The more time people spend in nature, the more they value it, says the Ecology Action Centre’s Jeana MacLeod. To that end, MacLeod and the EAC will be leading the public into the Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area this weekend for several bio-blitz events. It’s a chance to get people thinking about Halifax’s eco-diversity, […]
City Hall
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax will try to “wow” Amazon
Mike Savage will try and sell Halifax to Amazon and that’s just barely an embellishment. The Seattle-based mega-company announced on Thursday that it’s looking for a location to build a second headquarters, dubbed HQ2. Amazon says it will invest $5 billion US on the project, which it claims will employ up to 50,000 workers over the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s overburdened FOIPOP office wants to go digital
The province’s largest municipality is barely keeping up with the hundreds of Freedom of Information requests it receives each year. But that could soon change. The HRM issued a tender request Wednesday for new software to manage, track and redact FOIPOP requests as a potential solution to the bureaucratic strain. “Right now, the team is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Hendsbee blames media for ruining his pension proposal
David Hendsbee won’t be getting any taxpayer money to top up his pension Regional council voted against the Preston—Chezzetcook—Eastern Shore representative’s motion asking for a staff report on whether the municipality could split the cost and help him buy back years on his pension. The request was met with public scorn over the weekend, to […]
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David Hendsbee wants HRM to cover his pension regrets
After 20 years of public service, councillor David Hendsbee has just now decided he wants in on the municipality’s pension plan. But he needs some help to pay for it. At the next meeting of Regional Council, Hendsbee will ask for a staff report on pension options for councillors past and present who “did not […]
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Developer slams former planning chief over perceived snub
One of the city’s biggest developers claims he was ignored by Halifax’s ousted planning chief. It’s one reason why Danny Chedrawe doesn’t think Bob Bjerke was up to the challenge of leading HRM’s planning department. Last week, chief administrative officer Jacques Dubé dismissed director of planning and development Bjerke after three years on the job […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bob Bjerke’s dismissal moves Halifax back in time
I’ll preface this article by admitting that I don’t yet know the details of chief planner Bob Bjerke’s quick exit (read: dismissal) from his role at HRM. No one does, not even the rest of HRM’s planning staff or apparently Bjerke himself (according to media interviews). This alone speaks to the culture of elusiveness that […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Chief planning director Bob Bjerke exits city hall
The municipality’s top planner is out of a job. That’s according to a memo emailed to HRM staff on Tuesday afternoon by chief administrative officer Jacques Dubé. “Please be advised that effective today Bob Bjerke, director of planning and development, is no longer a member of the Halifax Regional Municipality team,” writes Dubé. “We wish […]
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Police commission to look for new legal rules on street checks
Police commissioner Waye Mason is calling for HRM’s legal team to look into new rules around the department’s use of street checks. On Monday, the city councillor told his colleagues at the Board of Police Commissioners that he’d be making a motion on the matter at its next meeting in September. Mason wants the municipality’s […]
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Another spokesperson vacates city hall for greener pastures
For the fourth time in 15 months, Halifax has lost one of its public relations team. Lucas Wide is leaving his position as a senior communications advisor with the Halifax Regional Municipality after just six months on the job. Wide confirms in an email he’ll be starting a new position next week with the Nova […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Light Rail Alliance is full-steam ahead
If HRM wants to get on the right track for transit, Ben MacLeod and Steven Lee say it needs to think light. The two urban planning advocates are the brains behind the new Halifax Light Rail Alliance, which asks Halifax to rethink its transit-oriented development and build a “holistic mode of sustainable urban growth” focused […]
