A subcommittee of Halifax council today voted to make the council smaller– by just three members. The Governance & Boundary Review Committee passed the following motion: MOVED by Councillor Mosher, seconded by Councillor Dalrymple that Halifax Regional Council be reduced to 20 Councillors plus the Mayor with four Community Councils made up of five Districts. […]
Gloria McCluskey
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council approves funding plan for new Central Library
Halifax council Tuesday afternoon approved a financing scheme for construction of the new $55 million Central Library project and then Tuesday evening awarded the architectural contract for the building to Fowler Bauld & Mitchell, a local firm. The financing side was remarkably uncontroversial, in part because, as councillor Sue Uteck noted, just $4.5 million in […]
Posted inArts + Music
More Khyber reporting and discussion
[image-1] Regional council has approved funding for the Halifax Central Library, but the fate of another cultural building still hangs in limbo. The “Final Report on Future Use of the Khyber Building” (halifax.ca/crca/FeasibilityReport.html) was released a couple of weeks ago, with updated observations from the public consultation sessions that happened late last year. The majority of the report remains the same—-read an analysis of the operating scenarios here—-but consulting firm TCI Management Ltd. updated pages of photos, as per the request of Khyber ICA staff. Gone are pages of dusty staircases, graffiti and dark storage rooms, replaced with photos of
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fishing ban suggested for Dartmouth’s Oathill Lake
Oathill Lake is an idyllic, tree-lined oasis hidden amongst middle-class homes in Dartmouth’s Manor Park. The short walking trail along its edge is a popular destination for runners and dog-walkers, and the lake acts as a year-round community centre for people who like to swim, skate or fish. (Full disclosure: I’m a resident of Manor […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Welcome to the New Dartmouth
The gleaming, stainless-steel kitchen at Dartmouth cafe Two If By Sea is a blur of activity, with a half-dozen young, black-clad employees milling about behind a panelled counter. Tattooed arms dole out espressos, dive into glass jars to retrieve gooey cookies and dig through baskets for croissants the size of footballs. Customers wait patiently in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tax politics heat up
Last week, Dartmouth area councillors took an unprecedented public stand against the so-called “tax reform” proposal, which will likely come before the full Halifax council this Tuesday, January 26. The Harbour East Community Council—which consists of Dartmouth councillors Gloria McCluskey, Jim Smith, Bill Karsten and Darren Fisher, Cole Harbour councillor Lorelei Nicoll and Eastern Passage […]
Posted inLifestyle
Booze A-OK with city
Dartmouth councillor Gloria McCluskey’s effort to ban booze at city events is dead in the water. McCluskey, who has long objected to beer companies setting up tents at Natal Day and Canada Day celebrations, asked the HRM council to disassociate alcohol vendors from city-sponsored events. The council rejected that request at its Tuesday meeting, on […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dartmouth councillors reject “tax reform”
Dartmouth councillor Gloria McCluskey tells me that the Harbour East Community Council will unanimously vote tonight to express its opposition to the “tax reform” proposal. The Harbour East Community Council consists of all the Dartmouth, Eastern Passage and Cole Harbour councillors: McCluskey, Darren Fisher, Jim Smith, Bill Karsten, Lorelei Nicoll and Jackie Barkhouse. McCluskey says […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
McCluskey, Uteck butt heads
[I’ve been looking for an excuse to use that headline for years] Councillors Gloria McCluskey and Sue Uteck will appear on CBC’s Information Morning tomorrow (Friday) morning at 7:45am to discuss “tax reform.” McCluskey is opposed to the proposal; Uteck is supportive of it. Related Stories
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council’s secret “public meeting” on tax reform
Today, Halifax council met for a “workshop” on so-called “tax reform,” a proposal to jettison the time-honoured system of assessment-based property taxes and replace it with a fee-for-services system. When the workshop was discussed by council last month, assurances were given that it would be open to the public. And it was, nominally. Only problem […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council notes: “tax reform” dead in the water
[Note: Tuesday’s 10-hour council meeting covered a lot of ground. I wrote about much of it, here and here, but should probably add a few notes. This post is about the tax reform issue; I’ll follow it up with a post further exploring the sewage issue.] “Tax reform” Council spent fully two hours debating whether […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Secrecy, detailed
Former Halifax councillor Harry McInroy was arguably one of the worst councillors in the history of HRM—his repeated meeting absences became something of a running joke, and when he did bother to appear, he was ill-prepared and mumbled inane comments. His Cole Harbour constituency no doubt sighed in relief when McInroy, who opted not to […]