🗞️ Halifax's Worst Drivers

Hey there, Halifax 👋

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to obtain an e-bike. While I still use my car fairly often to carry things back and forth from my home, I like to take the bike out to get a few groceries or ride down to the office building I work out of. It’s been a joy.

However, after getting struck by a car while on a kick scooter a couple years ago (I was fine, just a tiny bit of bruising) I have been overly cautious of drivers. As I was scrolling through Reddit this morning, my concerns were validated.

Exhibit A:

This driver stops to look for traffic, completely misses that someone is walking in front of their vehicle, and then plows on through without stopping. This is exactly what happened to me when I got hit.

Exhibit B:

A family is using a crosswalk with the lights flashing and a car speeds right on through without a second thought. The poor child runs back to the sidewalk, probably scared for their life.

Within my first year or so as a reporter, I had a friend tell me that he didn’t like the way I called vehicular incidents ‘accidents’ in my writing, When I see videos like these, I would never consider the damage drivers like this cause an ‘accident’. The term we should be using is negligence.

So, if you are one of several hundred thousand who walk or bike to get around, be wary. Drivers like this are, unfortunately, everywhere.

Have a collision-free day,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 14°

Tomorrow: 🌦️ 14°

Next Day: 🌧️ 13°

7-day forecast

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

💨 Here is Halifax’s Air Quality Index and the smoke report.

POLL

The Highway 103 Eyes: Preserve them or blast them?

Yesterday, we asked our beloved readers to tell us how they feel about the province blasting away the Highway 103 boulders with painted-on eyes.

Over the weekend, CBC News published an article revealing the artists responsible for the eyeball rocks—Jason Smith, his friend Neil, and their kids. They painted the rocks all the way back in October 2017, and while the plan was to make them look like emojis, a sudden stroke of inspiration led them to paint the eyes. They’ve been watching drivers on the 103 ever since.

However, due to the twinning of the 103, the province has plans to blast the boulders. Smith himself told CBC that while the decision is sad, he’s OK with it if it needs to be done.

Regardless, we asked a vital question, maybe the most important of our time: would you rather see the rocks blasted as planned, or preserved in some sort of way? The results are in, and they’re a little surprising.

Out of a total 707 votes, 472 (66.76 percent) of you said you’d rather see the rocks preserved in some way. In my mind, I can’t imagine it would be all that difficult to move the rocks elsewhere, but I’d hazard to guess it’s cheaper to blast them than get a piece of heavy equipment to move them.

Of course, this means that 235 (33.24 percent) of you are utterly heartless! How dare you want to destroy these beautiful eyes? Jokes aside, I get it—they’re boulders, after all, and they’re in the way of a project that will (hopefully) make our roads safer.

🤔 Need To Know

🚨 A woman was killed in an RCMP shooting in Eastern Passage on Tuesday—the Serious Incident Response Team say the woman approached officers with a knife, even after being tasered.

🏭 Tim Houston is in Milan this week to promote Nova Scotia’s energy sector, specifically, offshore natural gas—the premier says the province can offer energy companies “the full package.”

⚖️ A retired RCMP has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, according to the Serious Incident Response Team—former sergeant Darrell W. Johnson allegedly committed criminal offences against a woman known to him.

🧑‍🍳 If you haven’t tried Schoolhouse Gluten-Free Gourmet’s Cinnamon Buns, now’s your chance - but only for a limited time!*

🎻 Celtic fiddling sensation Natalie MacMaster returns home to Symphony Nova Scotia, this time introducing a very special guest: her daughter, Mary Frances! 🗓 Rebecca Cohn Auditorium | November 1 & 2 | From $48.50*

🍴 Montréal’s Best in Wolfville. No Reservation Needed. Taste bold bites from 14 celebrity chefs at the Montréal Night Market at Devour! The Food Film Fest!. Thursday, Oct 23 | 6-9 PM | $35 Get Tickets.*

🖼️ my inner child healing my immigrant identity by Martha Mutale explores the self split between two homes. Oct 11-31 @ Khyber Centre for the Arts.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY AFTERWORDS LITERARY FESTIVAL

Who Goes There: In conversation at AfterWords

Thursday November 6 it's all about family, chosen family, and constructed identities at AfterWords. Matthew J. Trafford and Peter Counter chat about Trafford’s new book, Runs in the Blood. Then award-winning writers and festival faves David Bergen (Days of Feasting and Rejoicing) and Shani Mootoo (Starry, Starry Night) in conversation. Presented by Starboard Wealth Planners. Tickets here.

