The Coast

Halifax cyclist eyes record-setting ride from Alaska to Argentina Meet Ashleigh Myles, who plans to become the fastest woman to complete the 23,000 km trek, solo and self-supported.

Halifax's Ashleigh Myles considers a 250-kilometre day on the bicycle a “comfortable” distance—which is good news, if absurd, because her next two-wheeled trek is longer than anything she’s done before. And I wouldn't bet against her.

New for @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

The future of AI news is here in Halifax, it seems—and god, it sucks How an Instagram DM led to a rabbit-hole chase of fake journalists, fake addresses and fake endorsements, and what it means for us all.

Weeks ago, I ventured down Quinpool and visited a company office that doesn’t exist. I was looking for a team of Halifax writers who, despite my best efforts to prove otherwise, don’t appear to exist either. And that's only the start.

My latest for @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Halifax libraries budget shows city working against itself on parking The easy part of Halifax’s budget season comes to a close. Next up are the playoffs.

Halifax's budget season had its last regular season meeting last week. Highlights include the city shooting the library in the foot, Andy Fillmore shooting the municipal budget in the foot and, and a good initiative from the city's legal department.

All that and more in my latest for @thecoast.ca

First look at Reta’s, the Hydrostone’s newest fine-dining favourite In a converted north-end church, Hop Scotch Dinner Club chef Steph Ogilvie finds a place to call her own.

For @thecoast.ca, I paid a visit to the Hydrostone this week -- where Top Chef Canada finalist Steph Ogilvie just opened her own restaurant as a tribute to her grandmother.

www.thecoast.ca/food-drink/f...

Will council end driving subsidies and let Halifax Transit succeed? The city’s brand-new bus boss Robin Gerus has his work cut out for him.

Halifax Transit has a new boss, and old busses will get a new lease on life, but will Halifax's city council let Transit succeed?

Take a deep dive into North American transportation planning to find out how council could save your household thousands of dollars a year.

My latest for @thecoast.ca

See all the nominees for the 2025 East Coast Music Awards Enfield rapper Classified leads the pack as Nova Scotians nab 95 ECMA nominations at the annual music awards.

The full list of nominees is here for the 2025 East Coast Music Awards, and Halifax is well-represented.

Sixty-seven ECMA shortlist nods feature Halifax-based artists, engineers, managers and venues this year.

www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/s...

Halifax is finally able to think about non-car options The city’s bureaucracy has officially added mobility to its transportation infrastructure planning process, years after council first told them to.

Is Transportation planning in Halifax about to get better, starting this year? I think so!

For more on the promise and perils facing public transportation in this city read my latest Halifax budget season story on @thecoast.ca

Council approves more firefighters to combat slow response times Who should pay for firefighters’ cancer screening?

Why are Halifax Fire's response times getting slower? Is there anything to be done about it?

Answers to these and more questions on my latest for @thecoast.ca

What’s next for Bloomfield? As Halifax tears down the former north-end school, the property’s future remains unclear.

The easternmost annex of the former Bloomfield School—a site that has been in limbo for years, kicked between the HRM, the province and developers—is now gone. The rest of the building is still to follow.

And after? A neighbourhood awaits answers.

For @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

7 burning questions as Halifax Wanderers enter 2025 soccer preseason After a winter of high-profile departures and intriguing arrivals, can Patrice Gheisar find success with his new-look roster?

As @hfxwanderersfc.bsky.social enter their second week of the #CanPL preseason, I dove into 7 of the most pressing questions and points of intrigue surrounding the club.

Latest for @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

How Aysanabee’s late grandfather sparked the singer-songwriter’s latest tour The two-time JUNO Award-winner plays the Marquee Ballroom on March 13.

For @thecoast.ca, I spoke with @aysanabee.bsky.social about his upcoming Halifax show and things that feel like more than coincidence.

www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/a...

Council approves capital budget, staff corruption Halifax’s municipal council doesn't normally meet on Fridays, except during budget season. That’s when Fridays are held open as a contingency meeting day, to be...

After five years of covering city hall, I think I finally figured out why nothing gets better in Halifax.

City staff in the department of public works are usurping council's priorities.

My latest for @thecoast.ca

Police board still dodging blame for 2021 shelter siege A civilian report calls for a police and city apology after a “day of chaos” that led to mass arrests and cops pepper-spraying protesters.

Five months after a report laid the blame for Aug. 2021’s shambolic shelter siege at the feet of Halifax police and the HRM, the oversight board that’s supposed to police the former on behalf of the latter seems to want nothing to do with it.

New for @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Trade war, transportation, and you: A Halifax budget season preview Our city council is on the front lines in the battle for Canadian sovereignty.

Halifax's city council starts its budget debates today, and Halifaxs budget is the frontline in our impending trade war with the United States.

How? I'm glad you asked. Here's my latest for @thecoast.ca

Where to buy groceries during Trump’s trade war on Canada A map of (almost) every local, independent grocer in Halifax and beyond.

