Bad news for local journalism

News

1. Torstar shuts down StarMetro newspapers

The Toronto Star is closing down all of the StarMetro newspapers across the country, including the The Star Halifax. Other papers affected include those in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. Seventy-three people, including journalists and those working in advertising and distribution, will lose their jobs. In Halifax, Star Metro staff are bureau chief Philip Croucher and reporters Yvette d’Entremont, Haley Ryan, Zane Woodford, and Taryn Grant.

The newspapers will print their last editions on Dec. 20 and the Star will be a digital publication in markets outside of Ontario. Unifor said yesterday more cuts are expected at publications in southern Ontario, with most of those job losses affecting journalists there.

New digital bureaus will be created in each city.  The jobs for journalists in these bureaus were posted internally yesterday and will be posted externally today.

TorStar released a memo late yesterday afternoon in which John Boynton, president of TorStar, says

I want to thank all StarMetro employees for their tireless service over the years. StarMetro has been a lively news source, with a style and creativity that reflected the dedication and resourcefulness of the staff. It’s also why, in the face of a dramatically changed media environment, it has lasted so many years. Indeed, StarMetro editions are the last free major English-language daily commuter newspapers distributed in Canada. Around the world free daily commuter papers have been closed for the same reasons.

Anjuli Patil at CBC connected with Bob Hepburn, a TorStar spokesperson, via email:

Commuter readers are using their smartphones, laptops and tablets to access their news.

This trend, coupled with a corresponding decline in print advertising volumes, has decreased the need for a free daily commuter newspaper in these cities.

Staff at the Halifax bureau, including Grant and d’Entremont, tweeted out the news Tuesday afternoon.

Halifax is small market and journalists at other outlets locally and across the country sent out their thanks to the crew at Star Halifax.

This is a huge loss for news in Halifax and beyond. Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) president Karyn Pugliese said in a release that each city “will now each lose a daily newspaper, and nothing will immediately replace that reporting.”

Journalists know their newsrooms are likely to become smaller, and they know their jobs are rarely safe. The StarMetro expansion offered a lot of hope. Reporters who’d lost their jobs found new homes, and young reporters became voices for their cities. And they were only just getting started.

November is our subscription drive month, so this would be a good time to subscribe.

2. New speed limit for Fairmount

Haley Ryan at The Star reports that Fairmount, a neighbourhood in Halifax, will be the first in the municipality to get a lower speed limit of 40 km/hr. The signs with the new limit will be posted today.

Fairmout is between Joseph Howe Drive and St. Margarets Bay Road. There are two schools there, Halifax Christian Academy and Springvale Elementary.

Brynn Budden, a spokesperson with the municipality, tells Ryan in an email the neighhbourhood was the first to be chosen for a reduction in speed limit based on data collected by the city. She added they received speeding complaints on some of the streets within the Fairmount area.

Ryan reports that this move is a part of the city’s focus on making streets safer. Back in July 2018, council adopted the Strategic Road Safety Framework, whose goal is to reduce injuries and death from collisions by 20 per cent in five years.

In 2017, council asked the province for permission to lower speed limits to 40 km/hr, but the province rejected the request.

3. Association calls for more staff, training

The Halifax Regional Police Association is asking police chief Dan Kinsella for increased staffing, more training, and changes to cell design.

Dean Stienburg, the association president, spoke with Elizabeth McMillan at CBC about the letter they wrote to Kinsella:

It’s a dangerous place to work. We’re dealing with aggressive, often drunk, illogical people.

Our members are concerned about liability, they’re concerned about their own personal jeopardy, they’re concerned about being physically injured. But they’re also concerned about the fact that, you know, we have to take care of these prisoners and that’s what we want to do.

The letter follows the recent conviction of two peace officers in the death of Corey Rogers in 2016. Rogers was arrested for public intoxication. He died in a cell while in custody and had been wearing a spit hood. Stienburg tells McMillan police cells deal with 2,800 intoxicated people a year, along with 3,500 more people arrested on other charges.

The reality is our members are nervous. This could have been any one of [them].

4. Secure housing and older women

Emma Smith at CBC talks with Kelly O’Neil, master’s student at Mount Saint Vincent University, who wrote her thesis on older women in insecure housing.

O’Neil spoke with 11 women between the ages of 54 and 74 about their housing. Some of the women had been homeless or left abusive relationships. O’Neil spoke with Information Morning about her research.

