Cathy Jones is off CBC’s 22 Minutes after 28 years
Through conversations with multiple sources, The Coast has confirmed that comedian and actor Cathy Jones is no longer with the CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes. The departure follows a nearly three-decade-long tenure with the Halifax-based satirical news show—Jones has been a cast member since its first season aired in 1993, and is the only…
16 rules for Phase 3 of Nova Scotia’s reopening plan
We’ve made it to the third phase of Nova Scotia’s reopening, with over 72 percent of people having at least their first dose, and a rapidly climbing number (currently sitting at about 20 percent) of people with second doses. Compare Phase 3 below with Phase 2, listed here. Here’s what’s allowed—from social gathering to shopping,…
Halifax Jazz Fest announces first wave of acts
Despite earlier announcements that this year’s Jazz Fest would be online only, the event’s newest press release has all its fingers and toes crossed that some in-person shows might just be possible this hot vaxx summer. So far, details on those showcases are still TBD—but in the meantime, a robust roster of online gigs just…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Wednesday, Jun 30
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
The long path to Peace and Friendship Park
When Rebecca Cope was in middle school, she attended Cornwallis Junior High along with her sisters. As a Mi’kmaq woman whose grandmother survived Shubenacadie Residential School, Cope knew even back then how disrespectful the name was. “Were the only Mi’kmaq students at that school the whole time we attended it,” she says. “We were very…
Queer questions quick and quippy
QI just attended the nauseating wedding of my 30-year-old niece to her boyfriend of several years. Both of them seem as gay as possible, but they are diehard religious fanatics. I can list 50 signs these two are gay, and once you point it out to someone who isn’t a bible thumper they go, “Yeah,…
What cancelling Canada Day looks like in actions
It’s easy to talk abstractly about cancelling Canada Day—to share tweets and hashtags and Instagram graphics—but more useful to actually take action. The large-scale conversations we’re having about the holiday’s relationship with colonial violence are long overdue: many Indigenous people have been spearheading them for years, and it shouldn’t have taken the discovery of so…
Why Canada Day should be cancelled: your guide to music, film and writing of the truth
This year, there will be no fireworks slashing the sky above Halifax Harbour. There will be no spots on the Common where concert crowds have trampled the grass to death. While the city’s official website says that COVID-19’s third wave in Nova Scotia is what stopped HRM from planning Canada Day programming, many of us…
Why I *still* choose not to celebrate Canada Day
Barbara Kentner. Colten Boushie. Tina Fontaine. Joyce Echaquan. Rodney Levi. Chantel Moore. These are the names of only a fraction of the Indigenous people who Canada and its systems have let down since 2015, when my first article about July 1 came out in The Coast. The magnitude of each of their names should weigh…
Vaccination uptake slows down as NS hits vax ceiling
Nova Scotia has gone from worst to first in vaccinations against COVID-19. For months after the Canadian vaccine rollout began in December, the province had the country’s lowest vax rate, but during May and June it injected so many people that the latest federal data (from June 19) shows the province has Canada’s highest percentage…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Tuesday, Jun 29
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Monday, Jun 28
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
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5 Cottages near Halifax for your next relaxing holiday
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COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Sunday, Jun 27
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Saturday, Jun 26
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
Venus Envy feels the love from Halifax for new shop
In what owner Marshall Haywood calls a “proud Halifax tradition,” downtown sex-education store Venus Envy is getting renovicted from its current location. The Tramway Building on Barrington Street, home to Venus Envy since 1999, is being renovated, and even though it will remain commercial on the ground floor, Haywood feels squeezed. “The plan for the…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Friday, Jun 25
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
From the bigot blockade to new rules for NB, a timeline
Here’s what happened between Friday, June 18—when Nova Scotia premier Iain Rankin first expressed concerns about New Brunswick’s Canada-wide opening plans—and today, June 24, when a Progressive Conservative MLA was tossed from the party for joining the highway blockade between the NB and NS border. Friday afternoon, June 18 At one of their standard COVID-19…
Border blockade politician takes her bias on the road
