A couple of weeks ago, I reconnected (via Zoom) with an old friend in Brooklyn, NYC, and in between catching up and sharing gluten-free cinnamon bun recipes, we talked about our respective lives under COVID. She told me that she’d recently gone for drinks in her neighborhood with a smallRead More

Last week, I focused on Orenda Software Solutions, one of “two Cape Breton IT companies” on the receiving end of federal funding announced by Sydney-Victoria MP Jaime Battiste. This week, as promised, I’m taking a look at the other lucky winner, Swarmio Inc, formerly Ubique Networks. Swarmio received a $338,369Read More

  “Nobody is going to put their name on it, whether it’s TD centre, whether it’s Rogers centre, right now with the condition this place is in. I wouldn’t ask them to do it unless there’s a commitment from our government.” — Irwin Simon, majority owner, Cape Breton Eagles  Read More

Animated I love traditional, hand-drawn animation and spent a very happy hour over the holidays reading this article by New Yorker film critic Richard Brody about early (meaning, silent era) animation and artists. Brody notes from the outset that all the works he’s talking about can be viewed on YouTube,Read More

Editor’s Note: This started out as an article about Don Cherry getting fired and turned into an exploration of the militarization of professional sports. You can read Part II here.   It hadn’t occurred to me to write about Don Cherry’s firing — I tend to avoid issues that areRead More

Editor’s Note: This is Part II of what started out as an article about Don Cherry getting fired and turned into an exploration of the militarization of professional sports. You can read Part I here.   Back in 2015, this relationship between the military and professional sports was the subjectRead More

Donkin The Donkin Mine saga took an unexpected turn last week with the sudden death of coal baron (and Kameron Collieries owner) Chris Cline in a helicopter crash. Weirdly, this was followed almost immediately by (yet another) rock fall in the mine itself. Fortunately — yet again — nobody wasRead More

You cannot make this stuff up. “No news, good news?” was the front page headline in Monday’s Cape Breton Post. Subhead: “Sydney port developer says he’s not prepared to reveal ‘secrets’ on proposed Novaporte terminal.” Reporter Chris Shannon actually spoke with the elusive Albert Barbusci: The CEO of Sydney HarbourRead...

As part of my coverage of the ructions in Ben Eoin, I submitted an access to information request to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) for a copy of the contract between Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC) and Ben Eoin Golf Club Limited. I also asked for any correspondence concerningRead More

Since last we dropped by Ben Eoin, there have been developments — and not just the ongoing expansion of The Birches Country Inn (to accommodate what I really hope will be called The Birches Country Pro-Shop). That last bulletin detailed ructions over the sale of The Lakes Golf Club toRead More