You hear about this idea of invisibility. This sort of recurring theme of feeling disconnected.… One woman actually said, you know, my expiry date has come and gone.

Besides her thesis, O’Neil also created a booklet that talks about the factors affecting older women and housing choices, but also includes ideas, like more income supports and bringing older women to the table when discussing housing policy.

O’Neil worked with Claudia Jahn, director of community housing development with the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, on the research. Jahn points out that other women, including those with children, have challenges finding housing.

Women with children are less mobile than men are because they are bound by a school district and don’t want to move their children. So they are always tied to that community.

They don’t want to uproot the children out of their schools, circle of friends, relatives. So making that step into a shelter is really the last, last resort.

Smith also talked with Charlene Gagnon, project manager with the Home for Good project with Alice House, Elizabeth Fry Society, the Marguerite Centre and the YWCA Halifax. That project met with 22 women between the ages of 19 and 60 and looked at the barriers they faced when leaving supportive housing. Gagnon says the housing needs of women are different than those for men, and housing policies should address those needs.

The programs that don’t apply that gender lens, they really don’t take into account things like women’s economic security, being the leaders of single-income households with children and histories of trauma.

O’Neil’s thesis was named the best at the university. She says she hopes her work inspires action for these women.

I hope this would at the very least just generate an awareness that these women exist and are among us and have been huge parts of community life that maybe we don’t value enough.

5. Uneven playing field for soccer refs in N.S.

The pay for soccer referees in Nova Scotia depends on if you referee female teams or male teams, reports Sarah Ritchie for Global News. And Soccer Nova Scotia and its referee development officer, Carman King, are okay with that.

The fees are based on the level of the referee that’s needed for that particular game. And so the men’s game, the boys’ game, usually is a bit faster and definitely has more management responsibilities by the referee.

Global looked at the pay scales that are listed on Soccer Nova Scotia’s website, plus other data provided to them by the group and found the pay rates depend on skill level and level of game played.

For example, the pay is the same for boys and girls leagues in the Under-12 age group, even though the leagues require referees with three different levels of certification. In all cases, the referee’s pay is $34 per game.

As games move up in age and skill level, the pay changes. At the U13 AA level, boys’ games pay $38 for a Level 4 referee and girls’ games pay $36 for a Level 3. The largest pay gaps are in the older leagues. For a Senior B or C men’s game, a Level 6 referee is paid $50. A Level 4 referee officiating a Senior B or C women’s game is paid $41.

Global looked at referee pay scales in other provinces and found there were no differences for those who ref female and male games, although in Quebec pay varies in more senior levels.

Marisa Colzie, head coach of the women’s soccer team at Saint Mary’s, says there should be no difference in pay.

The game is exactly the same, that’s one of the reasons why I love soccer. The size of the field stays the same, the weight and size of the ball stays the same for women and men, the size of the nets, the time we play… It is equal.

Colzie wasn’t buying the “management responsibilities” reason either.

There are all types of different athletes and all types of different coaches, and to stereotype and put different genders in boxes, I think that’s unfair.

I know a lot of unruly female athletes and coaches.

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Views

1. Tired of sick jobs for sick pay

I have posted roundups of shitty jobs with shitty pay before, here and here. But yesterday, this “job” made the rounds on Twitter and I wanted to share it. It’s a part-time intern position, 10 hours a week, with Sickboy Podcast in Halifax.

Here are the details, and the all-caps are theirs:

POSTION [SIC] DESCRIPTION

GUEST SELECTION & SUCCESS

• SUPPORT WITH GUEST RESEARCH
• GUEST BOOKINGS AND SCHEDULING
• GUEST PREPARATION AND PROMOTION

COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

• SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS (FB, INSTAGRAM, REDDIT)
• PATREON (MANAGEMENT AND GROWTH)

SUPPORT WITH GROWTH OF PODCAST ADVERTISING

• RESEARCH POTENTIAL ADVERTISERS
• OUTREACH TO POTENTIAL ADVERTISERS AND PARTNERS

EVENT PLANNING

• SUPPORT WITH ITEMS RELATED TO EXECUTING LIVE SHOW EXPERIENCES INCLUDING:
  • VENUE RESEARCH
  • PROMOTION
  • TICKETING

COMMUNITY GROWTH

• RESEARCH OF POSSIBLE COLLABORATORS AND ILLNESSES/STORIES TO COVER
• STRATEGIC OUTREACH TO CAUSE BASED COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL GROUPS GLOBALLY

This internship is several jobs in one, including associate producer, social media manager/marketer, event planner, and community outreach. This is a lot of work for 10 hours a week.

