Confessions of an inadvertent foodie I accidentally bought a $6 bag of popcorn last week. I didn’t find out the price until I got to the cash and by then I felt compelled to go through with the purchase (it’s ridiculous, I know, but it’s me). I bought it becauseRead...

Street sense Effective water management is crucial when paving asphalt. Poor water management has a devastating effect on asphalt. Standing water seeps through asphalt into the foundations underneath. As a result, the foundations weaken and become unstable. This disrupts the road’s surface, which results in bumps dips, and potholes appearingRead...

I was perusing the Nova Scotia tenders portal this morning, as one does, and noticed the CBRM has called for bids for the next stage of the Charlotte Street re-design. Before I focused on the actual details I got distracted imagining a sort of municipal version of Trading Spaces whereRead More

I spent so much time researching rail safety and green hydrogen this week that I have time to touch just briefly on two other issues that have piqued my interest of late. One is an observation about the newly refurbished section of Charlotte Street in Sydney, but first, I mustRead More

Editor’s Note: This is Part III of a series that will continue until I find some answers or give up, whichever comes first. You’ll find Part I here and Part II here.   I had a some assistance with my research this week and was able to plow through twoRead More

Editor’s Note: This is Part II of a series that will continue until I find some answers or give up, whichever comes first. You’ll find Part I here and Part III here.)   When last we met, it was August 1984, and Zutphen Brothers of Port Hood was sitting onRead More

Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a series that will continue until I find some answers or give up, whichever comes first. You’ll find Part II here and Part III here.   Since I began the Spectator in 2016—long before this most recent controversy over the utility poles onRead More

Editor’s Note: CBRM resident Guy LaFosse wonders why the municipality is not burying the power lines as part of its $10 million Charlotte Street makeover. He shared his letter to councilors with the Spectator.   Good afternoon Councilors, I am writing to you out of a growing concern that aRead...

Spectator readers often have great ideas: case in point, Bill Roberts’ suggestion (contained in this August 24 Letter to the Editor) that it would be interesting to know how much the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) paid to bury utility lines as part of its revamp of Spring Garden Road. Roberts’Read More

Why do we in Sydney have to settle for second best? We have consultations on projects but recommendations are ignored without much, if any, published analysis. Outrageously exaggerated costs are often quoted to justify inaction. Take the costs of installing buried power lines on Charlotte Street. I have not seenRead More