News Views Government On campus Noticed In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Evacuation update The two Halifax-area evacuations Tuesday—in Cole Harbour and Grand Desert—took a weird turn yesterday morning when Ottawa police evacuated the entire Chimo Hotel and arrested Christopher Phillips, a man with a history of mental illness and, apparently, with access to the heavy metal osmium […]
Archives for January 2015
Clayton Developments was the lucky winner in Washmill underpass project
This afternoon, city auditor general Larry Munroe will release his long-awaited report on the Washmill underpass fiasco. Munroe tells me that the report will focus on the inner workings in City Hall, and how a project initially estimated to cost $8 million ballooned in price to $18 million. I expect Munroe’s report will include explosive...
Self-satire: Morning File, Wednesday, January 21, 2015
News Views Government On campus Noticed In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Evacuations There were two local police-ordered evacuations yesterday. Monday night, a “suspicious package” found at 54 Lakeridge Crescent in Cole Harbour was reported to police, and on Tuesday morning police evacuated all houses within 100 metres of the package. Later in the day RCMP tweeted that “police have […]
Three problems with council’s approval of the Wellington development
This is the second in a three-part series. Halifax council’s approval of the Wellington Street development raises lots of questions. Yesterday, I looked at a fundamental contradiction in councillor Gloria McCluskey’s justification for her vote in favour of the project: She said that city planning staff had saddled Dartmouth with a far worse project (the Irishtown...
The source of boredom: Morning File, Tuesday, January 20, 2015
News Views Government On campus Noticed In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Lies by omission The McNeil government expended an additional $2.5 million on the Yarmouth ferry on December 23—the money covers berthing costs for the boat in Shelburne—but didn’t get around to telling the public about it until last Sunday, when the Bangor News un-redacted a […]
Councillor Gloria McCluskey voted for planning changes that allowed the development she complained about
When councillor Gloria McCluskey voted for the Wellington Street development last week, she said she was upset about a very tall and dense development that was approved on Irishtown Road in downtown Dartmouth. But here’s the thing: she voted FOR the planning changes that made the Irishtown development possible. This is the first of a...
Failed dystopias: Morning File, Monday, January 19, 2015
News Views Government On campus Noticed In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Yarmouth ferry The total tax-funded subsidy for the Yarmouth ferry has risen to $28.5 million. The new numbers were released Sunday after a colossal goof in government offices. Last week, the province released an audit of the $21 million the former NDP government had […]
I read the news today, oh boy: Morning File, Saturday, January 17, 2015
News Views Noticed In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Lake Major Dam evacuation The city issued this press release last evening: Friday, Jan. 16, 2015 (Halifax, NS) – The Halifax Regional Municipality, in coordination with Halifax Water and emergency management agencies, has declared a mandatory evacuation of approximately 135 homes near Little Salmon River, downstream of […]
Dartmouth’s (potentially) killer weeds
by Chris Benjamin The most significant item up for discussion at yesterday’s Environment and Sustainability Standing Committee was the ongoing pondweed (four different kinds, all native to Nova Scotia) infestations in Lakes Banook and Mic Mac. The committee received a report from chief planner Bob Bjerke on the weed situation. The report recommends mechanically harvesting...
Confounded: Morning File, Friday, January 16, 2015
News Views Government On campus Noticed In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Martin Luther King, Jr. not welcome in New Brunswick The CBC reports that in 1959, Harold DeWolf, a Boston University prof, wanted to bring his friend Martin Luther King, Jr. to vacation at Fundy National Park. DeWolf wrote the park, asking about the possibilities, but […]