Good morning,

Last week, I spoke on the need for change within hockey culture, and a massive part of the change needed is towards referees.

On Feb. 6, a young ref at the Eastern Shore Community Centre in Musquodoboit Harbour was escorted out of the rink after a fan began to throw hate-motivated insults his way. The game was stopped, and the referee who was gaining valuable experience on the ice had to be ushered away.

While it’s unlikely the perpetrator will face any criminal charges, as hate-motivated incidents aren’t punishable by law, this does signal a wider problem with hockey culture that many of us can witness ourselves by attending a local game. People get rowdy when it comes to sports, whether it be players, coaches, onlookers, or even sometimes the refs. However, we can’t lose all inhibitions once we step into a rink. Incidents like this set a poor example for the youth on the ice or young fans in the audience. It is continuing a toxic culture that we need to rid ourselves of.

While reading this story, I immediately thought of the incident that occurred in Brookfield where a coach assaulted a referee during a game involving nine- and 10- year-olds. The coach’s behaviour was absolutely pathetic, and he should never be allowed near the ice ever again in my opinion, but this case was obviously an extreme example.

Yet, the more this kind of behaviour is normalized, the less extreme it becomes.

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

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🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

Over the span of several records and EPs, Harmz has claimed that he's one to watch out for. His new album, Early 20s, aims to support that with a riveting and vulnerable coming-of-age story.

With collaborator Acalus, a dance and hip-hop producer based in Halifax, Harmz weaves a narrative about heartache, ambition and self-discovery over '80s-inspired synth-wave beats. It's all based on his own time learning and growing as a young adult with roots in South Africa, Saskatchewan, Halifax, and now Montreal.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer chats with Harmz about his upcoming record and the approach he took to penning his most vulnerable album to date.

🪧 Activist Eddie Carvery, known for his lifelong protest of the destruction of Africville at the hands of the Halifax municipal government, has died of cancer—Carvery took up his protest in 1970, living in a trailer on the former town site.

💼 Unionized employees of the provincial government are being forced back to the office after a memo was issued last Friday—employees are expected to be back in the office full-time by April 20, leaving the union confused on how this will do anything to repair the province’s $1.4-billion deficit.

🏫 Classes start Wednesday at the long-delayed St. Joseph’s-Alexander McKay Elementary School—the original school was destroyed in 2022, with expectations of a new school ready for students in 2023.

A good night’s sleep helps the body recharge. But chronic stress can increase racing thoughts just before bed, getting in the way of quality rest.

CanPrev’s sleep formulas are made with soothing ingredients like lemon balm and L-theanine, to relieve stress that contributes to sleeplessness and increase total sleep time.

🚨 Halifax police believe there may be additional victims in the sexual assaults perpetrated by 60-year-old Douglas Hatfield, who was convicted for incidents in 2010—they are encouraging any victims to contact police.

💸 The Nova Scotia NDP is criticizing the government’s $1.4-billion deficit, with party leader Claudia Chender blaming it on spending a total of $6.7 billion outside the allotted budget since 2020-21—Chender says the next budget needs to be focused on healthcare, housing, and heating.

🪙 According to a local pawnbroker, more people are selling off their gold items and accessories—demographics of people selling gold are also shifting, as young people seem to be selling in higher numbers according to one Halifax store.

Dinosaur Exploration 2 is a sequel to museum's hit 2024 exhibit letting visitors experience the world's favourite dinosaurs.

Visitors will discover the intricacies of an Ankylosaurus’s armour,  the power of Stegosaurus’s tail, and the defense of a Triceratops’s frill.

Dinosaurs Exploration at the Museum of Natural History runs from February 7 until September 7, 2026.

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

🗓 Dine Around 2026: All of February, stop into specific restaurants across the province for special prix fixe menus for every taste and every budget. | Feb. 1-28 |

🗓 Better Times Comedy at Good Robot Brewing: This weekly comedy show features regulars like Clare Belford, Dan Hendricken, Travis Lindsay, Adam Myatt, and a rotating cast of local and visiting comics. | Feb. 19 | 7:30PM | $15 |

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

🚢 The AS Caspria container vessel arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:50pm.

➡️ The Algoscotia tanker departs Halifax for Corner Brook at 4pm.

🥪 A flavourful roast beef sandwich made just right at Terra Cafe. Shaved deli roast beef, sweet and tangy onion jam, Swiss cheese, roasted garlic aioli, fresh local greens, all within a freshly baked rosemary focaccia.

🦪 Carbonara with a seafood twist! Try 2 Doors Down’s Scallop Carbonara, made with caramelized Digby scallops, rigatoni, pancetta, sweet peas, pecorino romano and cured egg yolk.

✈️ A Porter Airlines plane slid off the tarmac as it landed at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Wednesday evening—passengers on the flight coming from Toronto had to spend an extra two-and-a-half hours on the plane, but there were no reported injuries.

🚒 No charges are being laid in the case of a firetruck colliding and killing an injured snowmobiler in Cumberland County last February—the driver, chief Jerrold Cotton, was discharged after the incident and banned from the fire department.

🗎 Nova Scotia Health is adjusting its rollout of the One Person One Record project following lessons learned from its debut at the IWK Health Centre—the president of the NSGEU, who represents administrative professionals, says the project has had a “rocky start.”

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