Latest news with #JoePreston
CBC
07-08-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
PowerCo begins hiring blitz for positions at St. Thomas EV battery gigafactory
With initial production set to begin in 2027, PowerCo says it's launching a hiring blitz as it looks to fill hundreds of positions for its massive electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas. The Volkswagen subsidiary announced Wednesday that it had begun a hiring campaign to fill positions for chemists, IT professionals, engineers, and sustainability experts, and would further expand recruitment in the coming months. The gigafactory is anticipated to employ roughly 3,000 people and span up to 185,000 square metres when it becomes fully operational in northeast St. Thomas. It's also expected to help create as many as 30,000 indirect jobs. "It's the gift that keeps on giving," said St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston in an interview with CBC News. "What this will do with even jobs across Canada, certainly Northern Ontario and the Ring of Fire, certainly other areas of Canada, supplying the special ingredients that need to go into EV batteries." PowerCo is pouring $7 billion in the gigafactory, which will be the German automaker's first EV battery plant in North America and have an annual production capacity of up to 90 GWh. Batteries produced at the facility will go to vehicle assembly plants in the U.S. Groundbreaking for the new plant is expected to take place in the next several weeks, according to a media statement provided by PowerCo. "The industrial park we created that attracted PowerCo to continues to be developed," Preston said. "Roadways, water, sewer, new electrical towers and a brand-new rail yard are all [finishing] construction, and the land the factory will go on has been all levelled and compacted, and we start pouring concrete this summer." The new plant will bring "generational change," Preston said, and is an opportunity to help create manufacturing jobs of the future, and keep young workers from leaving the region. It's also set to put increased demand on the local housing stock as the plant's workers begin to call the St. Thomas region home. In neighbouring Central Elgin, its pending arrival has the municipality looking at redeveloping lands formerly home to the St. Thomas psychiatric hospital. CBC News made several attempts to interview someone from PowerCo on Wednesday, but was told their spokesperson was unavailable. In a statement, the company's Chief Human Resources Officer, Norman Wickboldt, said the hiring campaign was a "pivotal step forward." "Electrified transportation is the future, and these jobs offer long-term opportunities for Canadians to be a part of an exciting and innovative clean energy industry," his statement said. PowerCo has already hired around 200 people who are working out of an office in downtown St. Thomas, with plans to grow to 400 by the end of the year, Preston said. "Almost every week I meet someone else new who's come to join the team, and many of them from St. Thomas, and many of them from London, and many from far afield."
CTV News
23-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
St. Thomas rail crossing gets much needed repairs
The First Avenue rail crossing south of Edward Street in St. Thomas was seen being repaired on July 23, 2025. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London) A smooth ride for drivers in St. Thomas, as a bumpy rail crossing gets long awaited repairs. Work took place Wednesday on the First Avenue rail crossing south of Edward Street. A gap has been filled in and paved over with new asphalt. The work follows intervention from Mayor Joe Preston, who clarified in a letter to residents that road work could not be done until CN rail provided flagging support for the active rail line. 'Let's clear the tracks on this one; maintaining the rail crossing is a shared responsibility. CN Rail is responsible for everything within the rail line itself, while the City maintains the roadway surrounding the tracks. In order to complete the necessary repairs, both parties need to work together,' said Preston in his letter to the community. Work was expected to be complete by the end of the day Wednesday.
Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
St. Thomas: Railway City mayor vents over deteriorating track crossing
The condition of a railway crossing that's frustrated drivers has prompted the St. Thomas mayor to try to 'clear the tracks' on who's responsible, saying a resident was given incorrect information by CN Rail. St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston issued a public statement saying residents' complaints about the condition of the crossing on First Avenue, north of Redan Street, 'that's been frustrating many in our community for far too long,' haven't been brushed aside. 'I've heard from residents, I've seen the complaints and I've driven over it myself,' Preston's Wednesday letter read. 'I know it's an issue, and I want you to know the city is not ignoring it.' The letter to city residents came after Preston said one resident contacted CN Rail and was 'incorrectly' told the city is responsible for the repair at the crossing, a claim the mayor called 'simply not true.' 'Yesterday, CN responded to somebody who wanted the tracks repaired that it was a city responsibility and not theirs,' Preston told The Free Press on Thursday. 'That prompted me to say, 'that's not the case.'' Preston said responsibility to maintain the crossing is shared between CN Rail and St. Thomas, noting the railway is responsible for everything within the rail lines while the city's authority lies in the roadway surrounding the tracks. Both must work together to complete the job at First Avenue, Preston said. 'We can't go repair tracks that are CN's without their flag people being there (and) we've asked for the cooperation and communication with them,' Preston said. 'Crossing safety and rehabilitation is a joint responsibility between railways and municipalities,' CN spokesperson Michelle Hannan wrote in an email statement. 'Their maintenance and upkeep are jointly coordinated to ensure safe usage by both the railway and municipality.' Preston said the last time the crossing was repaired was more than two years ago, but the city has received complaints 'the whole time' and it's been getting 'worse and worse.' A paving contract was tendered and awarded in 2023 to address the crossing, Preston wrote in his open letter, adding the city was 'ready to go.' But CN Rail didn't provide the 'flagging support required to ensure that the work can be done safely,' he said, noting staff 'can't legally or safely move forward.' 'People expect roads to be able to be driven at the speed limit of that road,' he said, 'and so we've been asking: 'Can we get this line fixed at that spot in order for people to quit at least feeling the bump on the road and, in some cases, damaging their vehicles?'' A July 3 post on a popular St. Thomas Facebook page demanding the crossing be fixed had garnered more than 150 comments and more than 360 reactions as of Thursday. Facebook user Jake Doktor replied: 'You know it's going to be a nasty bump when you see car parts on the road. So far, I noticed a stabilizer strut and part of a bumper.' Kristie Arsenault wrote: 'It's terrible. It has to be dealt with.' Preston said the city will provide updates once it has more information. bwilliams@ Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
18-07-2025
- General
- CBC
A train crossing in the Railway City has been in disrepair for months. Why isn't it fixed yet?
Social Sharing Andrew Harvey never expected the train crossing he goes through on his daily commute to work in St. Thomas would cause $1,000 worth of damages to the front of his car. "These tracks are in disrepair and even if you're going below the speed limit, it still manages to do damage to your vehicle," said Harvey, who's had to replace both lower control arms of his 2020 Kia that were ruined after he drove through the crossing on First Avenue last month. "The edges around [the tracks] look like a really big pothole. We've seen a couple cars go by here making a really loud noise, and other cars come to pretty much a complete stop to go over them." The state of the Canadian National (CN) rail crossing in St. Thomas — known as the Railway City — has drawn the ire of residents who've been calling for it to be repaired for months. It's also stirred up confusion on whether it's the municipality or the railway company's responsibility for the fix. CBC News spoke to multiple residents who said they've contacted both CN and the city and have been given mixed messages about who's in charge of the repair. Track maintenance a shared responsibility Mayor Joe Preston explained the rail crossing's maintenance is a shared responsibility. The city has to keep up roadways surrounding the tracks, while CN maintains everything within the rail line. But he said a lack of cooperation and communication from the rail company has delayed the work despite city officials continuously pushing for action. Preston said CN's flag people and city staff need to be together so traffic can be rerouted while tracks are being fixed, adding that his staff have sent more than a dozen emails to CN to arrange both parties to get together. "We have to cooperate because it's our road and their tracks but it often takes forever for them to get back to us," he said. "We need railways to move industrial products out of St. Thomas, but we can't have on our major arterial roads people having to slow down to 15 kilometres an hour in order to go over a railway line." CN spokesperson Michelle Hannan said in an email that the company "is aware of and remains engaged" about the crossing. However, people having to drive over the train tracks on the busy street say they don't care who's responsible, they just want it fixed. "All I can see is they're passing the buck and the only one that's benefiting out of this is the garages doing the repairs," said Harvey. "They're making a killing out of people that are already struggling to make ends meet." St. Thomas local Dan McDonald said construction in the area has increased traffic around the tracks. He drove his brand new motorcycle over the tracks a few weeks ago and heard a really loud noise that led him to believe its front was broken. While it didn't sustain any damages, McDonald has had to find alternative routes getting around the city to avoid the railway crossing, which has significantly increased his travel time, he said. "Your vehicle just makes a huge sound and you're bouncing, it's just very rough to go over and it's a 60-kilometre zone so cars are traveling a bit faster too but you'll see cars slam on the brakes. It's gotten that bad," he said. "I would just like to see somebody go out and start working on it. They've fixed tracks over the years since I've been here, but this is the worst one I've ever seen. It's to the point where I could see somebody slamming on the brakes and getting rear-ended." Preston echoes their concerns but emphasized that the municipality isn't allowed to make any changes without CN's permission because the company owns the tracks. After further correspondence with CN, he's hopeful work will begin on the tracks next week.
