Graffiti Plan approved by council

The City is now required to remove offensive graffiti within 48 hours.  That's part of the new Graffiti Plan that was approved by our elected officials at Monday nights meeting. The plan has 3 main components prevention, reporting and removal.  It will create time frames for removal and will also include a subsidy to help certain groups in removal.  Councillor Paul Pugh says tackling this issue will take a lot of time and effort but this is a very important first step.

May Street Mac's Mart robbed again

Thunder Bay Police are investigating another robbery at a Mac's Mart store on May Street.  Officials say one man robbed the store just before 7:30 Monday Evening armed with a needle and a pen.  No one was hurt and the suspect made off with some cash.  The K9 unit was brought in to try to find the suspect. 

Council sees Event Centre presentation

The Consulting Team for the proposed Events Centre gave an initial report to City Council Monday night. Conrad Boychuck of CEI Architecture and Ron Bidulka of Price Waterhouse Coopers gave an overview of where the team is in regards to the feasibility and design process. Boychuck says during the February 29 open house, they found that the biggest issue for the public seems to be location. Boychuck says results from a survey done at the meeting showed that the economic impact for the City and Region was the most important aspect for the location. Bidulka says he is working on developing the business plan for each location and assess potential impacts on the surrounding area. The team will hold another open house April 11th at the Da Vinci Centre.

Just call it Subway Field

The Thunder Bay Border Cats wants everyone to get into the habit of calling the former Port Arthur Stadium, Subway Field.   The organization is asking the local media to refer to their home ballpark exclusively by that name.   The club has had a naming rights agreement with Subway since 2010, but the name hasn't caught on with many of the public.  A news release states that the change is no different than Skydome now being called Rogers Centre.

Man hit by train.

A man in his 60's is recovering in hospital after being hit by a train this afternoon on the CPR tracks at the Marina Park Overpass. CP spokesperson Kevin Hrysak says it appears the man was trying to crawl under a rail car which then began moving and suffered serious injuries that are not a threat to his life.

Rooming house owner speaks out

A dispute is building between a rooming house owner and the city. Officials allege that after a recent fire inspection at 130 South May Street, it was discovered the owner doesn't have a licence to operate. The city plans to go to court tomorrow to charge him. But Robert Silvester says he's working to clear up the problem and says as far as the licencing goes, everything will be in place within the next two days.  Silvester says it's taken him longer than he expected to make the changes necessary to comply with fire regulations.

Local investment advisor sanctioned

The organization that regulates security dealers in Canada is prohibiting a local investment advisor from doing business for seven years.   The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization also fined Terry Norman Dyck 20 thousand dollars following a disciplinary hearing last week relating to complaints that were received in connection with a fund he was recommending to clients.   A spokesperson for IIROC says the allegations against Dyck went unchallenged at the hearing.

Rooming house owner to face charge

The owner of a city rooming house is facing a possible charge in provincial offences court tomorrow. The city's by-law enforcement officer, Ron Bourret says it's in connection with some issues involving a recent fire inspection at a south side facility. Bourret says the owner hasn't been able to comply with the requirements of a fire inspection and as a result,  no licence has been issued to him to operate the rooming house.   The owner has not been available for comment. 

Low income tax returns

Low income families can get help with their taxes tomorrow. Volunteer Chartered Accountants are holding two free tax clinics at the Multicultural Association tomorrow and Wednesday. To qualify for this free tax return assistance your income must be less than 30-thousand with dependents and less than 20 thousand without kids.

Police look for Mac's Mart robber

Police are looking for someone who robbed two Mac's Mart stores over the weekend.  Spokesperson Chris Adams says the same person is involved in the May Street and Simpson Street store robberies.  Police are not sure if the suspect is a man or a woman because they were wearing a skull mask.  They're described as being 5' to 5'6" tall with a thin build. 

Wheel Chair Curling this weekend

The upcoming 2012 Wheel Chair Curling Championships will have a large online presence. The tournament kicks off this weekend and a live blog will provide commentary on the games. Chair Dave Kawahara says they'll also have live video coverage. The tournament starts Sunday and wraps up the following Sunday.

Council talks graffiti

Council will examine the City's graffiti problem at tonight's meeting.  They'll be presented a three point strategy to tackle the problem.  It includes a subsidy rebate program for those impacted by graffiti, and tracking policy.

Local teen takes part in biathlon

A Thunder Bay teen is taking part in the National Biathlon Championships.  15 year old Joseph Pascuzzo is on the Ontario biathlon team.  The championships take place in Val Cartier, Quebec this weekend.

T.Bay breaks weather records

We had record breaking temperatures over the weekend.  Here in the City we hit a high of 9.3 on Sunday.  Our Meterologist Bill Laidaw says that beats the old mark of 7.4 in 1996.  Laidlaw adds the warm weather will be with us for the rest of this week.

Hit and run on Memorial Avenue

A 48 year old man is in the hospital with non life threatening injuries after he was hit by a car on Memorial Avenue.  Police say the man was lying between the two southbound lanes when a large vehicle ran over his legs.  The vehicle continued to drive towards the Harbour Expressway.  Police are looking for the vehicle which they believe is either a large SUV or pick up truck.