🗞️ What does the mayor do?

Morning Halifax,

I’m feeling a heavy dose of nostalgia as I write this having just heard the news of the passing of Shannon Doherty at only 53 years old after a long struggle with breast cancer.

Although she was only on the show for four seasons, her role in the melodrama Beverly Hills 90210 cemented in our hearts and minds that Brenda Walsh was, is, and forever will be, that bitch.

Doherty is also well known for her role in the ’80s cult classic Heathers and the witchy network hit Charmed. But wherever she went, she always seemed to catch media scrutiny with accounts of outbursts, drinking and impulsiveness—but I mean, whomst among us, right?

The actor had been first diagnosed in 2015 and underwent a mastectomy. In 2020, she said that her diagnosis was then terminal, calling it “a bitter pill to swallow.” It’s incredibly sad to lose such a young, talented and beautiful woman.

Nobody before or after has rocked a bang and a blazer quite like the iconic Brenda Walsh.

Have a great day out there,

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: ☀️ 29°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 29°

Next Day: ☁️ 29°

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.

CITY

HFX VOTES: What does the mayor do?

In this episode of the Grand Parade's ongoing series of municipal issues explainer, Matt Stickland sits down with Mayor Mike Savage to find out what the mayor does. This conversation bounces around from the fiscal challenges facing the city, some practical advice for running a good meeting and an answer to the question: Does Mike find it weird that people call him "Your Worship?"

It also provides insight into what it is our mayor can and can’t do, and what his job actually is. Even with the title your worship, since the HRM is a corporation, he’s actually more like the chair of a board of directors. Savage explains how he wields the power of mayor’s office in this episode.

🎧 Listen now

🤔 Need To Know

⛈️ Two deadly floods in two years has residents and municipal leaders saying it's time for the province to accept that extreme weather is the new normal—and make sure people have the tools they need to stay safe.

🔥 Agencies have issued 16 tickets worth more than $25K each to people allegedly violating daily burn restrictions so far this year.

🌊 Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend is on display at the Museum of Natural History from July 6 to September 2, 2024.*

🎭 Twelfth Night opens this Friday Night at Shakespeare by the Sea! Join us in Point Pleasant Park until September 1st. Get your seats TODAY!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY GARRISON BREWING

Garrison Hosts Halifax Pride Party!

Celebrate Halifax Pride with Garrison Brewing on July 21st at their second annual Sweet & Sour Tea Dance 🌈 Hosted by local drag icons Brooke Rivers & Trinity Foxx, they'll be welcoming
Kandy Ho from Ru Paul's Drag Race & Bayleigh Pelham, winner of Big Brother Canada to the Seaport Taproom!

Get ready for drag performances, dancing, drink specials & bubble machines ✨ Meet & Greet starts at 3PM, Show at 4PM.

Last year this party was a sell out! VIP & General Admission available now - get your tickets on Eventbrite ASAP so you don't miss it 🎟️

Happy Pride, Halifax!

EDUCATION

Dungeons & Dragons class at MSVU this winter, nearly full already

First things first: you don’t have to know how to play Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) to take a new course developed by Jeff MacLeod for January 2025, called Wizards, Rogues and Elves: Exploring Politics Through Dungeons & Dragons. 

It’s a 3000-level (or upper year) special topics course, cross-listed within the departments of political studies and cultural studies at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU).

So, what is D&D? In short, it’s an imaginative role-playing game developed in the ’70s in the United States, says MacLeod, which did have war-gaming roots, “where people that were interested in Napoleonic war-gaming developed it as a fantasy war game.

“But it’s really transcended that and become something else over the past 50 years,” to become a collaborative role-playing game where you assume a character or develop a character using the D&D game system. For example, you can be an elf, wizard or a rogue and use that character to enter adventures. 

Within these adventures, you take on the role and abilities of your character and work with other players’ characters around the table. When it comes down to resolving an action within the game, this usually involves rolling dice, called a dragon dice, which is a polyhedral dice—and then comparing the dice roll to a score your character has.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips spoke to MacLeod about how this popular role play game helps teach themes like power, politics and empathy.

