complain we're stuck in dying industries but that it isn't fair for us to have to change. We work hard until something potentially big comes along and then we're content to sit back and let the world take care of us.

Before someone thinks it, I'm not saying we should burn the land and boil the sea to squeeze out every penny of natural resources. But this province is full of smart people. Where are the innovators standing up and saying that we can learn from the mistakes of others and try something new? Do we hate change and progress so much that we're willing to drag the people who want to climb higher back down so that we can all be miserable together?

Don't think I'm being alarmist, either. We're already in godawful financial straights and we haven't even begun to feel the real effects of the baby boom. Every month we get more news like that latest jobs report. Sometimes they say we're improving, but if you actually look into them, I daresay 100 jobs at Starbucks don't replace 100 jobs at a manufacturing company. But who's gonna do something about it? Certainly not us. Thats the government and corporations jobs. But oh wait, we hate the government and damn the fat cats!

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Maybe we shouldn't be so damn quick to break out the pitch forks and bullhorns when potential new industries come to town.

Pretty much this.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Don't think I'm being alarmist, either. We're already in godawful financial straights and we haven't even begun to feel the real effects of the baby boom. Every month we get more news like that latest jobs report. Sometimes they say we're improving, but if you actually look into them, I daresay 100 jobs at Starbucks don't replace 100 jobs at a manufacturing company.

I tried saying something similar in the SJ thread and got chased out. We can all agree that retail stores are good additions, but they can't be used to replace heavy industry. We can sit around and pat each other on the back for being innovative and creative but at the end of the day we need to open our eyes and realize where this province is heading and what we need to do to alleviate our current problems. As one of the oldest provinces in Canada, we're going to feel the pinch of the baby boom difficulty more than others.

[macas539]

I agree 100% on our economic situation. Every time the government of this province tries to come up with a way to make us some money and potentially improve the province's financial status, all the NIMBYS come out of the woodwork ready to tar and feather whatever industry is trying to set up shop here out of town. Case and point hydrofracking and shale gas. There is a huge potential for the province to actualy make some money off this. But because of misinformation and hearsay about the potential risks everyone is up in arms about it.

People here just need to give new things a chance. If A broken economy is what New Brunswickers want, then keep on opposing change and solutions that seem different. But if NB Stays on this course the financial situation here is only going to worsen and people will start to leave the province in search of better opportunities. Is it really any wonder NB can't really attract that many newcomers? Who wants to live in a broken "have not" province when you dont have to?

Just my two cents...

[mylesmalley]

My last post had an awfully negative tone. I don't want to give the impression that I think we're a sinking ship. There are some real bright spots in this province and some great things happening. It just kills me to see a province with so much potential for greatness languishing away because of our propensity to bite at every hand that tries to help us up.

[riverviewer]

Perhaps keeping New Brunswick as a pristine haven province will pay-off in the future when industry has destroyed all other ecosystems. Until then though, everyone must accept that our hospitals and schools, though better than many in the world, will be worse off than other provinces.

[MonctonRad]

As usual, the proper course of action probably resides in the middle ground.

regarding hydrofracking, there is certainly a lot of uninformed hysteria out there amongst the general populace about this practice. It is a generally safe procedure. Despite this, horror stories do exist. They should be taken into consideration.

On the radio this morning, I listened to some fellow who demanded an absolute guarantee from the gas industry representative that his well water would not be contaminated. Of course the representative could not give this guarantee, catastrophes do happen despite the best intentions of everyone involved.

It would be a bit like a patient demanding an absolute guarantee from me that nothing will go wrong when I do a lumbar myelogram on him. I have done well over a thousand myelograms in my career and to my knowledge have never had a significant adverse event, but anytime you stick a needle into somebodies spinal canal there is some risk. There is even the risk that I could paralyse someone. The risk is small, it has never happened to any of my patients, but the risk is there and thus an absolute guarantee cannot be issued. To give such a guarantee would risk medicolegal consequences. You therefore have to explain the risks of the procedure and also the risks of not doing the procedure and then let the patient make the decision. Most people are reasonable and rationale and understanding.

