Applications from professional arts organizations must now go through an extra step for municipal grants. A motion unanimously passed by council means a peer jury review will decide who will to be considered for the Interim Professional Arts Grant program. At today’s council meeting, south end councillor Waye Mason—who originally moved the motion back in […]
City Council
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax council will debate salary changes again
[Image-1] The municipality’s newly elected deputy mayor is starting his term off with a bang. Steve Craig will bring forward a motion at council’s next meeting asking for a report and recommendations from the CAO’s office on changing how the mayor and councillors are paid. He’s tried this move before. In 2014, it was Craig […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
7 items HRM’s new council will grapple with at its first meeting
[Image-1] Tuesday afternoon will mark the first meeting of HRM Regional Council since October’s election brought six new faces to City Hall. Those rookies will have their work cut out for them sorting through a discursive agenda. Here are a few items on the docket: Stormwater right-of-way changes Halifax keeps trying to dig up out […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
“Customer service” is key for new CAO Jacques Dubé
[Image-1] Save the red tape for Christmas decorations. City hall employees are going to be doing some hardcore process mapping (whatever that is) to cut waste and deliver a lean government service model, says HRM’s new chief administrative officer. Jacques Dubé took over as CAO six weeks ago, just in time to watch six new […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s development horoscope
[Image-1] In numerology, 2016 is a “nine year,” so named because its four digits add up to nine. And that’s the death year, says Holly Poole, practicing astrologist in Lower Sackville. It’s when old ways come to an end, projects are completed and new beginnings can be anticipated. So Poole wasn’t surprised to see five new […]
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Design advisory committee scratches the surface of HRM’s Centre Plan
[Image-1] Halifax’s Centre Plan just got its initial dose of feedback from the municipality’s Community Design Advisory Committee, and it’s a mix of excitement, as well as a few concerns. The idea behind the much-anticipated Centre Plan is to create a “blueprint” of sorts, updating planning policies and outlining growth ideas in HRM’s urban core. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
No one really knows how to get more women to run for council
[Image-1] Lisa Blackburn, one of Halifax’s recently-elected councillors, is also one of the only women. She’s disappointed by that. “There’s so much missing when we have so few women,” says Blackburn. “We think about things differently; we process things differently; we’re just wired differently.” This year’s municipal election brought five new people to Halifax Regional […]
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What is council for, Halifax?
[Image-1] Council is for the people, all of the people, for so many of their everyday needs. For their bodies, their minds and in many ways their souls. How can it be that in the 21st Century, this brave new Canada of Justinian selfies, G7 status and pursuit of a new Security Council seat, the question […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
These first-time voters are excited for HRM’s election (even if no one else is)
[Image-1] What were you excited to do when you turned 18? For Josh Creighton, the answer is pretty obvious. “I’m more excited to vote in [the municipal election], because I feel like this—it’s closer to home,” says Creighton. “I love the idea of a councillor, how they’re in charge of this area, and their role is […]
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Campaign endorsements are getting political
[Image-1] An outgoing councillor’s endorsement can help or hinder a candidate’s chances of getting elected, depending on who the councillor is. As he leaves behind municipal politics, Waverley–Fall River–Musquodoboit Valley councillor Barry Dalrymple is publicly endorsing Cathy Deagle-Gammon in the race for District 1. That could be seen as an unfair advantage, but it really comes […]
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Getting acclimated to acclamation this election
[Image-1] The race for re-election this year for four Halifax council members turned out to be a non-starter. Councillors Lorelei Nicoll (Cole Harbour-Westphal), Tim Outhit (Bedford-Wentworth), Bill Karsten (Dartmouth South-Eastern Passage) and Steve Craig (Lower Sackville) all won their seats by acclamation. In the 2012 municipal election, Nicoll defeated two challengers and Outhit bested one […]
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Trying to fix voter turnout
[Image-1] Municipal politics determine roads, police, garbage collection, the legality of urban chickens and myriad other services that make up daily life—so why is it so hard to get people to care about municipal elections? Past elections have shown it’s very hard indeed. In Halifax’s 2012 election, voter turnout was just shy of 37 percent, […]
