[image-1] City finance director Cathie O’Toole has tendered her resignation, effective April 9. I wrote the below blog post this afternoon, and it was sitting in the queue to go live on our website as I learned that O’Toole has quit. I just had a long conversation with O’Toole, and will write more tomorrow. All the below, and more, still stands. The Common concert financing scandal is tainting the reputation of nearly everyone involved: mayor Peter Kelly, now-former acting CAo Wayne Anstey, Anstey’s predecessor Dan English, Trade Centre Limited’s Scott Ferguson and the city itself. But one person will come
Common concerts
Posted inNews + Opinion
Scott Ferguson’s explanation for concert loans doesn’t wash
This morning, I was a guest on the Jordi Morgan show on News 95.7. During the show, Morgan’s producer was able to reach Trade Centre Limited president Scott Ferguson on the phone, and I was able to ask Ferguson a few questions. Among other things (which I’ll get into in another post), Ferguson said that […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Peter Kelly’s dissembling explanation
What did Peter Kelly know and when did he know it? That question will determine if the Halifax mayor will survive the Common concert funding scandal. Kelly’s story seems to change as time goes on, but as I understand his line is basically that he knew that Power Promotions was being advanced loans somehow through […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Updated—Common concerts: by the numbers
Updated with new figures 17 March, 6:18pm Country Rocks 2008 (Keith Urban) Paid attendance: 11,853 City loans: $950,000. City loan money paid back: $950,000 City in-kind contributions: $300,000 Paul McCartney Paid attendance: 26,504 Loan from province to pay McCartney’s upfront fee: $3.5 million NS Dept of Tourism for advertising: $300,000 NS Dept of Economic Development, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Concert scandal rocks City Hall
[image-1] The city’s CAO office improperly authorized millions of dollars in cash advances to Power Promotional Events, a private company that managed a series of concerts on the Halifax Common. The loans were initiated in 2008, and most of the money was repaid, but the city is stuck with a $359,550 bill from two loans made last year related to last year’s Black Eyed Peas and Country Rocks shows. A total of $2.25 million was loaned to Power in 2010. The Coast has requested loan information for 2008 and 2009, but officials have refused to make those figures public. The
Posted inNews + Opinion
Does Trade Centre’s involvement kill convention centre proposal?
Trade Centre Limited president Scott Ferguson was fully aware of the city of Halifax’s back-door loan policy to Power Promotions, says Suzanne Fougere, Ferguson’s spokesperson. But TCL had no reason to suspect the loans were improper, says Fougere. “We were given direction by HRM to release the funds from the Metro Centre account. In the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mayor Peter Kelly was in the loop
Mayor Peter Kelly knew that the CAO’s office was funnelling money through Metro Centre to Power Promotions, a city document shows. But Kelly did not alert the full city council of the improper practice, and did not speak publicly of the matter for the next seven months. The document is a July 21, 2010 letter […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Trade Centre Limited losses skyrocket by half a million dollars, partly due to failed Halifax Common concerts
Trade Centre Limited, the provincial crown corporation that runs the convention centre, had an operating loss of $622,558 lat year, almost three times its budgeted loss and nearly six times the previous year’s loss of $109,969. Once depreciation is factored in, last year’s operating loss was $2.1 million, compared to a budgeted loss of $1.9 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Common concert promoter goes out of business
[image-1] Yesterday, The Coast’s business office received the following email from Harold MacKay, of Power Promotional Events: As you are aware Power Promotional Events Inc, has experienced a significant cash flow shortfall and we have now exhausted all of our efforts to try and resolve this situation. It is therefore with much regret that we inform you that Power Promotional Events Inc. will cease operations and we sincerely apologize for not being able to fulfill our obligations to you. We thank you for your support over the years helping us to try and create Halifax as a destination for major
Posted inArts + Music
Photos: Dance party on the Common
Our writer and resident dancer Shannon Fay busted a few moves (and took a few photos) on the Common, Friday night at a dance party organized by Su Donovaro and Mary Burnet. She writes: The idea came together quickly and over the course of a week they got everything together: They spent $80 to rent […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Concert economics
This week, I broke the story revealing that the province spent $600,000 on the Paul McCartney concert. The provincial expenditure is in addition to $150,000 spent by the city of Halifax, and brings the total taxpayer bill to $750,000. Some readers might read more into my story than I intended. I am not against Common […]