Sickboy Podcast and its hosts tell good stories, but this is not a job and shouldn’t have been posted as such. It’s a volunteer role with what is likely a small honorarium. I have no idea what the honorarium is, but it certainly wouldn’t be the same as an appropriate wage for someone who has all these skills.

But whoever takes this internship gets more than an honorarium! As the posting notes:

THE SICKBOY TEAM WILL TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE IT A VALUABLE, MEANINGFUL AND EXCITING JOURNEY.

This is just a fancy way of saying the candidate will also get some good exposure. The posting also spells position incorrectly and uses one of Tim’s favourite terms, world-class, which usually means they’re trying too hard to sell you the gig.

I joked yesterday that some school will soon create a degree that will teach journalism, public relations, event planning, social media management, and fundraising all in one because there seems to be plenty of these jobs in the market here. Oh, and the graduates of this degree program should expect low salaries or simple “exposure” because that’s all these gigs seem to pay. I guess universities are benefiting from the increased skills needed for these jobs as people go back to school and rack up more student debt to get jobs that pay less than the tuition for the degree required to get the job in the first place.

Sickboy Podcast didn’t create this problem, of course, but it’s certainly benefiting from it. Each of these jobs requires a specific skill set and combining them into one part-time internship for 10 hours a week seriously undermines the work required to do each well. There is value in volunteering and Sickboy could at least be more honest in its posting. They aren’t “hiring” anyone; they want a volunteer.

And this posting seemed to stick in people’s craws just as the news reporters and editors from The Star Metro newspapers across the country, including at the bureau in Halifax, were losing their jobs. Tara Thorne pointed this out on Twitter.

Dog Island, Atlantic Canada’s best non-horny podcast (its description, not mine, although I don’t know how I’ve not heard of them before) had a sense of humour about the whole thing and shared its own job posting, which Phil Moscovitch sent my way:

You have to laugh at all of this because it’s so frustratingly ridiculous.

I didn’t do this before because I didn’t want to give employers the publicity, but in my next roundup of shitty jobs with shitty pay I am including the names of employers who expect these kinds of skill sets and pay next to nothing. We need to know who values their employees the least.

2. The origins of tipping

Last week, I wrote about tipping and gratuity systems in bars and restaurants in Nova Scotia. Simon Thibault, a Halifax food writer and author, sent me this article in Time Magazine about the origins of tipping and its connections to slavery.

Some accounts credit European travelers with bringing the custom to the U.S.; others credit American travelers with bringing tipping back from Europe. The truth? Wealthy Americans in the 1850s and 1860s discovered the tradition, which had originated in medieval times as a master-serf custom wherein a servant would receive extra money for having performed superbly well, on vacations in Europe. Wanting to seem aristocratic, these individuals began tipping in the United States upon their return.

At first, most diners were largely against it, deeming it both inherently condescending and classist. How could poor Americans be expected to pay for their food, and add a “tip” on top? In fact, there was so much anti-tipping traction that, in the 1860s, the attitude spread to Europe. That’s one reason why there is no tipping expected at most European restaurants today, according to Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United) and the director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley, who advocates for the equalization of wages for tipped and non-tipped workers.

“But in the States, that movement was squashed, and we went to the exact opposite direction,” Jayaraman tells TIME, “because of slavery.”

After the Constitution was amended in the wake of the Civil War, slavery was ended as an institution but those who were freed from bondage were still limited in their choices. Many who did not end up sharecropping worked in menial positions, such as servants, waiters, barbers and railroad porters. These were pretty much the only occupations available to them. For restaurant workers and railroad porters, there was a catch: many employers would not actually pay these workers, under the condition that guests would offer a small tip instead.

“These industries demanded the right to basically continue slavery with a $0 wage and tip,” Jayaraman says.

Of course, employers today continue to benefit from tipping systems. The article goes on to say in the U.S., minimum wage rates for those who get tips are often lower. This list includes the minimum-wage rates for each state. There are only seven states that require employers pay the full state minimum wage before tips. And as I pointed out in past Morning Files, employers in Nova Scotia often take tips that belong to employees, usually through auto gratuities added to invoices for events like weddings and workplace holiday parties.

Michigan is working to raise its minimum wage to $12 for those workers who get tips. And a group called Restaurants Advancing Industry Standards in Employment (RAISE) is working on state and federal laws to get minimum wages increased for those workers who receive tips.