On Tuesday, after premier Iain Rankin announced modified quarantine measures for New Brunswick travellers, a Cumberland County MLA reacted in her own way. “He has until 4 o’clock today to change these latest restrictions on the NS or the residents of Cumberland are shutting down the TransCanada highway until the Nova Scotia New Brunswick border…
Indigenous Land Back movement charts better way forward
The Indigenous “Land Back” movement isn’t new, but it’s gaining increasing public attention and support. In this time of facing uncomfortable truths about past and ongoing harms inflicted on Indigenous Peoples and others, it’s important to understand the history of colonial oppression, and the roots and goals of Land Back and what it means. It’s…
Knowledge and power
QI’m a 40-year-old gay male. I live in a big city, in a dense neighbourhood. While I’ve been working from home during COVID, I’ve been sitting at my kitchen table facing a big window. Across the alley is an apartment with a deck. At one point, I noticed a cute, young, muscular guy outside. I ran into…
Your horoscope for the week June 24-30
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK TO Andrew Murphy, Ariel Gardiner, In-Suk Lee, Robert Kennedy, Lynne Patterson, Andrea Somers, Chris Blacklock, Karen Russell, Melissa Buote and Stephen Kennedy. share the love by emailing your friend’s name and birth date to bday@thecoast.ca then click your sign to go to your horoscope aquarius aries cancer capricorn gemini leo libra pisces sagittarius …
Bring Greek Fest home this weekend
For the second year in a row, Halifax’s Greek Fest is take-out only. Instead of a lively celebration of Greek culture, community and cuisine, COVID-19 gathering limits mean the festival will be selling food for locals to enjoy on their own this weekend, Friday, June 25 through Sunday, June 27. “Alas. No in-person events.…
Second doses of vaccine coming quickly says Strang
Nova Scotians can get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine much sooner than planned, with extended clinic hours and an unexpected shipment of Moderna vaccines due to arrive from the federal government before the end of June. Chief medical officer of health Robert Strang said second doses will be hitting arms four to six weeks…
New Brunswick is officially out of the Atlantic bubble
Premier Iain Rankin says he decided today to add quarantine requirements for New Brunswickers, just hours before the scheduled start of the Atlantic bubble. Tuesday afternoon at a regular COVID briefing, he announced the new plan for travellers going from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. Rankin did not tell his colleague, NB premier Blaine Higgs,…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Tuesday, Jun 22
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
Bahamas announces Halifax tour dates
For those of us who’ve missed live music, it’s been a long pandemic. We bided our time remembering the best things of our favourite music venues, from the feeling you get while waiting in line outside the venue to the weird communal snack that was a staple of nights out on Agricola Street. But, now,…
How Nova Scotia is a trailblazer for free, accessible COVID testing
When Nova Scotians tell friends and family in other parts of the world about their COVID tests, they’re often met with confusion. “Were you exposed?” “Are you sick?” “Is everything OK?” In jurisdictions like Ontario, where a COVID test can go for $40 at the local pharmacy, many people have never gotten a swab at…
Shelters threatened by city hall, supported by citizens
Hundreds of people rallied in downtown Halifax on Sunday afternoon in support of several temporary shelters that the city plans to demolish. Halifax Mutual Aid, a local volunteer group, organized the rally at the city’s old central library on Spring Garden Road. That library has been shut down since 2014, and HMA built several of…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Monday, Jun 21
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
Bedford-Halifax ferry idea has new push to float at last
Halifax is moving ahead with a new ferry route after the federal and provincial governments agreed to pay more than $2 million for the project’s initial plans. On Thursday morning, government representatives announced the partnership, which aims to study and begin the plans for a new ferry terminal and route—one that will travel between Mill…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Sunday, Jun 20
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
HRM seeks African Nova Scotian artist to design panel about Black Methodist church
The Halifax Regional Municipality is seeking an African Nova Scotian artist to help create an interpretive panel that will reflect on a 19th century Black Methodist church that once stood on Gottingen Street. The chosen artist will create a rendering of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, which opened in 1846 and was demolished around…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Saturday, Jun 19
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries Daily average infections Vaccination…
