Starting April 6, smart phones will receive warnings of possible life-threatening situations, similar to those people may have seen on their TV or heard on the radio. Greg MacCallum, director of the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, said it's another way for the organization to reach a large part of the population, especially those travelling in more remote areas.

The El Sistema youth orchestra program is mourning the loss of its founder, Maestro Jose Antonio Abreu. Abreu started the program as a way to save Venezuelan children from crime and poverty, inspiring similar projects around the world, including several in New Brunswick. Ken MacLeod, CEO of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, said he met Abreu - a man of great vision and with a big heart.

Volunteers at the historic Saint-Henri-de-Barachois Church are collecting old bed sheets to make protective bags for the museum's vast collection of religious clothing items. Remi Leveque with the committee to safeguard the church said the volunteers worry the clothes will deteriorate if not properly protected, and the most affordable option is covering them with light-coloured cotton.

The photo of a replicated viking ship making its way through New Brunswick still makes Josh Green wonder. The photo archivist at the provincial archives said it was on its way to the 1893 Chicago World Fair, but he's not sure what happened to it after.

A Rogersville farm cooperative has turned its surplus fruits and vegetables into a new hot sauce. Kevin Arseneau of La Ferme Terre Partagee said it consists of 99 per cent local ingredients, including some New Brunswick vodka.

It's a good time of the year to build nesting boxes for wood ducks. Birder Alain Clavette spoke to Dominique Williams with Ducks Unlimited Canada about the ducks and their unique nesting behaviours - in trees. He also noticed the first signs of spring, including a few Canada geese arriving from the South.

UNB students will rub elbows with top professionals in the world of sport at the university's first Sports Business Conference this weekend - including CBC sports reporter Devin Heroux. Heroux said he plans to discuss inclusiveness in sport and homophobia, and the need for more coming-out stories.

The Liberal government has introduced Bill C-71, designed to enhance existing background checks on gun ownership and requiring retailers to keep better records. Some say it doesn't go far enough, while others worry it's the long gun registry all over again. Panellists Michael Camp and Duncan Matheson weigh in on this topic, the Shannex deal and the Prime Minister's visit to Sussex.

You wouldn't think much could be gleaned about old British-Chinese relations from a trip to the provincial archives. But Julia Thompson found some letters in the private records unit of the provincial archives that shed a light on the life of a diplomat with a New Brunswick connection in 1847 Shanghai.

The CNIB celebrates 100 years this year. Vanessa talks with Christine Kennedy-Babineau about that and the big fundraising Blindfold Gala coming up in Fredericton.