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Gas Price Predictions For February 1st 2008
2008-01-31 16:26:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on February 1st 2008 .I predict gas prices will essentially stay the same. May change by less than 2 cents in either direction.Gasoline Price s In New BrunswickJanuary 24th 2008 - 108.3January 31st 2008 - 107.2Difference - -0.9Gasoline Price GloballyJanuary 24th 2008 - $87.85 U.S. Per BarrelJanuary 31st 2008 - $90.37 U.S. Per BarrelDifference - +2.52To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.
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Child Porn Is Here
2008-01-30 19:50:00
Recently released figures show a very disturbing trend in Nova Scotia. Over 5500 IP addresses have been logged from our province as downloading some form of child pornography. These figures appear to be much higher than the national average. The truly scary part is that a team of only 7 people are trying to track all of these down. They are so bogged down with work that they must prioritize the offenses that they pursue. All child pornography cases need to be considered a priority if we want to have any hope of slowing down this offenses. We need to look in to hiring more people who specialize in tracking these people and bring them in front of the courts. This is a truly despicable crime which affects the lives of these children for the rest of their lives. Allowing anyone to upload or download these images or video should be a crime on our part.
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New Student Loan Program For Nova Scotia
2008-01-29 19:25:00
Students will save hundreds of dollars thanks to a new student loan program which will begin August 1st 2008. The new program will be a direct loan from the government which will cut the interest on the loans by 2 percentage points. The new program will help out future borrowers and people enrolled in classes after October 31st 2007. There have been some great movements to assist students with obtaining a post secondary education. My only complaint about this program is that it will not include people currently in repayment. They will continue to work with the banks with the current systems. Any money the government makes off the program will be reinvested in to the student assistance program.
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Electronics Fees Begin February 1st
2008-01-29 03:54:00
Starting Friday, electronics will be a little bit more expensive. This is the day that the recycling fees will begin to be charged. The fees will range from $5 to $45 on items such as computer monitors and television sets. The good news is that these electronic items will not have designated locations for recycling. At this point 30 will be opening. The program will be expanded next year to include cell phones and scanners among other items. The government hopes that this program will be as popular as the bottle/can recycling program, but without giving a portion of the funds back that is unlikely.
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Nova Scotia RSS
2008-01-28 20:06:00
For those unfamiliar with RSS feeds, they are a way to get updated articles from your favorite sites with very little effort on your part. It is an excellent way to keep informed on your time without missing any articles. You can use free sites such as Googles Reader to see all the latest news. Here is a list of RSS feeds for news items in Nova Scotia .Blogging Nova Scotia - http://feeds.feedburner.com/BloggingNovaS cotiaCBC Halifax - http://rss.cbc.ca/lineup/canada-novascoti a.xmlChronicle Herald - http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/rss.php? section=FrontHalifax Daily News - http://www.hfxnews.ca/rss/TheDailyNews/ne ws.xmlCape Breton Post - http://www.capebretonpost.com/rss/TheCape BretonPost/news.xmlNova Scotia Government Press Releases - http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/rss/rss.aspNova News Now - http://www.novanewsnow.com/rss/rss.xml

Cluck Off
2008-01-27 17:35:00
Louise Hanavan got a wake up call this week in Halifax. The 3 chicken she had been raising are actually illegal...sort of. A neighbor complained that the chicken feed was attracting rats to her property. The zoning laws for her region apparently had a way for the city to determine that the chickens are in fact illegal. The wording essentially said that everything is illegal in R2 zones unless the law specifically allows it. This means that since chickens are not mentioned in the law, they are illegal. Old laws like this need to be taken off the books or at very least not enforced. Anyone could use this wording to accomplish almost anything. All this does is allow the city officials to rule against you for whatever they seem fit to. If this wording continues to remain in the books then it will be used again in the future for other random issues. Laws need to be specific and not so vague that it can be used in any situation.

