Hobbs Happy With Economic Prediction

Thunder Bay's mayor is happy about the summer report from the Conference Board of Canada. The non profit research group says our city is expected to show a 1 per cent growth this year. Keith Hobbs says it jives with another report from the organization this year which said we were one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. Hobbs believes there's potential to show even stronger growth than what the Conference Board has predicted.

Swimming Advisory Lifted

It's safe to swim at Chippewa Park again.   Earlier this week the Health Unit issued a swimming advisory for the Sandy and Main Beaches because of high E-coli bacteria levels.  However after several tests, officials have now lifted that advisory.

RCMP Reopening NWO Cold Case

The RCMP’s historical case unit will conduct a search of the Sakimay First Nation in Saskatchewan looking for remains or evidence in the death of a Kenora area man who vanished 10 years ago. About 25 people, including RCMP officers, civilian employees of the force and volunteers, are combing through a wooded area on the reserve. Robin Cocks, who was in his mid-30s, vanished in 2003 but his skull was found in the area on April 13, 2012. Cocks was born Robin Timothy Jamieson and was originally from the Dalles First Nation, before being adopted. He was believed to be hitchhiking to Vancouver when he vanished.

Ruberto Asking Pet Limits

Councillor Aldo Ruberto wants to limit the number of pets people can have in their homes. Ruberto says as it stands now you can have as many pets as you want and in some cases it's causing big problems, such as the hoarding of animals. Ruberto is asking his fellow councillors to support his proposal to get city staff working on a new pet by-law

Police Update Transport Mishap

A 58 year old transport truck driver from Quebec is injured as the result of yesterdays highway rollover on the Trans Canada near Marathon. Police say the man was hauling a load of wood chips when his rig hit a rock cut. They say they have not completed their investigation into the incident.

City Jobless Rate Drops

Only a slight drop for the unemployment rate in Thunder Bay. Statistics Canada says the jobless rate in the city last month was an even 6 per cent...compared to 6.1 per cent in June. That's still more than one per cent better that the national unemployment rate of 7.2 per cent. 

Resale Housing Market Offsets New Starts

More new houses and apartments are being build in Thunder Bay this year that last. Warren Philp of Canada Mortgage and Housing says that there has been a 30 per cent increase in the total number of new projects so far this year compared to last, but that isn't enough to fill the void because of a tight resale market.  So far this year there has been a 5 per cent drop in the number of single family home starts compared to last year.

Still A Slow Fire Season

The Ministry of Natural Ressources is reporting one new forest fire in the Northwest Region. Nipigon District Fire Number 61 was reported as a grass fire on the side of Highway 17 west of Nipigon. FireRangers from Thunder Bay District responded and put the fire out by the afternoon. Red Lake District Fire Number 24 has also been declared out. This was a lightning-caused fire that started July 02 and burned an area of 300 hectares. It was located about 40 kilometres northwest of Red Lake.

Firefighter Injured In Blaze

One firefighter is recovering from minor injuries following a fire at Northwood Park Plaza.  Crews were called to the scene just before 8 o'clock last night with smoke coming from the roof of the building.  Workers had been using torches to melt tar on the roof of the mall earlier in the day.  The firefighter, who fell off a ladder battling the blaze, was treated at hospital and released.