Prince Arthur Landing Contract Awarded

The City of Thunder Bay has awarded almost 14 million dollars to Tom Jones Contracting for phase one of Prince Arthur's Landing.  The contract is still over the original estimate but includes a million dollars in savings through a number of design cuts.  Councillor Rebecca Johnson was concerned about the reductions being made saying she doesn't want the project to lose it's good points to fit into a budget.  Meanwhile, Waterfront Project Manager Katherine Dugmore says that's not the case. Dugmore says the reductions do not take away from the aesthetics of the project.  Reductions include not building a Park Maintenance Building, eliminating the bird control system and reducing the capacity of the ice plant

Child and Youth Victims Awareness Week

It's Child & Youth Victims Awareness Week. Thunder Bay's Counselling Centre paid a visit to city council last night and told councillors about their programs. Co-ordinator Tara Gauld says they've reached out to a large portion of Thunder Bay's population. The counselling centre is taking a youthful approach and takes texts from clients and has a facebook page. The counselling centre is holding an open house this Thursday at its Winnipeg Avenue location.

Council undecided on grain elevator centre

The Friends of Grain Elevators are looking for a location for their proposed grain industry activity centre. A feasibility study funded by council was presented at last night's meeting. The feasibility study shows the grain activity centre probably wouldn't make a profit but could get by with fundraising events. Spokesperson Nancy Perozzo says they want council to help them find a location and pick a theme for the activity centre. Perozzo adds they don't want money from Council they just want the City to help them find funding partners from both levels of government and the grain industry. Councillor Mark Bentz says he's in favour of preserving our grain industry heritage but wants to know the exact costs associated with the project.  The City has ordered a study on the matter before they make a final decision.   The report could come back before council by August or September.

Trade rumours swirl around Patrick Sharp

Thunder Bay's Patrick Sharp is rumoured to be on the trading block. He's barely had any time to savour his Stanley Cup victory with the Chicago Blackhawks and now there's talk he could end up in Toronto or even with Columbus. Sharp says he's under contract with the Blackhawks, but understands that with the salary cap some players may not be coming back. He says we'll have to see what happens in the next couple of days. Meantime for Sharp there's no better feeling than winning the Stanley Cup. He says it's something he's dreamed about since he was 7 years old. He adds that winning the Cup for the fans in Chicago was something special and that the 2 million fans that lined the victory parade route was a record turnout for any sports parade in the Windy City. Sharp is not sure when he'll get the Stanley Cup, but plans to bring it to Thunder Bay when he does.

Waterfront cost reductions identified

About 1 million dollars worth of savings for Prince Arthur's Landing are being presented to city councillors tonight.   It comes after the low bid for the contract  that came in close to 2 million dollars over the 12 and 3 quarter million that was budgeted for.  The savings that officials have come up with include:
-Not building a Park Maintenance Building
-Eliminating the bird control system
-Reducing the capacity of the ice plant
-Changes to materials on the festival storage building
-Modifications to pond decking and
-Reduced lighting over the ice rink and the splash pad.

Robbery suspect re-arrested

City police say they have a man in custody after a prescription drug theft at the Health Sciences Centre on the weekend. Police say the 23 year old is the same person they arrested the weekend before in connection with the Mac's Mart robbery on North Edward Street. He's now been charged with violating the conditions of his release.

Another Mac's robbery-7th in 3 weeks

There is still no rest for convenience store workers in the city. The 7th Mac's Mart robbery in 3 weeks took place on Saturday morning. No one was injured in the incident at the north May Street location that was robbed the day before. Also on the weekend police say they nabbed a man who tried to pose as a police officer at a north side hotel and they arrested a man who tried to rob someone in a south side laneway.

Plasma Centre looking for donors

The push is on to recruit more plasma donors in Thunder Bay. It's national Blood Donor Week and Brian Markic of Canadian Blood Services says they already have about 200 regulars and another 50 would help them meet their yearly goal.  The annual target for donations locally is 11 thousand 500 units.  Pictured:  Doug Woodbeck donates plasma every week.

Staal hopes to ditch the crutches next month

It will be a healthy Jordan Staal that laces up his skates for the Pittsburgh Penguins next season. During the playoffs his foot got cut and says he's on crutches now after two operations. He admits when he returned from the first surgery he came back too soon. That meant a second operation and how he's under doctors orders to stay off his foot. Staal says it should take about a month to heal and then he'll be "good to go." He says it was tough to play through the injury

Pyatt wants to stay a Hab

After his rookie year in the NHL Thunder Bay's Tom Pyatt is looking forward to another season. Pyatt played for the Montreal Canadiens and was a key part of the team's surprising playoff run. He calls their post season performance a team effort. On a personal note Pyatt says he wants to stay a Hab and believes the team wants that too. He hopes to show them what he can do and hopefully sign a contract.

The city may have a new millionaire

There may be another millionaire in Thunder Bay. They just don't know it yet. A winner of the Lotto Max Maximillions prize purchased their ticket in Thunder Bay last week. The 50 million dollar jackpot is still up for grabs but one of the 45 winners of a million dollars was bought in Thunder Bay.

Superstore employees could strike

Unionized workers at Thunder Bay's Superstore have voted in favour of strike action. Around 300 employees voted 82 percent in favour of strike action over the weekend. The workers have been without a contract since March of last year. They have been in legal strike position since May 23rd.

More Bombardier streetcars for T-Dot

The news keeps getting better for Bombardier. The provincially run Metrolinx is ordering more streetcars for Toronto that will be built at the local plant. Transportion Minister Kathleen Wynne made the official announcement to the employees today saying Metrolinx and Bombardier signed a contract worth 770 million dollars for the construction of 182 vehicles with an option for 118 more. The contract will give the plant about 10 more years of work and over 200 more jobs. Pictured: Sitting left to right, Metrolinx President Robert Prichard, Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne and Bombardier Transporation's North American President Raymond Bachant. Standing, MPP's Bill Mauro and Michael Gravelle.