Gas Price Predictions For January 25th 2008
2008-01-24 11:02:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on January 25th 2008 .I predict gas prices will go down by 1 to 3 cents per literGasoline Price s In New BrunswickJanuary 17th 2008 - 109.2January 24th 2008 - 108.3Difference - -0.9Gasoline Price GloballyJanuary 17th 2008 - $90.70 U.S. Per BarrelJanuary 24th 2008 - $87.85 U.S. Per BarrelDifference - -2.85To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.
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NHL in Nova Scotia
2008-01-23 19:58:00
The executive for the National Hockey League's Players Association, Paul Kelly made a very interesting comment yesterday. He specifically named Nova Scotia as a possibility for a future team in the NHL. "if there was an interest there and there was a commitment on the part of the people of Nova Scotia to support a team and build a facility, I would obviously be an ally and would strongly urge that it be seriously considered."He explained in more depth today that he believes that expansion in to huge American markets is not the direction that the NHL should be taking. Smaller communities with strong ties to hockey could make a team profitable even with the small populations.I tend to disagree but would be very happy to see a team in our region. It would create a lot of economic spin offs and create a stronger sense of community. My concern is that the prices for a hockey game are outside the reach of many in Nova Scotian's to attend on a regular basis.The Halifax Mooseheads have be...

Good News On Smoking Rates
2008-01-21 16:10:00
think back to 2000. Nova Scotia was ranked at the bottom for youth smoking rates. It was not uncommon to see teenagers light up on their lunch breaks or after school. The most recent survey shows a dramatic improvement as Nova Scotia now ranks at the top of the list. The smoking rate for youth in our province has dropped from 31% to 12% in the last 7 years.The province was able to successfully lower the rates thanks to a strategy which was created in 2001. Since implementing the strategy, the rate has been on a steady decline.The government estimates that smokers cost the health system over $170 million per year. The decrease on the system may be years to come since many of these teenage smokers will not have had problems until later on in life.There is still a long way to go, but the province has done well in this area. Tax increases, Power wall removal and most recently the ban on smoking in cars with children, present is sure to lower it even more over time.
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Gas Price Predictions For January 18th 2008
2008-01-17 17:34:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on January 18th 2008 .I predict gas prices will go down by 2-4 cents per literGasoline Price s In New BrunswickJanuary 10th 2008 - 112.2January 17th 2008 - 109.2Difference -Gasoline Price GloballyJanuary 10th 2008 - $96.13 U.S. Per BarrelJanuary 17th 2008 - $90.70 U.S. Per BarrelDifference -To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.
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Ellen Page To "Whip It"
2008-01-16 20:29:00
Ellen Page is a local actor from Halifax who has been getting a lot of attention recently. She has appeared in films such as X-Men 3 and more recently stared in the movie Juno. Her role in Juno actually got her a nomination during the latest Golden Globe awards. It was announced today that she will star in another big role working under Drew Barrymore.The movie is title "Whip It" and will be the first film directed by Drew Barrymore. The movie is sure to make a splash world wide simply for this reason. Filming will begin in the Summer in Texas.Ellen will play a roller derby girl with a sarcastic attitude in the movie adaptation of "Derby Girl" by Shauna Cross
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Online Petitions...Not Just Spam Anymore
2008-01-15 21:15:00
The Halifax City Council is considering allowing the use of Online Petitions for formal submissions. Once standards have been established, it may be possible to use social tools such as Facebook or Email lists to quickly get enough "signatures" for a review.The petitions would require authentication such as a Name, Address, Phone number or Email address and the date of the signature. Already this poses a problem since this information will now be in the hands of the person/company who is managing the list. With all the concern over personal security, most will be weary of completely filling out the forum.I smell a good start up company if this idea is created (Email me for more details).This plan would however, make it very easy to receive the publics input on issues. How many times have people complained that their voices were not being heard but have done nothing to make themselves heard? Now a click of a button may be all that is needed.I certainly like that the idea is being exp...