Unfortunately, a lot of the antifrackers are unreasonable and hysteric. There is nothing that you can say or do to appease them. Even if the risk was one in a million of anything going wrong, the risk would still be too high. Unreasonable people such as this should be ignored.

Nevertheless, you have to manage risk and benefit. To decrease the risk, I propose that initial shale gas development occur only in uninhabited or low population density areas of the province, well away from towns and agricultural areas. This would allow the gas industry to prove the safety of their practices and might help to settle the nerves of the citizenry. Let's roll this thing out slowly.

There's no question that the province needs the money but gas prices right now are rock bottom, mostly because shale gas development elsewhere in the continent has flooded the market. Perhaps it would be wiser to hold off on full bore exploitation of this resource until the market price for natural gas has recovered somewhat.

In the meantime, lets carry on with development of low risk areas of reserve so that we can get some monies into the provincial coffers and prove to the citizenry that not everyone in the gas industry has cloven hooves, forked tails and pointed ears.

[mylesmalley]

You're absolutely right, MonctonRad. My point is that we're foolish to at least not try new things, but we certainly can be and need to be smart about whatever we do.

As for expecting an absolute guarantee... there's just no such thing. I'm sure you get this type of thing all the time, MonctonRad, but it seems humans have an incredibly bad sense of scale and proportion. We'll worry when someone tells us there's a 1% risk of complications, but we don't worry ten times as much when the risk is 10%. Which brings me back to my earlier point about how dire our financial situation is.

I honestly don't think most people realize the scale of the problem here. As evidence, I like to point out that the number of articles about MLA pensions and salaries seem to outnumber deficit-related ones ten to one. Now I'm not taking a position on that issue because it's far too complicated and tangential to this post, but it's a good comparison. If we cut back on salaries and pensions for MLAs, we might save $2-3 million a year. But that's less than 1% of the total deficit. I understand people are angry, but where's the proportional anger or determination to find fixes for the much larger problem? People just seem to have a natural tendency to blow things out of proportion.

Taking it back to fracking, it won't fix all our problems. Not even close. But if we can be intelligent about it and go about it in the right way, it would be a good first start.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by riverviewer

Perhaps keeping New Brunswick as a pristine haven province will pay-off in the future when industry has destroyed all other ecosystems. Until then though, everyone must accept that our hospitals and schools, though better than many in the world, will be worse off than other provinces.

That's a tricky stand to take.

If we're currently a 'pristine' place, how do we do it and still heavily clearcut forests, mine in the north and south, have ports, airports and a refinery. Hell, we have cities that eat up a couple hundred acres of land a year just in their own growth. We love highways. We're happy to have the major transportation sector we have. And lest we forget agriculture.

[pierremoncton]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Unfortunately, a lot of the antifrackers are unreasonable and hysteric. There is nothing that you can say or do to appease them. Even if the risk was one in a million of anything going wrong, the risk would still be too high. Unreasonable people such as this should be ignored.

I don't think that's fair. You wouldn't force an epidural or myelogram on someone who refuses it, even if the patient understands that the risk is negligible. When it comes to shared resources, we can't really ignore those who vehemently oppose this type of development, even if the risk is small, especially when they're the ones who live nearby and would be the ones most-impacted by any bad turn of events.

Thankfully, you've never had to deal with a mistake that cost someone's life (or equivalent), and you hopefully never will have to. I'm sure you'd regret it, even if it happened only once. But it does happen to some people, so you explain the risks and show them a waiver, and you wait until they sign it, or you move on. I'm sure that BP never wished for nor expected the oil spill a couple of years ago (and that's just one amongst many), but the ones who have to deal with the real consequences are not the executives; they're regular folk.

John Doe might be aware that windfalls for the province (and perhaps himself directly if he sells some of his land) are great if we proceed with fracking, but if he feels that the infinitesimal risk is not worth the potential profit, that neither makes him crazy nor does it invalidate his opinion.

