As I pulled onto the highway on my Harley Davidson in the early morning fog of June 13, I had a particular David Mann painting in mind. It’s called “Ghost Rider.” It shows a lone biker rolling down a highway, his hair whipped by the wind. Running beside him is the ghost of a cowboy […]
News + Opinion
Coast newspaper coverage of Halifax city news, breaking news, HRM municipal politics, city hall news, local business, downtown development, Dartmouth, Sackville, Bedford, Nova Scotia, Halifax councillors and the mayor
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mean Streets
THE ATTACK Wednesday, October 27, 2004 It was nearly two o’clock in the morning, and Devlin Kerry was out of cigarettes. A non-smoker likely would have ignored a late-night attack of the munchies and gone to bed, or decided he could live without breakfast cereal or milk in his coffee the next day. But for […]
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Happy meter
It is not everyday that one hears a former prime minister declare that “the conventional development or economic growth paradigm is seriously flawed and delusional.” But that is exactly how Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, Bhutan’s current home minister and former prime minister, opened his keynote speech at the Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness held […]
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About a boy
The Mother climbed into her red Dakota pickup truck and placed the key in the ignition. She was about to pull out of a parking lot at Bayer’s Lake Industrial Park in Halifax—she’d just spent the afternoon shopping with her mom—when her cell phone rang. She looked at the clock. 2:50 pm. She thought it […]
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School shuffle
Changes are afoot in the world of high and higher education in the SuperCity. At the end of May, the Nova Scotia Community College will close down its Bell Road campus for good, and send the wrecking ball in to flatten the 55-year-old school. The NSCC is spending the next two years and about $50 […]
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Window pains
Uniacke Square is a low-income housing development with only one through-road. Turn down Uniacke Street—which stretches from Gottingen to Brunswick—and almost immediately you’ll notice unpainted plywood, like punched-in teeth, covering the street-level windows and front doors of two brown-brick townhouses. Look a little higher and farther down the street to see shards of glass where […]
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How low can they go?
Dozens of protestors wore blue paper placards and paraded around Halifax’s Mumford Road Wal-Mart store parking lot in the cold rain and wind. Their bibs lampooned the Wal-Mart name and slogan: they read “Mal-Wart” and “Always Low Standards.” The ink ran in the rain. Some fliered Wal-Mart customers with mock ads for items like the […]
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Pier Genius
Starting on May 13 to October 30, passengers disembarking from cruise ships into Halifax will face some unusual sights: Colleen Wolstenholme’s collection of Alice in Wonderland-sized psychoactive pills, Thierry Delva’s chiselled granite Two 45 Gallon Drums, Gerald Ferguson’s cascading pile of one million pennies. This artistic haven, just next door to Pier 21 where over […]
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Green machine
Hippies, granolas, eco-geeks, activists and other deviants once thought to scorn consumerism now make up one of the fastest-growing billion-dollar market demographics. According to Colorado-based market research company Natural Business Communications, this group spends upwards of US$230 billion a year and makes up one third of the American population. They’re called “Lohas,” a word coined […]
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Motorcycle Diary
Garnet Hill is the kind of guy who likes to light it up, grab a handful and smoke a fattie. That isn’t to say Hill is a pot smoker. No, he prefers to light up the engine of a high-powered motorcycle, grab a handful of throttle, give it a quick twist and smoke the rubber […]
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Teen beat
“MOST of us in here have already chose our path and we’re already doing what we’re going to do,” says Lloyd, leaning forward in his chair and clasping his hands. “They need to work more toward younger kids.” He speaks slowly, softly, in a deep monotone. He seldom makes eye contact. When he does, he […]
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Taking the wheel
Cynics beware: the Otesha Project is about to blow your made-in-China socks off. On May 1, 15 youth from across Canada (ages 19 to 33) will set out from Vancouver, BC, bound for Gander, NF. Over five months of travelling, the group will make presentations in schools, community centres and summer camps to more than […]