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Bloggingnovascotia.ca
2008-01-14 02:17:00
Ever want to visit my site but forget the URL? I have always wanted to make it simpler, but did not want to confuse my current readers. I now own http://www.bloggingnovascotia.ca which redirects you here. I will continue to use this site so there is no need to update your bookmarks. I also received a new email address with the purchase. I can now be reached at bryan@bloggingnovascotia.ca

Great Expulsion
2008-01-12 10:57:00
The French population had been the original settlers in Nova Scotia. During the 1600's, the region had been traded back and forth between the French and the British. The British had always demanded that the Acadians state their intentions by swearing allegiance to the English, however this would never occur.During 1755, the British had attacked the French in Fort Beauséjour (New Brunswick) for control of the continent. During the battle, 300 Acadians were located within the walls of the French army. The Acadians swore they had been forced to fight against their will, but the British had lost what little trust had remained.Governor Lawrence gave one last chance for the Acadians to swear their intent to allign with the British troops. The Acadians once again refused. Shortly afterwards Governor Lawrence ordered the Acadian population be deported and separated to many different regions world wide.Many who were sent to France died en route. The onces that did reach their destination w...
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Gas Price Predictions For January 11th 2008
2008-01-10 10:44:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on January 11th 2008 .I predict gas prices will go up by 1-2 cents per literGasoline Price s In New BrunswickJanuary 3rd 2008 - 110.8January 10th 2008 - 112.2Difference - +1.4Gasoline Price GloballyJanuary 3rd 2008 - $99.43 U.S. Per BarrelJanuary 10th 2008 - $96.13 U.S. Per BarrellDifference - -$3.30To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.
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Tidal Power Test Center
2008-01-08 20:55:00
Premier Rodney MacDonald has announced that the Province will contribute $4.7 million dollars to create a tidal power center in the Bay of Fundy. EnCana has also agreed to contribute $3 million as an interest free loan to support the project. MacDonald believes that the center could produce as much as 15% of the energy needed for Nova Scotia."These companies know what we know -- the Bay of Fundy is one of the world's best sites for tidal development," said Premier Rodney MacDonald. "And today we are a step closer to proving it. This facility can become a landmark centre of excellence in our efforts to provide cleaner sources of energy."http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details .asp?id=20080108001The government has vowed to have 20% of our power come from renewable energy sources by 2013. Tidal power is a great start as the Bay of Fundy produces the largest tides in the world.Other SourcesWikipedia - Tidal Power
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511 For Highway Conditions
2008-01-07 19:06:00
The Department of Transportation has a new method of informing drivers of current road conditions. From any phone simply dial "511" and you will be connected to the latest updates.First select your language preference and then you input the highway number you will be driving on. Keep in mind that this information is up to date but can change without notice so continue to use caution when driving.This is a great idea, but with the new changes coming for cell phone usage while driving, it may not be used as frequently. All drivers will have to check all highways before they leave the house. Even if drivers choose to do this, the information could change while they are en route.Signs will be posted along major routes in the near future.RELATED LINKSGovernment Press Release
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Blame WalMart
2008-01-05 17:39:00
There have been so many changes to shopping in our province over the last year. We now have Sunday shopping and for a while even Holiday shopping. Now WalMart is creating controversy by leaving their Dartmouth Crossings location open 24 hours a day.WalMart has come under fire with this new strategy due to concerns for the workers time with their families. Do people not realize that grocery stores like Sobey's have been doing this for quite sometime (just with limited hours on Sundays)? WalMart is not the first, nor will they be the last, to understand that there are people who prefer to shop at night when the lines are less full. Besides the fact that night shifts can actually provide more time for the workers to be with their family as their evenings are now free 7 days a week.WalMart is the easy target for the publics anger. They have policies which go against normal operations for most stores, which is probably why they have become the most successful. When WalMart decided to st...
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Gas Price Predictions For January 4th 2008
2008-01-03 15:26:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on January 4th 2008 .I predict gas prices will stay the same or change by less than 2 cents in either direction.Gasoline Price s In New BrunswickDecember 20th 2007 - 109.9January 3rd 2007 - 110.8Difference - +0.9Gasoline Price GloballyDecember 20th 2007 - $91.18 U.S. Per BarrelJanuary 3rd 2007 - $99.43 U.S. Per BarrelDifference - +8.25To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.
