Did you catch local restaurateur Danny Ellis’ bellyaching tour of local media outlets this summer? Ellis, who operates four CBRM eateries (two of which — the Portside on the Sydney waterfront and the Boardwalk Tap Room & Eatery in what used to be the meeting room in the Civic CentreRead More

Shore Road Sessions I wrote last year about The Shore Road Sessions, Shauna Walters’ summer series of mini-concerts in her Whitney Pier backyard. The sessions returned this year with a whole new lineup of performers, and I was lucky enough to catch the final show on Tuesday night. I amRead More

CBRM council met for almost four hours Tuesday evening and I thought I’d try to do a general round-up of the meeting but the very first item I began to research sent me down a rabbit hole from which I’ve just emerged, so I’ll have to continue my coverage inRead More

In the days leading up to the provincial election, all the usual suspects sharpened their pencils, marshaled their tired little troop of “facts” and wrote the editor of the Cape Breton Post in support of Albert Barbusci’s Novaporte project. Port Fest ’21 was kicked off at the end of JulyRead More

Welcome back, Bettens It’s taken me weeks to confirm this item, but Mark Bettens, formerly CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke’s executive assistant, has returned to the CBRM Fire and Emergency Services Department from whence he came. As you will recall, when Cecil Clarke became mayor in 2012, he created two newRead More

Barry Sheehy — “author, historian, businessman and veteran” — barged into my summer on Tuesday, via one of his trademark screeds for the Cape Breton Post. Although his bio acknowledges he is “involved with Sydney Harbour Investment Partners, which is marketing the port [of Sydney] for development,” he writes theRead More

Editor’s Note: Spectator contributor Paul Strome sent along this open letter to candidates in the upcoming provincial elections, presented as a list of his chief concerns.   Reconciliation and the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are not just federal issues. Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and GirlsRead More

Bridging Update In case you’re wondering what’s happening with Bridging Finance Inc (BFI), the private debt firm that lent Membertou First Nation $6.8 million to buy a stake in Albert Barbusci’s Novaporte container terminal project, here’s the latest: David Sharpe, the founder and former CEO of BFI, who was firedRead More

As you may recall, the Spectator reported some weeks ago on the local implications of the scandal rocking Toronto-based private debt firm Bridging Finance Inc (BFI); namely, that Membertou First Nation borrowed $6.8 million from Bridging to finance its purchase of a stake in Novaporte, Albert Barbusci’s imaginary Sydney harborRead More

Merritting Mention Here’s a strange coincidence for you: this week, while looking up the Alberta insolvency court filings for A2A, I ran across a case involving the Town of Olds that included an affidavit from our old CAO — now CAO of Olds — Michael Merritt! The case involves theRead More