COVID-19 cases and news for the February 22 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Sunday, February 28 3 cases and record testing “I want to thank the Nova Scotians who…
New premier, new cases, new restrictions for Halifax
After two days of higher-than-usual COVID-19 case numbers in the province–eight yesterday and 10 today, with 89 percent of the cases occurring in the HRM-including Central health zone–Halifax is getting some new restrictions. The announcement came this afternoon at the regular C19 briefing from Nova Scotia top doc Robert Strang and new premier Iain Rankin. …
The Dish: Kam-Moon’s fava bean falafel
Between winter weather and the pandemic, the world can feel pretty small right now. That’s why we’re launching The Dish, a weekly story devoted to a single item at a Halifax restaurant. Whether it inspires you to dine in or take out, we hope to expand your eating horizons. Homemade falafel pocket at Kam-Moon, $7.95…
In your horoscope: Celebrate the mysterious
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PISCES (February 19-March 20) Piscean author Anais Nin was a maestro of metamorphosis, a virtuoso of variation, an adept at alteration. She regarded her ceaseless evolution as a privilege and luxury, not an oppressive inconvenience. “I take pleasure in my transformations,” she wrote. “I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many…
Accessible taxis should be a bit more accessible by fall
Halifax Regional Council is finally doing something concrete about the dismal situation for folks who use mobility devices and want a little spontaneity in their lives. This week it voted to include the procurement of an on-demand accessible transportation service in this year’s upcoming budget. The plan is to subsidize a fleet of accessible taxis…
First look at Black Sheep’s new home
After six months of renovations, the cozy brunch and classy cocktail destination Black Sheep Restaurant is set to open this Friday, February 26, in its new Brewery Market location (1496 Lower Water Street). When COVID’s second wave forced a November restaurant shutdown, Black Sheep co-owners John House and David Woodley decided not to re-open the…
Rankin’ Rankin
The day after his swearing in, Iain Rankin took part in his first COVID-19 briefing, sitting in former premier Stephen McNeil’s seat beside top doc Robert Strang. We took the opportunity to rank Nova Scotia’s new premier on his press conference performance. There’s still much to be seen, but if today is any indication, Rankin…
Video report: Catch up on Halifax Regional Council’s Feb 23 meeting
Halifax Regional Council talked accessible taxis, heritage designation for a house on Coburg Road, the Navigator Street Outreach program and boulevard gardens at its regular Tuesday, February 23 meeting. Plus people from parks and rec and Discover Halifax came to council to unveil the city’s new Integrated Tourism Master Plan. How to keep up with…
When good kinks go away
Q I know you and other sexperts say that kinks are ingrained and not something you can get rid of, but mine have all vanished! Ever since I started on antidepressants, my relationship with my body and how it reacts to pain—both physical and mental—has completely changed. I used to love getting bit and spanked…
Shop This: Rocks From My Bra’s crystal art
Niambi Tree first discovered the power of crystals during a counselling session. “I was given a rose quartz, at the time I didn’t know what it was,” she tells The Coast in a phone call. The therapist used crystals as a fidget object to distract patients while talking, but Tree says she felt an immediate…
Follow along as Halifax’s reggae-roots royalty Jah’Mila takes over The Coast’s Instagram
We called it way back in August 2019, when we covered Jamacian-born, Halifax-based musician Jah’Mila for a feature on the Halifax Urban Folk Festival: “If you’re not already addicted to the artist’s distinctive, roots-y reggae, her HUFF showcase will have you hooked,” we decreed, begging readers to stop what they were doing to turn up…
Neptune is (sort of) back!
Feb 26 update: As of the most recent COVID-19 restrictions—announced at a Feb 26 provincial press conference—arts and culture events are no longer permitted in HRM until further notice. Read more of the latest news about COVID-19 here. Back when COVID-19 was a new term–back when we were just starting to realize something big was…
Halifax council not interested in defunding police
This week Halfiax’s budget committee voted on the police budget, but talks about how HRM spends its money on policing have been buzzing for more than a year–since El Jones’s presentation on defunding the police to the Board of Police Commissioners in January 2020, to a global movement demanding the police and prison industrial complexes…
Two Halifax artists nominated for Canada’s prestigious New Generation Photography Award
Back in 2019–when our collective existential crises mightn’t have been new, but were certainly fresher than they are now–seeing a Séamus Gallagheroriginal in my Instagram feed was the sort of jolt to stop me mid-scroll, to make me sit up and actually look at what I was seeing. The 2018 Starfish Award winner and 2019…
Stephen McNeil gives his last presser as premier
Nova Scotia’s first COVID-19 press conference was held nearly a year ago, on Friday, March 13. It featured Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, who was a new but soon-to-be-very-familiar face for many Nova Scotians. Sitting directly beside Strang (remember a time before physical distancing?) were premier Stephen McNeil, then-health minister Randy…
Rent for a one-bedroom up 20 percent from last year 😢
The latest Canada-wide report from rental housing advertiser Rentals.ca bears the bad news everyone already knew–renting in Halifax is still a shit deal. The majority of Halifax units included in the Rentals.ca report are in downtown Halifax, the west end and Clayton Park, but the report does have data spanning the whole of HRM. Of…
Halifax’s Eli Goree nominated for a Black Reel Award
Real ones have known since his time hosting Street Cents–or at least since the time he played Malik on CBC’s Da Kink In My Hair–that Eli Goree has serious star power. Now, it seems like the rest of the world is catching up on the Halifax-born actor’s greatness: Yesterday the Black Reel Awards (a certifiably…
Look inside The Blue Building, Halifax’s newest gallery
A building can be a chrysalis, transforming its contents and inhabitants–and, through this, its community–as it morphs from one thing to another. The Blue Building art gallery opened to the public last week, and even from the outside one thing was imminently obvious: The new arts hub at 2482 Maynard Street (the project that houses The…
Halifax police force blows IT security, then lies about it
