Last year was his 75th in the city. He has reigned over Halifax’s hearts longer than Queen Elizabeth II has ruled the British empire. She sits on a throne, under a golden crown. He lives in a plexiglass enclosure, under the warming glow of a 150-Watt heat lamp. A humble life, of no less magnitude. […]
Jacob Boon
Posted inNews + Opinion
Electrical fault to blame for fatal fire
An electrical fault is to blame for the tragic fire that claimed the lives of a 58-year-old Lower Sackville man and his 11-year-old granddaughter. Halifax Fire and Emergency chief Ken Steubing told reporters at a news briefing Monday afternoon the fire started early Saturday morning in the duplex’s basement. Although authorities have not released the names […]
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Province finally signs lease for new convention centre
The ink is finally dry on the Halifax Convention Centre’s lease, nearly three months after its doors first opened. Substantial completion has been reached on the $169-million downtown project and the keys have officially been turned over to the province. “Reaching substantial completion with this massive project is a milestone,” writes Transportation and Infrastructure minister Lloyd Hines […]
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Teachers union backs down from strike
The Nova Scotia Teachers Union is backing down from its threat to strike, following the introduction Thursday of the province’s new Education Reform Act. The legislation will dissolve Nova Scotia’s seven English-language school boards, and remove principals and vice-principals from the NSTU. But those administrators will be allowed to join a new association still affiliated […]
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Province promises no change in fees from Registry of Joint Stocks overhaul
It’ll look different, but the cost should stay the same. Service Nova Scotia announced Thursday that Enterprise Registry Solutions has been awarded the 10-year, $7.1-million contract to modernize the Registry of Joint Stocks. The Dublin, Ireland-based Enterprise is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saskatchewan’s Information Services Corporation, which has an exclusive agreement to administer that province’s corporate and […]
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Mayor “prepared to revisit” integrity commissioner after Whitman debate
After yet another in-camera debate about Matt Whitman’s conduct, mayor Mike Savage is eager to explore hiring an integrity commissioner at city hall “I’m prepared to revisit that,” Savage told reporters after Tuesday’s council meeting. “I think it may be something we need to do so that we can get an impartial person to give […]
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RIP Betty Peterson, iconic peace activist and voice for change
An inspirational figure who spent several decades fighting for peace around the world has passed away. Betty Peterson has died at the age of 100. The American-born activist, who served as a role model to a generation of women in Nova Scotia, leaves behind a lifetime of work battling inequality. “She’s been a familiar sight […]
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Council finds Whitman breached code of conduct, released confidential information
Matt Whitman walked away from an in-camera discussion on public complaints held Tuesday, refusing to take part in a debate on councillor conduct largely centred on his own words and actions. It didn’t go his way. After a two-and-a-half hour discussion behind closed doors, council voted 12-3 that Whitman was guilty of breaching the municipal […]
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Outdoor alcohol on Argyle and Grafton
Soon you might not need a patio to party downtown. A staff report headed to city council this week wants to make it easier for outdoor events to allow public drinking on Argyle and Grafton. The proposed amendment to the Municipal Alcohol Policy would create a new category of “HRM Streets Where Alcohol is Permitted When […]
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Protest potpourri scheduled for Province House
Nova Scotians are spoiled for choice when it comes to protesting their government. In what’s practically become an annual tradition, this week hundreds of people will once again gather outside Province House demanding change and voicing their opposition to a growing portfolio of disappointments. The Nova Scotians Rise Up event—scheduled for noon on the 27—will […]
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Misinformation mine: Facebook shuts down Halifax man’s pro-Trump trade
For the past three years, Nicholas Kingsland has made his income sharing hyper-partisan news stories about American politics on social media. His livelihood involves spreading polarizing content across multiple Facebook pages to an easily riled, mostly right-wing audience—generating revenue by sharing links and driving high volumes of traffic to other websites. But Kingsland isn’t mining this […]
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Halifax searching for next poet laureate
Rebecca Thomas has some advice for whoever replaces her as Halifax’s next poet laureate. “Grow thick skin, but keep your heart soft,” she says. The poet’s two-year term as the municipality’s supreme scribe is ending in April and HRM is already seeking nominations for her successor. Applicants can be a poet, storyteller or spoken word […]