🗞️ Homelessness to worsen as weather improves

Calling all Hali animals parents!

Think your pet has what it takes to win a completely arbitrary contest I made up because I want to see cute animal pics? Prove it!

Here’s how it works: send a pic of your pet to [email protected] with the subject line ‘pet’. Include a short profile that includes his/her/their name. If you are selected, your pet will be featured in this very newsletter for over 50,000 people to see!

Your pet will be judged on three categories: schmooch, num num and dummy-ness. Please keep those in mind in photo selection.

Let the Games of the Coast’s First Pet Olympiad begin!

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 8°

Tomorrow:  ☁️ 10°

Next Day: 🌧️ 6°

7-day forecast

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

ARTS + CULTURE

Animated short film Salted shows how love and loss can live together in survivors of sexual assault

Him? No! He can’t be a pedophile! He’s always been so kind!

How many times have we heard some version of that statement? We are desperate to put sexual abusers squarely into one box or another. Good or bad. Abusive or nice. Pedophile or polite. It feels like some sort of self-preservation tactic; a way for us to feel like we can’t be tricked.

But the truth is, we are tricked all the time because, like everybody else, abusers are multi-faceted; they bring so many different qualities to the table. They aren’t one thing or another and therefore, we can’t feel only one way or another about them. It’s normal to have feelings of fondness and love mixed in with anger and sadness. 

That’s the message that Halifax-based animator Jenna Marks is bringing to the screen with her new short film Salted. The seven-and-a-half minute piece explores how love and loss can live together in a survivor of sexual assault. 

The film concept recently won Marks the $10,000 cash prize for the CBC Pitch This! Competition at the 14th annual Women in Film and Television Atlantic Making Waves Conference. 

The Coast’s Julie Lawrence caught up with Marks via Zoom to talk about her journey into animation, the genesis of Salted and how she’s using it to reclaim her story.

🤔 Need To Know

🌁 The Halifax harbour bridges will be closed over five weekends this summer for maintenance and other community events.

SPONSORED BY OPEN CITY HALIFAX

Get ready for Open City

Get ready Halifax, because Open City is taking place this Saturday, May 11, all across the Halifax peninsula and downtown Dartmouth.

Get out and support local during this annual event that celebrates entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Learn more and see all the participants at opencityhfx.com, and follow @opencityhfx to keep up to date.

CITY COUNCIL

Homelessness to worsen as political failure continues

Tuesday’s council meeting focused on the leadership potential of young people in the HRM. In the evening, deputy mayor Cathy Deagle Gammon presented the city’s Citizenship Awards to Grade 9 students in the HRM. Each student was awarded for exemplifying “qualities of leadership in, and service to, their school and community.” Deagle Gammon spoke of the potential of these future leaders and what impacts they could have should they choose to run for office and occupy positions of power, like council seats.

It’s fair to wonder what these youth think of adults in positions of power not enacting the change they claim is possible. Luckily, that question was answered earlier in the meeting by outgoing Youth Poet Laureate Dáminí Awóyígà when she read the poem Wonder to councillors.

The Coast’s Matt Stickland has everything else you need to know about what happened in city council this week.

🗞️ In Other News

⛺ As summer approaches and homelessness rates increase, HRM is bracing for more encampments in the city’s green spaces. 

🌊 Lower water temperatures off the Scotian Shelf have scientists wondering if the decade-long warming trend is over or if it’s just a blip.

👀 Nova Scotia’s police watchdog says an off-duty HRM police officer has been charged with assault against a woman he knows. Halifax Regional Police contacted the province's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) in October. 

🩺 A N.S. couple thought they won the “doctor lottery” after years on a wait list. Just eight months later, the practice closed and they’re back on it.

🦪 Premium Seafoods has stopped aquaculture operations in frustration over the province’s handling of the industry.

🔉 Listen To This

🎤 New single from Dartmouth’s Blue Lobelia, “Never the Same Girl,” drops today.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Halifax ComedyFest: With stages around the city featuring more than 30 comedians from across North America, Halifax ComedyFest is the funniest four days of the year. Shows vary from the free Laugh at Lunch event at Halifax Central Library to hilarious pub shows to laughter-filled galas. | May 8-12 | Prices vary by show

🗓 Alan Syliboy presents The Journey So Far: This survey exhibition unveils the extraordinary creative odyssey of artist Alan Syliboy. Born and raised on Millbrook First Nation, this comprehensive showcase explores Syliboy's remarkable career in Mi’kma’ki and beyond through a range of diverse works—from painting, print, drums, mixed media to video, music and in this instance, a specially commissioned wall mural. | Opens May 9 | Free

🗓 Kellie Loder—The Transitions Tour: This Juno award nominee and ECMA winner is bringing their passionate storyteller and accomplished songwriter to Halifax. Described as, “a multi-genre marvel” by Hidden-Beats, Kellie’s musical journey began on the shores of Newfoundland & Labrador, lending to their unmatched songwriting prowess, and distinctive blend of folk, Americana and indie pop influences. | May 10 | 8 pm | starting at $44.45

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The NYK Nebula container ship leaves Halifax for Southampton at 1am.

➡️ The Volendam cruise ship leaves Halifax for Canadian seas at 4pm.

➡️ The Atlantic Sea container ship leaves Halifax for Liverpool at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Bakkafoss container ship arrives in Halifax at 8:15am and leaves for Argentina at 6pm.

➡️ The Nord Logos cargo ship leaves Halifax for Portsmouth at 6pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍦 The moment you’ve been waiting for is here! Pane e Circo’s famous gelato cart is rolling out, ready to sweeten your day. Grab a scoop every day of the week from the Doyle Street location or Fri-Sat at the Bishop’s Landing one.

🍣 For something a little different, drop by Doraku and try the Bara Chirashi—a traditional style of sushi with finely chopped ingredients on top of sticky rice. It’s like a little sushi  jewellery box (according to them!).

👀 In Case You Missed It

💗 Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and we know you want to spoil the women and mother figures in your life who mean the most to you. This year, consider taking her off the beaten buffet path. The Coast has you covered with a list of hip downtown spots that have Mother’s Day offerings that are as unique and special as she is.

🏫 Over the first weekend in May, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) held their annual council meeting in Halifax. Topics up for discussion were the upcoming presidential election, new tentative agreement and bringing back school boards. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has everything you need to know about what came out of that meeting.

🏗️ A heritage building in downtown Dartmouth will be the site of a 26-storey residential tower. The development will create about 140 units.

🏥 The IWK are asking for help  finding a 17-year-old boy who went missing from the hospital. Dawson Lively is five-feet-seven-inches, weighs 134 pounds and has brown hair.

That’s it!

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