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Noticed

On Sunday, Tim Fedak, the acting curator of geology with Museum of Natural History, tweeted out a photo of the cover art of the Belcher’s Farmers Almanac, wondering about its creator.

So, I did some research, reaching out first to Dr. Sara Spike, the historian behind the wonderful Twitter account, Small History NS, which shares bits of news from rural Nova Scotia newspapers published between 1880 and 1910.

Spike got back to me almost immediately, suggesting I connect with Dr. Keith Grant at Crandall University. Grant is an expert on early Maritime print culture.

Like Spike, Grant got back to me quickly, too, looping Fedak, as well as Dr. Gwen Davies into the conversation. And Grant knew exactly who created the cover art.

My understanding is that the engraver for this image was Abel Bowen of Portland, Maine, and that it was used by many printers in their almanacs (with or without his permission, I could not say). For example, it also appeared on the 1836 cover of the Prince Edward Island Calendar [Almanac] for 1836, printed by James Hazard. [I get this information from Matthew Hatvany in the attached article: Hatvany, M. G. “Almanacs and the New Middle Class: New England and Nova Scotian Influences and Middle-Class Hegemony in Early Prince Edward Island.” Social History / Histoire Sociale 30, no. 60 (1997): 417-38.]

Such reprinting and the use of similar themes and images is common across the almanac genre in the C18-19.

Here’s a link to a bit on Bowen’s work:

The Dictionary of Canadian Biographies has an article on Clement Horton Belcher, who was born in Cornwallis, N.S., and how he began publishing his almanac:

Late in 1823 he extended his interests to the publication of the The farmer’s almanack, for the year of our Lord 1824 . . . and continued to issue it annually. In 1832 the name was changed to Belcher’s farmer’s almanack.

Belcher began his almanac only a year after the appearance of The letters of Agricola . . . , in which John Young* urged the farmers of the province to abandon their traditional methods for a more scientific approach to agriculture, and it is likely that Belcher was influenced by Young’s commonsense theories. After extensive reading in agricultural literature he began to intersperse the pages of the Almanack each year with valuable suggestions and hints on the management and maintenance of a farm. Meticulous and methodical, Belcher made every effort to ensure that his information was reliable. Consequently it was only reluctantly that he permitted the inclusion of weather prognostications, always a popular feature. The Almanack eventually became an almost indispensable tool – a business directory, almanac, and book of reference combined – and Belcher’s name a household word throughout the province. After his death the publication’s goodwill passed to the firm of McAlpine and Barnes, but the Almanack continued under the originator’s name until publication ceased in 1930.

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Government

City

Wednesday

Special Events Advisory Committee (Wednesday, 9am, City Hall ) — here’s the agenda.

Audit and Finance Standing Committee (Wednesday, 10am, City Hall) — here’s the agenda.

Design Review Committee (Wednesday, 4:30pm, City Hall) — here’s the agenda.

Thursday

Active Transportation Advisory Committee (Thursday, 4:30, City Hall) — here’s the agenda.

Youth Advisory Committee (Thursday, 5pm, Youth Power House) — here’s the agenda.

Province

No public meetings for the rest of the week.

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On campus

Dalhousie

Wednesday

Dalhousie Arctic Research Symposium (Wednesday, 9am, Council Chambers, Student Union Building) —bringing together researchers and graduate students working in the Arctic space, and featuring keynote presentations from Aaron Dotson from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Vanessa Hiratsuka from the Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage. There will be three panels exploring the themes of Natural Science and Resources, Governance and Sovereignty and Community Engagement, as well as a student poster session. More info here.

Future of University Avenue Pop‑Up Engagement (Wednesday, 9:30am, Sexton Campus Alumni Lounge) — They’re “engaging the public on visioning” again. Stop by and give them “some quick and easy input”.

Noon Hour Dalhousie Jazz Ensemble Recital (Wednesday, 11:45am, Sculpture Court, Dal Arts Centre) — directed by Chris Mitchell.

Making Your own Way in the Music Industry (Wednesday, 1pm, Room 409, Dal Arts Centre) — with Meaghan Smith.

Some Classes of Generalized Cyclotomic Polynomials​​ (Wednesday, 2:30pm, Room 319, Chase Building) — Abdullah Al-Shaghay will talk.

