Stealth staffing I heard Kathy Bell, director of primary health care, chronic disease and family practice with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, tell the CBC’s Yvonne LeBlanc-Smith on Thursday that while she was happy to announce Cape Breton would be receiving seven nurse practitioners, she was not at liberty to sayRead More

In my never-ending quest to discover just what $25 million buys the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in terms of police protection, I recently visited the police force web site, which features this little collage of photos in its header: Yes, our CBRM cops, calling in expired plates (left), patrolling wooded areasRead More

It definitely wasn’t yesterday, but I vividly remember my mother guiding me through the door at the back of Holy Angels Convent and down the stairs to the gymnasium (a room larger than my six-year-old self had ever seen). Grade two was just across from the gym, and down theRead More

Having established that property taxes are the domain of municipalities in Nova Scotia, I now have to admit that they are also, in some instances, the domain of the province. I know, right? Just when you think you’ve got a nice, black and white distinction going, someone has to comeRead...

Mark Lever Buys Every Paper in Atlantic Canada You know the problems unionized workers have been having with the Chronicle Herald? The strike that’s now well into its second year? Well, pretty much every paper in Atlantic Canada is going to be singing those Mark Lever blues now that theRead More

Barry Sheehy and Albert Barbusci of Harbor Port Development Partners (or Sydney Harbour Investment Partners or Blue Zen Memorial Parks) are proud of the many “partners” they’ve enlisted in their campaign to turn Sydney harbor into a mega-port for ultra-large container ships. They have “building partners” like the “American giant Bechtel.”Read More

This week, in our ongoing exploration of property taxes in Nova Scotia generally (and the CBRM in particular), we’re going to look at exempt properties, payments in lieu of taxes (or PILs) and  stuff I forgot to tell you last week, not necessarily in that order. We’re doing this becauseRead More

Last month I sent two freedom of information/access to information (FOIPOP) requests to the Port of Sydney Development Corporation. One requested a detailed account of how the Port has been spending the $2.5 million left over from the $37 million Sydney harbor dredge, completed in 2012. (You can read aboutRead More

Librarians, in my experience, are often bearers of good news. For example, last year, while spending a day in the country, I dropped into the local library just to have a look around. The librarian was friendly and helpful, and not only informed me that I could borrow items thereRead More

Having lost several hours last week browsing the online archive of Cape Breton’s Magazine, I was pleased to hear from Ron Caplan, the founder of that publication, about his latest venture. Caplan’s Breton Books has (with the help of Canada 150) created an eBook called Great Cape Breton Storytelling and,Read More