If Halifax Regional Police’s information organization skills were a desk, that desk would be piled high with mismatched papers and zero-context sticky notes. There’d be a bunch of mugs, each with a crusting ring of mold forming at different heights of abandonment, and three cell phones—one encrypted, one broken and one that primarily uses Facebook…
In your horoscope: Celebrate life’s rich stories
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) ultimately became one of the 20th century’s most renowned composers. But his career had a rough start. Symphony No. 1, his first major work, was panned by critics, sending him into a four-year depression. Eventually he recovered. His next major composition, Piano Concerto No. 2, was…
Pandemic pressures
QI’m a gay guy living in New York in his late twenties. My boyfriend has really been emotionally impacted by the pandemic, having been a frontline worker. I think he is suffering from some mild depression or at the very least some intense anxiety, so I just want to preface this by saying I completely…
Nova Scotia’s vaccination effort needs a shot in the arm
The pandemic has been called a lot of things, but lately it’s come to be known as “a race against time.” Humanity is rushing to get COVID-19 vaccines into as many arms as possible before the current viral variants, or a new mutation, render the vaccine useless. This race is happening everywhere at once, with…
Buy Black Birchtown wants to create retreat centre for BIPOC folks
“Why are all retreat spaces owned by rich white folks?” and “Why can’t we own our own spaces?” were the questions Lauryn Guest and Jessika Hepburn asked themselves that led to the initiative Buy Black Birchtown. When Guest was a child, she didn’t always feel she was prioritized in the camps she attended. “Camps should…
COVID-19 news for the February 15 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
Syriana Market opens new location with on-site restaurant
Rafat Harb is only 22 years old, but the recent NSCC graduate is already a business owner, working to open a market under the weight of the pandemic. “I graduated in December 2020, I studied the adult learning program, for the high school diploma and I took courses for the business administration,” he says. When…
In your horoscope: Redefine love
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) I’ve adopted some lines from poet Walt Whitman for you to use in composing a love note. Send it to a person you know and love, or to a person you want to know and love, or a person you will know and love in the future. Here it…
Halifax Regional Council to consider saving Sir Sanford Fleming cottage
Lately, Halifax Regional Council has had a knack for turning any agenda item into an excuse to talk about traffic. This week, it was the report on HRM’s COVID-19 Mobility Response Plan that spun the record on the dire need for traffic calming measures all across the municipality. The mobility response plan was put in…
How to parent a toy boy
QI’m positive you’ve written something about this in the past. But I have searched your archives and have only managed to find people arguing in the comments about this topic, when what I want is your advice. My 16-year-old son is stealing our sex toys. My son took my husband’s handheld toy several months ago.…
Nova Scotia’s inviting you to its bubble for two
Due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Newfoundland and Labrador, doctor Strang has kicked the province out of Nova Scotia’s Atlantic Bubble. The change takes effect tomorrow, Wednesday, February 10, at 8am. “They announced 30 cases today,” Strang said at today’s COVID-19 teleconference. “This is a reminder of how quickly things can change.”…
Six movies we can’t wait to watch at this year’s Halifax Black Film Festival
By the time the fifth annual Halifax Black Film Festival’s lineup dropped last week, it felt like a light beam, sent to banish the last shadow of a doubt. Yep, in a world where we can depend only on death and taxes, we can also count on one other thing: That this indie-flick-loving event’s roster…
Leadership shakeup at Irving Shipbuilding makes waves
A 2005 New York Times article by Christopher Drew begins setting an ominous scene: “Blood was everywhere. Sailors lay sprawled across the floor, several of them unconscious, others simply dazed. Even the captain was asking, ‘What just happened?’ All anyone knew for sure was that the nuclear-powered attack submarine had slammed head-on into something solid and…
Halifax’s indoor skatepark movement snags meeting with mayor
It’s been two months since Tayvon Clarke decided to get the wheel for an indoor skatepark in Halifax rolling. His petition now has 5,500 signatures, but Clarke and other advocates are pushing for more. In January, Clarke and four other members of the Halifax Skaters Association met with mayor Mike Savage via Zoom, and overall…
COVID-19 restrictions eased: spectators allowed at arts, cultural and sporting events
On Friday, in Stephen McNeil’s last press conference as premier, the Nova Scotia government announced another ease in COVID-19 restrictions—largely due to the fact that there are less than 10 active cases in the province. The relaxed rules come into effect Monday, February 8. “I’m so proud of this province and all of you,” said…
COVID-19 news for the February 8 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
Seaport Market changes a long time coming
In January, the Halifax Port Authority announced a major change was coming for the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market building and the vendors that bring it to life. Instead of being a seven-day-a-week market as it’s been since before the Port Authority took over running the market in 2012, the market will now run weekends only…
Chenpapa departure an indication of larger changes at Seaport Market
T hirty years ago, Pi Yeng Chen, who goes by Yen and her husband Yi Chiao Chen, who goes by Steven, had to throw out tofu because no one would buy it. “They don’t want to try, they don’t want to taste, so we had a hard time for that. So my husband stopped make…
In your horoscope: Dance alone in the dark
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) Aquarian author Alice Walker writes, “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll adopt that way of thinking and apply it to every aspect of your perfectly imperfect body…
4 relationship quickies
QI’m a 30-year-old straight woman in a three-year relationship with my live-in partner, who is also 30. I love him and he loves me and he wants to make a life with me. However, in this pandemic, the stress is so great that I have lost all desire to have sex. I don’t want anyone…
COVID-19 news for the February 1 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…