Reality Bites, The Coast Halifax

Accessibility committee to look at sidewalk cafes, sandwich boards

Kayleigh Robinson — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:33:00 -0300

For most, sidewalk cafes mean a lovely dining experience outside with friends. But for people who use wheelchairs or have reduced vision, the cafes can be an in-navigable obstacle course.…

New abuse allegation in Rehtaeh Parsons case

Katie Toth — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:25:00 -0300

Rehtaeh Parsons had visited the IWK when she was having suicidal thoughts.

We’re not sure what happened next.…

City lawyers: judges don't like us

Tim Bousquet — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:12:00 -0300

In a nearly fruitless effort to cut overtime pay to cops, the city’s legal department is fighting a mostly behind-the-scenes battle with the province’s judges, urging the courts to change the way hearings are scheduled.

At issue is the requirement that police officers be available to testify at court, as witnesses in cases involving people charged with crimes or violations.…

Police release recording of 911 call making bomb threat

Tim Bousquet — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:23:00 -0300

Halifax police have released a recording of the 911 call made last Friday threatening a Boston Marathon-like bombing. Because of the threat, the Relay for Life and Arthritis Walk charity events were cancelled.…

Cafe Brea to operate at Shubie Park

Tim Bousquet — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:01:00 -0300

We reported last month that the Shubenacadie Canal Commission was looking for a vendor for their space at the Fairbanks Centre in Shubie Park. And today we're happy to report the Commission has found a vendor.…

Altered views from Dartmouth

Tim Bousquet — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:24:00 -0300

Halifax council will soon consider revising the protected viewplanes of the Halifax Harbour from the Dartmouth side of the harbour. The proposed changes would remove viewplane protections from much of downtown Dartmouth, and raise height limits on developments below the remaining viewplanes.…

It's time to do away with councillor slush funds

Tim Bousquet — Tue, 28 May 2013 13:30:00 -0300

This is interesting. Councillor Waye Mason this morning announced a "participatory budgeting process to distribute $92,000 in capital funding to the community."…

City to buy hundreds of in-line skates

Rachel Bloom — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:03:00 -0300

With the warmer weather approaching, The Oval is swapping ice skates to in-line skates.

The city is tendering for 612 inline skates and related equipment like helmets.…

Bike route to be rerouted?

Emily Hiltz — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:53:00 -0300

City staff wants the proposed cross-town connector re-routed, with bike lanes installed on both sides of Windsor Street. This means the single, connected bike route uniting the north and south ends of Halifax would link Windsor, Vernon and Seymour Streets for cyclists.…

The Coast obtains a heavily redacted copy of the province's contract with IBM

Tim Bousquet — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:12:00 -0300

Last year, the province signed a 10-year contract with IBM. The deal outsourced the province's SAP operation to the company.…

What to do with the Cogswell Interchange?

Jacob Boon — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:26:00 -0300

Over 200 people joined together at the Marriott Harbourfront Hotel last night to eat tzatziki, drink coffee and discuss whatever to do with that Cogswell Interchange.

It was the Strategic Urban Partnership's Cogswell Shakeup event, which brought in a crowd of private citizens and public officials to hear Cogswell redevelopment ideas from over a dozen groups.…

Why Halifax will never fulfil its mega-port Gateway dreams

Tim Bousquet — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:24:00 -0300

The Halifax Port Authority held its annual meeting this morning at Pier 21, to release its annual financial statements, discuss the state of the industry and take questions from the public. I attended out of curiosity, and because I was alerted that investors in the Seaport Market would raise some issues.…

Justice for Africville Society pursues legal action against the city

Rachel Bloom — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:04:00 -0300

Nelson Carvery, the president of the Justice for Africville Society, is taking legal action against the city, seeking compensation for loss of land in the former black community. Carvery is joined in the suit by 38 former residents and descendants of Africville.…

Halifax Pride prepares for annual festival

Kayleigh Robinson — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:41:00 -0300

Halifax Pride Festival is not for another two months (July 18-28) but Halifax Pride is already taking community submissions. Those interested in being featured in the Halifax Pride guide must submit their event using this form by Wednesday, May 15.…

Watch Halifax sprawl over nearly 30 years

Kyle Shaw — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:12:00 -0300

Timelapse is an amazing new project from Google, Time magazine, NASA et al, that's basically Google Earth animated with satellite photos from 1984 to 2012. In case you don't get how watchable that is, the Timelapse lords suggest you check out cities that have experience development on steroids over the last 30 years, like Dubai and Las Vegas.…

Moosehead tickets available on Kijiji!

Kayleigh Robinson — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:23:00 -0300

The Halifax Mooseheads face the Baie-Comeau Drakkar tonight at 7pm at the Metro Centre in Game five of the President Cup. If the Mooseheads win, the team will claim its first-ever QMJHL title.…

Anti-abortion activist honoured. WTF?

Jacob Boon — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:42:00 -0300

It's an old joke that anytime an institution uses words like "family," "morality" or "decency" it usually means the exact opposite. That appears to be the case in the upcoming Family Values Awards, which is set to give longtime local anti-abortion advocate Herm Wills recognition for his work with the Campaign Life Coalition.…

Wanted: Shubie Cafe

Tim Bousquet — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:42:00 -0300

In January, in The Coast’s annual “Fix the city” issue, we called for more concession stands and cafes in public parks. Now, one community group is taking up the challenge.…

New Just Us! complaint filed

Katie Toth — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:16:00 -0300

“I don’t really understand this whole thing,” Debra Moore says when asked about ongoing negotiations between Just Us! Coffee and the Service Employees International Union.…

The usual suspects

Tim Bousquet — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:53:00 -0300

At a secret portion of their meeting last week, Halifax councillors appointed Fred Honsberger to the Board of Police Commissioners. There was nothing unusual about the secrecy: All appointments to boards and commissions are made in secret, over the repeated objections of both The Coast and councillor Gloria McCluskey.…

Black firefighters and Halifax fire department bury the hatchet

Tim Bousquet — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:06:00 -0300

Last Thursday, the Halifax Association of Black Firefighters and the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Department officially buried the hatchet, effectively setting aside a human rights complaint the black firefighters had filed against the department.

As The Coast detailed in 2009, the black firefighters' complaint cited a series of racist incidents dating back to 1996 and continuing right up to that point.…

Dianne Swinemar to retire

Chelsea Gutzman — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:17:00 -0300

Looking back at nearly 25 years as the head of Feed Nova Scotia, Dianne Swinemar says she is most proud of the Learning Kitchen employment training program.

“I felt like a proud mother the day I realized a former student had her own business,” says Swinemar. “That's the reason why you keep doing it.”

Swinemar won’t be doing it for much longer, though.…

The shame of slut-shaming

Tim Bousquet — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:56:00 -0300

The Rehtaeh Parsons story has brought out a lot of attention on bullying, but not enough on what I think is the core issue: misogyny. The misogyny comes before the bullying, and the bullying doesn't happen at all without the underlying misogyny.…

Coast up for Canada’s biggest journalism prize

Kyle Shaw — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:29:00 -0300

After nearly 20 years of coming out on Thursday, The Coast has lots of good memories associated with this day. There’s Thursday, June 17, 1993, when first issue came out.…

How much money do dead people have? And how much of it is stolen?

Tim Bousquet — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:01:00 -0300

How much money do dead people have? Remarkably, we're finding it difficult to get an official answer to that question.…