Hobbs says streetcar deal could be saved

Mayor Keith Hobbs says there's hope for Thunder Bay's Bombardier plant. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has said he wants to tear up a streetcar deal with the company. Ford favours subway cars instead. Hobbs says he has heard through sources the plan could be modified to include a mix of streetcars and subway vehicles.  Hobbs adds he still hopes to meet with Ford next month.

Arson likely the cause of South side blaze

Fire investigators are saying vandals may be responsible for a Tuesday morning fire on North Syndicate Avenue. Terry Hanchar says it looks like the blaze at the Christian Fellowship Centre could have been deliberately set based on one account.  He says a neighbour says he has seen kids hanging around there in the past.   A big storage facility was heavily damaged in the blaze.

Patient Transfer's studied

Superior North Emergency Medical Services is welcoming an Ontario Ombudsman study.  The probe will look at non-emergency patient transfers and whether they need to be regulated.  Gale says he hopes in the future another patient issue is addressed.  The EMS head wants the Ombudsman to look into the high demand on the EMS for patient transfers. The Ombudsman launched the investigation after receiving 30 complaints about private companies that transfer non-critical patients.

Housing starts continue to rise

Thunder Bay's housing market continues to break records.  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Analyst Warren Philp says 2010 was a good year.  In 2010 the city saw 204 new housing starts, which breaks the record first set in 1994.  In December, 13 single detached starts were reported.

Facebook brawl video solved

The parents of the brawling teen girls involved in a facebook video will be in charge of disciplining their kids.  Thunder Bay Police Spokesperson Chris Adams says they've wrapped up the investigation into the Sunday night fight behind Silver City.   Adams says it's not unusual for police to let the parents deal with the situation.

Red Nose goal is New Year's Eve

Operation Red Nose hopes to extend it's operations for the next holiday season. Chair Ken Boshcoff wants the program to run on New Year's Eve. However, he says the problem is recruiting volunteers who are willing to drive home drunk party goers. Boshcoff says it would take over 100 volunteers to work on that evening, which is the number of helpers they had for the whole program this year. Organizers hope to attract volunteers from community groups

Bruce Montague released from jail

Former Dryden Gunsmith Bruce Montague is out of jail and has returned home.  Montague is embroiled in a fight over the Federal long gun registry.  His wife, Donna says they'll be facing a civil forefeiture trial over the May long weekend.  Bruce was released from jail this afternoon after spending four months in the district facility in Thunder Bay.

Hyer holding prebudget meetings

The upcoming Federal Budget will be the main topic for Bruce Hyer as he tours his riding. The Thunder Bay Superior North MP will be making stops in a number of communities and says he looks forward to hearing from residents. Hyer will be hosting a meeting in Thunder Bay Thursday night at the Waverly Library starting at 7 o'clock.

Fire and Rescue deal with suspicious fire

A Suspicious Fire kept Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue busy this morning.
Platoon Chief Scott Brown says the blaze broke out just after 2 o'clock at the Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship on Syndicate.   The fire was in an outdoor storage building.  Brown says it was a stubborn fire.  Officials say the cause is suspicious and are investigating.

Facebook video leads to assault investigation

Thunder Bay Police are investigating a possible assault after a video of the incident was posted to Facebook.  The video, which has now been removed from the site, shows one girl getting beaten by a number of other girls behind Silver City.  The video appeared on Facebook yesterday morning.