🗞️ The best bands in the land

Happy advanced polling day Halifax!

While official election day isn’t until Oct. 19, advanced telephone and online voting begins today at 8am. To vote early, you’ll need your unique personal identification number—which should have been mailed to you.

Over the past six months, we have been working hard to give you all the information you need to make the best possible choices—from reader surveys, to podcast interviews, to comprehensive voter guides. 

But if you’re still sitting there feeling unmotivated or unengaged and just need a little push to get you to the polls, behold (I can’t believe I’m about to type this)....Justin Beaver.

This truly unhinged brain child of a Halifax marketing company is appealing to Haligonians to vote by encouraging them to (sigh) “give a dam” when it comes to local politics.

This is. I mean. Sure.

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 15°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 14°

Next Day: ☀️ 11°

7-day forecast

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

HFX VOTES 2024

Districts 13 and 14 Voting Guides

If you’ve never looked at District 13 on a map and have only been paying attention to municipal politics since the summer of last year, you might have the impression that District 13 consists of Upper Tantallon and Hubbards and that’s pretty much it. 

But in reality, District 13 is a massive coastal district, and boasts the quintessential coastal tourism spot, Peggy’s Cove. This district, like its large rural and coastal siblings District 2 and 11, will be the focus of intense scrutiny and problem solving as the city works on coastal protection and reforming rural communities in the next council term.

Read the District 13 voting guide, featuring two of the two candidates who filled out The Coast’s questionnaire.

District 14 was held most recently by Lisa Blackburn who is leaving municipal politics, leaving her seat empty. This district still spans the north western communities in the HRM including places like the Plains of Hammonds, upper and regular, and the Sackvilles middle and upper.

This district is also home to Lucasville, one of Nova Scotia’s long standing African Nova Scotian communities which was founded by Black Loyalists after the War of 1812. When Halifax was amalgamated in 1996 lines were drawn on maps to demark where communities, towns and villages were prior to amalgamation. 

Those blue signs throughout the HRM welcoming you to various communities are a result of that late ’90s mapping exercise. Unfortunately, in 1996, the lines were drawn incorrectly, which was discovered by community members Debra Lucas and Iris Drummond when they tried to get the HRM to put up some of those blue “Welcome to Lucasville” signs. After some organizing and lobbying, the city corrected the boundaries for Lucasville in 2016.

In order to determine which candidates running in District 14 would pay attention to detail and prevent past issues like this one, The Coast sent out a substantial questionnaire, however none of the candidates in District 14 completed the questionnaire. Matt Stickland has prepared a voting guide nonetheless.

🤔 Need To Know

🏢 The federal government has initiated a building disposal process that could potentially see a vacant 61,000-square-foot office building in Dartmouth turned into housing for homeless people.

🫖 Halifax's CAO hesitated to send an emergency alert through the province's system about a boil-water order affecting more than 200K people—according to documents obtained through an access-to-information request.

💡 Over 2,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were left in the dark after a large power interruption around Lake Charles on Monday morning—power was restored in the area around 9am.

SPONSORED BY CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21

Were there slave markets in Canada?

Yes. Enslaved people were sold at auctions in warehouses, wharves and city markets in Canada in the 18th century alongside fruits, vegetables and liquor. Uncover the original stories about slave markets in Halifax, and rest of Canada. Explore A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, a new myth-busting exhibition that reveals a history many Canadians don’t know about and discover the experiences of enslaved Black people in Canada through individuals’ stories, historical records and objects. The exhibition is created with guest curator Dr. Afua Cooper, in partnership with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia.

BEST OF HALIFAX

Halifax has spoken—these are the best bands of 2024

Music critics the world over have argued that bands are a dying art form. 

Music-making has become more accessible than ever due to the prevalence of digital audio workstations. Solo acts with teams of producers dominate pop music charts. Getting musicians with varied instruments in a room to create became difficult during the pandemic. If we were to look exclusively at what sells, we could conclude that bands are a fragment of the past—a holdover from previous generations.

However, this is a rather pessimistic outlook on bands and their relevance. While you won’t see many bands charting the Billboard 200, passionate musicians will always come together to deliver upon a shared vision. Nothing is more healthy for music culture than a group of friends shredding on a stage in a local club, or a duo crafting intricate tunes for their next album from their home studio. While music creation can be an individual endeavour, making music with friends will always be a source of enjoyment for both musicians and listeners. 