Amid all of Trump's political dick-swinging, there's one question on many Haligonians’ minds: How will we survive a trade war when our two biggest grocers have a history of being dicks as well?

We've put together a map of local, independent grocers across the HRM.

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

What’s with Andy? Frustrated Fillmore turns to Facebook after losing Windsor Exchange vote It’s a worrying sign that instead of listening to his councillors, Halifax's new mayor seemingly wants to turn the pressure up on them.

COMMENT: Set aside the man-in-his-car staging of Andy Fillmore's latest video, posted after council voted against the mayor's Windsor Exchange wishes, and the optics are still odd: A mayor willing his followers to email his coworkers to tell them why he was right.

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

NSCAD president Peggy Shannon leaving post two years early Jana Macalik, school’s interim vice-president and provost, will fill in starting Feb 1

It's NSCAD president Peggy Shannon's last day on the job. Tomorrow, Jana Macalik will take over on an interim basis.

As @lau-athletics.bsky.social reports, the change marks yet another shake-up at the university after 2020's ouster of Aoife Mac Namara.

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Halifax city staff’s status quo sedition Everything you need to know about council's Jan 28 meeting

Before the debate about the Windsor Street Exchange on Tuesday, we learned that Halifax's city staff are undermining the council, and that's why nothing is getting better. My latest for @thecoast.ca

Rising Tides: Meet the first-ever pro women’s soccer players in Halifax Three months away from their inaugural Northern Super League season, the Halifax Tides are counting on a mix of savvy veterans and homegrown talents to find success on the pitch.

In 76 days, the @hfxtidesfc.bsky.social season begins. And that moment means something different to each of the team’s players—from the vets returning for one last dance, to the homegrown kids who never dreamt they’d be playing in their backyard.

For @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Council kills Windsor Street Exchange redesign plan Inside the decision to abandon $36 million in federal and provincial funding.

Council kills the Windsor Exchange, and city staff reveal that they're not working on council’s strategic plans.

My latest for @thecoast.ca

This Nova Scotian’s podcast has become a queer hit—and it’s coming to Halifax for a live show Dane Stewart’s Resurrection tells the story of queer trailblazers during the height of the AIDS epidemic. And now, it’s a cabaret show.

Long before Truro-born playwright Dane Stewart's show, Resurrection, claimed the top spot on Apple Podcasts’ Arts chart in Canada, he met a man at a bar in Montreal. The chance encounter would transform the next six years of his life.

New for @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/t...

The city you love is dying: Halifax’s sustainability crisis explained An inside look at city staff’s years-long guerrilla campaign to undermine city council.

I went too deep on a few staff reports and figured out that the city of Halifax is slowly dying a very preventable death. My latest for @thecoast.ca

When will MP Andy Fillmore be replaced? The federal Halifax seat in parliament has been vacant since September, but Justin Trudeau’s retirement is complicating timing for the byelection to fill it.

Fillmore's seat in parliament has been vacant since September. But Justin Trudeau’s retirement is complicating timing for the byelection to fill it.

Here's how soon a Halifax byelection could happen—and just how long it could take, if there's no rush in Ottawa.

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Comedian Julie Kim brings Doing Too Much tour to Halifax The Vancouver-based stand-up comic performs at the Bus Stop Theatre on March 29.

New for @thecoast.ca:

Ahead of Julie Kim's show at Halifax's Bus Stop Theatre in March, the Vancouver-based comedian known for her acerbic wit on issues ranging from race, to parenthood, to gender differences chats about finding her voice as a comic.

www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/c...

Halifax Water lifts boil advisory for 200,000 Haligonians You can go back to rawdogging your tap water again.

Two days after Halifax Water issued a boil-water advisory for roughly 200,000 residents, the utility says it’s safe to drink from the tap again.

Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has called for an investigation into what went wrong.

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Every woman killed since Brad Johns said domestic violence wasn’t an epidemic in Nova Scotia Ten women’s deaths in the province have been ruled as homicides since April 2024—and investigators have linked almost all to male relatives or partners.

10 women’s deaths in the province have been ruled as homicides in the 9 months since Nova Scotia's former justice minister said domestic violence wasn't an epidemic—and investigators have linked almost all to male relatives or partners.

Latest for @thecoast.ca:

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

ICYMI: Last week agendas went online. This week Halifax’s Transportation Standing Committee will meet and staff are recommending more dangerous, more polluting streets thanks to a motion from councillor Patty Cuttell.

Read all about it @thecoast.ca

The cold truth about warmer Halifax winters A new report finds Halifax has lost eight days of freezing temperatures annually due to climate change in the last decade. What does that mean for us now and in the future?

New longread from @martinbauman.com:

A recent report finds Halifax has lost eight days of freezing temperatures annually due to climate change in the last decade. What does that mean for us now and in the future?

www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

If “Not Voting” was a candidate in the election this would’ve been its turnout.

#halifax #novaacotia #nspoli #halisky

Hal Foster was a great cartoonist, and was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia!