Weekend File

Welcome to Weekend File, where you’ll find links to all the articles you might have missed last week. Jump to sections in this article:

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Saturday, July 3

1. 8 new cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Saturday, July 3

Tim Bousquet had the full COVID-19 update with new case numbers, testing locations, demographics, and more.

Sunday, July 4

1. Hey, Mr. Politician: What’s your plan to fix Nova Scotia’s broken child protection system?

You might remember last week when Stephen Kimber brought us the story of J.C. and her fight to get back her infant son who was taken from her under controversial new changes to the child protection act (you can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here). In this column, Kimber tells us the backstory on the series that started with an email he got in November.

2. 3 new cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Sunday, July 4

Sunday saw only three new cases of COVID-19. Tim Bousquet had the complete update again (he’s very good at this). And remember, we’re providing all our COVID articles for free. You can subscribe here. 

Monday, July 5

1. A plague of ticks, tick-borne diseases, and poli-ticks

Joan Baxter started the week with Part 1 of her two-part series on ticks and Lyme disease. Baxter interviewed with Brenda Sterling-Goodwin, who developed Lyme disease in the 1990s, and now advocates for more awareness and better treatments. This story might make you itch, but it’s an informative and important read.

2. Morning File: Nova Scotia Power’s plans for 2031 are already out of date

Tim Bousquet got our Monday started with his Morning File on Nova Scotia Power’s “10-Year System Outlook,” which is already out of date. As coal plants in the province are set to shut down, Bousquet has thoughts on what could happen next. Hint: offshore wind power.

3. Trash talk over Otter Lake

Zane Woodford dug through the trash this week. Well, more specifically he reports on the front end processes at the Otter Lake landfill, which the municipality wants to shut down, but the community monitoring committee overseeing that landfill doesn’t think that’s good idea. As Woodford learned, this is the third time the HRM has made this proposal. I’m going to sort my garbage now …

4. Halifax Regional Police officer charged with assault

Zane Woodford reports on charges laid against a Halifax Regional Police officer by the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT).

5. 1 new case of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Monday, July 5

Monday started off with just one new case of COVID-19. Tim Bousquet had his detailed report.

Tuesday, July 6

1. A plague of ticks, tick-borne diseases, and poli-ticks

Joan Baxter had more tick talk in part 2 of her series on ticks and tick-borne diseases. In this story, Baxter talks to self-described “Lyme warrior” Rob Murray about his advocacy and getting the medical community to take Lyme disease seriously.

2. Halifax threatens to remove temporary shelters if they’re still on city land in a week

On Tuesday morning, Halifax released a statement saying it would soon remove temporary shelters and people’s belongings. Zane Woodford reported on the city’s statement and the response from housing advocates who said they’d leave the shelters up despite the threat.

3. Morning File: Pick your Pubnico: recycling place names in Nova Scotia

Have you ever noticed how many place names are repeated across Nova Scotia? Phil Moscovitch has and he went digging and found out just how common words like Country, Centre, Pubnico, and even Malignant are in communities and other geographic names across the province.

4. 7 new cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Tuesday, July 6

The number of new cases went up a bit for Tuesday. Tim Bousquet had the complete report.

Wednesday, July 7

1. Kids, youth had highest rates of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies prior to third wave, study found

Yvette d’Entremont reported on the results from the Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey that show kids, youth, and visible minorities had the highest rates of antibodies prior to the third wave. The survey’s researcher told d’Entremont  “I think we’re going to see that we’re going to have infections and coronavirus around for a long time.”

2. Morning File: Ticks, wildfires, and other new normals

In his Morning File for the week, Ethan Lycan-Lang talks about how ticks and wildfires might be part of our “new normals” with climate change. And he riffs on a new commercial from Tim Horton’s about its new cool drinks that might leave you hot under the collar.

3. 1 new case of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Wednesday, July 7

Just one new case of COVID on Wednesday. A good number for a hump day. Tim Bousquet had the full report. Bousquet live tweeted that day’s COVID briefing and shares an interesting exchange he had with chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Strang, about politicizing the COVID briefings.

Thursday, July 8

1. Pilot program would see Halifax offer financing for ‘deep energy retrofits,’ including windows and insulation

If you’re a homeowner looking to make energy efficient upgrades to your house, Zane Woodford reported on a new program that might interest you. On Wednesday, Halifax councillors on the Environment and Sustainability Standing Committee voted yes to the proposed pilot program that will provide “deep energy retrofits.”  Sounds deep, indeed.

2. Morning File: Dialing in for radio funeral announcements

Suzanne Rent looks at funeral announcements on small-town radio stations in Nova Scotia and rounds out her Top 10 songs from the 80s that are constantly on the radio. She knows all the words.

3. Halifax hired consultant specializing ‘in empathy-based approaches to homeless encampments’ for $7,000

Zane Woodford reported on how the municipality hired a “hip and nerdy” consulting company OrgCode from Ontario to train city staff on “empathy-based approaches to homeless encampments.” Yes, this is real, folks.

4. 2 new cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Thursday, July 8

And then there were two … new cases of COVID-19 that is. Tim Bousquet brought us the complete update. He really could use a shot in the arm for all this work.

Friday, July 9

1.Morning File: Why opt-out organ donation isn’t as simple as it sounds

Under the Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act, which took affect earlier this year, Nova Scotians will have to opt out of being an organ donor rather than opt in. But Bousquet looks at some of the issues researchers uncovered around opting out. Also, Bousquet gives readers a look at the numbers behind the Examiner and how we’re spending your money.

2. Halifax starts removing emergency shelters from parks days before stated deadline

Earlier this week, Zane Woodford covered news that the HRM gave a deadline to move temporary shelters in public parks downtown. Well, on Friday morning, two of those shelters were moved, four days ahead of the July 13 deadline, and amid an uproar from Haligonians.

3. Province to spend $96.5 million to renovate nursing homes, add new long-term care beds

Jennifer Henderson looks at the numbers behind an announcement from Premier Iain Rankin that the province will spend $96.5 million on long-term care, including new beds and renovations of nursing homes. It looks like more pre-election spending. When is that writ going to drop anyway?

4. 1 new case of COVID 19 announced in Nova Scotia on Friday, July 9

We end the week with just one new case of COVID-19. Tim Bousquet has the complete update, including all the details on vaccination numbers.

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