How New Brunswick’s rush to reopen puts the Atlantic bubble at risk
The way Nova Scotia’s reopening plan looks right now, June 23 will bring back what is almost an Atlantic bubble, but not quite. On that date, the province will allow travel to and from New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador without quarantining (Prince Edward Island is already allowed). “June 23 is fast approaching, but that’s…
Shakespeare By The Sea’s triumphant return
It is a grey afternoon when The Coast reaches Drew Douris-O’Hara, Shakespeare by the Sea’s artistic associate, by phone, but his words give all the Vitamin C the cloudy sky outside can’t. “It’s like an understatement to say I’m excited to see a live audience again. I would say that it feels like I’m breathing…
Halifax repainting BLM mural without community involvement
Last summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s violent and public murder by a Minneapolis police officer (and the pent-up anger from many, many similar events over the years) Black Lives Matter became a continent-wide movement. Here in Halifax, after rallies held on Spring Garden Road, in front of the police station and elsewhere, city…
Field Guide owners to open new, “grown up” restaurant
When Field Guide opened on Gottingen Street eight years ago, Ceilidh Sutherland was new to the game. Now, she and business partner Katie Tower are old pros, and planning to open a second restaurant later this year. “Obviously it being a pandemic is touch and go, but we know that ideally it won’t be a…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Friday, Jun 18
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries Daily average infections Vaccination…
Racism delivered in Grade 10 correspondence course
UPDATE: Comment from education department spokesperson Jasmine Flemming added Friday, June 18. The correspondence course material arrived on shalan joudry’s doorstep in the spring, requested from Nova Scotia’s education system for joudry’s teenage daughter, Malaika. But it wasn’t until Wednesday night, June 16, that Malaika felt ready to tell her mom about the blatantly racist…
16 changes in Phase 2 of Nova Scotia’s reopening plan
Nova Scotia entered the second phase of its COVID reopening plan on Wednesday, June 16, easing lots of the restrictions that were in place during Phase 1. In this new phase, Nova Scotia inches toward larger gathering limits and allowing more businesses to reopen. To help clarify what Nova Scotians can do, The Coast has…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Thursday, Jun 17
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries Daily average infections Vaccination…
Your horoscope for the week June 17-23
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK TO Chad Rogers, Colin MacKenzie, Mel Evans MacDonald, Terry Arsenault, Bruce Geddes, Buffy Sullivan, Megan Wennberg and Sonya Beeler. share the love by emailing your friend’s name and birth date to bday@thecoast.ca then click your sign to go to your horoscope aquarius aries cancer capricorn gemini leo libra pisces sagittarius scorpio …
New book shares the secret lives of Halifax taxi drivers
Editor’s note: When you’re in a cab, looking at the back of the driver’s head, do you think about who they are? Not just their job—to get you from Point A to Point B—but their life and dreams? Probably not, the same way you don’t think about what your cashier had for breakfast. But Marcello…
Nose piercing and beard trimming are legal services again
After a long lockdown, you can finally ditch the beard trimmer, the drugstore lip wax and any plans for a DIY piercing. Phase 2 of Nova Scotia’s COVID reopening is here, so the professionals who keep you looking sharp underneath your mask are allowed back to work. As of Wednesday, June 16, salons, barbers, piercers…
EDNA Restaurant is open after a long COVID closure
Phase 2 has just begun in Nova Scotia, and while some restaurants are welcoming customers inside from their patios now that indoor dining is allowed, one Halifax eatery is coming back to life entirely from a long COVID-induced hibernation. EDNA Restaurant on Gottingen Street shut its doors in March 2020 when COVID first hit; now…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Wednesday, Jun 16
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries Daily average infections Vaccination…
Gyms in Halifax can let their clients in for Phase 2
It’s a special kind of person who squints at the first rays of dawn glimmering through their bedroom window as a cue to get the day started. The bakers, baristas and dog walkers of the world, who are up and out the door before most have finished their last REM cycle, get the crank turning…
Herpes and orgy etiquette
QWe’re a happily married couple from Europe, longtime readers, both in our thirties, and both interested in having sex sometimes with other people. Before the pandemic we were invited to a private sex party in a major European capital. It was an age- and face-controlled swingers night with background checks on every participant. It was…
For climate’s sake, save the peat!