Miami Herald
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
New Balance's upcoming drop sends a clear message to rivals
It's not exactly a secret anymore: New Balance isn't just for dads. The brand has fully shed its "dad shoe" reputation, trading in normcore jokes for fashion credibility, TikTok virality, and serious sneakerhead clout. What started as a quiet cool factor has turned into full-on cultural dominance - from streetwear collabs to front-row fashion week appearances. Related: Nike reverses course as weak sales raise alarm But the real story isn't that New Balance is cool now -it's that it has stayed cool, and continues to win with smart product drops that resonate with younger consumers. That matters in an industry where hype fades fast. The brand's upcoming drop is a perfect example. Minimalist, playful, and totally on-trend, the sneaker is tailored to an audience that shops with both style and status in mind. And while the silhouette leans into the nostalgic Y2K feel that's hot right now, it does so without feeling derivative. As a sneakerhead myself, I honestly may just need to get a pair myself. The message to rivals? This isn't a comeback. It's a takeover. According to Hypebeast, New Balance's upcoming sneaker drop is set for June 5. The 2002R "Pastel Blue" might look soft and subtle, but the message behind it is loud. New Balance is leaning into what it does best: pairing performance roots with aesthetic-forward colorways that hit right where culture lives now. The 2002R silhouette has already seen a renaissance in the past two years, becoming a go-to in New Balance's lifestyle lineup. With the pastel update, the brand taps directly into Gen Z's obsession with muted tones, minimal styling, and nostalgic comfort. This isn't a general release sneaker - it's a curated fashion move. Related: On sneakers is tapping into a market Nike missed And this kind of curation has become a New Balance trademark. Through high-heat collaborations with brands like Kith, CNCPTS, and Joe Freshgoods, the company has managed to capture attention from both sneaker veterans and casual fashion fans. New Balance's ability to own both lanes at once makes it unique in a market crowded with brands trying to be all things to all people. By launching another buzzy colorway into an already high-performing silhouette, New Balance is reminding sneakerheads and investors alike: it knows exactly what it's doing. While New Balance has clearly built a cultural moment, it's also translating that momentum into real business growth. According to Yahoo Finance, New Balance had a banner year in 2024, racking up $7.8 billion in global sales - a 20% jump from the year prior. CEO Joe Preston believes that momentum will continue, stating the brand is on track to hit $10 billion in the coming years. While legacy giants like Nike and Adidas continue to dominate overall market share, New Balance's selective strategy, premium positioning, and underdog advantage have helped it carve out a distinct lane and gain serious ground. New Balance's approach is less about flooding the market and more about building meaning with thoughtful collabs, selective partnerships, and a sharp read on what today's consumer actually wants. The hype feels earned because it is. From curated colorways to tapping into fashion culture without trying too hard, New Balance has become the rare sneaker brand that balances heritage with heat. And when it comes to visibility, the brand isn't relying on gimmicks. It's showing up in the right places, with the right people - and doing it consistently. Honestly, I'm so here for it. Be right back while I go set an alarm for the drop. Related: Nike delivers bad news for customers The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