For a positive integer $n$ the $n^{th}$ cyclotomic polynomial can be written as \Phi_{n}(x)=\prod_{\substack{k=1 \\ (k,n)=1}}^{n} \left(x-e^{\tfrac{2\pi ik}{n}}\right) =\prod_{\substack{k=1 \\ k\in(\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z})^{\times}}}^{n} \left(x-e^{\tfrac{2\pi ik}{n}}\right).

When $n=p$ is an odd prime, the $n^{th}$ cyclotomic polynomial has the special form

\Phi_{p}(x)=\sum_{k=0}^{p-1}x^{k}=x^{p-1}+x^{p-2}+\cdots+x+1.

These two representations of the cyclotomic polynomials highlight the roots of $\Phi_{n}(x)$ and the coefficients of $\Phi_{n}(x)$ respectively. Continuing with the work of Kwon, J. Lee, and K. Lee and Harrington we investigate the generalization of the cyclotomic polynomials in two distinct ways; one affecting the roots of $\Phi_{n}(x)$ and the other affecting the coefficients of $\Phi_{n}(x)$.

In the final chapter of the thesis we discuss congruences for particular binomial sums and use those congruences to prove results concerning two special cases of Jacobi polynomials, the Chebyshev polynomials and the Legendre polynomials.​

More info here.

Molecules to Behaviour (Wednesday, 4pm, Theatre A, Tupper Medical Building) — Deniz Top will talk.

Trans Awareness Week/Trans Day of Remembrance Roundtable Discussion (Wednesday, 4pm, University Club Games Room) — from the listing:

Join the Dalhousie Queer Faculty and Staff Caucus (QFSC) for a Trans Awareness Week/Trans Day of Remembrance​ roundtable discussion. We will start by listening to trans, non-binary, and genderqueer Dal/King’s community members (faculty, staff, and students) as they respond to the question, What does Trans Awareness Week/Trans Day of Remembrance mean to you?, and then follow that with an informal, whole-group discussion. ​Everyone is welcome!

More info here.

Arts Centre Project Showcase (Wednesday, 4:30pm, Sculpture Court, Dal Arts Centre) — see the plans for the expansion and renewal of existing spaces, ask questions of the project team, have light refreshments.

Thursday

Thesis Defence, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Thursday, 9:30am, Room 3107, Mona Campbell Building) — PhD candidate Jonghwa Lee will defend “Identification of Factors Regulating Cytoplasmic and Nuclear Lipid Droplets.”

Andrea Ludwig Masterclass for Singers (Thursday, 11:30am, Room 121, Dal Arts Centre) — a warmup to her performance tonight with Angela Cheng and Symphony Nova Scotia.

Angela Cheng Piano Masterclass (Thursday, 11:30am, Room 406, Dal Arts Centre) — see above.

Brexit (Thursday, 1pm, Room 305, Weldon Law Building ) — Vincent Power will talk about “How did we get here, where do we go now and what are the implications for negotiators?”

Oberlander Collection (Thursday, 4:30pm, Sexton Design and Technology Library) — celebrating the donation of the extensive professional collection of landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander. RSVP here.

Workshop Series: Focus on Communication: Dramatic Monologue (Thursday,4:35pm, Room 2110, Mona Campbell Building ) — improve your public speaking skills. More info here.

Populism Peaked: The Future of Democracy (Thursday, 7pm, McInnes Room, Student Union Building) —delegates from the 11^th Halifax International Security Forum will discuss the future of democracies and global security. Panelists include Emily Lau from Hong Kong, Tolu Ogunlesi from Nigeria, Janice Stein from Toronto and Roderich Kiesewetter from Germany.

In the second decade of the 21st century, democracies across the Western world became subject to open revolt by significant sections of their own populations. Populist parties and demagogues made deep inroads in the political mainstream. What awaits us in the 2020s? Has populism peaked? Or is this just the beginning?

Co-hosted by Saint Mary’s University. More info here and here, register here.

Canadian Architecture and the Climate Crisis: Panel Discussion (Thursday, 7pm, Halifax Central Library) — Simulcast to the Ondaatje Theatre, Marion McCain Building, the panel includes Peter Busby, Susan Fitzgerald, Steven Mannell, Elsa Lam, and Mary Lynk.

The construction and operation of buildings accounts for 39% of global carbon emissions – more than industry and almost double the transportation sector. Some keys to building more sustainably may be found in Canada. Back in the 70s, Canada pioneered the prototype “Passive House” in Saskatchewan – a home with no furnace that captured energy from occupant activities and the sun for heating – as well as the PEI Ark, a self-sufficient home including solar heat, a wind turbine, and a large greenhouse with indoor fish ponds for food.