Burning coal, oil and gas is causing the world to heat at an unnaturally rapid rate. Destroying forests, wetlands, grasslands and marine ecosystems, which act as “carbon sinks,” drives the fever higher. Peatland conversion for agriculture is thought to have fuelled some global warming even before the current era of prolific and wasteful fossil fuel…
6 event picks, including Lafawndah at EVERYSEEKER Festival
It’s the first weekend of phase two in Nova Scotia’s COVID reopening plan and the unofficial first weekend of summer, since the longest day of the year happens to be this coming Monday. Are you as excited as we are? Here’s your weekly guide to Halifax’s arts and culture scene to make sure you make…
Nova Scotia gives free admission to all provincial museums this summer
Today the province announced a mammoth, multi-vitamin booster shot for the tourism industry: An $18.2 million tourism restart package that aims to, according to a press release,”provide operators with new grant programs and marketing support as well as offering tourists more outdoor public attractions.” Also part of the plan? Covering admission costs for all provincial…
Rita’s Retreat: Cape Breton’s answer to Graceland becomes an Airbnb
No matter how many times Rita MacNeil left Cape Breton (her Wikipedia page has her bouncing back and forth from God’s Country to Toronto six times), she always came back. Maybe it’s because her songs were as dramatic and arching as the waves of the Atlantic. Maybe it’s because the people there were a constant…
Phase 2 reopening is a go Wednesday in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is rolling into Phase 2 of its reopening plan on Wednesday, June 16 at 8am. The phase means larger gathering numbers, allowing sports and arts rehearsals and the return of indoor dining. June 16 is the earliest possible date to move into Phase 2 according to the range of times in the reopening…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Tuesday, Jun 15
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Monday, Jun 14
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Sunday, Jun 13
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Saturday, Jun 12
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Friday, Jun 11
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Thursday, Jun 10
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
Your horoscope for the week June 10-16
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK TO Tom Leung, Katherine Woolhouse, Leslie Woolhouse, Dawn Sloane, Jennifer St. George, Katie Wayne, Megan Fildes and Rob MacIsaac. share the love by emailing your friend’s name and birth date to bday@thecoast.ca then click your sign to go to your horoscope aquarius aries cancer capricorn gemini leo libra pisces sagittarius scorpio …
Catching up with Juno winner Rose Cousins
Rose Cousins is a Halifax music scene fixture, a musical MVP. Her brand of folk-pop singer-songwriter is the kind that critics adore and awards stream in for: Fresh yet familiar, honest and real, driven by melody and backed up with airy arrangements. For proof, look no further than the fact that, this weekend, Cousins won…
6 event picks, including Keonté Beals at the 2021 ECMAs
Lockdown-lite is still here, but thankfully so is summer! These are the weekends we spend the rest of the year dreaming about, so obviously you want to spend them right. We’ve got your back with the city’s can’t-miss cultural offerings and the perfect things to stream during the home stretch of sheltering in place. The…
The 2021 ECMA awards touch down online June 10
It’s been 447 days since COVID-19 arrived in Nova Scotia, changing everything in its wake. Live music was one of the first casualties, as it hit pause almost immediately (and, as some experts say, will be one of the last things to return when All This is over). But, music endured. Livestreams became lifelines. Bandcamp…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Wednesday, Jun 9
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries …
How to use our map of HRM patios for max sun fun
CLICK HERE TO LAUNCH THE PATIO MAP. Or keep reading for more info. Lockdown is easing up. COVID numbers are trending down. And we’re in the first of five phases that will take Nova Scotia to its full reopening. Dare I say, but things are starting to look up. To keep those good vibes churning,…
Fossil fuel industry faces an overdue reckoning
Oil giant ExxonMobil’s leaders have a long history of doing everything to keep the world from addressing climate change. They’ve buried company research showing the link between burning fossil fuels and a dangerously heating planet. They’ve sowed distrust and spread misinformation. They’ve lobbied politicians, set up and joined fake grassroots organizations, funded deniers and commissioned…
150+ patios mapped on the 2021 Halifax patio guide
Patios always play a major role in Halifax’s social life when the weather gets warm, whether at a big beer garden, eating al fresco in front of a restaurant or sipping in sunny style at a cafe. But for the second summer of COVID, when patios became one of the first pleasures permitted in Nova…
Three guys who need to be dumped already
