🗞️ Punishing delinquent developers

Oh hi Halifax,

Before we go any further in our relationship, you should know that I’m a Bigfoot head. It’s one of my many secret truths. I wore out my VHS of Harry and the Hendersons as a youth and have never looked back.

A bunch of cultures have their own lore about a large, hairy, apelike creature who goes by several aliases—Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti—and thrives in all kinds of different climates—like the deep jungle or the snow-covered Himalayas. And while its origins are still widely considered the stuff of legend, many—like myself— firmly believe Bigfoot exists. 

And it turns out, I’m apparently in very good company because over the weekend in Moncton, there was a gathering of people at the Irishtown Nature Park to swap stories about purported encounters with Bigfoot. The conference was held by the New Brunswick Bigfoot Association and I’ve never been more devastated to have missed out on anything. 

Real truthers contend it’s not just one Bigfoot who roams the world—which, just logistically, would be insane.  There are many Bigfoots (the plural), they say, including families. Which means…BABY BIGFOOTS! I can’t even.

Have a magical day out there!

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 24°

Tomorrow: 🌦️ 24°

Next Day: ☀️ 21°

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.

HALIFAX COUNCIL

City needs help to punish delinquent developers

The after-action report on the Upper Tantallon fire dominated last week’s council meeting. (If you missed Friday’s newsletter, you can read about it here.) But that wasn’t the only thing that happened at last Tuesday’s meeting. 

If you get a speeding ticket and don’t pay the fine, that’s a problem when you go to renew your licence or plates at Access Nova Scotia, because they won’t let you renew until you’ve paid the speeding fine. If you had late fees at Blockbuster, you couldn’t rent another movie until those late fees were paid. So, what happens if a developer gets fined for breaking the rules and doesn’t pay? Nothing. The city has to approve their new development applications as long as the proposed developments align with land use bylaws and municipal planning strategies. Since that’s a little messed up, councillor Kathryn Morse wants developers breaking rules to be taken as seriously as Blockbuster did fines. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t have the power to do that, so they have to ask Tim Houston’s government to give the city the power it needs to enforce fines.     

On top of that, life got a little easier for landlords and will eventually get a little easier for people who can’t afford to access rec programs—all that and more in Coast city hall reporter Matt Stickland’s meeting recap. 

🤔 Need To Know

🪧 Library staff in the HRM have hit the picket line after talks broke down between the Halifax Public Library management and the union representing 340 staff members this weekend.

🍻 Save the date! Garrison Brewing & The BG Halifax are celebrating another year of Atlantic Canada's biggest Oktoberfest celebration! September 20-29, follow @garrisonbrewing for details!*

🚍 Changes have been made to some bus routes and schedules in the HRM.

🐄 At Purple Cow Internet our mission is to save you money. Join the herd today and get No bull internet for $60 a month.*

🐻 Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables is investigating a possible bear attack that took place in Eastern Passage on Monday morning.

🌊 Don’t miss your last chance to experience Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend at the Museum of Natural History. This beautiful exhibit at closes on September 2, 2024.*

📰 Toronto-based Postmedia Network Inc. says it has successfully closed its acquisition of SaltWire Inc.—Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper chain. 

🎶 Make music with us at the Halifax Institute of Traditional and Early Music! Ensembles for ages 12+ including adults. Register here!*

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EDUCATION

Families on assistance getting payment for back-to-school supplies

Nova Scotia families who receive income assistance will automatically receive an increase to their Aug. 29 payment, meant to help with the cost of school supplies for their children. As the Department of Community Services announced on Aug. 6, the increase will extend to families with kids starting in Pre-Primary this fall. 

According to the province’s release, children who will turn four by the end of December and are eligible to start Pre-Primary this fall will now receive a $100 payment at the end of August; for children aged five to 12, that August payment will increase from $80 to $100; and for children aged 13 to 18, the August payment will increase from $160 to $200. 

No application is required, as these increases will automatically be applied to families’ income assistance payments. According to the release, 8,500 children are eligible for this one-time payment increase, per income assistance filings. The payment is based on the number of school-aged children in the household, so families with more than one child receive the increased benefit for each child.

The Coast’s education reporter Lauren Phillips has more on the program and who is eligible for this one-time increase.

🗞️ In Other News

🏛️ Housing and immigration were top of the agenda yesterday as the federal cabinet retreat got underway in Halifax—the annual end-of-summer cabinet gathering is intended to set the agenda for the fall sitting of Parliament.

