This sign has appeared in the window of the future laundromat going into the old Big Italy Pizza space at 5572 Cornwallis Street, across from Gordon B. Isnor Manor. The laundromat will open mid-October, says the sign.
Tim Bousquet
Posted inNews + Opinion
Howard Epstein, upfront about the centre
Halifax Chebucto MLA Howard Epstein doesn’t like the proposal for a downtown Halifax convention centre. And while his NDP colleagues are cagey and non-committal on the issue, Epstein is forthright and public about his opposition, spelling out not only his reasons but also providing details of the project that had never been released before. Moreover, […]
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Bridge terminal bids exceed budget
Bids for construction of Metro Transit’s expanded Bridge Terminal are about $2 million over the budget for the project. Earlier this year, Halifax council agreed to a $9.5 million plan for the terminal, which is the lynch pin of expanded transit service. Only two firms, Dexter Construction and Pomerleau Contracting, bid on the project, Dexter […]
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Howard Epstein ponders his future with the NDP
[image-1] While the NDP caucus considers what to do with Howard Epstein, Epstein is in turn rethinking his position with the NDP. In an interview with The Coast last Friday, Epstein openly mulled over his future with the party. He says he is considering leaving the party and sitting as independent in the legislature. The proposed downtown convention centre is one factor in a constellation of issues that is causing the Halifax MLA to rethink his relationship with the NDP. In our Friday interview, Epstein revealed that the convention centre would cost $160 million, and the proposal was for the
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First look at convention centre costs: City will be asked to pay $57 million
[image-1] The proposed convention centre for downtown Halifax will cost taxpayers $160 million, with the province and city each contributing $57 million, and the federal government providing the balance, $46 million. These budget figures were included in a detailed proposal given to the provincial NDP caucus last Wednesday, and were provided to The Coast by Halifax MLA Howard Epstein. Infrastructure minister Bill Estabrooks, who is overseeing the convention centre project for the Darrell Dexter government, declined Monday to comment on possible financing schemes and would not confirm Epstein’s figures. “It’s too rich for our blood; it’s too expensive,” says Epstein.
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Halifax dodged a Delhi-like Commonwealth Games bullet
After I was on CBC’s Information Morning yesterday, I had a couple of people take me to task for saying that Halifax would have had Delhi-like problems, had we actually won the Commonwealth Games hosting rights. So let me explain a bit. It’s been widely reported that the Delhi Games are in utter chaos. Now, […]
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Breaking news: Bridge Terminal bids nearly $4 million over budgeted amount
The HRM procurement office today opened the bids for the Bridge Terminal project in Dartmouth, a lynch pin in Metro Transit’s expansion plans. But while about a dozen firms expressed interest in the project, only two submitted bids, as follows: Dexter 13,406.700.00 Pomerleau 13,386,650.00 These bids are 40 percent, and nearly $4 million, over the […]
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Brindi and the True Believers
When I heard last week that Brindi, the Jimmy Melvin, Jr. of the canine world, has been accused of attacking yet another dog, the first thing that popped into my head was: “This is exactly like the convention centre.” The Brindi saga isn’t so much about the dog as it is about the dog’s owner, […]
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Responding to Darrell Dexter
[image-1] In this week’s Letters to the Editor section, premier Darrell Dexter says that in my coverage of his intervention on the Bridge Terminal issue I was “factually incorrect” and that I misrepresented his position. He references two blog posts I wrote, here and here. In the first blog post, I reported that in 1995, when he was a Dartmouth city councillor, Dexter voted to move the Bridge Terminal onto its present site next to the Dartmouth Sportsplex, which I claim is on the Dartmouth Common. Dexter disputes this, saying, “the land belonging to the Dartmouth Sportsplex had long been
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CBC board approves Halifax plans
The CBC corporate board approved Tuesday a major reworking of its Halifax operation, the expansion of the TV building on Bell Road and the sale of the radio building on Sackville Street. As The Coast reported in May, the CBC and YMCA have been discussing a joint development of their adjacent properties, which would see […]
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Moncton and Halifax “rivalry” discussion on the CBC
I was on CBC’s Information Morning today, facing off against David Campbell of Moncton. The conversation is archived on CBC’s site, here.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Idiot spray painter strikes again
Some idiot has again defaced the sign advertising the Gottingen Terrace housing project on Gottingen Street, on the old Sobeys lot across from the library. In the spring, Mr. Idiot spray-painted “fuck gentrification” on the sign. Demonstrating how little money the people behind Gottingen Terrace have at their disposal, rather than replacing the sign, they […]