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 […]
Reality Bites
Posted inNews + Opinion
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 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Peter Mansbridge announces coast to coast storytelling tour
Update: This event has since been cancelled. While retirement means slowing down for some, it doesn’t look like former CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge has been sleeping in or taking up gardening: Since stepping down from hosting The National this July—after holding the seat for a whopping 29 years—Canada’s grandpa has been gearing up for a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Throwing shade: Where Halifax can experience the total solar eclipse
Light some candles, check your horoscope and get ready! Today’s the day that most of North America (Halifax included) will see an astrological event so rare its last appearance was in 1979: The total solar eclipse. Between two and five this afternoon, the moon and sun’s paths will overlap, with the moon passing between the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Macdonald Bridge bikeway connectors get green light from city hall
The city is going to drastically overhaul how cyclists travel to-and-from the Macdonald Bridge. Regional council voted Tuesday to approve the Macdonald Bridge Bikeway Connectors project—rebuilding access and exit ramps for cyclists in Halifax and Dartmouth. At $7.3 million, the new project isn’t cheap. But it is vital, said councillor Sam Austin, as the bridge […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
City council gives province 120 days to figure out a future for Bloomfield
Halifax is giving the provincial government one more shot to get it right at Bloomfield. On Tuesday HRM council voted to sell the former north end school to the province, with the implicit hope of using the site for a new Francophone school. Although councillor Lindell Smith’s motion doesn’t specifically name any organizations, the Conseil […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
White supremacy doesn’t stop at the border
One of the voices behind Tuesday evening’s demonstration in solidarity with Charlottesville says fascism and white supremacy isn’t isolated to the deep south. “It’s important to recognize the way the forces that animate the far right and white supremacists in the United States don’t stop at the border,” says Brad Vaughan, who’s with the local […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Someone ran over the Sullivan’s Pond geese and people are livid
Police say a driver who ran over the beloved Sullivan’s Pond geese Wednesday evening—killing two of the animals and injuring a third—won’t be facing any charges. The incident occurred just before 6pm at the Prince Albert Road crosswalk near Elliot Street. According to a press release from Halifax Regional Police, one goose died at the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
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
Halifax Transit getting $14 million worth of “gee-whizzes and neatos”
The municipality is spending a lot of money bringing Halifax Transit’s technology up to speed. Council voted on Tuesday to pay Trapeze Software nearly $14 million to overhaul Halifax Transit’s tech by creating new back-end scheduling software and installing some fare boxes. It’s more exciting than it sounds. “This sounds like the least exciting part […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Someone stole Lindell Smith’s bike
He might be getting interviewed by Peter Mansbridge on a national stage these days, but city councillor Lindell Smith is still a man of the people. Case in point: he just had his bike stolen. “Yeah, no one’s immune,” says Smith about the Halifax rite-of-passage. The councillor’s grey Halfway folding bike was stolen from his garage […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ferry dog bother: Councillor wants to let canines cross the harbour
A three-year-old idea to let pets board harbour ferries is dog-paddling its way back to city hall. Councillor David Hendsbee is asking for a staff report on the feasibility of letting dogs ride Halifax Transit’s ferry service. “Residents have been discussing and requesting that pet owners be given permission to take their dogs on the […]