[Image-1] Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners has failed “for the past 10 years” in its legislated requirement to provide civilian oversight to the police department. That was the conclusion of a governance report brought to Monday’s board of commissioners meeting, which set the table for a radical departure in how police services will be managed […]
City Council
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax living beyond its means, probably needs to increase taxes
[Image-1] Regional Council has a sobering decision in front of it: find a way to cut services or live with raising taxes. The warning was part of broad fiscal discussions held during Wednesday’s committee of the whole meeting, where manager of financial policy and planning Bruce Fisher told councillors that HRM’s expenses (and inflation costs) […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Richard Zurawski boycotts News 95.7 after contract termination
[Image-1] It’s not his duties at City Hall that have been keeping Richard Zurawski off the airwaves as of late. The city councillor is refusing to appear on News 95.7 and is apparently filing for damages against parent company Rogers Media over the termination of his contract. Zurawski was a longtime meteorologist for News 95.7 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Moving Forward Together moves forward, somewhat together
Halifax Transit’s network redesign can finally shift into high gear. On Tuesday city council accepted—for the most part—staff’s recommendations on the Moving Forward Together (MFT) plan, while asking for an exterior consultant to report back in a year’s time on further refinements to planned route changes. The full redesign was already approved by council […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
All-you-can-build buffet in the urban core
[Image-1] Think of it as a really, really, really expensive Christmas craft fair. On Wednesday proposals for 18 developments in the urban centre will be presented en masse to the public at two planning information meetings (held from 12-2pm and 6-8pm) in the Atlantica hotel. It’s a way for HRM’s planning department to tie off loose […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Richard Zurawski wants a science advisory committee at city hall
[Image-1] It’s foolhardy to make decisions without the proper advice, which is one reason councillor Richard Zurawski wants to create a science advisory committee for HRM. “When you start talking about the politics and the decisions without a science council, you’re stabbing in the dark,” says the councillor for Timberlea-Beechville-Clayton Park-Wedgewood. Zurawski broached the idea […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s recycling plant in need of expansion
[Image-1] The good news is Halifax is recycling more. The bad news is all those extra bottles and cans have put HRM’s recycling plant past its operational capacity. Currently the Bayers Lake facility can process 28,000 tonnes annually. In July, Regional Council approved an expansion to raise that limit by an additional 8,000 tonnes. The expansion […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fire chief Doug Trussler to retire next summer
[Image-1] Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services chief Doug Trussler will retire next summer. The municipality posted a request for proposals online Monday to recruit a replacement. The fire chief’s contract was set to end this December, but according to municipal spokesperson Brendan Elliott he’s negotiated a six-month extension to stay on until July, 2017. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Who got served? Council sets HRM’s priority outcomes for 2017 and beyond
[Image-1] Halifax’s government is on its knees looking for an answer: are we human, or are we customer? Councillors new and old came together Thursday afternoon to set HRM’s priority outcomes for the next four years. It was a high-altitude planning session that came down to some precise word choices. Nowhere was that more evident […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifexit? Survey says nearly half of HRM residents want to split city from county
[Image-1] Twenty years after amalgamation, some residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality are still in favour of bringing back the county. That’s according to a new survey from Corporate Research Associates, which found nearly half of the 401 HRM residents surveyed supported splitting the municipality into an urban city and rural county. Overall results of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bicycle Awards to recognize Halifax’s growing cyclist culture
[Image-1] “What makes Halifax great is that it is relatively flat,” says Kelsey Lane, executive director of the Halifax Cycling Coalition. “Obviously, we have some hills, but it hasn’t been an obstacle in riding a bicycle.” With new shops and cycling groups popping up in HRM, and council focusing on finally getting more bike lanes […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Community council votes down North and Oxford development
[Image-1] At its first meeting since adding three new members, HRM’s Halifax and West Community Council swiftly and unanimously voted against a much-criticized development at the corner of North Street and Oxford. “I do feel that this development at this moment…does not match the area,” said Halifax Peninsula North councillor Lindell Smith. Mythos Development Ltd […]
