[Image-1] A staff report headed to Tuesday’s meeting of HRM Regional Council recommends the creation of a gun buyback program that will trade weapons for bus fare. If approved, anyone turning in a gun to police will get 50 free bus tickets from Halifax Transit. The report comes out a day after the ninth homicide so far […]
City Council
Posted inNews + Opinion
Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes report argues against development
[Image-1] HRM staff are willing to play hardball when it comes to protecting the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes lands from private development. A staff report published Wednesday afternoon is recommending Regional Council ignore Justice Heather Robertson’s facilitator report and come up with a new plan to purchase and protect lands in the proposed Blue Mountain-Birch Cove […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Growing Halifax without messing it up
Ask the right people, and you’ll discover Halifax is about to get a lot bigger. Looking at recent statistics, the population of HRM rose from 359,111 in 2001 to 390,096 in 2011. That’s an average growth rate of nearly 1% every year. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, at that rate we’re […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
HRM finally releases its sunshine list
[Image-1] [Ed: Spokesperson Brendan Elliott lets us know there are 453 people working for the fire department as of June 30, and 788 in various capacities in the police department. That puts 47 percent of Fire and Emergency on the sunshine list, and 37 percent of HRP, instead of the 44 and 57 percent numbers […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Building a better election
[Image-1] If you were part of the conscientious minority who voted during the last municipal election in the Halifax region, you may recall city hall’s reporting of results was a tad slow. In 2012, not enough election workers using too few telephone lines set up by staff often couldn’t get through to the city’s main […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Lisa Blackburn joins a growing list of HRM council candidates
[Image-1] Some crowded ballots are coming together for election day in HRM. Longtime broadcaster Lisa Blackburn has announced her campaign for District 14, joining 51 other council candidates (plus three more contenders for mayor) hoping to win your vote on October 15. The 25-plus-year radio veteran was a morning co-host and news anchor for Newcap […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council serves up new multimillion-dollar tennis centre
[Image-1] Tennis Canada will get $2.5 million from HRM to build a year-round tennis development centre at the Bedford Commons—though whether it’s actually needed is a matter of some debate. A staff recommendation approved by city council on Tuesday will serve up the $2.5 million over the next three years to fund the proposed Nova […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Planning and development fees in HRM could finally see an increase
[Image-1] Planning and development fees in Halifax haven’t increased in several years, and that’s a problem. A report headed to Regional Council on Tuesday afternoon recommends the municipality move forward with the second phase of a fee review and develop a standardized policy for its planning and development fees. Those fees haven’t been updated in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax staff may get tips from the province on cutting red tape
[Image-1] The Halifax Regional Municipality may get some tips on reducing bureaucratic red tape by sending a city hall staffer off on a six-month fact-finding mission. The grand expedition was discussed at Thursday’s meeting of HRM’s Community Planning and Economic Development committee, and will now be sent to regional council for final approval. It comes out […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
X-rays could offer answers to the Bayers Lake mystery walls
[Image-1] A fancy bit of archeological tech could finally find some answers about where the Bayers Lake mystery walls came from. On Thursday the Community Planning and Economic Development standing committee approved a motion recommending city council award a one-time $5,475 grant to the Nova Scotia Archeology Society to try and figure out some clues […]
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No cooling-off period in new CAO’s contract
[Image-1] Halifax is hoping that Jacques Dubé is a man of his word. The municipality’s new chief administrative officer doesn’t have a cooling-off period written into his employment agreement. Instead, Dubé has a verbal agreement with HRM promising not to work in the development industry after he’s done at city hall. “We’re told legally that’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
No safe way home
[Image-1] Take a cab. It’ll be safer. For many people out at night, looking for a secure way home, it’s a familiar refrain. Lately, a different kind of phrase is becoming familiar. And for some women, the safety promised by taxis has been anything but. Since the start of 2016, five sexual assaults have been […]
