LU has a new president

The new president of Lakehead University is Brian Stevenson. He comes from the University of Winnipeg and officially takes over from Fred Gilbert on August the first. Stevenson has no illusions about what his biggest challenge will be, getting a handle on the budget.The 52 year old Stevenson becomes the sixth president in LU's history.

City tax increase a certainty

If the city budget stays the way it is, taxes for the average homeowner in Thunder Bay will go up about 45 dollars a year. The budget increase for this year is pegged at 2.7 per cent. Tuesday night several groups presented their funding requests to councillors. The Children's Aid Society is hoping for 65 thousand taxpayers dollars to help with its operations.

Huge parking worries for south core

Concerns about parking are still on the minds of south side merchants. The head of the Victoria Avenue Business Improvement Area, Bob Hupka, says that the new courthouse and social services buildings will eliminate a substational number of sparking spots. Hupka believes the parking issue could prove to be the death knell for some south downtown businesses.

A very short escape

It was a short lived escape for a prisoner along the north shore of Lake Superior this week. OPP say a prisoner in leg irons managed to escape custody from the detachment in Schrieber. It turns out he went to a nearby house and went into the garage where he was spotted by the homes owner. A short time later he was back in police custody.

Med school boost for the economy

A study commissioned by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, not surprisingly, says the Med school has been a bonus for the north. The study shows the impact of the school makes on the northern economy to be in the range of 62 to 87 million dollars a year. It adds the benefits are spread to other communities, not just where the school campuses are located in Thunder Bay and Sudbury

Thunder Bay...one romantic city

Thunder Bay has made it as one of the top 20 romantic cities in the country number 13 to be exact right behind Ottawa at number 12. The number 1 romantic city in Canada is...Saskatoon. How did we make the on the top 20 list?Amazon.ca looked at sales of romance novels, books on sex and relationships -- and sales of Michael Buble albums.

Thunder Bay now on Google Street View

Talk about putting Thunder Bay on the map. Our city is now one of the 150 new Canadian communities that have now made it to Google Earth's Street View. It allows you to actually get a 360 degree ground level look at the street you live on as if you were walking along it. Up until now it was only the major Canadian cities that were a part of the service.

Councillors see new video sensation

The most talked about video in Thunder Bay made it to the floor of city council this week. Councillors got their own personal look at Jordan Burnell's My Home Town. It was played at the beginning of the meeting. None of the councillors commented on it. There have been almost 200 thousand views since it was posted on YouTube on Thursday.

Mining concerns raised

A First Nations mining blockade in northern Ontario could end as early as next week.They are hoping a new agreement is accepted by the Ontario government and the mining companies. Marten Falls First Nation Chief Elijah Moonias has now met with government and industry reps to complain . His concerns include speeding up construction of a new airport, and the end to the use of frozen lakes as landing strips.