For the 2nd time in under 24 hours, the Ontario Fire Marshal & Niagara Regional Police are investigating a case of arson in St. Catharines. A residential garage on Charles Ave, off Facer St went up in flames early Wednesday morning. Fire Chief Mark Mehlenbacher tells 610 CKTB News when crews showed up, there was a strong smell of gasoline at the scene.  He says the odour & the fact that the fire started inside a secure building prompted them to call the fire suspicious. No one was hurt & damage is pegged at $10 000. Police & the Fire Marshal are also ... read more

The former mayor of Welland says his time away from politics has rekindled his passion. Damian Goulbourne is 1 of 7 men running to fill the Rose City's vacancy at Regional Council. He tried for one of the city's 2 spots on council in the 2010 election but finished 3rd. Goulbourne tells 610 CKT-B morning man Tim Denis he has spent the last year & a half becoming involved in non-profit organizations & getting a better understanding of what the community needs. He says his time out of public office has given him perspective on the issues & possible solutions which he ... read more

Thorold wants the province to step in to save its only high school. Thorold Secondary School is 1 of 5 high schools in the middle of an Accommodations Review process at the District School Board of Niagara. City council is asking the provincial government to stop the DSBN from locking Thorold High's doors.  The city is also asking other Niagara municipalities to join their cause. Thorold argues closing the school would go against Smart Growth principles used in urban planning & the province's Places to Grow Act. Mayor Ted Luciani says his city will be the centre of growth for Niagara ... read more

In St. Catharines some 500 people packed into West Park Secondary School Tuesday with a simple message: Save our pool! The pool is expected to close once the new Kiwanis Aquatic Centre opens this spring. Based on community feedback from the meeting, councillors Matt Harris & Joe Kushner will ask city council to keep West Park Pool open, at least until the fate of its adjoining high school is decided.  West Park Secondary School is part of an Accommodations Review process at the District School Board of Niagara.  The review committee is expected to finalize a recommendation on the fate of 5 ... read more

Things could get hairy if you're headed into Toronto today. In Mississauga, all lanes of the Toronto-bound QEW are closed at Winston Churchill Blvd after a crash between a tractor trailer & passenger van early Wednesday morning.  The impact flipped the truck onto its side. 4 people were rushed to hospital.  They are all thought to have been riding in the van. The investigation & cleanup from a fuel spill are expected to keep the Toronto-bound QEW closed for a few hours still. To get around the problem, you can exit the QEW at Royal Windsor Dr, take Southdown Rd east, ... read more

The Ontario Fire Marshal & Niagara Regional Police are probing a downtown St. Catharines blaze. Flames broke out at a Church St apartment Tuesday afternoon. The fire didn't go beyond a single, unoccupied unit & no one was hurt.  Still, the blaze caused $50 000-$75 000 in damage. Police say the origin of the fire is suspicious. If you have any information, contact police at 905-688-4111 x4272 or Crime Stoppers. read more

One year after it was granted a license to ship more than a dozen old steam generators overseas for recycling, Bruce Power has let the license expire. Last February, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission gave the power company the go-ahead to ship 16 bus-sized steam generators from Owen Sound, along the Welland Canal and through the Great Lakes to Sweden. The plan, however, was met with intense opposition.  There were concerns the small amount of nuclear material in the generators could trigger an environmental disaster if there was an accident. Among those raising concerns were several native communities and Great Lakes mayors, ... read more

The much anticipated arrival of Target in the Niagara region is bringing with it controversy. The company has announced that every job in converted Zellers stores will be filled by new hires. Current employees would have to reapply for the same job at the same store for starting pay including workers with over 20 years of service. Zellers workers are uniting in a new campaign calling on the Goliath American chain to respect workers and show fairness when filling jobs for its new Canadian locations. The Pen Centre store is one of the locations scheduled for conversion. The campaign has also launched a ... read more

St. Catharines could a have a serial bank robber on its hands--a woman. The Scotiabank at the corner of St Paul & James Streets was robbed at 9:50am Tuesday morning. NRP Staff Sergeant Shawn Clarkson tells 610 CKTB News a woman told a teller she had a weapon & demanded cash.  She was last seen running across St Paul St toward the lower level parking lot. No one was hurt in the robbery.  The NRP's K-9 unit was dispatched to track the woman but turned up nothing. Clarkson says the robbery has "blatant similarities" to the hold up of another Scotiabank ... read more

One of the first candidates to register for the vacant Regional Council seat for Welland is now the first to drop out. Keith McClatchie has withdrawn his name from the race. The 69-year-old was the former municipal procurement manager for Welland. McClatchie tells 610 CKTB News the writing was on the wall when former Welland MPP Peter Kormos announced he was running for the job.  He knew it would be an uphill battle to get name recognition and opted to withdraw.  Other factors included securing enough funding to run an effective campaign and recruiting volunteers, although he believes he could've held his own against the ... read more