Society

Cruise News: Identity Crisis

Cruise News: Identity Crisis

May 4, 2022 at 1:08 pm

The arrival of the first cruise ship of the season — the Seven Seas Navigator — in Sydney on Sunday set me to thinking about all things cruise again, so I tried to compose a snapshot of the industry, particularly as it relates to the Port of Sydney, and that’sRead More

Cruise News: Courts & COVID

Cruise News: Courts & COVID

May 4, 2022 at 1:06 pm

My snapshot of the current cruise industry (see part one here) would be sadly wanting if I failed to note that Princess Cruise Lines, fined a record $40 million in 2017 for what the US Department of Justice called “environmental crimes,” has failed to mend its wicked ways. The 2017Read More

Remembering the ‘Brief But Brutal’ Falklands War

Remembering the ‘Brief But Brutal’ Falklands War

May 4, 2022 at 1:04 pm

In April 1982, when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, I was a young man of 16: old enough to fight, kill, and die for a British government I was too young to vote for. Forty years on, the UK voting age is still too high (18) and the Army recruitmentRead More

A Day at the Beach

A Day at the Beach

May 4, 2022 at 1:02 pm

I love Dominion Beach. It’s not one of the world’s greatest beaches with endless, white (or even red) sand but it’s mine. I have often walked or jogged along the shore or the boardwalk, which has been built and rebuilt over the years after the waves have washed it away,Read More

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

April 29, 2022 at 12:00 pm

You Bet Watching a hockey game recently (I won’t identify my team, I’ll just tell you I won’t be doing any post-season viewing), I was struck by how many times the broadcaster cut away from the action to ads featuring famous athletes and Hollywood stars encouraging me to bet onRead More

CBRM Council: Sports

CBRM Council: Sports

April 27, 2022 at 1:53 pm

Tomorrow’s Legends, a not-for-profit corporation registered federally in 2021 by Bill Kachafanas (brother to the CBRM’s regional solicitor), wants to take over the Centennial Arena and turn it into a multi-court sports facility. According to its listings in the federal corporate registry and the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint StockRead More

Photo by Don Clarke

Finding Your Footing

April 27, 2022 at 1:49 pm

Pathways to Employment community organization based in Sydney, is probably best known for its wood shop, laundry services and other programs that attempt to reintegrate disenfranchised people with addictions or restrictions due to mental health issues into the community. Certainly, that’s the aspect of Pathways I was most familiar with;Read More

Just a small sample of what goes on at CBRL branches (Source: Facebook)

Libraries Are Community Hubs

April 27, 2022 at 1:47 pm

One evening, years ago, I had had it after a day of argumentative and wailing kids and decided I was heading out as soon as supper was over. The bus arrived and I was aboard before I suddenly thought, “Where will I go?” After a few minutes, it hit me.Read More

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

April 22, 2022 at 10:00 am

Courthouse Dreams We discovered during budget talks on Tuesday that CBRM is considering the possibility  of turning the former Cape Breton County courthouse in Wentworth Park into the new central library. I am trying not to get my hopes up too high as I write this because there are aRead More

One Ocean Expeditions Update

One Ocean Expeditions Update

April 20, 2022 at 1:19 pm

I’m easing back into work after a glorious long weekend by updating a couple of stories I’ve followed previously, which is why I’m talking about One Ocean Expeditions (OOE), the polar cruise operator founded by Westmount native Andrew Prossin. OOE, with debts of $29.6 million and assets worth just northRead More