QI’ve been living with my boyfriend for a year. We met on FetLife, and I was honest about being in an open relationship (at the time) and the fact I was seeking a sexual connection over a relationship. But one nut after another and pretty soon we were professing our love for each other, and…
Strang’s updated AZ advice
On Monday at the standard COVID-19 press conference, Nova Scotia’s top doctor spoke to Nova Scotians who got the AstraZeneca vaccine. “I am now recommending that anyone who got a first dose of AstraZeneca get a second dose with an mRNA vaccine,” Robert Strang said, officially advising AZ recipients to get a second dose of…
10 unique Halifax Rec programs to try this summer
Wednesday, June 9 at 10am, registration for summer programming with Halifax Regional Municipality opens to all age levels. In the coming weeks, summer camps will open registration on June 21 and 22, and pool and beach programming will open June 23. To give you an idea of what’s available from the city’s recreation department,…
The residential school legacy of Kamloops and beyond
When I heard the news that a series of unmarked graves containing the remains of 215 children were discovered at the former site of the Kamloops Residential school, I was shocked. But not surprised. My name is Bryson, I am the son of a Residential School Survivor, the nephew of Residential School Survivors and the…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Tuesday, Jun 8
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Jump to The Coast’s COVID charts Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Recoveries New…
Athens Restaurant closing after nearly 40 years
One of Quinpool Road’s longest-standing tenants will soon be no longer. On Monday, Athens Restaurant announced via its website that it would be closing later this summer. “We will have more details to share with you in the coming weeks but, in the meantime, we are looking forward to a sunny summer on the patio…
EVERYSEEKER announces 2021 event lineup
If troubled times bring a chance for fresh thinking, new ideas and delicious divergences of creativity, then surely troubled times call for EVERYSEEKER, the indie festival/head-trip that gives us all something to look forward to later this month. A fully online, free version of the annual event will be taking place June 17-20, and is…
Hal-Con cancels events at Halifax Public Libraries over anti-trans book
Hal-Con is the latest event to pull its programming from the Halifax Public Libraries, as it states in a release shared on its website Sunday, June 6. The event—scheduled for October 22-24, 2021—begins by saying: “We are aware that the Halifax Public Library has recently acquired a book that contains harmful misinformation—presented as fact—about transgender…
In memory of the Chip Bowl at Gus’ Pub
The first time I put my hand in the infamous Chip Bowl at Gus’ Pub, it’s because I was looking for something to do. Punk time meant the act I was there to see was at least a half hour away from stage readiness, and the vibe of the room was equally awkward and anticipatory.…
Judas Priest coming to Halifax this November
If you thought Judas Priest would skip Halifax on its 50th anniversary tour, you’ve (as it’s hit song goes) got another thing comin’. Yep, the metal band that defines early ’80s head banging is coming to the Scotiabank Centre November 2, the first newly announced big-ticket show to touch down in Halifax since COVID-19 first…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Monday, Jun 7
Cases up and testing down Monday, June 7, 2021 Reopening status Phase 1 New cases 14 New recoveries 36 New deaths 0 Active cases 182 Days in a row with cases 70 Total cases in Nova Scotia during pandemic 5,677 Total COVID deaths 88 Nova Scotia has 14 new COVID-19 infections according to today’s official…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Sunday, June 6
12 new cases Sunday, June 6, 2021 Reopening status Phase 1 New cases 12 New recoveries 32 New deaths 0 Active cases 204 Days in a row with cases 69 Total cases in Nova Scotia during pandemic 5,663 Total COVID deaths 88 The province is reporting 12 new infections today. With 32 recoveries, the active…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Saturday, June 5
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. 18 new cases and renewed calls for testing Saturday, June 5, 2021 Reopening status Phase 1 New cases 18 New recoveries 45 New deaths 0…
On Pride, the library and Irreversible Damage done
There are over one million books in the Halifax Public Libraries holdings, but this week it seems like the city only cares about one: Irreversible Damage, written by journalist and notorious trans-exclusionary radical feminist Abigail Shrier. “I did go and put it on hold the other day, because if they’re gonna keep it I’m gonna…
Here’s every Nova Scotian up for an award at this Sunday’s Junos
While the best Junos will always be the year Shania Twain invented athleisure, making a splash each time she took to the stage at the 2003 ceremony in a different ensemble that was a homage to a Canadian hockey team, this year’s show will be a close second. Why? Well, more Nova Scotians are in…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Friday, June 4
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. No deaths, few cases, Friday’s here Friday, June 4, 2021 Reopening status Phase 1 New cases 15 New recoveries 37 New deaths 0 Active cases…
