The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[cdnguys]

Now that the police are about to open a new chapter in their history moving into Peel Plaza, I think it would be nice to have a redo of their police car design which is very bland. I think "SJPF" should be prominently displayed on door with a larger version of the city crest - perhaps go back to the traditional colours of gold and blue - although blue and grey would look nice.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

In regards to these $50K studies - sure its not a lot of money. I feel negative about it because I know of a woman that her career was "seeking" out government grants just like this and she "consulted" and I use that term lightly - she even bragged about it and joked about easy money. So yes it leaves a bad taste in my mouth even if it may not be in the same category.

So true...and sadly this happens VERY often. What really bothers me is that the people in power know that the results of the study are going to lead to significant investment down the road they cannot afford. They argue that $50K isn't much to spend but know that any recommendations will no doubt be WAY outside of any budget they could allocate to make it a reality. So instead of scrapping the study, they simply commission it and don't act on any recommendations. It is like paying someone $50k to create drawings and plans to build a car "like" a BMW 3-series knowing that in order to build it afterwards would be far-more expensive than simply driving to Moncton and buying one at the dealership. It makes no sense.

But back to my plea for sensible spending. I believe if you are going to spend taxpayer money it should be for things with immediate and long-term benefits. If you scraped the millions being spent trying to bring a few jobs from big companies outside the province and focused funds to boost the growth of smaller NB-based businesses to expand abroad, the likelihood of the investment being lost is lowered. A company based in NB is less likely to leave NB. A small business on Water Street has the potential to be a regional chain if the right investment and support is given to it. That is what leads to REAL progress.

[cdnguys]

I would like to see a study on merging the Saint John Port Authority (most importantly their marketing dept) with the Saint John Airport Authority, parking commission, taxi inspector and Saint John Transit.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

So true...and sadly this happens VERY often. What really bothers me is that the people in power know that the results of the study are going to lead to significant investment down the road they cannot afford. They argue that $50K isn't much to spend but know that any recommendations will no doubt be WAY outside of any budget they could allocate to make it a reality. So instead of scrapping the study, they simply commission it and don't act on any recommendations. It is like paying someone $50k to create drawings and plans to build a car "like" a BMW 3-series knowing that in order to build it afterwards would be far-more expensive than simply driving to Moncton and buying one at the dealership. It makes no sense.

If they stop commissioning studies and go about things without studies being done people will call their policies reckless. It goes both ways. If any of you here take issue with the study for the cruise ship port I would suggest contacting your local MLA and letting them know of your feelings. The system doesn't work if there's no feedback, and it won't work well if the feedback is strictly negative after the fact.

-----

Work is progressing pretty quick on the Kent's at Fairville & Catherwood. The presumed apartment complex at Somerset & Technology is moving very slowly now (only the frame of the first floor still). More land has been cleared on Millidge Avenue...still have no idea what it's being cleared for.

[JHikka]

Saint John Census 2011 Language Results

Mother Tongue:
Total: 126,280. 100%
English: 116,040. 92%
French: 5,515. 4%
Non-Official: 3,865. 3%
Multiple: 860. 1%

Non-Offical Languages:
Korean: 610. 0.5%
Chinese: 445. 0.4%
Arabic: 415. 0.3%
Spanish: 335. 0.3%
German: 225. 0.2%

http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recens...Facts-cma-eng.cfm?LANG=Eng&GK=CMA&GC=310

[SignalHillHiker]

You're more diverse than us. We're 97% English, 2.4% Other (Spanish and Arabic, mostly), 0.5% French.

[ErickMontreal]

Major Wave of Layoffs Rocks Radian 6

They just got government grants back in June for hiring and now Radian 6 is laying workers off including some here in Saint John.

One employee tells CHSJ News she got the news this morning and some of her colleagues had been there for a long time.
The Radian 6 offices are on Canterbury street and the workers let go today have the choice of not coming back or working until the 31st. The company offers social media monitoring services.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by ErickMontreal

Major Wave of Layoffs Rocks Radian 6

They just got government grants back in June for hiring and now Radian 6 is laying workers off including some here in Saint John.

One employee tells CHSJ News she got the news this morning and some of her colleagues had been there for a long time.
The Radian 6 offices are on Canterbury street and the workers let go today have the choice of not coming back or working until the 31st. The company offers social media monitoring services.

on the plus side:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/10/24/nb-radian6-jobs-layoffs.html

"The provincial government cannot confirm how many of the layoffs are in New Brunswick, or where, said InvestNB vice-president Louis-Philippe Gauthier.
But, he said, the government has not given any of the payroll subsidy money to Radian6 yet."

[CdnEh]

Originally Posted by Gnarly

no wonder Saint John has not grown, but there is still time to turn it around, before you know it they will be digging a canal and building a port in 'blowhard central', and we all know where that is!

Where, pray tell, is 'blowhard central', though?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by CdnEh

Where, pray tell, is 'blowhard central', though?

He's referring to the "Great Satan" - Moncton....

Gnarly doesn't like us too much.....

[kwajo]

I'm on the side of optimism when it comes to the whole Home Port designation. I live across the street from both cruise ship terminals, and yes the passengers are frustrating sometimes (I don't even try to buy lunch at the Market on a cruise ship day), but the industry has done wonders for Water Street, an area that just 10 years ago had virtually no views of the harbour because of giant blue warehouses. Now we have a completely re-built street, better pedestrian access, more shops (although still a lot of empty spaces), three new buildings on the south end of the street, talk of redeveloping Fundy Quay, and an undeniable sense from many that the Uptown is one of the premiere destinations in the region.

If getting a Home Port designation adds to this by even a mere 10%, I say it's worth the money.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

He's referring to the "Great Satan" - Moncton....

Gnarly doesn't like us too much.....

A canal isn't such a bad idea though...

[JHikka]

Completely agree with everything you said, kwajo. Although..

Originally Posted by kwajo

(I don't even try to buy lunch at the Market on a cruise ship day)=

I don't even try to buy lunch at the market between 12:30 and 13:30 because of high school students. The place is a zoo. If you combine HS students with cruise ship passengers there's no movement at all.

This is, obviously, the best problem to have if you're the market.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

A canal isn't such a bad idea though...

Tell that to the people who tried to build this one: http://goo.gl/maps/I20N8

[CdnEh]

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

Tell that to the people who tried to build this one: http://goo.gl/maps/I20N8

What was that supposed to be? A canal between the Northumberland Strait and Bay of Fundy?

I didn't think the Chignecto Canal actually got underway.

[kwajo]

I didn't think the canal got underway either, although the broad gauge railway (capable of moving small ships) was nearly completed back in the late 1800s as far as I know.

[MonctonRad]

If you take the north shore route to NS from Port Elgin, you can actually see a stone arch remnant of the ship railway just as you cross the border..

[CdnEh]

So what the hell went on this morning on the Crown Street overpass?

From what I've heard from coworkers:

Some guy tied a wire around his neck and jumped over the overpass, down onto the highway below during rushhour.

Body fell down onto a moving vehicle and bounced off of a car, head remained dangling from the wire.

5-car pileup occurred, blood everywhere.

What the hell goes through people's heads? If you're going to commit suicide, that's your business. Don't put other unrelated people through that kind of trauma.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by CdnEh

So what the hell went on this morning on the Crown Street overpass?

If you're squeamish don't read

Word on the street is that guy hung himself from the overpass, head decapitated, body and head fell down onto highway, which lead to cars crashing. Depending on what he tried to hang himself with I doubt his head would have severed and been removed unless it was something like a sharp wire. Depending on how far he had to drop and the force of his body and etc. etc. I doubt the head decapitation but yeah, hung himself from the overpass and then dropped down onto cars.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by GregHickman

If you're squeamish don't read

Word on the street is that guy hung himself from the overpass, head decapitated, body and head fell down onto highway, which lead to cars crashing. Depending on what he tried to hang himself with I doubt his head would have severed and been removed unless it was something like a sharp wire. Depending on how far he had to drop and the force of his body and etc. etc. I doubt the head decapitation but yeah, hung himself from the overpass and then dropped down onto cars.

That's horrible, always sad to hear such stories. We had an industrial-related death here this afternoon. A construction worker fell six stories at the Fortis place site.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&ID=27804