🗞️ NSCAD students will consider tuition strike if demands not met

Good morning Halifax,

I hope you had a safe and restful weekend.

As school winds down and we all turn our attention to summer fun (and shopping for said fun), keep in mind that the colour of your child’s swim suit can impact their safety.

Experts say a child’s swimsuit colour can significantly impact their visibility in the water—which is crucial in preventing drownings. Bright and contrasting colours stand out more clearly against the water, making it easier for lifeguards and parents to spot a child quickly, especially in an emergency situation.

Although they are quick to point out that you shouldn’t rely on swimsuit colour alone to keep your kid safe. You still have to, you know, watch them.

Still, as you prep the beach bag, avoid swimsuits that are blue, grey or green. This feels so obvious now that I hear it, but something I’ve totally never thought of before. 

Yours in neon 👙

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 16°

Tomorrow: 🌦️ 23°

Next Day: 🌤️ 23°

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.

MUSIC

Clever Hopes meditates on memories in sophomore album, ‘New Kind of Familiar’

On the first Clever Hopes album, singer-songwriter Andrew Shaver walked listeners through a tumultuous break-up and how he navigated that period of his life.

Shaver's sophomore release,  New Kind of Familiar, sees the Dartmouth-based folk rocker delving further into his own life and how far he’s come since 2022’s Artefact. He has a wife, a child, and has left his home of Toronto to set up shop in Dartmouth.

“When I was writing the songs for this album, I was writing not about transitioning out of that first relationship, or that first experience, but it was more about transitioning into a new thing,” explains Shaver in an interview with The Coast.

That’s not to say the new Clever Hopes album is a joyful embrace of Shaver’s newfound life—rather, New Kind of Familiar delves into the concept of experiences and memories, ripping off the rose-tinted glasses to instead take an introspective look at what has shaped him since his last musical outing, and ultimately, what continues to shape him as he moves forward.

“The idea of New Kind of Familiar is just about cycles of repetition, and it’s about breaking, taking in, learning something from one experience of whatever it is holding onto the resonance, the emotional resonance of where you’ve been so that you can feel that in the new thing and try to avoid it,” says Shaver.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer spoke with Shaver about his new album.

🤔 Need To Know

☑️ According to a recent survey, satisfaction has slipped with the Tim Houston government—44% say they’re satisfied with the government’s performance, down from 52% in February—but the conservatives are still way ahead of the opposition on voter intention.

💳 Halifax police have released photos of a suspect in a credit card scam that involves a fake bank employee showing up at homes, taking credit cards and then using the cards to go shopping.

🎤 Killer Mike with Universal Soul and Tachichi + LVXNDR at the TD Halifax Jazz Festival on July 9. Don't miss this dynamic performance!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY ART GALLERY OF NOVA SCOTIA

The unexpected awaits at the AGNS

It’s time to kick the conventional this summer at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia! With two exciting new exhibitions Mitchell Wiebe: VampSites, an attention-grabbing fun house of optical effects, hidden illusions, and pop culture references, and Denyse Thomasos: just beyond, a career retrospective that shows how she challenged the limits of abstraction painting, the AGNS is a must-see this summer.

Plus everyone’s favourites are still on view including Maud Lewis, Kent Monkman, and more!

Open 7-days a week 10am-5pm and free admission all day on Thursdays this summer until 9pm. The unexpected awaits so plan your visit to the AGNS today.

EDUCATION

NSCAD student union to consider tuition strike in the fall if disclosure and divestment not met

The Student Union of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design–SUNSCAD–council released a statement Thursday, June 6 on Instagram endorsing a tuition strike starting in the fall semester “if NSCAD has not, [by then], met the divestment demands previously released by the SUNSCAD Executive.”

Released by the union on May 10, these demands include a call to “publicly disclose the entirety of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University investment portfolio,” and a call to “immediately divest from all weapons manufacturing, military supplying, and companies operating in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories.”

NSCAD is one of five Halifax universities that have joined into a pro-Palestinian coalition, called the Students for the Liberation of Palestine - Kjipuktuk (Halifax)–or SLPK–that have set up an encampment on Dalhousie’s front lawn renamed Al Zeitoun University. 

In a memo to SUNSCAD on May 17, NSCAD University said they are creating a small committee of “student, faculty, inter-university, and staff reps to organize a series of discussions pertaining to war, divestment, university funding, conflict and de-escalation, peace, reconciliation, and diplomacy,” and that these conversations will happen publicly beginning in the fall semester.

