🗞️ Wonder Women converge on Halifax

Duunnn dunnn… duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn 🦈

Great white sharks may have had their moment in the ’70s and ’80s, but guess what? Like high waisted jeans, they’re making a comeback. Growing evidence has shown that the number of great whites is on the rise along the coast of Eastern Canada. Fred Whoriskey—director of the Ocean Tracking Network at Dal—says the population of these apex predators appears to be growing because of successful conservation measures and a rapidly growing food supply, mainly grey seals.

So, for the first time ever, the plan is to install warning signs at about a dozen public beaches as early as this summer. But they probably won’t look like the American versions—which I can only describe as pure nightmare fuel. 

I guess ours will feature…friendly looking great whites? Which is the most Nova Scotian thing I can imagine. I bet they’ll be in kilts.

All jokes aside, be careful out there and don’t swim alone. Or at night. Or alone at night.

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 22°

Tomorrow: ☀️ 25°

Next Day: 🌤️ 32°

_{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.

NEWS + OPINION

Wonder Women converge on Halifax

With men in powerful positions running amok, if ever we needed a superhero to swoop in and save the world, it’d be now. Luckily, there were over 800 of them crammed inside the Halifax Convention Centre on Friday. 

They wore different disguises—stilettos, blazers, wide rimmed glasses—and went by different aliases—communications manager, non-profit director, family lawyer—but they were all on the same mission: to inspire and empower each other.

They were gathered for the 2024 installment of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce’s Wonder Women conference—its biggest one yet.

“Our first event was in the fall of 2018 at the Lord Nelson with 130 people attending,” said Becky Davison, vice president of marketing at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. “To see 800 people here today is amazing. We are excited to see this event grow and to have new attendees every year!”

The Coast’s Julie Lawrence was at the conference and has everything you need to know about what happened at this powerful event.

🤔 Need To Know

🤸‍♀️ Halifax gymnast Ellie Black will become the first Nova Scotian woman in history to compete in four Olympics.

🛋️ Win a $2,500 shopping spree at WorldWide Furniture! Enter the Style Your Space Giveaway.*

💃 Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal (FODAR) celebrates a Decade July 16 - 20. Productions include new works, a tap dance legend, tribute to Johnny Cash.*

🚲 The municipality is inviting residents to share their feedback on active transportation infrastructure on Slayter Street in Dartmouth.*

*Sponsored Post

EDUCATION

More support for students at encampment from senate, faculty and alum

Since May 12, support for the encampment on Dalhousie’s front lawn organized by the coalition Students for the Liberation of Palestine-Kjipuktuk(Halifax)–or SLPK–has continued to grow as its space has expanded with tents, teach-ins, banners and gardens.

Although it flanks the steps at Dal, the SLPK represents students from five universities across Halifax. On Thursday June 13, the coalition held a press conference on the steps, with the start of their vegetable garden in the foreground and ranks of supporters in the background. 

They confirmed that all five administrations know their students have been sleeping at Dal for the past five weeks in protest of their institution’s financial and academic ties to Israel’s occupation of and war on Gaza, Palestine.

SLPK speakers said Thursday that none of their five universities have committed to disclosure or divestment, despite scattered meetings taking place with each administration in varied forms.

The students said they are “dissatisfied with the responses of our institutions, who are dragging their feet as Palestinians in Gaza continue to face manufactured famine, torture, agony, massacre and murder.”

Yet outside groups–such as Labour for Palestine, the Jewish Faculty Network and Independent Jewish Voices–along with inside groups, like university faculty, student unions, alums and, most recently, the Dalhousie Senate, have gone on record supporting students involved with the SLPK. However university administrations, aside from Dal, have yet to publicly acknowledge their students’ actions. 

The Coast’s education reporter Lauren Phillips has more on this developing story.

🗞️ In Other News

🏥 The N.S. NDP says the increase in the number of newborns being referred to designated newborn clinics—called unattached newborn clinics for babies who don’t have a family doctor—is troubling. 

⚖️ A N.S. judge rejected arguments from four defendants claiming they have treaty and aboriginal rights to sell cannabis at dispensaries on Indigenous land north of Halifax.

🚨 Police are investigating two fatal collisions that took place on Friday and Saturday—one was a man riding a dirt bike.

🚙 Three people escaped serious injury when the car they were driving veered off the road and into Lake Banook on Saturday morning.

🪲 An assistant professor at Dalhousie says June bugs are “just misunderstood” and makes a case for their contributions to the ecosystem.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Spontaneity's Improv Cage Match (Semi-Finals): Watch improv groups and duos go head-to-head in a round robin tournament where the audience decides who wins and the winning team gets a prize of $500. | June 18 | 7:30pm | From $17.31

🗓 Obladee x Lieux Communs - Cinq à Sept!: Taste four exclusive LC wines and four chef-prepared paired plates, with a discussion from vigneron Daniel Gillis. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) to assist with this ongoing humanitarian crisis. | June 18 | 5pm | $65

🗓 Classified - Live At the Shore Club: With an inherent and candid ability to break down the barrier between performer and audience while “leading the vanguard of East Coast hip hop”, Classified is one of Canada’s most respected and successful rap artists, producers and songwriters. | June 21 | 9:30pm | $45

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

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

🛳️➡️ The Atlantic Sea container ship arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 5:20am and leaves for Liverpool at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Island Princess cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 7am and leaves for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🛳️➡️ The CMA CGM Cassiopeia container ship arrives from Tanger-Med at 5:45am and leaves for New York at 11pm.

🛳️➡️ The MOL Experience container ship arrives in Halifax from Antwerp at 5:20am and leaves for Port Everglades at 11:45pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🦀 If you’re an adventurous foodie craving variety, try the Chef’s Fixe at Peacock Wine Bar. Available daily, enjoy delicious plates like Crab Cappelletti made with ham and parmesan broth, garnished with pea shoots.

🍫 How can you make a Kit Kat bar even better? Crush it up and mix into a milk chocolate cheesecake, of course. The Kit Kat cheesecake from Sweet Hereafter is a Halifax legend.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎸 With the ongoing crisis in Palestine, some may be wondering how they can help. The organizers of Gig for Gaza have found a way. On June 20 at the Marquee Ballroom, a concert will be held featuring several well-known Nova Scotian artists, all to raise money for relief efforts in Palestine through the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer spoke to organizers about the Gig for Gaza and how it came to be.

🚧 In a part of Dartmouth that will soon be known as Port Wallace there’s a guy who runs a construction company that was founded by his father in the 1970s. The property in question is a construction material storage yard which is common in the area. But someone who lives nearby lodged a complaint with 311 about the “eye sore.” What ensued can only be described as a mess and the Coast’s Matt Stickland has the full story.

👖 The Halifax thrift market is growing and according to Charlotte Genge—an expert and consultant in reusable fashion and clothing—that’s because more consumers are eco-conscious.

That’s it!

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