🗞 Police budget talks get real

BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS

Police budget discussions finally get started for real

The Board of Police Commissioners met on Wednesday and finally had their initial strategic budget meeting at the third time of asking. That is, three meetings into the police budget deliberation process and the Nov. 15 meeting was the first time the board got to actually see the Halifax Regional Police’s proposed 2024/25 budget rather than just hear a request for more officers. Like in the three previous meetings, the HRP are proposing an increase of $4,398,400 (4.8%) mainly for 24 new police hires.

But of those 24 hires, only about six could be considered in line with “the strategic priorities of the Board of Police Commissioners: Develop, Engage, Adapt and Evolve.” And so the HRP got lambasted for this ask by the police oversight board.

Read the full Board of Police Commissioners recap at The Coast.

Need to know

💲 The province has increased the fine for dumping on Crown Land from $352.50 to $812.50 for a first offence, and up to $2,422.50 for a second.

🏳️‍⚧️ Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to reflect and remember transgender people who lost their lives because of anti-transgender actions.

🚑 Nova Scotia paramedics have signed a new 3-year contract with the province.

💃 Olé! Flamenco is intense, spellbinding, passionate. Don’t miss Camino, the new show by Halifax’s own Flemenco en Rouge. Two shows only!*

🪧 The final day of the Halifax International Security Forum was met with protests calling for more support in Ukraine and for a ceasefire in Gaza. CTV has the story.

🚌 Effective Nov 20, 2023, Halifax Transit will increase service thanks to recent progress made to improve staffing levels. Approx. 1/4 of the previously reduced trips will be reinstated, for a total of 55 trips!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY TRANSAT

Head to the beach sooner

Everyone loves a change of scenery and Transat makes it easy to travel to dream-worthy destinations. They can take you from Halifax Stanfield International Airport to tropical beach spots like Mexico with all-inclusive packages the whole family will enjoy. You can even score a deal! Check out their offers today.

On The Coast

SPONSORED BY SONIC CONCERTS

Check out some live music this week

Lots of great artists are coming to the city. Don't miss:

Good Lovelies' album & holiday show - Nov. 23 at Light House Arts Centre

Jenn Grant's album celebration with Slow Leaves & more - Nov. 25 at the Rebecca Cohn

Tickets are limited so reserve your seat today.

In other news

🪖 The Canadian Forces Base in Halifax is getting a new $188 million training facility.

💰 Halifax startup Bright Breaks has closed a $2.5M funding round for its online fitness and wellness videos tailored for businesses.

⛺️ The Nova Scotia RCMP and Brigadoon Village have partnered to create a camp that will act as a safe haven for youth survivors of sexual abuse. CBC has the story. 

🪧 Crowds gathered at Pete’s Frootique on Dresden Row this past weekend in support of workers after it was announced that the downtown store would be closed indefinitely while the union continues to negotiate a better contract.

🫐 Nova Scotian farmers discuss the challenges they’re facing to keep wild blueberry crops going amidst the climate change crisis.

🏅 Ottawa has confirmed its intention to honour the all-Black World War I battalion: No. 2 Construction Battalion. The announced $2.25 million in funding will be put towards commemorations, education and memorials to honour its legacy.

🏠 Vicki Elliott-Lopez has been named the new chair of Nova Scotia’s Housing Task Force.

🎄Woody the Talking Christmas Tree is back at Mic Mac Mall for the season.

🦇 A rare silver-haired bat has been spotted for the first time ever in Cape Breton.

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY

Heads up!

To keep our streets safe as we move into the winter months, street cleaners will be collecting fallen leaves around the heavily treed areas of the Halifax Peninsula and other areas of the urban core, as required, over a three-week period, beginning November 20, 2023.

MUSIC

Sam Roberts Band chase reinvention—and find it—on The Adventures of Ben Blank

Sam Roberts can write a song anywhere.

True story: The down-to-earth Montreal rocker penned his breakout hit, 2002’s “Brother Down,” while living under a friend’s foosball table. (“It’s a memory I’ve tried to repress for the past 20 years,” Roberts jokes, speaking with The Coast over Zoom from his Notre-Dame-de-Grâce studio.)

Over a quarter-century-long career that has produced eight albums, six JUNO Awards and some of the most-played rock songs on Canadian airwaves, period, Roberts has become akin to Canada’s answer (or heir) to Bob Dylan: A fearless songwriter who never seems to lack words for the moment. From his earliest convictions that “s-o-c-i-a-l-i-s-m is the only way” on “The Canadian Dream” and asking “Where Have All the Good People Gone?” to his eco-call-to-action on 2016’s TerraForm, Roberts has led his songs—and his career—with his heart on his sleeve. In turn, he has become something of a Canadian music icon—and that history can create a gravity of its own.

Read more on Sam Roberts at The Coast.

Sure things

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

🗓 The Glenn Miller Orchestra: In the mood for an evening of jazz? The Glenn Miller Orchestra is making a stop in Halifax at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium for its “In the Christmas Mood” show. | Nov. 20 | 7pm | $81.65-$109.25.

🗓 Citadel by Candlelight: See the Citadel in a whole new light for its special Holiday Tour. Tour its rooms, hear soldier stories around a campfire while enjoying a warm drink, meet a Victorian-era Santa and more. | Nov. 24 | 7:30pm | $36.79.

Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings

Shop this

🛍️ Looking for a perfect holiday gift? Halifax’s Guapa Boutique has launched a limited-time-only line of cashmere products that was not only designed in Halifax, but sustainably made in Nepal.

Eat this

🇮🇹 Italian cafe Pane e Circo at Bishop’s Landing has added a new chocolate orange croissant to the menu.

🍵 Peppermint mochas are back at Cafe Goodluck just in time for the start of the holiday season!

Deals

📚 Mark your calendars, book lovers. Book of Love Canada is having a one-day-only Black Friday sale on November 24!

Have a local special we should feature? Reply back and let us know!