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Halifax Police Raise Privacy Concerns
2008-01-01 17:36:00
Last week the popular downtown bar "The Dome" lost their liquor license when a fight got out of control. More than 35 people were arrested during the incident. Conditions placed on the bar to allow them to retain their license included dropping the crowd favorite Dollar Drinks night, and allowing the police to monitor their security cameras online. The Halifax Police now have the ability to see every person who enters the bar and what they do while inside. This power concerns many of the people who frequent the bar. What the police would be looking for is the big question. They would be able to get the video after an incident occurred anyways but for some reason they want to view it in real time. The only difference is that now they will have access to view incidents which do not get reported. Before someone comments on the fact that if you are a law binding citizen you will have nothing to worry about, consider this. Would you allow a camera installed in your house or at ...
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Last Post Of The Year
2007-12-27 21:10:00
Just wanted to wish you all a safe holiday and a Happy New Year . I will be back in 2008 brining you the latest news from around the province.All The Best------------------------------------- --------------------------------This transmission (including any attachments) may contain confidential information, privileged material (including material protected by the solicitor-client or other applicable privileges), or constitute non-public information. Any use of this information by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately reply to the sender and delete this information from your system. Use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this transmission by unintended recipients is not authorized and may be unlawful.
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Life Is Like A Box Of Choclates - Moirs Plant Closes Today
2007-12-21 18:41:00
A family tradition for many in the Halifax area will disappear today. The last box of chocolates will roll off the line in the Moirs factory this afternoon putting 550 people out of a job less than a week before Christmas.The factory has been in operation for many decades and will be missed. A new retail location will open in its place in the near future.The factory has been unable to make a profit and Herseys has made the final decision a while back. The good news (if there is any), is that the employees had been given plenty of notice. Their pension fund is also sitting nicely at 91% stocked and will be topped off due to new regulations.All the best to the Moirs employees during this holiday season.
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Gas Price Prediction For December 21st 2007
2007-12-20 16:48:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on December 21st 2007.I predict gas prices will go up by 1 to 4 cents per liter.Gasoline Price s In New BrunswickDecember 13th 2007 - 107.0December 20th 2007 - 109.9Difference - +2.9Gasoline Price GloballyDecember 13th 2007 - $93.10 U.S. Per BarrelDecember 20th 2007 - $91.18 U.S. Per BarrelDifference - -1.92To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.

Fage To Remain As MLA
2007-12-19 20:03:00
Ernie Fage was found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident during an event last year. For those unfamiliar with the story behind the accident, you can check out a previous post titled "The Ernie Fage Saga".A judge has fined him $920 for leaving the scene and he has been expelled from the Tory Caucus. He will not be permitted to run as a Progressive Conservative in the next election for his riding of Cumberland North. Fage has declared he will run anyway, but as an independent.This is not the first time that Ernie Fage has been involved in a scandal which has forced him to loose his power in Nova Scotia. In 2006 he resigned due to a loan of $250,000 to a potato farmer which he stood to gain from. The Liberal Party called for an investigation due to a conflict of interest.If Fage wishes to pursue politics farther, he will need to learn quickly how to keep himself out of trouble. He has served his riding well, but has been unable to keep the spotlight off of himself and on his wor...

The Halifax Explosion
2007-12-15 20:28:00
On December 6th 1916, the town of Halifax, Nova Scotia was hit by one of the largest explosions in history. The story begins on December 1st 1916 when the French vessel "Mont-Blanc" left New York City with cargo destined for the war in France. The cargo included the following:226,797 kg of TNT1,602,519 kg of Wet Picric Acid544,311 kg of Dry Picric Acid56,301 kg of Guncotton223,188 kg of BenzolThe ship sailed towards Halifax where it arrived on the night of December 5th. Since evening had arrived, the sip remained at sea until the following day.At 7:30am the harbour was opened and the Mont-Blanc prepared to enter. At the same time the vessel Imo was preparing to leave for New York to gather supplies for a relief effort in Belgium. The Imo left the harbour and met with another ship. They agreed to pass each other on the opposite side than is normally expected. This forced the Imo in to a lane it was not designated for and would remain in the hazy conditions.The Mont-Blanc was sailing ...
