No one asked them. Again. The real lesson of the original Africville relocation—which should be seared into our collective consciousness after 50 years of hard-learned lesson-living—is that outsiders, even well intentioned ones, cannot make decisions for a community without at least asking the people of that community what they really want. Back in the 1960s, […]
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
- 09/26/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Friday’s much-hyped Fifth Estate documentary on the crash of Swissair Flight 111 generated much arcing and sparking about its cause but—in the end—no incendiary device, no hard evidence the tragic 1998 accident was anything but. That said, the story raised questions that deserve better than read-the-report, cone-of-silence non-responses from the RCMP and the Transportation Safety […]
- 09/19/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Last week, SilverBirch Hotels, the Vancouver-based company that owns the Citadel Halifax hotel, announced plans to flatten it. The company intends to replace the venerable downtown landmark with a $60-million, triple-tower, hotel-apartment complex it says will generate “a lot more” street-level activity in the northern downtown while conforming to HRM by Design—and legislation protecting views […]
- 09/12/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Is Tom Martin running for something? I first met Martin in 2006 when I profiled him for The Coast. What intrigued me then was his passion for solving unsolved—seemingly un-solve-able—crimes. William Shrubsall, Kimberly McAndrew… That passion earned him 2001 Police Officer of the Year honours, but cost him his health. Even after two heart attacks […]
- 08/29/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
The news it was news to HRM Councilor Steve Streatch is hardly comforting. If Halifax becomes one of the host cities for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup (limited edition/no major games), it turns out we won’t just be on the hook for a $60-million stadium to hold the games. There’ll also be a $2-million […]
- 08/15/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
The problem with the Utilities Review Board’s solution to the problem of municipal council is that its solution won’t solve the problem. The URB decided the 23 current Halifax Regional Municipality councilors should morph into 16 after the 2012 election. Why 16? The URB “attributes significant weight to the polling results, which express the public’s […]
- 08/08/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Metro reporter Alex Boutilier’s scoop last week that costs for the new convention centre have increased sent local, provincial and federal politicians scurrying about like ants on a hot summer day, but to less positive result. No one was able—or, more to the point, willing—to confirm what Alex’s source had told him. And no […]
- 07/25/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Progressive Conservative leader Jamie Baillie was in high dudgeon last week when he took his summer road show to Yarmouth to warn business leaders there about the terrible costs to our grandchildren’s grand kids because of our socialist-horde government’s “stubbornly… swimming-against-the-tide” tax policies. A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but it’s summer. And Baillie himself was attempting […]
- 07/18/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
It began in 2003 with the Hamm government’s rightful recognition of our ticking demographic time bomb. In order to defuse it, Nova Scotia desperately needed to attract more immigrants who would root themselves, their businesses and their families here. But the fast-track solution spawned by those best of self-interested intentions quickly got tangled in our […]
- 07/11/2011
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Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
In his first major public act as the city’s new Chief Administrative Officer, Richard Butts stared down concert promoter Harold MacKay—and won. Sort of. Last year, the mayor and former CAO fronted MacKay $400,000 toward the costs of two concerts on the Common. It was a sweet deal that allowed MacKay to walk away from […]
- 07/04/2011
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STEPHEN KIMBER, a Professor of Journalism at the University of King's College in Halifax and co-founder of its MFA in Creative Nonfiction Program, is an award-winning writer, editor and broadcaster. He is the author of two novels and eight non-fiction books. Buy his books
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