How we eat our food is just as important as the food itself
Getting together for meals has always been a special part of life for most Asian cultures. It’s a time where we can come together, forget all our worries and share one of life’s biggest joys. How we eat our food is just as important as the food itself. It can help create an experience that…
10 top takes from the patio on day one of reopening in Halifax
How was your Thursday, the day after the day lockdown started to end? For those who enjoyed a nice patio dinner or coffee on the sunny start of the unlocking, you may have woken up more energized after a nice dose of vitamin D. For anyone who partook in some patio drinking…well, hopefully you paced…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Thursday, June 3
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. New cases rise to 25 on Thursday Today’s good news: The active caseload drops yet again—for the 18th day in a row—and is now at…
Your horoscope for the week June 3-9
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK TO Max Hayden, Shayne Cunningham, Maureen Hilchey, Megan MacKeigan, Tamara Rasmussen, Jane Kansas, Christina Pasquet, Doug Woods, Mike Fleury, Heidi Hallett, Susanne Madden, Anna Duckworth, Scot Jamieson, Shelagh McCorry, Chris Yorke and Mauve Pagé. share the love by emailing your friend’s name and birth date to bday@thecoast.ca then click your sign…
Sun rises on renewable energy and storage
One long-held excuse for not getting off oil, gas and coal faster is that energy sources like solar and wind only work when the sun’s shining or the wind’s blowing. Now, rapid advances in energy storage technologies, along with falling prices, have rendered that excuse meaningless. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges, from the environmental…
Why climbing Everest during a pandemic isn’t as problematic as it seems
Just over a week ago, Kevin Walsh was on top of the world—literally. The Annapolis Valley dentist summited Mount Everest on May 23 along with nine other people in his climbing group. It wasn’t an easy feat. On top of the months of training, oxygen deprivation and harsh elements, Walsh also had to deal…
All hands on decks
We’re all stoked to celebrate the start of Nova Scotia’s reopening plan today by grabbing a few drinks on a patio. But for the bars and restaurants that make patio season happen, being able to handle customers means getting a lot of work done in a short time—after more than a month of lockdown, it…
6 event picks including the must-see plays at STAGES Theatre Festival
It’s the first weekend of the lightened lockdown restrictions, and the possibilities are endless—if not a touch overwhelming. What’s the way to make the most of it? This tipsheet of the top cultural happenings around town is sure to help. Carbon Arc screens Wojnarowicz While Halifax’s last indie cinema remains closed due to COVID-19, you…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Wednesday, June 2
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. 17 new cases Wednesday, June 2, 2021 Reopening status Phase 1 New cases 17 New recoveries 72 New deaths 2 Active cases 311 Days in…
Buying in with Gary Beals
The first noise that bubbles up on Gary Beals’s Bleed My Truth—the triumphant comeback album by the former Canadian Idol star from Cherry Brook—is the sound of slowly plucked strings. In the space between notes, there’s a palpable sense of expectation, a screwing up of courage for what’s coming next. By the time Beals sings…
Sex questions (and answers) coming quickly
QI had a stroke a year ago. The woman I was dating at the time stepped away. I have no hard feelings but I long for intimacy again. I am profoundly grateful that I don’t have any major outward injuries from the stroke, but my stamina is still very low and might always be. That…
How Nova Scotia’s reopening compares to the rest of Canada
Last Friday, Nova Scotia announced its reopening plan for the province, which moves through five phases over the next five-to-six months. Although the announcement itself was hard to follow, over the weekend the province released a more detailed website that outlines the phases. The Coast also has a timeline explaining reopening here. The province…
Timeline of Nova Scotia’s 2021 reopening plan
The third wave of infections is losing strength, and the province has a five-phase plan for gradually lifting restrictions and getting out of lockdown this summer. Timing of each phase isn’t set in stone by top doc Robert Strang—there’s a range that can be influenced COVID activity and vaccination uptake, leading to potential confusion about…
Are Halifax cops any less racist since the street check report came out?
More than two years after a landmark report analyzed data to prove that Halifax’s police services discriminated against Black people when performing street checks, no one can prove that discrimination has ended in other police stops. In his report that analyzed 142,456 street checks that occurred in Halifax between 2006 and 2017, University of Toronto…
COVID cases and news for Nova Scotia on Tuesday, June 1
NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia’s evolving pandemic response, keep on reading. Low cases 🏆 low testing 🤢 low vaccinations 🤮 Tuesday, June 1, 2021 New cases 12 New recoveries 91 New deaths 0 Active cases 369…