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Nova Scotia's History
2007-12-15 20:22:00
This post will be the central point for a collection of articles on the History of Nova Scotia. It will be updated when new articles are created and will follow a timeline format. Please use the comments section of each post to requests edits.December 6th 1917 - The Halifax Explosion
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No Smoking In Cars With Children
2007-12-14 17:57:00
Next month it will become illegal to smoke tobacco inside a car with people below the age of 18 inside. Anyone found guilty of this offense will pay a fine of $384.50. The original version of this law was passed in the town of Wolfville, but now will be in effect across the Province.The Smokers Rights group MyChoice claims this is the first step in a road which will lead to an outright ban of tobacco products. The next step would be a ban in households with minors and then the removal of the product from store shelves.An outright ban is not likely in the near future, but it is a goal worth reaching for. Tobacco products put a huge restraint on our health care spending and cost the general public a lot of money on a regular basis. The ban in automobiles with minors inside is one of the first positive moves the province has made in the fight against smokers.Previous plans were to simply up the costs per package in an attempt to convince smokers to butt out. The only thing this accompl...
More About: Cars , Children , Smoking , No smoking

Gas Price Prediction For December 14th 2007
2007-12-13 16:10:00
It is Thursday again which means gas prices change for the people of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Here is my prediction for gasoline prices on December 14th 2007.I predict gas prices will go up by less than 2 cents per liter.Gasoline Price s In New BrunswickDecember 6th 2007 - 106.2December 13th 2007 - 107.0Difference - +0.8Gasoline Price GloballyDecember 6th 2007 - $88.57 U.S. Per BarrelDecember 13th 2007 - $93.10 U.S. Per BarrelDifference - +4.53To find out which zone you are located in, check out the map provided by Service Nova Scotia. You can also get a copy of the latest gas prices across the province by viewing the official report release. This prediction is in no way official and should only be used as informational. Any decision to purchase or not to purchase gasoline on any given day rests with you. All prices are based on self serve regular unless otherwise specified.
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Nova Scotia Power Can Skip Utility Board
2007-12-12 10:50:00
Nova Scotia Power will have the ability to raise and lower the costs of electricity without appearing before the Utility and Review board starting 2010. The price of electricity will rise and fall based on the costs of fossil fuels required to generate it. The Utility and Review board has warned the power company that if a trial run in April is not successful, they will reverse their decision.Nova Scotia Power has been known for their constant rate hike increases over the last few years. Since the company was privatized the focus has shifted from reliable and affordable service to profit. The Chronicle Herald has even mentioned the CEO of Emera (Nova Scotia Powers parent company) on their list of the highest paid CEO's in the province. The question is should NSP be trusted with this power (no pun intended)?If the company is completely upfront about their costs than the project could work. There should however be a review at least once a year on the price changes to ensure the pu...
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Holiday Shopping To Be Banned
2007-12-10 16:26:00
Premier Rodney MacDonald will support a ban on a topic he approved last year. Large retail stores will once again have their hours regulated by not being permitted to open on holidays. Last year they were permitted to open due to the Sunday Shopping debate. MacDonald then said he would not regulate retail location hours any longer.The turn around was to save the minority government as the Liberals and the NDP both supported the bill. Currently 7 holidays are on paper, but the Liberal and NDP parties each want a different holiday added to the list.This is the second time this week that the Premier has been forced in to a situation he was not in support of. Earlier the Premier held the debates on a ban of nursing strikes for so long that the bill was not to go up for a vote. He claims he will reintroduce it in the spring.One newspaper quoted the Premier as stating this was proof that a minority government can work for the province. This is also proof that MacDonald is loosing control ...
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