Collaboration is at the heart of what makes music such a profound art form, and with Halifax’s music scene growing stronger and stronger every year, so too is the selection of bands that you can hear in venues across the city. 

Thankfully, our readers have narrowed down seven of the city’s top bands to contend for our annual Best Band award as part of The Coast’s Best of Halifax Reader’s Choice Awards, and final voting is open right now.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer guides you through this year’s nominees for Best Band.

🗞️ In Other News

⚖️ A Halifax woman convicted in the murder of Loretta Saunders has been granted a 30-day, unescorted absence from prison to help her prepare for the potential end of her time in custody.

⛽ The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board will be invoking the interrupter clause to change the price of diesel— saying the change is necessary due to significant shifts in the market price for diesel oil.

👀 The Correctional Service of Canada is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death of a 61-year-old inmate at Springhill prison.

🚨 Halifax police say a suspect made off with some cash after a Saturday morning armed robbery at a McDonald’s on Chain Lake Drive.

🖤 Mourners gathered by the hundreds in cities across Canada on Sunday to honour the victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the still raging war in Gaza. 

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Tenille Townes Live: Immerse yourself in the soulful melodies and captivating storytelling of Tenille Townes as she takes the stage in Halifax. With a voice that resonates with raw emotion and lyrics that tug at the heartstrings, Townes is known for her ability to connect deeply with her audience. | Oct. 11 | 8pm | From $28

 🗓 The Man in Black - A Tribute to Johnny Cash: With his great physical resemblance, baritone voice and precise body language, Shawn Barker slips into the shoes of the original and brings the personality and spirit of Johnny Cash to life in a one-of-a-kind show. The dynamic concert features Barker embodying the character throughout the evening, as he revisits each era of Cash's career. | Oct. 12 | 8pm | From $40

🗓 2024 Halifax Paranormal Symposium: Get ready to embark on a journey into the mysterious world of the paranormal with a lineup of renowned experts in their field. Whether you're a seasoned paranormal enthusiast or just curious about the unexplained, this symposium promises a day of discovery and intrigue. | Oct. 12 | 8:30am | $125

🗓 Jordan Davis - Damn Good Time World Tour: Multi-Platinum, CMA award-winning artist and current reigning CMA Song of the Year winner Jordan Davis is bringing his world tour to Halifax. | Oct. 12 |  7pm | $72

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The Atlantic Star container ship leaves Halifax for New York at 1:30am.

🛳️ The MSC Sweden VI container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am.

➡️ The Tropic Lissette container ship leaves Halifax for West Palm Beach at 7am.

🛳️➡️ The Jewel of the Seas cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 8am and leaves for Canadian seas at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Spirit of Adventure cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 8am and leaves for Canadian seas at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The NYK Constellation container ship arrives in Halifax from Caucedo at 5:20am and leaves for Southampton at 11:45pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍩 Introducing the Thanksgiving Six Pack from Total Donut Solutions: Two apple pie donuts, two pumpkin chai donuts and two pumpkin spice kruffins (croissant baked in the shape of a muffin).

🍜 Spice up your lunch with the Steak Vermicelli Bowl at The Canteen: Seared steak, rice noodles, pickled carrot, cucumber, radish, basil, mint, coconut-peanut dressing, scallions, peanuts, pickled Thai chilies.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🗳️ District 15 used to be the only district in the HRM made up entirely of one community, Lower Sackville. With the recent district boundary changes, District 15 picked up the Beaverbank and Kinsac communities from the neighbouring District 14. This race is a head to head between an incumbent and a rookie, and in this voter guide, Matt Stickland starts with the one who filled out The Coast’s candidate questionnaire.

🎥 Writing, performing and producing music is already a strenuous process. It’s difficult for artists not to be perfectionists about their sound, so it can often take months, even years, for a song to truly come together into a final product that the artist can be proud of.  Adding a video to go with that song can be even more of a challenge. And while the MTV era has been over for quite some time, we still appreciate music videos for the artistry on display. They can push singles to gain more traction. They can enhance storytelling and meaning. They can be fun and goofy, or reflective and sombre. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer breaks down the nominees for this year’s Best Music Video award.

That’s it!

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