Chris Dabrowski says he’s afraid he’s on the hook for $26,000—money that the computer science student doesn’t have because he didn’t have tenant’s insurance during an accidental fire set by his roommate three years ago. That’s about one-third of the amount Dabrowski’s former landlord, Jay Abbass, is seeking as subrogated costs he incurred to fix […]
City
Posted inNews + Opinion
Owing pains
It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting at my computer, paralyzed. To the left of my keyboard is a pile of unopened bills. I’ve been collecting them all week; walking downstairs to the mailbox, picking them up, sorting out the pizza flyers and political campaign brochures, and shuffling everything else—all bills—into a pile that I throw […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Overdue for a change
When the Halifax Memorial Library on Spring Garden Road first opened in 1951, no one could have imagined the demands that would be placed on the building by 2006. Still, despite being over half a century old, the building continues to function as the largest library branch in the HRM. That may change. In a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Zoned out
The Nail and Kneecap on Quinpool Road looks like a pub. It acts like a pub. It even has the word “pub” written on its awning. But as manager Shari Calder knows, it’s impossible open a traditional pub on Quinpool Road. “That’s why we’re a pub-style restaurant,” explains Calder. “You can’t have a drink without […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Big talk
The past year saw quite a few changes planned for HRM. From immigration to public transportation to harbourfront schools, a great deal of development was proposed and implemented. Immigration In June, the Atlantic Immigration Conference, hosted by Halifax mayor Peter Kelly, investigated what could be done to attract immigrants to and encourage them to stay […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Family plot
Relatives at holiday time are just like wasps at a picnic. All you want to do is enjoy yourself and maybe have a little bit of that Jell-O salad, and there they are. Buzzing annoyingly in your ear. Tracking every sweet morsel or tasty glass you bring to your lips. Threatening to sting as soon […]
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Web sights
Steve Kronski, a produce worker at the Quinpool Superstore, likes his job. With the company for several years, Kronski says his job is less than exciting, except when someone finds a spider in the produce. Kronski (not his real name) says a black widow spider was captured a month ago. Some of the types of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Modern inconveniences
If you dial up Ashton Convenience Store in Upper Nine Mile River, a recorded voice boisterously declares the number out of service. I curse Aliant and Eastlink—I’m not sure which is responsible for these aggressively friendly recordings, the telecommunications multinational or the Halifax-based cable company. I wish I could turn the clock back to an […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Spin cycle
What does a feral cat have to do with a bike race? Just ask IDEALBIKES’ manager, Roger Nelson; he’ll tell you it’s all in the name. Nelson is helping to organize the first Alley Cat Scramble that Halifax has seen in over five years. “Basically,” says Nelson, “the Alley Cat Scramble is a cycling event […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Head way
Four years ago, The Coast ran a feature story about Paul Greenhalgh (“Class action,” January 11, 2001), who was just starting his tenure as president of NSCAD. Hopes were high that Greenhalgh would be an enthusiastic and long-term president for the school, which had seen several people tackle the school’s top job over the previous […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A place called Home
The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children opened in 1921. It was big, a house, really, three floors and lots of bedroom windows, on Main Street, in what is now Dartmouth. Back then it was Preston. The children it took in were orphans, mostly, and not allowed in any of the local orphanages or schools […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dig Deeper
Give. Give generously. Give blood. Give a little, give a lot, give till it hurts. It’s better to give than receive. This is the season for giving. Forgiving. What can you give? On the phone, through the mail, at the door of the grocery store, people ask a lot of other people. In Canada there […]