In response, the student union wrote that “SUNSCAD will not wait months just to begin discussing NSCAD divesting from genocide.” 

The Coast’s education reporter Lauren Phillips has more on this developing story.

🗞️ In Other News

🛍️ Small businesses in Halifax are asking the municipal government for financial support—citing impacts from ongoing construction throughout the city as a contributing factor in lost revenue.

🗳️ The province’s fixed election date calls for voters to go to the polls on July 15, 2025, but the three major political parties are already lining up candidates—including ousted Justice Minister Brad Johns for the tories.

⚓ The Glooscap First Nation is purchasing two shipyards in the province, saying the acquisitions will position the band to compete for defence contracts. 

🚨 A N.S. man is facing a slew of charges following a year-long police investigation into the trafficking of $1M worth of stolen cars from Alberta into Nova Scotia. The charges include nine counts of possessing stolen property and fraud over $5K.

🧇 The owner of popular Halifax brunch spot Robie Street Station and sister snack bar El Chino says they'll close at the end of summer when their lease ends.

⚖️ Judge Rickcola Brinton—a N.S. provincial court judge—says her complaint about pressure to share a vaccine status was improperly dismissed and wants her complaint against the court’s former top judge revived.

🏠 Property owners in Dartmouth can't move a family out of the duplex it has rented for 13 years in order to move their daughter in. A lawyer who represents tenants said the decision sets a precedent and sends a strong message to people in similar situations.

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY

Free EV test drives: June - August 2024

The municipality is partnering with Next Ride to offer free EV test drives across the Halifax region from June to August 2024.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 North by Night Market: This pop-up style party with food, music, artisanal goods and lots of North End flair is sure to be a good time! Support your local economy and get to know your community better. While you shop and enjoy the atmosphere, make sure to take plenty of pics and use hashtag #NXNMRKT. | June 14 | 7pm | Free

🗓 Shanneyganock - Live at the Shore Club: Shanneyganock are a Newfoundland phenomenon—with 14 recordings with sales in excess of 150,000 copies. From headlining at major festivals, to performing to sold-out audiences on George Street, the group has built a loyal following traveling around the world promoting and preserving the culture, music and songs of Newfoundland and Labrador and now they’re hitting Hubbards! | June 14 | 9:30pm | $35

🗓 Escape the City Halifax: In the heart-pounding race against the clock, your collective wit, intuition, and teamwork will be put to the ultimate test. As the minutes tick away, your group will face a thrilling challenge that demands not only your problem-solving skills but also your ability to work together seamlessly to explore downtown Halifax. Unlock locations, solve puzzles and solve the mystery! | June 15 | 10am | $60 per team

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The Fundy Monarch fishing boat leaves Halifax for Canadian seas at 8am.

🛳️➡️ The Atlantic Sun container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 5:20am and leaves for New York at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Volendam cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 9am and leaves for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🛳️➡️ The Tropic Hope container ship arrives in Halifax from Philipsburg at 6:15am and leaves for West Palm Beach at 9pm.

🛳️➡️ The Lake Wanaka vehicle carrier arrives in Halifax from Flushing at 12:25am and leaves for Freeport, TX at 11pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥒 Back by popular demand! The DILL-ectable at Bud the Spud: locally-sourced Buttermilk fried chicken, bacon, havarti, dill pickle medallions, creamy cucumber dill sauce and dill pickle popcorn seasoning on a brioche bun.

🍹 Cool down with a cool take on a classic: Sprizzi aperol spritz slushies! Only at the Morris East Bedford location.

👀 In Case You Missed It

⛺ One of the main sticking points in the homelessness issue is that council is genuinely, jurisdictionally, pretty powerless to do anything about the main issue(s) causing homelessness. Very simplistically, the housing crisis will not abate until everyone has a home, and the province needs to invest massively in public housing if Tim Houston wants to end homelessness. The Coast’s Matt Stickland takes you into the weeds of the homelessness debate and has you covered on everything else that went down at city hall on Tuesday.

🚙 The Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC) presented its pitch for improving the city’s downtown core. The document includes 17 recommendations under four main pillars — improving accessibility to the harbour, neighbourhoods, entertainment and transportation—with no plans to address parking.

That’s it!

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