Here are the important takeaways from this morning’s CBRM special council meeting on the proposed new CBRM Central Library:   Aurevoir, HRDL? Council took a major step toward ending the agreement that has given a private developer, Martin Chernin’s Harbour Royale Development Limited, control over the proposed new library. AtRead More

I lost track of how many times participants in Tuesday’s “CBRM Forward” discussion used the words “excited” or “exciting.” Literally everyone who spoke was either excited to be there or excited at the prospect of overhauling the municipality’s planning strategy and land-use by-law or excited to be drafting an economicRead More

It was described on national television this week as a “Dramatic rescue on the Cabot Trail.” A little embarrassed, I cringed as CBC National News Network told the story of our March 16 rescue from a remote section of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Was I part of aRead More

Editor’s Note: We’re dipping into Michelle Smith’s archives to provide timely tips for gardeners.   What to do this week As promised last week, here we go with a little bit of science. There are four main nutrients your plants look for in the soil, so you have to knowRead More

Statistics Canada says that 309,893 Canadians died in 2020, which means annual deaths surpassed 300,000 for the first time in the country’s history. As for the contribution of COVID, Stats Canada says: The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reported that 15,651 or 5.1% of deaths in 2020 were causedRead More

Honey, I shrunk the groceries My mother, who pays better attention to these things than I do, has been pointing out to me for some time now how many of the products she buys have shrunk in size — although not in price. Curious, I did some reading and discoveredRead More

Since 2015, when she was “seconded” from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) by means of an “interagency agreement” to serve as CEO of the Port of Sydney, I have been reporting that Marlene Usher’s salary was $200,000, half of that paid initially by the CBRM the other half byRead More

The provincial government department responsible for moving the NSCC Maroni Campus to the Sydney waterfront says the process of acquiring land for the project is “still underway,” which is why it would answer only part of the question I asked it this week. The Department of Labour and Advanced EducationRead More

In 1963, when Nate Nathanson, owner of CJCB radio and television, approached Rev. Frank Abbass with a plan to broadcast Mass for those unable to attend in person, I doubt either of them imagined the program would become the longest-running TV production in the country. Certainly, neither could have envisionedRead More

I think this issue should have been called “The Things That Make You Go Hmmmm” edition, because that’s what all my stories seem to be about this week. Take this one, for instance. It started when a reader contacted me to ask about a parking lot that has appeared atRead...