Proposed changes to transit fares for kids, adults and seniors were approved by the transportation standing committe this week. If things go ahead according to schedule, adult fares for Halifax Transit will go up from $2.50 to $2.75 on September 30—an increase that was approved during the 2019/2020 budget process. The extra quarter will fund […]
Caora McKenna
Caora was City Editor at The Coast, where she wrote about everything from city hall to police and housing issues. She started with The Coast in 2017, when she was the publication’s Copy Editor.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Q&A with Leah Genge a family physician on the front-line of Nova Scotia’s addiction services
With news that HaliFIX Overdose Prevention Society has gotten a federal exemption to set up their Overdose Prevention Site in the basement of 2164 Gottingen Street—Below Direction 180, where Leah Genge is the physician—Genge shares some insight on what an OPS actually is, who it serves and why it’s important. The Coast: What is an […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Martha Paynter talks about abortion on the big screen
The Coast sits down with Martha Paynter to talk about abortion on the big screen. From drawn-out, dramatic representations to quick and empowering montages—set to “Silent Night”—Paynter shares her thoughts on seven noteworthy examples of abortion on TV and in the movies. “How many billion labours and births have we seen on screen? There are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Pride’s low-sensory zone brings all the fun but less of the noise
Making space for marginalized groups is what Pride has always been about. And this year, it’s continuing to do the extra work to push that space even further. The Pride parade’s low-sensory viewing area returns for its second year at the festival. The space gives an elevated view of the parade and ensures reduced noise, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Honouring the African Nova Scotian community with a concrete legacy
From community consultations to carving in concrete, a new art installation in the Halifax Common to honour the African Nova Scotian community is finally finished. In 2015, Halifax set out to build three art installations around the Halifax Common park, and this week the finishing touches were painted on at the Agricola, Cunard and North […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
First phase of transit priority approved for Robie and Young streets
Transit priority lanes like the ones added on Gottingen Street are coming to Robie and Young streets. This week Halifax Regional Council approved phase one of the plan, which will see time-restricted bus lanes on weekdays from 6am-6pm on Robie Street from Young Street to Quinpool Road—hopefully speeding up routes 80, 81 and 7—and a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dancing and sweating at Cavendish Beach Music Festival
While everyone in attendance certainly didn’t know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song—as Gretchen Wilson would have preferred—festival-goers at Cavendish Beach Music Festival were certainly revelling in the town’s small-town, down-home country feel. The country music festival took place last weekend, and amidst the heat and sweat there were indeed also tears, laughter, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Eight storey building gets approval for Brunswick street
An eight-storey residential unit building got approval from Halifax West and Community Council this week. The proposed property will nest behind the historic rectory building which sits at the front of the lot at 2267 Brunswick Street beside St. Patrick’s Church. The application was first put forward by Studio Works International Inc. on behalf of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Neighbours Speak Up warns council of short-term rental risks
Short-term rentals have been lurking in the background of Halifax’s housing market for a few years, and a group of north end neighbours are organizing to reign in some of the negative affects they are seeing. Neighbours Speak Up, a working group of about 50 people, presented their platform to Halifax and West Community Council […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
This shit is bananas
Another summer in Halifax, another stretch of months watching a plant die. For the first time in history there are bananas growing in the Halifax Public Gardens. The musa acuminate AKA dwarf banana plant has been growing in the gardens for eight to 10 years, and this spring began to produce fruit. There are over […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
There’s nothing sexy or simple about commercial taxes
Like most things happening at City Hall lately, commercial tax changes have been a long time in the making. What started as a 2015 request—to look at concerns from small businesses in the central business district and main street and commercial corridors—came to the committee of the whole this week. It left with an amendment […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
What is affordable housing, anyway?
From public housing to transitionary housing, shelters and housing supports or just the notion that spending more than 30 percent of your income is considered unaffordable, much of the inaction on affordable housing comes from the lack of a firm definition. At two information sessions at Halifax North Memorial Public library and Halifax Central Library […]