It just isn’t funny anymore Dr StrangeJob is angry! Every level of government—federal, provincial and municipal—is currently under scrutiny for questionable spending of taxpayer dollars: the recent federal staff relocation reimbursements, the latest provincial MLA frivolous self-promotional kitsch, the Guysborough County expense scandal and the ombudsman’s Richmond County expense claimRead More

Is there a link between poverty and public health? “Definitely,” says Monika Dutt, a family doctor and medical officer of health with the Nova Scotia Health Authority in the CBRM. “It’s always been there, but I think now there’s more and more evidence to really show there is a clearRead More

I had intended to update my payday loans story when I heard back from the provincial government and the local Sydney credit union on the subject. If you read the original piece, you’ll know much of it was devoted to a consideration of pilot projects being tested by credit unionsRead More

Since the end of the Cold War, discussion of nuclear disarmament has been conspicuous by its absence from US politics—and, indeed, from debate and coverage in most countries. While the dangers of nuclear proliferation receive more attention, the intimate link between banning the Bomb and preventing its spread is rarelyRead More

Since its inception two years ago, The Highland Arts Theatre has featured topnotch dancing, acting and singing but a special joy for me has been the consistently delightful work of actor Hilary Scott. Her memorable recent performances include “a bewitching Robyn” in Wesley Crawford’s Dream and “a particularly excellent MarilynRead More

Let me be clear, right off the top: I am a big fan of the CBRM’s roller derby girls. They are that rare combination of fierce and kind, as Ali MacDougall (or Rollin’ Stone, as she’s known on the track) can attest: “Roller derby is the strangest sport,” says MacDougall.Read More

Nova Scotia’s mania for public-private-partnership (P3) school construction was brief—more of an episode than an illness—but what an expensive episode it was. It started in 1997 and ended in 2000 officially, but the 39 schools built under the P3 banner were the subject of 20-year leases, so the P3 programRead More

I’ve been reading a document from the Tamarack Institute this week. It’s called 10—A Guide for Cities Reducing Poverty and it was presented during the Cities Reducing Poverty: When Mayors Lead conference in Edmonton in February. I borrowed CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke’s copy. (JUST KIDDING! He didn’t attend. I haveRead More

If Murray Lewis, editor of Good Times, the magazine for retirees which comes 10 times a year with your Cape Breton Post subscription, wanted to introduce a little shock and awe into the assisted death debate, he probably succeeded in his editorial in the July/August edition. He strongly criticizes theRead More

There will be no hesitation to become involved in controversy if the outcome holds promise of constructive achievement for Cape Breton. — Prospectus, The Highlander Press Company Ltd., October 1962 I tried to dig the truth out of hearings, official transcripts and government documents, and to be as accurate asRead More