Today, architects are figuring out how to build net-zero energy and net-zero carbon buildings. The world’s largest near-zero energy community centre is set to open in Surrey BC, and architects across the country are vying to build ever taller highrises out of carbon-capturing wood, instead of steel and concrete. Some architects are moving beyond technology to embrace community-engaged design and build approaches, including food and energy cooperatives.

This event will include presentation of research from the new book Canadian Modern Architecture, 1967 to the Present (Princeton Architectural Press, release date October 28, 2019.)

RSVP here to attend the panel at the library, no ticket required for Ondaatje Hall.

Mini Medical School (Thursday,7pm, Theatre B, Tupper Link Building) — Lisa Barrett presents “Infections and Travel”, followed by Joanne Langley with “Lyme Disease.”

Swinging Standards (Thursday, 7:30pm, St. Andrew’s United Church, 6036 Coburg Road, Halifax) — the Dalhousie Jazz Ensemble joins the Halifax Regional Arts Senior Jazz Ensemble for an evening of classic big band sounds and swinging standards, directed by Ryan Froude and Chris Mitchell. Tickets $15/ 10, more info here.

Saint Mary’s

Wednesday

Accessibility Week: Nova Scotia Accessibility Act (Wednesday, 11:30am, SB255, in the building named after a grocery store) — Amy Middleton, Senior Policy Analyst with the Accessibility Directorate, Nova Scotia Depart of Justice, will talk.

In 2017, Nova Scotia become the third Canadian province to pass accessibility legislation. The Accessibility Act recognizes accessibility as a human right, and sets a goal for an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030. This presentation will provide an overview of the Act and the province’s accessibility strategy, and an update on the standards currently being developed in education and the built environment. It will outline the impact of this work on accessibility in the post-secondary sector, including upcoming requirements for universities to develop accessibility plans and establish accessibility advisory committees. Information about the development of a provincial post-secondary accessibility framework will also be provided.

Anne Compton (Wednesday, 7pm, Patrick Power Library Classroom) — the poet will read from her new book Smallholding.

Thursday

Accessibility Week: Duty to Accommodate and Undue Hardship (Thursday, 1pm, L 188, in the building named after a grocery store) — Greg Gillis and Angela MacLellan from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission will

give an overview, as it pertains to a post secondary environment, of the Commission’s Dispute Resolution process, the duty to accommodate, undue hardship and responsibilities of the student, education providers and instructors within an accommodation process.

Understanding Canada’s defence policy within the evolving global security environment (Thursday, 2:30pm, SB160, in the building named after a grocery store) — Gordon Venner, Associate Deputy Minister for the Department of National Defence, will talk.

Julieta (Thursday, 6pm, Theatre B, Burke Building) — Almodovar’s film, in Spanish with English subtitles.

Mount Saint Vincent

Wednesday

Sunetra Ekanayake: Botanical Watercolours (Wednesday, 12pm, MSVU Art Gallery) — opening reception with the artist.

King’s

Wednesday

2019 NSIRN Report (Wednesday, 7pm, Classroom 3, Arts and Administration Building) — Megan O’Toole, Lindsay Armstrong, and Patti Sontag will discuss their work on the Tainted Water series. More info here.

Hamlet, Puppet Prince of Denmarke (Wednesday, 8pm, The Pit, Arts and Administration Building) — an energetic reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic, rewritten and directed by Jack Smith. Runs until Saturday. $5 / 10, more info and tickets here.

Thursday

Hamlet, Puppet Prince of Denmarke (Thursday, 8pm, The Pit, Arts and Administration Building) — until Saturday. $5 / 10, more info and tickets here.

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In the harbour

07:30: Elka Glory, oil tanker, arrives at Irving Oil from IJmuiden, Netherlands
10:00: Oceanex Sanderling, ro-ro container, arrives at Pier 41 from St. John’s
10:00: MOL Empire, container ship, arrives at Fairview Cove from New York
19:00: Pro Onyx, oil tanker, sails from Imperial Oil for sea
21:00: MOL Empire sails for Rotterdam

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Footnotes

A friend of mine lost her cat on Sept. 6, the day before Hurricane Dorian. She spent weeks looking for her in areas around Clayton Park and posting notices on social media. But the cat came back recently, found by crew of the Trap Neuter Return program with the SPCA. This was the best news I heard all week. Welcome home, Lindy!