🗞️ Blood money

Happy Friday Halifax,

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Hell hath no fury like a jealous teenage girl at a goat show.  

We usually like to keep it local around here, but sometimes I stumble across a story so wild, I simply must share and this one is…wow. 

A Texas teenager has been charged with animal cruelty after she was accused of using pesticide to poison and kill a rival’s competition show goat—a handsome prince named Willie. The teen confessed to police that she deliberately poisoned the goat because she believed the animal’s owner was “a cheater,” and added that it was her second attempt to kill him.

I’m obsessed with the fact that she Googled things like “poisoning pets, what to know” but also “how to delete search history.” Girl, come on.

According to the family of Willie’s owner, there is actually no possible way to “cheat at a goat show,” leading me to believe there is more to this story. In any event, the family is hoping to see justice for Willie; his alleged murder is facing up to two years in prison if convicted.

I hope she hears the clomping of little cloven hooves in her nightmares for the rest of her days 🐐.

Hold your animals (and teens) extra close this weekend,

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌨️ 2°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 0°

Next Day: 🌨️ 1°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

NEWS

Halifax startup just struck a big deal on Dragons’ Den for its compostable period products

Rashmi Prakash has no time for small ideas. Growing up in Wales and southern Ontario, the Waverly-based co-founder of Aruna Revolution used to dream of genetically engineering “green dragons” that would fly over the planet and convert greenhouse gases into oxygen. “I do consider myself delusionally optimistic,” she told The Coast. “‘Be realistic’ is, like, the worst advice I’ve ever gotten in my life.”

It’s fitting, then, that dragons would play a part in Prakash’s latest dream: To reshape menstrual products across the globe, by taking them out of landfills and turning them into compost. Last night, her period-product startup took home a “transformative deal” on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, securing an offer from tech entrepreneur Michele Romanow and beer entrepreneur Manjit Minhas.

Prakash estimates that by 2030, Aruna’s period products—made of plant-based fibres—could prevent the release of as much carbon dioxide as nearly 2,000 trees would absorb over 10 years.

And as The Coast’s Martin Bauman reports, the Halifax startup has even bigger dreams for the future.

🤔 Need To Know

💜 Southwest Nova RCMP confirms two suspicious deaths in Mahone Bay are the result of intimate partner violence.

⚖️ A boy who was with Ahmad Al Marrach on the day he was fatally stabbed testified at the trial of one of four teens accused of killing the 16-year-old.

🎤 From 7 to 10pm join Bulwark Cider House on January 23 for a special edition of Open Mic, hosted by the talented Carrie Matheson!*

🚒 Halifax Fire says there is no risk to the community as crews responded to a chemical spill at the Oland Brewery on Agricola Street on Thursday morning.

🍺 The Pint, Argyle Street has the probably the best pub food in Halifax! Weekend brunch, happy hour, Below Deck Dive Bar & arcade... nonstop sports!*

*Sponsored Post

OPINION

51st state of mind

It seems increasingly likely US president-elect Donald Trump will impose a tariff on Canadian exports after h’s inaugurated a week from Monday. If his threat of a 25% tariff comes to fruition, it will decimate Nova Scotia’s economy. If it doesn’t, we may have avoided a new disaster. But then what?

Trump or not, Nova Scotia is already facing disaster: an affordability crisis, a housing shortage, overrun food banks, homeless encampments, the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the country, a weak economy expected to grow a measly 1.6% in 2025, inflation and a broken health system. Last year saw the highest single-year increase in the number of Nova Scotia children living below the poverty line in 35 years. Nova Scotians are the second-poorest people in Canada in GDP per capita terms.

Recently and repeatedly, Trump has talked about Canada becoming the 51st state. The idea outrages most Canadians, but then most Canadians aren’t in Nova Scotia’s dismal economic situation. Maybe our province should see Trump’s musings more as an offer than a threat.

Michael Kennedy proposes NS should leave Canada and join the US, a move he calls Nova Scexit.

🗞️ In Other News

🧑🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏼 The flow of people moving to Nova Scotia from other Canadian provinces has slowed down over the last two years—meaning the province's population growth is now primarily made up of international migration. 

