Bombardier on the verge of another contract

The Toronto Transit Commission is expected to rubber stamp 400 million dollars worth of work for Thunder Bay's Bombardier plant.   The TTC is going to vote Thursday on allowing the plant to build an additional 186 subway cars.  Those cars are in addition to the 234 already being built at the Montreal Street facility.   TTC chair Adam Giambrone says it's a logical move since the additional cars were always part of the contract to extend the subway system.

Oliveira back with the Chill

The MVP of the Premier Development Soccer League in 2008 is coming back. The Thunder Bay Chill have announced the return of Gustavo Oliveira for the 2010 season. Oliveira is most famous for scoring the tying goal in a playoff game that sent it into overtime, which eventually led to a Chill Championship in the 2008 finals inTexas.

Public process starts on new arena

The city wants your input on a possible new multi-plex arena facility. According to City Manager Tim Commisso it would be able to seat 5 to 7 thouand people and cost in the range of 50 to 60 million dollars. He believes we would benefit greatly if it also included a convention centre. The city is hosting two public meetings on the proposal. The first is Thursday at the DaVinci Centre and the second a week later at the Italian Hall. In both cases the evening will start at 6:30 with displays the public can view. That will be followed at 7 by a presentation that will last about 45 minutes which will be followed by a question and answer session.

City cab driver robbed but not hurt

A Thunder Bay cabbie has his vehicle back after it was stolen in a armed robbery yesterday. The driver picked up a fair at Westfort Foods around 4 pm. The suspect eventually pulled a knife on the driver, demanded money and then stole the cab. It was found behind the Royal Edward Arms on May Street a short time later. The cabbie was not hurt. Police have not made an arrest.

Overnight rainfall forces an end to fire ban

The city wide fire ban is about to be lifted. Deputy Fire Chief Greg Hankkio says it will take effect as of 5 o'clock today.  He says the 11 millimetres of rain that was received overnight was enough to lift the restrictions.  Hankkio says they'll continue to monitor the weather conditions daily in case the ban needs to be put back in place.

Local celebs help with McHappy Day

It's McHappy Day at all McDonald's Restaurants in the city. It means that one dollar from every Egg McMuffin, Big Mac and Happy Meal sold today goes towards Ronald McDonald House in Toronto. That's the facility that houses families from Ontario who need to travel to Toronto so their children can receive cancer treatment. All day local celebrities, politicians and other well recognized citizens will be serving McDonald's customers: Pictured: Our very own Ian Grant pours coffee at the Cumberland Street location.

Kam River tragedy averted by alert mom

A family visiting from southern Ontario is relieved after a near drowning in the Kam River. Fire Service Platoon Chief Joe Grzelewksi says the incident took place around 5 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Kam River Park at the end of Donald Street. One of their children accidently fell into the river and was in there for a few minutes before the mother jumped in and rescued him. The young boy, who is about 4 years old, didn't require treatment.

Skateboarders get props from Navy boss

The citys' top Navy official is praising the young people who use the BMX-skateboard facility at Marina Park. Lieutenant-Commander John Bell says there were fears the kids might desecrate the nearby naval memorial, but that hasn't happened. Bell was impressed with the respect the young people showed over the weekend at the Battle of the Atlantic ceremony

New call centre to set up in Vic-Ville

A Prince Edward Island company is the citys' newest employer. OLS will be setting up its' inbound call centre at Victoriaville Mall. Its' President Ross Beattie says our city was chosen out of 10 others to host his centre because of our workforce, and says unlike other call centres that have come and gone, his company is here for the long haul.   Beattie says the centre will employ 200 people with the aim of doubling that within the year.

Critic calls energy credit insulting

The McGuinty governments' Northern Energy Credit is being called an insult. Randy Hillier, the Progressive Conservatives' Northern Development critic, says the program is laughable. He says thats because 200 dollars is the most any family will get. Hillier says in some parts of the north this credit won't even cover one month of the HST

New Miss Thunder Bay ready to compete

A Thunder Bay woman is going to represent the city at next years' Miss World Canada Pageant. 21 year old Tegin Popowich was selected as Miss Thunder Bay in Sudbury recently and can't wait for the chance to compete nationally in Vancouver in July of 2011. Popowich says she was shocked to be one of 7 contestants selected. As part of the process she'll be fundraising for a charity organization called Children's Variety.

Iggy wants internet for all

A Liberal government would bring high speed internet to all of Northern Ontario and the rest of Rural Canada within three years. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff made the announcement in Thunder Bay today. Ignatieff says high speed internet is vital in increasing national unity, by connecting everyone in Canada together online. Ignatieff spoke to students at St Patrick's High school this afternoon and will also be hosting a meet and greet at Tony and Adam's Restaurant this evening.

Sidewalk contract in limbo

A one million dollar city sidewalk contract is on hold right now. It's because a handful of northside residents don't want a portion of that contract to include a stretch in the High Street and Parsons area. Councillor Brian McKinnon agrees with them.   He believes that if the majority of residents don't want it, why build it?  Councillors will revisit the issue next week.

Easement a major headache for Northwood homeowner

A Ryerson Crescent homeowner appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Don Cooper says he unknowingly had his new garage built over an easement. He has been ordered to tear the garage down.    While Coopers' plight may have the sympathy of some on City Council and administration it appears to be out of their hands.   Other companies like Shaw Cable and TBayTel say they want to keep their rights to the easement property.  Adminstration will come back to councillors with possible options next week.

Navy wants name change for Marina Park Drive

The city is considering a proposal to change the name of Marina Park Drive. A request has been made by the Commanding Officer of the HMCS Griffon, Lieutenant-Commander John Bell. He suggested the street should be called Naval Heritage Drive to honour the men and women who served in the Canadian Navy. Bell says the switch could be made as part of the changes being brought about by the new waterfront development. Administration will study the proposal and report back to council in July.

MNR says it was right to lift fire ban

The Ministry of Natural Resources is defending it's decision to lift a fire ban in Northwestern Ontario. Spokesperson Mitch Miller understands some in the Thunder Bay District think it was a premature move, but says the rest of the northwest got a good soaking.  Meantime the Thunder Bay Fire Service says its fire ban remains in effect inside the city limits

Cops bust hookers as young as 15

Women and girls as young as 15 years of age are facing prostitution charges in connection with a recent undercover sting operation run by the city police. Spokesperson Chris Adams says it's not unusual to see 15 year olds turning tricks in Thunder Bay. He says the high risk lifestyle attracts people with addictions or other issues. A total of 10 arrests were made in last weeks operations in the Court, McKenzie and Simpson Street areas.

Not all northerners to get energy cheques

The provinces Finance Minister says not everyone can be eligible for the Northern Ontario Energy Credit. Speaking in Thunder Bay Dwight Duncan says it's only low and middle income people who will get government cheques to offset higher hydro costs. Duncan says it's because people with lower incomes have more difficulty conserving energy. He says they don't have as many choices as people with higher incomes do. The cheques are expected to start being mailed out in the fall.

April port stats up

Some encouraging news from the Port of Thunder Bay early in the shipping season. Statistics for April show that there was more cargo shipped from the port this year than last year at the same time. The increase was a modest 2 and a half per cent. There were also 9 more ships that came to the city in April of this year

Woodcrest students sing sing.

The 500 students at Woodcrest Public School are proud of their latest accomplishment. They joined with other schools in Canada in singing the same song at exactly the same time. Grade 6 teacher Jacqui Soulias  organized the event and says it was to celebrate music and school spirit.  Students at Holy Family Catholic School also took part in the nationwide sing-a-long.