🗞️ Takeaways from Halifax's auditor general report

Good morning!

Just like that, another Burger Bash has just about wrapped up for the year. Tomorrow’s the last day for the city-wide patty party. This year, I managed three tasty ‘burgs from Bells Lane Kitchen, Gahan House and Eliot & Vine—and feel only slightly saucy—or rather, green with envy—that I’ve missed out on Studio East’s Umami burger. (Green bun, what wonderful secrets are you hiding?)

What’s the best burger you ate this week, if you made it out for Burger Bash? Drop me a note—I’d love to know.

– Martin

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 14°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 9°

Next Day: ☁️ 10°

7-day forecast

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

CITY HALL

Halifax’s capital budget is growing—but projects aren’t keeping pace, new auditor general tells councillors

Halifax’s new auditor general, Andrew Atherton, told the HRM’s audit and finance committee that his team has four priorities for the coming year: Capital budgeting, snow removal effectiveness, parks and recreation program planning and infrastructure maintenance.

Atherton started his job in Dec. 2023. Halifax’s capital budget is getting bigger year over year, he told the committee—and it also seems like the amount of capital project work accomplished is never actually what we budget for in the capital budget process.

As for infrastructure maintenance, Atherton wants to try and figure out how much deferred maintenance of buildings is actually costing the HRM. Since councillors normally defer maintenance to save money, if the AG finds (as he is likely to do) that deferring costs us more money in the long term than it saves in the short term, Matt Stickland reports, then we will learn that our councillors have made some horrendous mistakes that need correcting.

🤔 Need To Know

🏘️ Zoning changes to increase density in Halifax are one step closer to reality, but council is catching flak for backing away from high rises near the universities.

🤝 Premier Tim Houston says the province has reached an agreement in principle with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union following a 98% strike mandate vote.

🏫 Meanwhile, Halifax’s schools are struggling to keep pace with the region’s growing population.

🪱 A Sipekne’katik man alleges conservation officers bear sprayed him and didn’t identify themselves when they arrested him for elver fishing in Dartmouth.

🎭 Support4Culture is a proud supporter of arts, culture and heritage in Nova Scotia including Industry Nights at Neptune Theatre. See the impact Support4Culture makes here.*

🎤 The show’s over. But the legacy will live on. What an amazing week. Here’s to the musicians, venues, and fans—you did Halifax proud, and showed the JUNOS how it’s done!*

🧑‍🚒 Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week by thanking volunteer firefighters across the region. This week, remember to thank a volunteer firefighter.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX BURGER BASH

Don't miss the "patty"

This years 12th annual Halifax Burger Bash is almost gone! 

Grab a burger buddy and “patty” because these burger specials won’t be around forever!  

Presented with Garrison Brewing.

FROM THE COAST ARCHIVES: ‘SHROOM BOOM

Psychedelic-assisted therapy is becoming big business. Is Nova Scotia ready?

The glitzy hotel conference room surroundings said as much about psychedelics’ rise to mainstream interest as anything else. In the basement of the Atlantica Hotel in mid-November 2022, a group of 30-odd academics, therapists, mycologists and MBAs mingled to discuss the latest research and commercial forays into magic mushrooms, MDMA and other psychedelic tools of therapeutic treatment.

On their minds: How to tap into an industry projected to be worth US$8.3 billion worldwide by 2028. It’s a realm Nova Scotia, by and large, has yet to enter. But that’s changing.

Nova Scotia’s first-ever clinical trial involving psilocybin—the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms—began treating its first volunteer patients nearly one-and-a-half years ago. It wrapped last March. The Windsor-based Halucenex Life Sciences Inc. is trialling the compound for use in treating severe post-traumatic stress.

And last June, the federal government waded into the fray, investing close to $3 million to fund three trials “that will examine psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy as a potential treatment option for alcohol use disorder, treatment-resistant depression and end-of-life psychological distress in advanced-stage cancer patients.”

So where does the field go from here? As The Coast reports, it’s an industry with promise—and pitfalls, too.

🗞️ In Other News

🗓 Nova Scotia’s justice minister is apologizing for saying he believes there are “bigger issues” than domestic violence on the anniversary of the Portapique mass shooting.