🚉 Traffic at Canada’s two largest railways resumed as a rail work stoppage comes to an end following a Saturday decision from the federal labour board.

✏️ Islamic Relief partnered with the Salvation Army to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to 300 children at the Nova Scotia Islamic Community Center in Halifax over the weekend.

🦞 A commercial lobster fishing group in southwestern Nova Scotia is trying to have a lobster fishery run by a First Nations community declared illegal.

🚲 Paramedics are using e-bikes to provide faster emergency care during peak tourist season on the Halifax waterfront.

🏘️ The federal government has added 56 properties to a new public lands bank of locations that are suitable for long-term leases so developers can build housing—a move the housing minister says will help boost the supply of homes Canadians can afford.

💉 Just a few years after mRNA vaccines proved their efficacy against COVID-19, scientists are now turning their attention to lung cancer as a new vaccine designed to treat non-small-cell lung cancer enters its first clinical trial.

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🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Hope for Wildlife's annual open house: Get a once-a-year "behind-the-scenes" look at the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility with tours of the medical facilities, access to the bird and mammal nurseries, recovery units, marine unit and giant flight cages! All funds raised go to support Hope for Wildlife's efforts to help injured and orphaned wildlife in Nova Scotia. | Aug 31 | Noon | Donations welcome

🗓 The Fabulously Rich—The Tragically Hip Tribute: Don’t miss this tribute band, bound together by our profound appreciation for The Hip's music and committed to honouring Gord's legacy and contributions.  | Aug 31 | 9pm | $20

🗓 Shakespeare By The Sea presents The Unrehearsed MACBETH: Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy will be brought to life like you’ve never seen it before and never will again. For this one-night-only performance, SBTS actors learn only their own lines, design their own costumes and embrace the chaos of live performance where anything can (and will!) happen! | Sep 1 | 7pm | From $15

🗓 Back-To-School Food Truck Rally: This exciting lineup features a variety of local food trucks and vendors including Maverick's Donuts, Smokeinstein, Roll on Two Chimney, The Purple People Feeder, Millers Popcorn, and Giggles Food Truck. Whether you’re craving savoury dishes or sweet treats, there’s something for everyone. | Sep 2 | Noon

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The One Stork container ship leaves Halifax for Singapore at 2:30am.

🛳️ The NYK Remus arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 5:20am.

➡️ The Seabourn Quest cruise ship leaves Halifax for Canadian seas at 6pm.

➡️ The CSL Tacoma container ship leaves Halifax for Wilmington at 10pm.

🛳️➡️ The Happy Dynamic cargo ship arrives in Halifax from Algeciras at 6:15pm and leaves for Gaspe at 11pm.

🛳️➡️ The One Wren container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 5:45am and leaves for New York at 11:45pm.

🛳️ The East Coast oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 8:40pm.

🛳️ The Torm Anabel oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Antwerp at 9:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🦪 Enjoy a briny delight with a hint of sweetness with the oysters at Peacock Wine Bar: They’re topped with a prosecco foam  and sherry mignonette.

🍕 New location alert! Peppercorn’s Eatery has opened their second location, on Young Street. Whether you’re craving gourmet pizza, mouth-watering burgers or delicious pasta, they have you covered.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🥪 A long-awaited provincial lunch program for school students is nearly here. At a media announcement on Friday Aug. 23, Nova Scotia’s minister of education and early childhood development, Becky Druhan, called the pay-what-you-can program “historic.” Announced as part of the provincial budget in March, the new school lunch program will begin with Phase 1—elementary schools—this October, serving lunches to nearly 75,000 students at 255 schools across Nova Scotia. The Coast’s education reporter Lauren Phillips has more details on the program.

🔥 When it comes to forest fires, humans are responsible for starting most of these chain reactions, a whopping 81% of wildfires. It’s little things like flicking cigarette buts or sparks from an ATV, but it’s also the big things, like someone burning in their yard on Juneberry Lane, as filmed by a roofer and reported on CTV. The Coast’s Stickland breaks down what happened last year in Tantallon and delves into what Halifax’s fire department can teach the city about the risks of living in the exurbs.

🪲The population of Japanese beetles—an invasive species—is growing and that's contributing to the death of plants and fruit crops in parts of the province.

That’s it!

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