The city has issued the last building permit needed to construct the Nova Centre. A project as large and as complex as the Nova Centre must obtain a number of permits—in this case 13. They range from relatively minor permits removing existing sewer lateral connections to the city’s main, to two blasting permits, to four temporary...
SLAPPed silly: Morning File, Thursday, August 14, 2014
News 1. Heritage Trust drops suit against Nova Centre The Trust had asked for a judicial review of the city’s approval of Nova Centre, and developer Joe Ramia then countered with a SLAPP suit against the organization, asking for damages from each of its directors personally. The Trust’s directors are mostly pensioners on fixed incomes. As […]
Chronicle Herald fails to declare columnist’s conflict of interest
By publishing a business column without revealing the financial interests the columnist has with the companies he writes about, the Chronicle Herald is in clear violation of widely accepted ethical rules in journalism. Peter Moreira writes the “Entrevestor” column for the Chronicle Herald. The column appears three times a week, and profiles start up companies. Moreira also...
Ghost-free zone: Morning File, Wednesday, August 13, 2014
News 1. Thiel suit over Nova Centre continues Yesterday, the Examiner published the court documents filed by the Thiel family. The Thiels are asking a judge to rule that by granting the exemptions to allow construction of the Nova Centre, the province violated both the provincial Municipal Government Act and the HRM Charter. You can find the […]
Thiels: The province is helping Joe Ramia poach our tenants
By giving Joe Ramia’s Nova Centre project an exemption to the city’s planning laws, the province unfairly gave Ramia the ability to compete for tenants now housed in Thiel family properties, says a brief filed with the court. The Thiels own several properties in the financial district, including the BMO building, the TD Centre, and the Royal Bank Tower. Collectively,...
How the 0.01% lives: Morning File, Tuesday, August 12, 2014
News 1. Kimberly Ann McAndrew disappearance McAndrew, 19 years old, disappeared 25 years ago today, on August 12, 1989. Yesterday, the Examiner pointed out that we still don’t have a consistent way to report missing persons to the public: So we’re left with a situation where the public has easy access to information about missing persons […]
Kimberly Ann McAndrew went missing 25 years tomorrow, but missing persons data is still incomplete
Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of Kimberly Ann McAndrew, a 19-year-old woman who was last seen on August 12, 1989, leaving her place of work, the Canadian Tire store on Quinpool Avenue. There was an unconfirmed report that McAndrew was later seen at a flower shop in Penhorn Mall in Dartmouth, but the...
Somewhere over the rainbow: Morning File, Monday, August 11, 2014
News 1. Heritage Trust drops legal action against Thiels Saturday morning, Heritage Trust issued a press release saying it was “discontinuing” its request for a judicial review of Halifax Council’s approval of the 22nd Commerce Square development. I called Trust president Linda Forbes yesterday, and she told me that the group felt continued legal action served […]
The credulous and the dumb: Morning File, Saturday, August 9, 2014
News 1. Catie Miller still missing The Dartmouth woman hasn’t been seen since July 15. 2. Human remains Human remains have been found during the construction of the North Park Street roundabout. Reports the Chronicle Herald: The bones are “believed to be those of a small child located adjacent to a lot that once housed the […]
Blew out my flip-flop: Morning File, Friday, August 8, 2014
News 1. Hollis Street bike lane delayed, again Hilary Beaumont’s story on the much-delayed bike lane is behind the Halifax Examiner’s pay wall, so available only to paid subscribers. But buying a subscription is painless, easy, and oh so fun. Just click here. 2. Cops accused of bad behaviour Michael and Jocelyn Hilchey claim that while serving […]