Nova Scotia has had no shortage of snake-oil get-rich-quick schemes. Consider the allegedly humungous natural gas deposits off our shores, which were supposed to turn us into Alberta East—the actual reserves are so puny that production will dry up in a few years. Some consultants made some dough, I guess. Otherwise, meh. Or, for a […]
Opinion
Posted inNews + Opinion
With all due respect
I just wanted to write and thank Meredith Dault for such a great, nuanced and respectful piece about Stepping Stone and the sex workers who the organization supports (“Sex work in the shadows,” August 20). I’m an American activist whose focus is sexuality and media—among other things, I run a media training workshop for sex […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
CBC dumbs down news
These are grim days for Halifax journalists. After The Daily News shut down last year, other media cut their reporting staffs to the bone. Yet, on Monday, August 31, CBC is launching a brand new, expanded 90-minute supper-hour show. Please don’t break out the champagne. Not if you care about local news. As I point […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Not so super
Last weekend I went grocery shopping at the Superstore on Barrington Street. When I’m shopping for produce, I always check where it was grown and buy local when possible. I appalled to find that, at the peak of harvest season in the Maritimes, it was impossible to find anything local. Carrots, potatoes, apples, onions, blueberries, beans…all things that are plentiful at this time of the year were “product of USA” or from the west coast. For a chain that presents itself as environmentally friendly with a big push toward bagless stores, it puts no effort into reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dual methodologies
Your investigation of how the sewage plant broke was an interesting read. The criticisms over a one-step design/build contract versus a more common two-step design-then-construct process were not fair, as each method has its strengths and weaknesses. Proponents and detractors of each method exist with no side being able to claim that it is a paragon of excellence. It should be pointed out that municipal representatives would have been able to review, comment and ask for changes in the design. This would have been documented and come at a price, but it was obviously not a serious enough concern of
Posted inNews + Opinion
The operational loop
I disagree with the Toronto engineer’s negative view of traditional design/build public projects. However, I agree with the comment that “either way…” the “operations guys must be involved in the design process.” That, to my mind, is the key point of the whole article. To reiterate, it is not that the design/build process is necessarily […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How to listen to citizens
Matt Hebb, the 2009 campaign manager for the Nova Scotia New Democrats, injected some humour into his presentation last weekend at the federal NDP convention in Halifax. His talk was about how the NDP managed to pull off a majority government in the June provincial election. “One of the secrets of winning is to get […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Andre Rochefort: primo bowler
A primo bowl Modest to a fault, champion bowler Andre Rochefort is knocking them over in the five-pin world. There are about 600 five-pin bowlers in Nova Scotia right now. And Andre Rochefort is the best. He’s got top high average (which is the highest score for a full year; in bowling that means 90 […]
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Shambhalanced
I am a longtime student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and have watched him tirelessly gather the Shambhala community together after the devastating deaths of his father Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1987 and the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin in 1990. While the Shambhala community continued to reel from these shocks, Sakyong Mipham devoted himself to furthering […]
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Tax Reform Committee’s shoddy work
Halifax council was scheduled Tuesday to discuss “tax reform,” which is the attempt on some councillors’ part to switch from the time-honoured system of assessment-based property taxes to a “service-based” system that would charge residents receiving similar city services the same fee, regardless of the value of the property being serviced. Specifically, the Tax Reform […]
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Giving the finger
I laughed out loud during the “finger” scene in Michael Moore’s Sicko. It tells the story of Rick, who accidentally cut off the tops of two fingers with a power saw. Because he’s one of nearly 50 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, the hospital gave Rick a choice: Have his middle finger re-attached […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Gus’ noise problem
Halifax indie rockers. They’re touchy about their music venues. No wonder. They keep losing them. A fault in the business model is one thing. But what really stings is when a good venue—Cafe Ole, Birdland, The Blues Corner—is lost because of noise complaints. Dimo Georgakakos is a somewhat expected champion of keeping indie rock healthy, […]