D10

Norbert Cunningham’s Sleuth

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Welcome to summer, Sleuth fans. Aren't you just enjoying all of this glorious sunshine?

Sorry for that early morning dose of sarcasm, but it's a way this old gumshoe can blow off steam. Like the rest of you, he's getting downright ornery about the lack of sun and heat so far this summer.

The next weather prognosticator Sleuth runs into better run for the hills!

But onto the gossip this week, which seems to appear regardless of sun or rain.

***

Sleuth's sources in the Elmwood Drive area slipped him a juicy bit of rumour this week.

It's no secret the huge tract of land that houses Les Filles de Jesus religious congregation on Elmwood Drive has been coveted by developers for many years. That section of the city is growing rapidly as housing pushes out Irishtown Road.

Now comes word the ink is freshy dry on a new deal by the nuns to sell their mother house to the folks from Sobeys. Sleuth's operatives in the T&T have tried to confirm this rumour without success.

Let's just say the nuns have taken a vow of silence. And Sobeys is also being tight-lipped.

But Sleuth hears the grocery giant has plans to tear down the convent and build a new Lawton's Drug Store and possibly a new Sobeys store. The nearest Sobeys outlets are located in Dieppe and Trinity so there is a built-in customer base for another store.

The remaining members of Les Filles' congregation, meanwhile, are due to be moved to seniors' homes and other smaller religious houses around Metro Moncton.

The mother house is a massive and majestic building but far too large for the dwindling congregation to keep up.

Stay tuned for more details on this development as the summer unfolds.

***

While the Tories may be crowing about their recent success in a post-legislature poll, the Liberals' Big Red Machine showed recently it isn't about to roll over and play dead . . . at least on the softball diamond.

In a recent charity ball game played in Moncton, the Liberals led by caucus chair Rick Miles and Moncton MLAs Chris Collins and Mike Murphy (supported by a couple of beefy Moncton firefighters), "smoked" the Tory Blue Machine by a score of 19-7.

Sleuth can't wait for the rematch, especially as word has it former Premier Bernard Lord may come out of retirement for it. Now the big question is whether Bernie is coming out of retirement only for a charity game, or for a much bigger game in 2010?

The Tories are practically salivating over their prospects at the polls next year, with the Graham Liberals fumbling their way into the summer recess. The big question Tories are privately whispering is whether Tory boss David Alward has the mojo to lead them to electoral success.

***

Meanwhile, Premier Shawn Graham himself was musing about many of his government's missteps during the recent Bon Jovi concert at Magnetic Hill.

Looking ever-svelte and having a good time under the rare summer sun, Self-Sufficiency Shawn ruefully admitted his government would probably do a few things differently if it had an opportunity. He also wondered about the government's message for change getting lost in the details of some ministerial decisions.

The premier was still upbeat, however, vowing to right the ship and be ready to govern effectively and with some renewed vigor heading into the final year of his mandate.

***

Every one knows Metro Monctonians love their Timmies. You can't drive by a Tim's outlet on the way to work in the morning without your car automatically veering into the drive-thru lineup.

But it seems the rest of Canada also knows about our affinity for Tim's morning java jolts.

One of Sleuth's intrepid followers pointed out this little jewel online yesterday at www.sympatico.msn.ca.

The story was headlined: Tim Hortons: Five Things You Didn't Know. After 'it's owned by Americans' and 'it's more popular than McDonald's', No. 3 on the list was the fact Moncton has the most Tim Hortons per capita in Canada.

Then the article writer, from AskMen.com, got nasty:

"Despite having a population of just 64,128, the city of Moncton, New Brunswick, has a staggering 22 full-sized Tim Hortons franchises. That equates to one restaurant for every 2,915 residents. That's a particularly eye-opening statistic when you consider that the ratio of Tim Hortons to Canadian citizens country-wide is a lofty 1 to 15,000.

"Then again, if you lived in a city as dull as Moncton, you'd need something to keep you awake too."

Ouch!

***

A band at least partially based in Moncton has scored a coup by being listed by Microsoft Corp. on a new music downloading site that will compete with Apple's iTunes juggernaut.

Moncton/Stratford, Ont. based Internet band Under Pressure Music (UPM) is now offering free downloads of 'Too Late' from Microsoft during the current promotion.

Sleuth hears this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have worldwide exposure for a local band promoted by Microsoft. UPM expects to have 50,000 downloads of its single during the three-month promotion. To check out the downloading site and listen to Too Late, check out: www.myspace.com/windows?homepage=underpressure.

***

And finally . . .

Here's an odd quirk of timing worth noting.

At five minutes and six seconds after 4 a.m. on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be: 04:05:06 07-08-09. That won't happen again until the year 3009. So enjoy this one, folks!

* Have you heard the latest gossip? Do you know some juicy rumours? Sleuth wants to know what you know. Send your best information to sleuth@timestranscript.com, fax it to (506) 859-4904 or drop it off to Sleuth c/o Times & Transcript, 939 Main St., Moncton.