🗞️ In Other News

🏠 A historical piece of real estate on Maynard Street in Halifax—listed as the childhood home of civil rights trailblazer Viola Desmond—has been conditionally sold. 

🚨 Police say two people from B.C. were found dead in a boat that washed ashore on Sable Island on Wednesday—about 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax.

🍷 After months of silence, the province finally revealed it allocated $1.2M to a controversial wine subsidy program between January and March because “it was going to come out in the public accounts anyway.”

🥀 A child in Wolfville has died after significant flash flooding occurred throughout the town and nearby Kings County communities on Thursday evening.

🏥 Staffing levels for ultrasound technologists are "critically low" in the province—according to the union that represents them—creating challenging working conditions and delays in care for patients.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Shakespeare By The Sea presents Twelfth Night: Shakespeare’s most complete comedy returns to Point Pleasant Park this summer in a high energy production full of laughs, sighs, and music. Inspired by Vaudeville Theatres of the early 20th century, eight actors take on some of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters in this fast-paced, hilarious version of the classic. | July 18-Aug 30 | From $10

🗓 Halifax Wanderers Home Game: Come cheer on the home team as they take on Valour FC at the Wanderers Grounds. | July 18 | 7pm | From $29

🗓 Spontaneity Improv Showcase: Spontaneity Improv Company will be presenting their monthly showcase! This group of talented improvisers will be taking the stage and improvising based on audience suggestions. Get your tickets and get in on the show. | July 18 | 7:30pm | $11.98

🗓 2024 Halifax Pride Festival: This annual festival features over 150 community and Pride organized events celebrating the history, culture, activism, and perseverance of the queer community. | July 18-28

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

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

🛳️➡️ The MSC Sines R container ship arrives in Halifax from Sines at 6:15am and leaves for Montreal at 1pm.

➡️ The Elka Delos tanker leaves Halifax for Saint John at 2pm.

🛳️➡️ The Norwegian Star cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 7am and leaves for Canadian seas at 3pm.

🛳️➡️ The Atlantic Sun container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 5:20am and leaves for New York at 4pm.

🛳️➡️ The Insignia cruise ship arrives in Halifax at noon and leaves for Canadian seas at 10pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥬🐟 Cool down and celebrate summer veggies with the Mackerel Salad at Bar Stillwell: smoked mackerel pate, local baby romaine, pickled rhubarb and radish, pangrattato, dill.

🫛 Refresh your lunch routine with the Pesto and White Bean Spag-os at Salt + Ash Beach House: asparagus, peas, dill and a touch of lemon all tossed with a dusting of parmigiano-reggiano.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎨 Alan Syliboy’s largest retrospective ever is up at the Dalhousie Art Gallery (DAG), until Aug. 11. The Journey So Far exhibition spans 50 years of work from the prolific self-taught Mi’kmaw artist from Millbrook First Nation. While there’s still one more month to check out this sprawling show, multiple visits come highly recommended. What’s more, Syliboy will be giving an artist talk within his show on Saturday, July 20 from 2pm to 3:30pm. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips spoke with Syliboy about his life, career and this retrospective.

🎤 Connor James described his seven-year relationship as existing within a snow globe. He could see each individual scene play out within the glass. The morning when it finally happened. All of the complex feelings leading up to it. The freeing hopelessness that came afterward. Last Everythings is James allowing the world to see into his snow globe. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer talks with James about June Body’s fourth record and their upcoming show where they’ll open for PUP.

⛺ Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says he “nearly fell out of my chair” when he heard about some of the new designated encampment sites—adding that sites at the Commons and Point Pleasant Park are “completely nuts.”

⛺ HRM’s decision to designate nine new homeless encampment sites in several prominent parks throughout the region—including Point Pleasant Park—is sparking concern in the community.

That’s it!

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