Personally, I'd rather not see fracking here, but I'm not strongly opposed to it. What does concern me is that some out-of-province company comes here, tests without proper permission from Sussex and the province, all in order to save $60,000. So what happens when they stand to lose a few million dollars just to cover some other low-risk technicality? Nothing the first couple of times, and no-one notices. Then something bad happens, they pick up their shit and disappear, John Doe's life is upside-down, and taxpayers are stuck with the clean-up bill.

What does our environment minister does about the Sussex thing? He barks and pretends to care, then quietly submits the file to the RCMP to get it off his desk and avoid actually having to bite. Some people might be opposed to this type of development no matter what, but I think that, at this point, we can neither trust the province to regulate this properly, nor can the companies be trusted to comply.

I'm a Green-voting, bike-riding veganish liberal commie pinko, so, by default, I'm always idealistically opposed to anything that messes up flowers and ant hills. But even from a more realistic, practical viewpoint, I oppose fracking (for the time being) partly due to ignorance, but mostly due to a lack of trust in our government, in the industry, and in the all-prevailing privatized-profit, socialized-risk scheme. We may be nuts, but we live here and pay taxes too (at least I do -- who knows about those other hippies).

By the way, I'm not angered by your comment; just adding my own long-winded thoughts.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by pierremoncton

I'm a Green-voting, bike-riding veganish liberal commie pinko, so, by default, I'm always idealistically opposed to anything that messes up flowers and ant hills. But even from a more realistic, practical viewpoint, I oppose fracking (for the time being) partly due to ignorance, but mostly due to a lack of trust in our government, in the industry, and in the all-prevailing privatized-profit, socialized-risk scheme. We may be nuts, but we live here and pay taxes too (at least I do -- who knows about those other hippies).

By the way, I'm not angered by your comment; just adding my own long-winded thoughts.

No offence taken. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should have the freedom to express it.

I always thought you were slightly to the left of me on the political spectrum.

Let's see....

You - Green voting
Me - a natural Tory (but a red one), I did vote Green once as a protest vote.

You - Bike riding
Me - I do own a bike but I really like my BMW.

You - Veganish
Me - definite omnivore, although I really don't eat much red meat. I find Cafe Calactus interesting.

You - liberal commie pinko
Me - I think you exagerate too much.

[MonctonRad]

Well, q12's deadline has come and there is no hard paywall on the T&T site yet....

Abridged from today's T&T
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1461296

Peace Centre tenants move in
Published Monday December 5th, 2011

Non-profit organizations have new opportunities to collaborate
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff

The Community Peace Centre might not be complete yet, but many of its anchor tenants have moved in over the last few weeks and more are gearing up for a move between now and February.


VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCR
This will be the future atrium connecting the new building to the church.


VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCR
This photo shows part of the rear of the complex.

The downtown Moncton centre, which is connected to Central United Church at the corner of Queen and Church streets, will house many of the city's key non-profit organizations all under one roof, providing Moncton with a one-stop shop for community services.

"We're starting our eighth year of developing this concept for the community," said Annette Vautour-MacKay, chair of the Community Peace Centre board of directors, "and we believe that being under one roof will assist the people that we serve and the community at large to access services more readily and to learn more about the work that we do in the community, that we are the social fabric of the community."

Vautour-MacKay, who is also executive director of the Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick, said having many non-profits under one roof will allow for more collaboration between them and for finding efficiencies in providing services.

There is still work to be done, but the centre is beginning to bustle with activity.

The project, which received a land donation from the city and from Central United Church, along with grants from the federal and provincial governments, will cost more than $9 million when all is said and done.

When completed, the centre will house a total of 80,000-square feet of office and community space. The interior of the building, while still under construction, is a fascinating mix of old and new - much of one outside stone wall of Central United Church is inside the peace centre, blending older construction with a modern build.

Vautour-MacKay is quick to point out that since the church is a heritage building, the centre had to be carefully planned and constructed to meet various requirements.

On the ground floor will eventually be a year-round garden and out back will be a play area to be shared by the on-site daycare kids and children of parents taking courses through the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area.

There will be a cafeteria and catering service, along with a teaching kitchen that will provide employment to people who have barriers that keep them from getting jobs.