As I’m just receiving this two days into the budget debate, I don’t have time to go through it myself presently, so I thought I’d throw it out to readers for peruse themselves. Read the budget details here.
Tim Bousquet
Posted inNews + Opinion
Feed-In Tariff troubles
In terms of electricity generation, Nova Scotia is one of the dirtiest, most polluting jurisdictions in North America. We now produce about 85 percent of our electricity by burning fossil fuels—mostly in four gigantic, greenhouse gas-belching, coal-fired power plants in the northern reaches of the province. The provincial government has set a firm target for […]
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Washmill underpass boondoggle swept under rug
Halifax council approved a $4.5 million expenditure for the Washmill underpass project, bringing total cost of the project so far to $15.5 million, $5.5 million over budget. The project is “the biggest boondoggle in HRM’s history,” said councillor Gloria McCluskey, an assessment no one disagreed with. The underpass connects suburban Clayton Park to the big […]
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City budget gets big real estate boost
A booming real estate market is translating into a city budget that’s an easy sell politically. In other words, more big-ticket public spending without raising taxes. City staff Tuesday put forward a proposed $758 million operating budget and $145 million capital budget, with no increases in the general tax rate but big expenditure increases for […]
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Metallica looking to play Citadel Hill July 14
[image-1] This morning, Cole McLean of Atlantic Canada Rocks announced that Metallica will play Citadel Hill July 14. The group has been touring with Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax on a the BIG FOUR tour; there’s no word if the other bands will be playing in Halifax. And in the Saint John Times & Transcript, McLean tells us that: What’s perhaps more interesting is that it sounds like Harold MacKay, whose company Power Promotions went bankrupt after a series of outdoor shows in the city, is said to be the promoter behind the potential Metallica date. I called McLean to see
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Canada’s ocean research at risk, say scientists
As the Harper government prepares to spend $20 billion for 65 new fighter jets many say are unneeded, government scientists are quietly complaining that a single new ocean research ship is woefully under-budgeted at $120 million, putting the future of Canada’s marine science at risk. The scientists are so alarmed about plans for the new […]
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Breaking news: Halifax RCMP commander Darrell Beaton to be replaced
Darrell Beaton, commander of the Halifax RCMP detachment, will soon be replaced. Beaton holds the rank of superintendent, but RCMP brass has decided to upgrade the commanding rank to chief superintendent. “It’s an opportunity for us now to increase the rank, but also about showing a commitment on behalf of the RCMP to the Halifax […]
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Coast writers are Atlantic Journalism Award finalists
Once again showing that it punches above its tiny weight, The Coast has recently been nominated for three Atlantic Journalism Awards for work done in 2010. Contributing editor Bruce Wark is a finalist in the Enterprise Reporting category for “Blow job,” his August 5 examination of the potential pitfalls of wind power. In the same […]
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What’s Trade Centre Limited’s responsibility in the concert loan scandal?
[Last weekend I wrote a piece recapping Halifax’s multiple political scandals, but for today’s dead-tree edition of the paper, I ask more detailed questions about Trade Centre Limited’s connections to the city’s concert loan fiasco, as follows. Recall that TCL, a provincial crown corporation, is contracted to operate the Metro Centre for the city, and […]
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Len Goucher smudges out Tim Outhit’s face
The above photo comes from Len Goucher’s website. Goucher, a former MLA who was defeated last election by a 18-year-old kid, is part of the old Progressive Conservative cabal in Bedford, which seems to muck up every endeavour it touches, including the Children’s Safety Village, the bubble arena and Goucher’s own gadget-heavy expense account. Recall […]
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Has Halifax hit Peak Scandal?
[image-1] This morning, as I was reviewing my notes on three different scandals now afflicting Halifax, I thought, “Just how much scandal can be wedged into one town? Are we at Peak Scandal?” Like its resource cousin Peak Oil, there are two things to consider when assessing Peak Scandal. First there’s the question of production: can we continue to increase the amount of product we pull out of the ground and deliver? That question is debatable. Oil company execs and investigative reporters will tell you that with improved technology—deep sea production wells, crowdsourcing, modern refining techniques, Twitter—we can better find
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Is deputy police chief Chris McNeil’s suspension related to fire department investigation?
[image-1] Halifax’s deputy chief of police, Chris McNeil, has been suspended pending an investigation of possible perjury on McNeil’s part, according to the CBC. Besides being second-in-command at the HPD, McNeil is a lawyer, still in good standing as a “Non Practising Member” with the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. This makes the perjury investigation all the more interesting—obviously a lawyer knows the gravity of willfully committing perjury. Of course, McNeil has not been charged with perjury, much less convicted of it. There’s merely a set of circumstances that evidently warranted a closer look by authorities. So what’s going on here?