🗞️ In Other News

🔋 Halifax is behind on installing EV chargers, according to a new progress report—29 out of 56 chargers are currently available, with all of them to now be installed by March 2027.

🗞️ Mining companies will be able to more easily track permits thanks to a new system rolled out by the provincial government—the program is in it’s first phase, allowing firms to check the application status for licenses and permits.

🚓 The East Coast Prison Justice Society is calling for a public fatality inquiry into a man who had died during an interaction with police in February—the 25-year-old had been tasered.

SPONSORED BY CECILIA CONCERTS

Prize-winning String Ensemble Quatuor Cobalt

Quatuor Cobalt presents a radiant program celebrating women composers across eras. They performs work by Sirmen, Terzian, Shaw, and Hensel Mendelssohn, blending classical clarity, modern innovation, and romantic intensity. Known for their bold artistry, Quatuor Cobalt brings these diverse voices to life Saturday 7:30pm at the Stage at St. Andrew’s.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Downtown Hali Hangouts: Silent Disco: This Thursday, come down to the Halifax Waterfront, specifically Foundation Wharf, for a special silent disco. Pick your wireless headphones, music channel, and dance the night away by the water. | Oct. 16 | 6:00PM |

🗓 UNSCRIPTED INITIATIVE: D&D IMPROV SHOW: "Unscripted Initiative" is a completely improvised fantasy adventure, where heroes are made up, quests are unpredictable, and every twist is decided by the roll of a die. Brought to you by the cast of Spontaneity Improv at the Rox Live. | Oct. 16 | 7:30PM | $17.31 |

🗓 Alderney Landing's Fire and Water Cultural Festival: The annual Fire and Water Cultural Festival is back in Alderney Landing this weekend at the Downtown Dartmouth Waterfront. Expect dazzling fire performances, Indigenous teachings, an African drumming circle, live performances, creative workshops, and more. | Oct. 17-18 | 6:00PM |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The Zuiderdam cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 7:55am and departs for Canadian seas at 4pm.

🚢➡️ The Seabourn Sojourn cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 8am and departs for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🚢 The Novus special vessel arrives in Halifax from Canso at 8:15am.

🚢 The Nolhan Ava cargo ship arrives in Halifax from St. Pierre at 8:15am.

➡️ The James Cook research vessel departs Halifax for Mulgrave at 9am.

🚢➡️ The Allura cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 10am and departs for Canadian seas at 7pm.

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Sky container ship arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 10:20am and departs for Liverpool at 8:30pm.

🚢➡️ The Enchanted Princess cruise vessel arrives in Halifax at 11am and departs for Canadian seas at 8pm.

➡️ The CMA CGM Arctic container vessel departs Halifax for New York at 12pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥪 Check out the Chicken Bacon Caesar at Wave Foods. Buttermilk fried chicken, house caesar dressing, bacon, lettuce, asiago on a butter croissant.

🍝 Come stock up on your favourite, fresh pasta noodles—and grab a bite—at Maria’s Pasta Bar & Pantry. Their Pasta Tuesday special will be running all week.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🥂 Jaime Landry grew up playing a mock version of Dragons' Den with her siblings, but she never expected to one day bring her business on the show. In last Thursday's episode of CBC's Dragons' Den, now in its 20th season, Landry pitched her Hubbards-based company, Black Harbour Distillers, to the panel of five, including guest Dragon and Property Brothers star Drew Scott. Landry came with one ask: $1.5 million for 33 percent of her company. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer speaks with Landry about her business and her experience on last week’s episode of Dragons’ Den.

😷 Dalhousie medical students will not be training with cadavers this year as the anatomy lab is shut down due to failing an air quality test—while new ventilation was put in to fix the issue, a second test revealed that formaldehyde levels did not meet the provincial standard.

🏛️ Municipal loan access is getting a significant boost from the provincial government—the Municipal Fund is being increased from $995 million to $1.5 billion, allowing municipalities to borrow for infrastructure and equipment costs.

That’s it!

Thanks for reading The Coast Daily today.

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another Haligonian.

And before you go, let us know: