🗞 A 15-day ocean voyage

Good morning!

We ran a poll in yesterday’s newsletter asking if you made any New Year’s resolutions. Most people who responded said that resolutions had to be a year-round thing, our readers seeming to understand that self-improvement is a constant. More of a journey than a race. Improving our city is not unlike improving ourselves in that way. It, unfortunately, requires regular commitment from those of us who live and work here, to be informed and engaged about what our governments are doing—especially when it comes to the unfolding disasters of the housing crisis and the climate emergency. 

So we here at The Coast would like to ask you to make an ongoing resolution to be more engaged with your local government this year. We have a newsletter focused on city hall that is published weekly for our paying Coast Insider members. It will keep you up to speed about what’s going on at city hall. And we’d like you to subscribe to it. 

But today, to help you with your resolution, we’re going to send you this week’s edition for free. It’s a look ahead at this year’s budget, but there’s also important information in this week’s edition for anyone who’s made a resolution to be more engaged with the democracies that govern their lives in 2024. Paying members got it yesterday; watch for it coming to your inbox this morning around 10:30.

– Matt Stickland

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: ⛅️ 2°

Tomorrow: ❄️ -3°

Next Day: ❄️ -2°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

OCEAN ADVENTURE

Meet the Halifax couple who kayaked 400km from the city’s north end to Cape Breton

Four words have been etched in marker on a whiteboard in Noah Booth’s Halifax basement for years: Kayak the Eastern Shore. The words were there, scrawled in black, long before the 32-year-old geologist ever tried sea kayaking—never mind a 15-day ocean voyage. They were there longer still before Booth and his partner, Rachyl MacPhail, started their weekend backcountry trips of Nova Scotia in 2021. To Booth, a Royal Canadian Geographic Society fellow who has canoed through ice to reach the Arctic Ocean and paddled through some of the most remote reaches of Labrador, the 400-kilometre stretch of coastline between Halifax and Cape Breton offered a unique allure: A blend of both the familiar and the unexpected.

Read about the couple’s ocean adventure at The Coast.

🤔 Need to know

🏒 Czechia made a third-period comeback to eliminate Canada 3-2 in the World Junior Hockey Championship.

🚨 Police are looking for two men involved in a January 1 Upper Tantallon home invasion where two people were restrained and a robbery ensued.

🔌 Happy 2024—your Nova Scotia Power electrical bill is probably going to be around 6.5% more this year.

SPONSORED BY CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21

Photography exhibition on migrants today

Great photography captures the humanity of its subjects like nothing else. Crossing Lines: A New Age of Migration gives a window on migrants in border regions in Asia, Europe, Central and North America, and ultimately to the Canada-US border. The photographers, Darren Ell and Roger LeMoyne, investigate and humanize some of the issues and realities in the current widespread population movements and the global refugee crisis.

The exhibition runs January 10-March 24 at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and your admission also covers access to the Museum’s incredible permanent exhibitions! It's a great way to spend a weekday morning or afternoon.

🗞️ In Other News

🏠 Experts and stakeholders reviewed housing in Nova Scotia in 2023. CBC has the story.

⚖️ Steven Deveau, a case manager with Pardon Me, a free service based in Dartmouth that helps individuals in the process of pardoning past crimes, explains the difficulties people have securing housing and jobs due to the long and confusing legal process.

🧐 The SiRT is investigating after a police firearm was used at a Pictou Landing First Nation home on Dec. 31, where a man was threatening to harm other individuals. 

💲 Jay Goldberg, interim Atlantic Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, speaks to CTV about the tax hikes Maritimers can expect this year.

🔌 All residents at the Grand Parade tent encampment now have access to electricity, although electric and gas heaters are still prohibited.

🧶 Craft Nova Scotia is looking for creatives interested in sharing their talents with others in the Nova Scotia craft community. Find more info here.

SPONSORED BY THE ART SPACE

New Year's resolution: Nurture your child's passion for art

If you have any creative-minded kids or teenagers, indulge their creativity and develop their skills at The Art Space. Weekly classes start this week, along with PD Day and March Break camps. There are still a few spaces available, filling up fast—reserve your spot now.

🤝 Now hiring

Looking for work?

• Part-time manager at Independent Mercantile.

• Pastry chef, baker assistant and barista at Levantic Bakery.

• Executive assistant at Time and Space Media. 

• Mobile release specialist at Ubisoft. 

• Gardener at Dalhousie University. 

• Field assistant at GFL Environmental Inc. 

• Payroll associate at Emera. 

• Department manager at H&M.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 A night at Yuk Yuk’s Halifax: Comedian Dan Hendricken, most known for his appearance at the Halifax Comedy Fest, will be taking the stage at Yuk Yuk’s on Argyle Street this week with host Carolyn Davis and Etay Kuperman | Jan. 5 & 6 | 8pm | $22.50

🗓 Live Music at the Seahorse Tavern: Shayfer James takes a night off from writing his new album to perform solo at the Seahorse Tavern | Jan. 6 | 8pm | $16.58

🗓 Athletes for Palestine: Join in on a bike ride of solidarity with Gaza para-cycling team the Gaza Sunbirds, in a show of peaceful support “for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine.” The 6km ride will begin at Victoria Park and also act as a fundraiser for the Gaza Sunbirds and the Middle East Children’s Alliance | Jan. 6 | 2pm | Free 

🗓 Cinderella: There are only a few days left to catch the retelling of this childhood classic at Neptune Theatre | Until Jan. 6 & 7 | 2pm & 7:30pm | $43-$105

🗓 Banff Mountain Film Festival: Explore the outdoors and some of the most unique places the world has to offer through the screenings of the films at this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival happening at The Spatz Theatre. Snag your tickets at The Trail Shop before the festival sells out. | Jan. 18 & 19 | 7pm

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

Funds through food: After raising $1,300 during a sale back in December, Ramblers cafe will be hosting another Bake Sale for Gaza on Jan. 7 between 4 and 6pm. Stop by and try a treat provided by a variety of local bakers while supporting Pal Gaza, a non-profit that helps bring food to communities in Gaza.

A slice of Italy: Try Ristorante a Mano’s Pizza Calabrese, topped with calabrese salami, peperoncino, caramelized onions and mozzarella.

🛍️ Shop Talk

Shop ‘till you drop: The Wolfville Vintage Market is back for its winter showcase happening at the Acadia Student Union Building on Jan. 13 from 11am-6pm. Admission is free! 

A special shout out: Halifax’s Armview Restaurant and Lounge was mentioned in The New York Times last week in the story “When a Restaurant is More Than a Place to Dine.”

Say “hello” to Monasaba: The new Yemeni cuisine restaurant Monasaba had its soft opening at 215 Chain Lake yesterday, and will be fully opening soon. Keep up to date with the restaurant’s happenings on its Instagram.

👀 In Case You Missed It

• Every big show coming to Halifax (and beyond) in this fresh new year. 

• Should Halifax Get An "L" In School Infrastructure In 2023? Find out at The Coast.

• Have you heard about the recent changes to CPP contributions? Find out if you’re affected here.

• Check out this cool photo of 2023’s 13 full moons.

• Here’s what’s going to cost you more in 2024.

That’s it!

Thanks for reading The Coast Daily today ❤️ 

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