Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Quake shakes southern Ontario-Thunder Bay

Folks in southern Ontario are buzzing about an earthquake Wednesday afternoon. Reports have the quake centred just north of Ottawa and measuring at 5.0 (revised) on the Richter Scale. One witness just outside of Ottawa says it lasted about 30 seconds and was "kinda scary". She says things were knocked off shelves. She says she never experienced something like that before. Meantime, there are some people who believe they felt a bit of the southern Ontario earthquake here in Thunder Bay. Susan Bushby works at the airport and says she touched a doorway and felt it moving back and forth slightly. She says they even saw hanging clothes swaying as if they were blowing in the wind. Bushby says it was a bit of a shock.

Waterfront Development equals jobs

The City of Thunder Bay is giving itself a pat on the back.  Since the redevelopment of the waterfront started; 333 local jobs have been created.  Two football fields worth of fill has been added to the Prince Arthur landing to create the land along the shoreline. Waterfront Project Manager Katherine Dugmore says 28 million dollars in contracts have been awarded to date.

Survey says-Residents approve of Wind park

The results are in from a survey on the Big Thunder Wind Park.  Horizon Wind paid for the survey and 65 percent of people polled are in favour of the project.  700 people were consulted, including residents from the Neebing area where the wind turbines will be placed.  Residents of Neebing who were polled were 59 percent opposed to the project, and 41 percent in favour of it.

Swimming advisory up at Blvd. Lake

It's a sad but true sign of summer in Thunder Bay. The Health Unit has placed Boulevard Lake's beach area under a swimming advisory. Officials say that water quality tests show higher than acceptable bacteria levels.

Survey shows a positive outlook

The annual small business survey by Thunder Bay Ventures shows a positive attitude for the local economy. Manager Royden Potvin says it appears to show we have turned the corner after the forest industry collapse. He says we have transitioned into a service based economy. Potvin says the survey shows that for the first time a majority of small business owners says the economy in the city is moving forward. 700 questionaires were sent out for the survey in May, and 115 were returned.