💸 Some Nova Scotia families say the province’s “exclusionary” funding for kids with intellectual disabilities means they’re struggling to make ends meet.

🍎 The provincial Tories are going back on their decision not to invite Nova Scotia’s teachers union to a government meeting on school violence.

⚖️ An inmate who briefly escaped from a Dorchester prison last weekend has a history of escaping custody—including while handcuffed and awaiting trial in Halifax.

🐻 Nova Scotia’s government says it’s nixed a spring bear hunt after a survey found Nova Scotians are “very divided” on the matter.

🤳 The Canadian government plans to introduce a “right to disconnect” from after-hours work calls and emails for federally-regulated workers.

🍋 A Halifax drink company started by two brothers anticipates a $100M boost in revenue after getting their sugarless sodas into the US.

SPONSORED BY SYMPHONY NOVA SCOTIA

Don't miss spectacular Beethoven's Ode to Joy

Even in the darkest moments, hope prevails. Symphony Nova Scotia presents one of Beethoven's greatest and most uplifting works, the Ninth Symphony. Attend this concert and you'll experience how an 80-person choir, featured guest soloists and your orchestra can heal and provide inspiration. May 3 and 4. Get tickets now.

SPONSORED BY GLOBAL NEWS

Watch Global News with Aalia Adam weeknights at 6pm

Tune in to Global News Halifax weeknights at 6pm or access your local Halifax news 24/7 by downloading the free Global TV app on your connected TV devices. From breaking news to developing stories, Global News brings you the latest about where you live every single day.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Gabrielle Papillon: Called “one of the finest songwriters in the country,” the Halifax singer plays her first hometown show since 2019 tonight at the Sanctuary Arts Centre. Multi-instrumentalist Sean McGillivray joins her on-stage, and Halifax’s Leanne Hoffman performs an opening set. | Apr. 19 | 7pm | $27.96

🗓 About Dry Grasses: The Turkish-made film (showing at Carbon Arc Cinema) follows the story of public-school art teacher Samet, who “yearns to leave the sleepy village” of East Anatolia for Istanbul. Merve Dizdar won Best Actress at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for her performance. | Apr. 19-20 | 6:30pm | $8.75

🗓 Parabolus: The Montreal-based Tool tribute band visits the Marquee Ballroom this Saturday and promises to cover songs “from all the albums,” from 1992’s Opiate to 2019’s Fear Inoculum. | Apr. 21 | 8pm | $21.85

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The 8,000-car Morning Lynn vehicle carrier arrives in Halifax from Southampton, UK, around 4:30am. It leaves for New York, NY, at 3:30pm.

🚢 The MSC Sines R container ship is expected to arrive in Halifax from Montreal around 6:15am. It departs for Sines, Portugal, at 5pm.

🚢 The 74-metre Silver Arctic general cargo ship is set to reach Halifax from St. Pierre and Miquelon around 7:15am. It leaves again for St. Pierre around 6pm.

🚢 The EF Ava container ship is due in Halifax from Portland, ME, around 8:15am. It leaves for Reykjavik, Iceland, at 1pm.

🚢 The NYK Rigel container ship arrives in Halifax from Antwerp, Belgium, around 10:20am.

🚢 The 37,690-tonne Algoma Mariner bulk carrier is expected to arrive in Halifax from Sainte Catherine, QC, around 1:15pm.

➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/cargo ship leaves Halifax for St. John’s, NL, at 6pm.

🚢 The Wicky Spirit oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Sarnia, ON, around 7pm.

➡️ The 144-metre Augusta Luna general cargo ship leaves Halifax for Villagarcia, Spain, at 10pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥬 Gottingen Street’s EDNA has a snow pea salad with smoked mussell aioli, white anchovy, n’duja breadcrumb and straciatella.

🍽️ Au Liban’s stuffed grape leaves are served with pomegranate seeds and a wedge of lemon.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🛳️ Cruise season is back in Halifax—and with new anti-pollution measures. But how much has changed from before? The Coast reports.

🚧 The MacKay Bridge reopened all lanes Thursday after shutting down a Halifax-bound lane due to a cracked truss.

📚 One Nova Scotia grade-four student has started a book drive to collect books on female athletes after noticing her school’s library lacked options.

That’s it!

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