Halifax, you gorgeous devil, you.

Let’s talk a little about Switzerland. Land of neutrality, chocolate and the alps. I’ve personally never been, but I like all of the aforementioned things so would love to visit.

Now let’s talk about Tim Houston’s jaunt to Switzerland in the spring that has the opposition a buzz. A bit of background: Houston traveled to Geneva to meet with private investment partners and support the Halifax Port Authority in securing federal funding.

To which I say: could this not have been a Zoom?

But whatever, he felt the need to beg in person, so he booked a last-minute trip that cost him a grand total of $15,500. For three days.

According to the province's public disclosure website for cabinet minister travel, Houston’s trip to Geneva from May 17-20 cost $12,879.92 for airfare and $2,584.66 for accommodations. A spokesperson for Houston’s office said he flew business class and stayed in a Marriott. And everyone knows flights and hotels famously become infinitely cheaper the closer to your trip you book.

And I understand that it’s important for the premier to travel—especially at a time when we really need to focus on diversifying our economy because of a certain sociopath—but this amount of money for a three-day jaunt across the pond seems excessive even to me, and I bought tickets to the Eras Tour off StubHub. Twice.

So let’s put this in perspective. For a mythical family of five, $15,500 could buy (on average):

And this ain’t Houston’s first rodeo. On Monday, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation issued a news release calling on the provincial government to rein in (get it, cause rodeo) travel expenses, and it singled out Houston for the cost of his hotel stays on trips to Paris, Boston, London and Milan last year.

At a time when he’s doing more slashing than the god damn SCREAM franchise, I think it’s time for Timmy to embark on the scariest movie of all: flying coach LIKE THE REST OF US.

Love and light!

-Jules

📷 @editorjulesl

Today: ⛅️ 26°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 23°

Next Day: 🌧️ 23°

7-day forecast

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

The federal government is investing more than $1.2 million in two Dartmouth-based manufacturers: Site 20/20 Inc. and Atlantica Mechanical Contractors.

Announced on Monday, July 27, by Sackville-Bedford-Preston MP Braedon Clark, the repayable investment comes from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency's Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program. The feds hope to see these funds used to conduct major facility upgrades that is said to spur product development while reducing costs and improving services.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer goes over this new investment.

🎉 Members of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party are poised to elect their first female leader—Lunenburg West MLA Becky Druhan and Richmond County deputy warden Amanda Mombourquette are the two people vying for the job.

📱 Kids Help Phone saw a spike in messages from Maritime children and adolescents this summer, especially during the overnight hours—the free mental health service says there was a 24% jump in text messages since the start of the summer compared to the same time last year.

👀 Halifax Regional Police have requested the help of the public in locating an individual who has been missing in Halifax since Monday afternoon—police identify the man as 22-year-old Fardeen Chowdhurry.

🪧 A few dozen protesters greeted Tim Houston in Bridgewater Tuesday as he arrived at the latest stop on his province-wide summer tour—the premier is speaking to chambers of commerce and visiting with local business owners during his tour.

🥀 Bring the whole family to see Shakespeare By The Sea’s brand new musical: BEAUTY & THE BEAST in beautiful Point Pleasant Park. Onstage until August 29th!*

🏡 Seniors and their families are thinking ahead about a home’s long-term fit for aging in place. This free screening guide helps with the process.*

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Join us for BRAVO—where imagination takes centre stage. Get tickets today!

🔌 The Maritime provinces are studying whether they should deepen integration of their electricity grids—officials in Nova Scotia say their interest is based largely on energy affordability.

🚒 Three buildings that included a mix of residential and commercial units were destroyed in a fire in Dartmouth on Monday evening—crews were called to Gaston Road shortly after 6pm.

🐔 Lunenberg District RCMP is investigating a break-and-enter at a poultry barn that has led to the death of roughly 10,000 chickens.

💸 The Federation of Foster Families Nova Scotia—an organization that has trained and advocated on behalf of Nova Scotia foster parents for five decades—says the government slashed 52 per cent of its $1.1-million provincial funding in the March budget.

🍎 A new non-profit co-operative in Halifax is working to make it easier for wholesale buyers to purchase local food and for producers and farmers to sell their produce—The Halifax Regional Food Hub connects Nova Scotia producers to businesses and institutions in the municipality.

🦈 Researchers in northern Nova Scotia have yet to determine what caused the death of a large great white shark that recently washed ashore near Pictou—the body of the 580-kilogram male shark was discovered Friday.

🎤 Two artists behind some of the biggest pop songs of the 2000s—Akon and Ne-yo— will be headlining the Magnetic World Music Festival at Halifax’s Citadel Hill this September.

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

🗓 YukYuks Presents Hot Flash Comedy: After lighting up stages across Vancouver and BC, award-winning comic Syd Bosel is bringing her razor-sharp wit to Halifax. Known for her raw honesty and hilarious takes on marriage, family, and the chaos of everyday life, Syd has become a favourite with audiences across Canada. Accompanied by Helen Schneiderman, Roz Kennery, and Adrienne Gabrielle, this is a show you won’t want to miss. | July 30 | 8pm | $25 | 

🗓 Opera on Trial: Táimid Opera & Music presents Opera on Trial, a courtroom operatic experience questioning, debating, and celebrating the magic of the art form! Whether you love the classics of composers such as Massenet, Puccini, and Offenbach, are drawn to contemporary voices like Messiaen and Nicholas Ma, or are still unsure how you feel about opera at all, this evening invites you to take a seat on the jury and decide for yourself. | July 30 | 7:30pm | $25.80 | 

🗓 Sam Roberts Band: Sam Robert Band are hitting the road this summer with two nights at the Shore Club in Hubbards. | July 30 and 31 | 9:30pm | From $57 |

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

➡️ The Algoscotia tanker departs Halifax at 6am.

🚢 The Oceanex Sanderling container vessel arrives in Halifax from St. John’s at 12:20pm.

🚢➡️ The Mighty Servant 1 heavy lift vessel arrives in Halifax from Davisville at 2:15pm and departs for Newfoundland and Labrador at 7pm.

➡️ The Onega Neva general cargo vessel departs Halifax at 3pm.

🚢 The Atlantic Sky arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 3:20pm.

🚢 The Algoma Celebration bulk carrier arrives in Halifax from Boston at 6:21pm.

🌅 Latin flavours, waterfront views. Skip the line—order Salt + Sol online, grab your fresh favourites, and savour every bite by the harbour.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This is some wizardry. Super crushable." Good Robot’s award-winning Ultra Light IPA. 100 calories. 4%. Full-flavoured. Try it at Good Robot locations.

☀️ Beat the summer heat at The BG with slushies in peach, strawberry, margarita, and more! Colourful, refreshing, and made for sunny patio afternoons with friends.

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🪧 The union representing about 800 Nova Scotia Power workers has filed a 48-hour notice of intent to strike with the Nova Scotia Labour Board as of Monday.

⚠️ CORRECTION ALERT!!! In yesterday’s newsletter, I incorrectly said NS Power customers rather than workers. It is the union representing workers who have given strike notice.

🦷 A Halifax-area dentist who had more than $92K stolen from his practice by a former employee is speaking out after the woman only served about five weeks of a five-month sentence before being released to house arrest.

☎️ A NS woman called 911 to report erratic driver and then a Mountie called her from inside her home—RCMP say they went to her home because of a dropped 911 call, not because of the complaint about the driver.

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