Dispute over 1-second video delays Alehouse bouncer pleas in assault case

Good morning !

Happy start of Burger Bash! Have you mapped out your burger path yet? Starting today you have until April 1 to choose from over 160 burger specials at restaurants all over the city. If you haven’t checked out the Burger Bash lineup yet, you can here. There truly is a burger for whatever you’re craving—veggie, smash burgers, waffles, you name it! You can read a little more on how to navigate Burger Bash below.

Tell us what 🍔 you’re most excited to try by replying to this email. Let’s smash this bash!

PROVINCIAL COURT

Dispute over 1-second video delays Alehouse bouncer pleas in assault case

A one-second cellphone video recording is at the centre of a dispute between prosecutors and the defence lawyer representing two Halifax Alehouse bouncers accused of assaulting a patron while on their shift last October.

Both Alexander Pishori Levy, 37, and Matthew Brenton Day, 33, face one count each of assault. As Global News first reported, a patron alleges the two—who work as security staff at the Alehouse—assaulted him after escorting him out of the bar early in the morning on Oct. 10, 2022.

Levy and Day were scheduled to enter their pleas before Halifax provincial court yesterday afternoon. The intake hearing marked the fourth time the two have been summoned before the court without making a plea since last October’s alleged assault. Neither has attended a court date in-person since their first hearing; instead, a defence lawyer has spoken on their behalf.

And while the court has expressed concerns about a potential delay in the plea proceedings, the bouncers’ lawyer argued Wednesday that the hold-up is over the accused’s access to a potentially key witness video.

Need to know

☀️ Today's weather: Here comes the spring snow we asked you about in our poll this week: A high of 1C (wind chill of -8C) and a low of 0C with a mix of snow and rain overnight.

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HOUSING

Province leaves rent cap loophole open for landlords

In a press conference yesterday, Colton LeBlanc, the minister responsible for the Residential Tenancies Act said:

• His government is extending Nova Scotia’s current rent cap to the end of 2025.

• He plans on raising the cap on rent increases from 2% to 5% starting Jan. 1, 2024.

When asked about landlords exploiting fixed-term leases to get around the rent cap, LeBlanc told the gathered reporters that the extra 3% landlords could charge starting in January should fix the fixed-term loophole. The problem, according to Colten, was that the cap was too low.

However, if a landlord wants to make as much money as possible on a rental unit, they are still able to sign a fixed-term lease with a tenant, and then jack up the rent on the next person who rents that unit. When The Coast reported this a residential property manager said: “Due to changes in the Tenancy Act, the industry has moved away from month-to-month leases and moved to fixed term so that both tenants and owners are on equal footing in regards to the terms and options of the lease.”

Did you catch that? The appeal of fixed-term leases isn’t money, it’s power.

SPONSORED

🍔 Halifax Burger Bash March 23 - April 1 🍔

Today kicks off the 11th annual Halifax Burger Bash, a citywide dining promotion featuring over 160 restaurants serving special burgers supporting Feed Nova Scotia. Started by The Coast to bring something unique to Halifax, the promotion is now the biggest annual food event in the city.

To guide your way through the 10 days, pick up a passport at a participating restaurant or in a burger street box around town. Or, search all different kinds of burgers at BurgerBash.ca and find details on contests like winning beer for a year from Garrison Brewing.

HBB is a time of year when we encourage folks to try out a new neighbourhood joint, get back to having lunch with coworkers, or just pop in to an old favourite.

SEAFOOD, EAT IT!

The fish and seafood burgers of Burger Bash

Things are going swimmingly at Burger Bash this year with a great selection of seafood and fish burgers. Between huge surf-and-turf combinations and classic fried fish sandwiches, we hope you scale up your fish intake this year. So do our sponsors at True North Seafood. Check out the fish and seafood lineup here.

Things to do

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

🌸 Spring Vintage Show: The Spring Vintage Show is on this weekend at the Lighthouse Arts Centre. Shop from amazing local antique and vintage vendors | Mar. 25 & 26 | 10am-5pm | Free.

🧶 Clay and Ceramics Program: The MacPhee Centre has announced a new clay and ceramics program beginning Mar. 27 and running every Monday for 10 weeks | Starts Mar. 27 | 4-6pm | Free.

🪴 Queer and Allies Craft Night: Different Folks is having a crafts night for queers and allies hosted by Good Robot Brewing. Learn how to make a macrame plant holder, all materials will be provided | Apr. 3 | 6-9pm | $20.

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings

SPONSORED

Find everything you need for #HFXBurgerBash at Wholesale Club

Grab everything you need to build the most mouth-watering burger at your local Wholesale Club. We offer a free business membership with no minimum order required! Come visit us at 7111 Chebucto Road or save time and shop online with PC Express.

Visit WholeSaleClub.ca to view our Burger Bash flyer and full assortment.

In other news

🏫 The stabbings this week at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford put school safety in the spotlight, but Halifax police have responded to 424 acts of violence in school since 2018, with 77 of them actually leading to charges. CBC has the story.

🔌 Nova Scotia Power now has the potential of being fined up to $25 million for not maintaining performance standards thanks to changes made to the province’s Public Utilities Act.

🗣 As the warm weather rolls in, emergency shelters are shutting down across the province. This week Halifax council announced its intention to write a letter to the province explaining the need to keep these overnight shelters open year round.

🔋 The province announced changes to the Electricity Act yesterday in order to open up more renewable electricity options. Read the release here.

🚨 An investigation is underway after guns were shot at a Dartmouth home at about 2:10am on Wednesday. No injuries have been reported.

Hodgepodge

🤧 Time to whip out the tissues and antihistamines, allergy season in Canada is expected to be short but not so sweet–especially when it comes to the amount of pollen experts are warning of this spring.

🏄‍♀️ Read how a Halifax surfing club is creating a community of women where members feel motivated to practice and enhance their skills.

💵 Basic Income Nova Scotia is holding free conferences in Halifax and Sydney (individuals are welcome to attend virtually) to educate people on what it is trying to achieve. The conferences are happening April 1 from 9:30am-5pm. Lunch is also included!

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