It’s Tuesday morning as I write and the digital “front page” of our local daily contains the following stories: Cape Breton Regional Police investigating stolen vehicle in Sydney Mines Police investigating two separate property damage incidents at hospice site in Membertou Cape Breton police asking for help in solving NeedsRead More

A spectator (you know who you are) recently referenced my June 2019 article about the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club (RCBYC), the 113-year-old building that graced the Sydney waterfront until 3 May 2013, when it was destroyed by fire. This reminded me that I had never properly followed up onRead More

Peter McIsaac, chief of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service (CBRPS), revealed this week that he is leaving his post after a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). McIsaac , who has been on medical leave since July 2019, told the CBC’s Tom Ayers that he’s come to understand he’sRead More

Armored Car Reading about the acting chief of the Cape Breton Regional Police Services (CBRPS), Robert Walsh, ordering up a new, armored, emergency response SUV sparked so many questions for me, beginning with: where is the actual chief of police? The radio silence surrounding the status of Chief Peter McIsaac,Read More

Hired guns CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke’s executive assistant Mark Bettens (he of the exorbitant travel expenses) and spokesperson Sheilah MacDonald have taken paid vacation to work on Clarke’s re-election campaign. I confirmed this with CAO Marie Walsh this week. There’s nothing to stop them doing this — other than theRead...

Donkin During the Proclamations & Resolutions portion of Tuesday’s virtual CBRM council meeting, District 8 Councilor Amanda McDougall presented a resolution outlining South Head residents’ environmental concerns about the Donkin coal mine, which is described as having ceased operations “permanently.” McDougall’s resolution asked council to make these concerns known toRead More

Police (de)funding Wednesday’s night’s “Take a knee to make a stand” demonstration in front of CBRM’s Central Police Station on Grand Lake Road attracted an estimated 1,500 people, despite the drizzle and cold. I didn’t attend (the people in my household bubble are both over 80 and I am –perhapsRead...

CBRM Council approved the appointment of Deputy Chief Robert Walsh as acting police chief last night, during its regular monthly council meeting. The Spectator reported in September 2019 that McIsaac was on medical leave but that CBRPS spokesperson Desiree Magnus had declined to say how long he’d been off. McIsaacRead More

The CBRM Police Commission was supposed to hold an in camera meeting Wednesday morning at 9:30 AM followed by its regular monthly meeting at “approx.” 10:30 AM. As I write this, it is snowing steadily and both meetings have been postponed to this afternoon, beginning at 1:30, so too lateRead...

I do not know what to make of Monday’s “pretend” budget-cutting workshop but I suspect it may be viewed in some quarters as a poor use of a cash-strapped municipality’s resources. To recap: as a prelude to the actual budget process this year, CBRM council held a session on MondayRead More