🚙 Halifax safety advocates are calling for government action to reduce the number of pedestrians injured or killed by cars, after the death of a senior who was hit while walking on a marked crosswalk earlier this week.

The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education in Nova Scotia has fallen victim to a global cybersecurity breach—the personal information of some staff and current and former students was stolen as part of a breach of PowerSchool.

✏️ A Halifax artists’ group is telling stories of everyday city life one drawing at a time—Halifax Urban Sketchers is made up of aspiring and experienced artists who create unique drawings that include streets, parks, buildings and even people.

🗓️ Things To Do This Weekend

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 Open Waters Festival 2025: This iconic festival celebrates the flow of new and improvised music from varied sources. A plunge into surging headwaters of creativity, with new music for the new year, all of it upstream from the mainstream. Immerse yourself in fresh music—come on in, the water’s fine. | Jan 8-12 | From $64

🗓 Halifax Live Comedy Club Presents Luke Lawrence: Stand-up comedian and writer Luke Lawrence has been entertaining audiences for years in Newfoundland, and now he’s bringing the laughs to Halifax! You may have seen him on Just For Laughs or dropping in on the Best Kind Comedy Tour with the by's! | Jan 10 and 11 | 7pm | $26

🗓 East Coast IceJam: This is the largest elite-level hockey tournament in Atlantic Canada, and it showcases local players to teams and scouts all over Canada. The event hosts over 60 elite teams in the U15 Major, U16AAA and U18 Major levels, representing over 2,000 players, team staff and support personnel. | Jan 8-12

🗓 Film screening—What Really Counts: Directed by Kent Martin, this is a is a thought-provoking documentary that challenges the dominant economic narrative centred around the gross domestic product—the GDP—a statistic often deemed the most important in human history. This compelling call to revaluate the metrics by which we measure progress will be screened at the Central Library. | Jan 12 | 7pm

🗓 Watercolors on Tap: Discover the magic of this unique paint, sip and connect event—a truly one-of-a-kind experience. Sip on craft brews while connecting with fellow creatives and professionals in a relaxed setting all while exploring your creative side! | Jan 12 | 2pm

🗓 Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins—Three Dimensions: This multidisciplinary art showcase on show now at the AGNS features three installations: Balancing Act, THX2020 and ABCD—which combine painting, sculpture, kinetics, interactivity, virtual reality and video. | Closing Jan 26 | $8

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The Box Endurance container ship leaves Halifax for Kingston at 2:45am.

➡️ The One Madrid container ship leaves Halifax for New York at 3am.

🚢➡️ The MSC Shannon III container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for London at 5pm.

➡️ The Nolhan Ava container ship leaves Halifax for Argentia at 4:30pm.

🚢 The NYK Dementer container ship arrives in Halifax from Antwerp at 5:20pm.

➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling container ship leaves Halifax for St. John’s at 6pm.

🚢 The Algotitan oil tanker leaves Halifax for Quebec at 6pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥗 Pane e Circo has a salad so good it will feel like comfort food: honey roasted squash, creamy goat cheese, crispy prosciutto and crunchy pecans.

🍔 Trade in your New Year’s resolution for the The Bacon Truffle Quarter-Pounder at Wave Foods inside The Local: quarter-pound smash burger, bacon, truffle aioli, Murica cheddar, lettuce, pickles on brioche.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎤 Comedian Jeremy Hotz has built a career out of finding the downside in life. Pants, pigeons, prairies… no topic is too big or small to escape the 61-year-old Ottawa native’s ire. Hotz’s unique blend of misery and wit has turned him into a Just For Laughs Comedy Festival favourite and Gemini Award-winning actor. On Jan 31, it will bring him to Halifax at Casino Nova Scotia’s Bruce Guthro Theatre. The Coast’s Martin Bauman catches up with the stand-up comic to see what’s irking him these days.

🎨 A trio of groups supporting Black and African Nova Scotian artists and art-making are seeking three artists to exhibit their work in an upcoming February exhibition. The Black Artist Initiative, The Cowry Collective and The Concrete Garden Association are inviting Black and African Nova Scotian artists to submit their works for display in The Concrete Garden, which will run through February, African Heritage Month, at Nova Scotia Community College’s Truro Campus. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has more on The Concrete Garden showcase, including how to apply.

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