On Tuesday, with 96 new cases bringing the province to a total of 419 active COVID-19 infections, Nova Scotia locked down. Not only does the rest of the province join Halifax, which went into lockdown Friday, but the restrictions are getting tighter. “We are in a race between the variant and the vaccine,” said doctor […]
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Posted inNews + Opinion
Short-staffed and with sick students, Halifax schools close for two weeks
In the past seven days, there have been 30 cases connected to schools in Nova Scotia. That’s more than in the previous five months, so a junior high math student could figure out there’s a growing COVID-19 problem in the school system. Sure enough, with 323 active cases in the province, most of those—266 to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Music review: Fungus’s album Sanguine will grow on you
Sanguine is the colour of oxygen-depleted blood, of a scab. It’s also the name of the red sunrise that is Halifax four-piece Fungus’s debut LP. The self-described “goblin rock” band has been quietly building a devoted fan base since 2018 with its particular blend of grunge, country and blues, selling out Gus’ Pub late last […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax restaurants better prepped for third shutdown
Today, Halifax restaurants didn’t set any tables lunch. They aren’t open for after-work drinks on Friday, and they won’t be taking reservations for weekend brunch either. That’s right, for the third time since the pandemic began 13 months ago, Halifax-area restaurants are closed to dine-in service. “After talking with my team about the cases they […]
Posted inArts + Music
5 artists who deserve a major public art installation in Halifax
Imagine a Halifax where every public space had art as part of it. Close your eyes and picture a trip to the mall that included taking in a mural or two. A visit to a government building also meaning a visit to a mixed-media installation. When, this Wednesday, Halifax Regional Council voted unanimously to spend […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
In lockdown, Halifax universities backtrack on reopening plans
“It is pure joy to write this note about the coming academic year,” University of King’s College president William Lahey wrote in an email to students just last week. (Disclosure: Jonathan Werbitt is a King’s student.) “The good news is that teaching and learning, and our communal life in general, will once again be largely […]
Posted inArts + Music
Don’t refund your local event ticket
We’re about to do this whole thing again: Another lockdown, aiming to curb a spike in cases in a province that, so far, has been a leading example of how to do this whole COVID thing right. It’s been a combination of personal vigilance, pre-existing factors and, often, individual privilege (like the ability for office […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Despite a year of calls to defund the police, council adds $2.7 million to HRP’s budget
If the words of Mike Savage, quoting Joe Biden—”Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value”—are true, what does Halifax Regional Council’s approach to police budgeting say? In a year teeming with calls to defund or at least reallocate police money, and in a meeting where […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Vaccine clinics “for us, by us” in ANS communities have given over 600 doses
On a sunny Thursday in early April, the Emmanuel Baptist Church held the first African Nova Scotian community vaccine clinic. The large space was set up with a registration area, 10 vaccination stations and a post-vaccine waiting area. “It happened to be a really nice day, so we had some chairs outside,” says Gina Jones-Wilson, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Are real estate love letters enabling racism in the housing market?
Jillian Robinson was feeling quite confident about the letter she’d written to attach to her bid for a home in Halifax’s red-hot housing market. She chronicled her family of three’s life—an adorable toddler coming up fast on two years old; an American ex-NBA player dad working to turn around the local high school’s basketball record […]
Posted inArts + Music
Review: Post-Democracy will decimate you
Lee fiddles with the buttons on his slim-cut suits. Lee drinks too much. Lee inflicts harm. Lee wears his hair in a greasy man-bun, a double-looped-at-the-nape physical manifestation of his personality. Lee doesn’t think he has a problem with women. Post Democracy is available as a digital performance through Sunday, April 25. Tickets are $20 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Pilot Picasso reflects on a tough year after Portapique
On Sunday, April 19, 2020, Dimitri Neonakis was at home with his girlfriend, stunned, as news from Portapique slowly made its way to the public. By the end of the day, he was exhausted. The pandemic was still fresh—shutdowns had begun in Nova Scotia just one month prior—and now the province was dealing with the […]