District 7 encompasses too many communities to name, but let’s just say Big Pond, Ben Eoin, East Bay and all the Grand Miras — Upper, North and South — fall within its boundaries. It looks like one of the seven dwarves’ caps. District 7 is another of those CBRM districtsRead More

Debate debacle I tried to watch the Ripple FX TV mayoral debate (by which I mean, the video of it the morning after the actual debate) but couldn’t get past the first few minutes during which both Mayor Cecil Clarke and candidate Chris Abbass were KICKED OUT. Clarke, who wantedRead More

I watched most of Monday’s almost four-hour Climate Change Municipal Action Plan Update and will recap some of the highlights for you, but I have to begin. with District 7 Councilor Ivan Doncaster’s contribution to the proceedings which consisted largely — I could not make this up if I triedRead...

This Spectator has learned that Regional Solicitor Demetri Kachafanas threatened legal action against District 11 Councilor Kendra Coombes “and all Council” after a radio interview Coombes gave the CBC on 27 November 2018. The interview (which I can no longer find online) was about the four in camera meetings duringRead More

CBRM Council met this morning to decide what it’s going to discuss at future meetings. If I understand Mayor Cecil Clarke correctly, he has been compiling this list (which is not exhaustive) based on what he has been hearing from citizens. The topics are “in no order whatsoever” and thisRead More

CBRM Council approved a raise for itself last night in response to the federal government’s decision to end a tax break that allowed elected municipal officials to collect one-third of their salaries tax free. Councilors did it without a word of debate or discussion, presumably because they’d already debated andRead More

Well, that’s all she wrote, folks. CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke’s pursuit of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party leadership ended after the first ballot on Saturday, when rival Tim Houston came within 54 points of winning and Clarke bowed out. It was an abrupt ending to a campaign that seemed likeRead More

CBRM councilors pushing for information on the progress of the second cruise ship berth ran into a wall during Tuesday’s regular monthly meeting (held on an irregular day and at an irregular time). District 10 Councilor Darren Bruckschwaiger tried his best to get Public Works Manager Wayne MacDonald to admit,Read...

My favorite quasi-public organization, Business Cape Breton (BCB), was on the CBRM Council agenda last night. Seems BCB is broke — it needs another $34,000 to see it through to the end of March. It’s difficult to understand exactly what is going on here because CAO Marie Walsh was veryRead More

Port pay I always want to know what takes place at CBRM council in camera meetings, but I REALLY wish I’d been a fly on the wall for Tuesday’s discussion about renewing Port of Sydney CEO Marlene Usher’s $200,000 a year contract. Usher, once second in command at Enterprise Cape BretonRead More