HEADLINERS ANNOUNCED FOR JUBILEE IN AUGUST
The Big names for this year’s Riverfront Jubilee have just been announced this morning. The dates are August 2nd, 3rd and 4th. These musical names are well-known names across the region and across the country.
– Friday’s headliner: Kim Mitchell with special guest Sass Jordan
– Saturday’s headliner: Winter Sleep with special guest Ria Mae
– Sunday co-headliners: Trooper and Big Wreck
Weekend Passes are on sale this morning: GATE CRASHER PRICE of $69.99 …for the first 100 passes sold, $75.00 for early birds until May 16… (all tickets are 19+) Grab tickets and get more details at mix941.ca The complete festival line-up announcement, late night stage information, Carlton’s Community Bash details, new site perks and much more will be released throughout May and June.
MAJOR GAS PRICE INCREASE TODAY
The price of regular, self-serve gasoline in NS is up by 3.9 cents a litre to a new maximum price of $1.348/L. Diesel prices are also up, hitting $126.2 per litre. That’s a hike of 1.6 cents per litre.
PICTOU COUNTY POLICE OFFICERS HONOURED
Three members of the New Glasgow Regional Police along with one member of the Stellarton Police Service have been recognized for their contributions to law enforcement along with other police officers across the province. Attorney General Mark Furey along with Chief Eric MacNeil presented Nova Scotia Provincial Police Long Service Awards at a ceremony in Halifax yesterday to Sergeant Jason MacKinnon , Corporal Claire Corkum and Constable Fred MacEwan. Inspector Chris Pond had presented Constable Nancy MacCulloch with her Provincial Long Service Medal. The Nova Scotia police long service medal goes to officers who’ve reached 15 years of service to policing in Nova Scotia.
Colchester County has set its tax rates for the 2019-20 budget year. And home owners will see a small rate increase. The residential tax rate is being bumped up by $0.05 to $0.885 per one-hundred dollars of assessment. The County says the increase will cost most homeowners 5 or 6 dollars extra each year. Above average values – homes priced close to $200,000, will see an increase of about $10 on their tax bills.Colchester County’s commercial tax rate is not changing and remains at $2.28 per one-hundred dollars of assessment.
PREMIER AIMS TO BOOST EUROPE-CHINA-NS BUSINESS
Premier Stephen McNeil has launched the Nova Scotia-Europe Engagement Strategy. The idea is to help maximize business and tourism opportunities with European markets. The European Union is Nova Scotia’s third largest export market after the United States and China. McNeil will board WestJet’s inaugural non-stop flight from Halifax to Dublin, Ireland on Monday to kick off a two-week trade mission to Europe and China.
A dismal DFO assessment of the Atlantic mackerel population is too pessimistic according people in the industry. Ryan Langille of Pictou has told CBC “It certainly doesn’t reflect what the fishermen are seeing in the water,’ and he’s a bait buyer in the industry. The latest DFO survey shows the Mackeral spawning stock biomass to be in the “critical zone,” meaning it is in decline and must be rebuilt.
Scientists say the spawning population is down 86 per cent from pre-2000 levels and the number of fish surviving to breed is at all-time lows. Mackerel is the primary source of bait for the lobster fishery, which kicks off next week. Langille tells the public network, “We’ve had an immense amount of juvenile fish in the population and every year going forward since 2015 we notice more and more juvenile fish prevalent in the catch. ” So he says “It’s certainly not reflective of a species that’s not spawning.” He is not alone. The Maritime Fishermen’s Union and fishing interests in Newfoundland and Labrador are also disputing the assessment. They say they are seeing large numbers of mackerel. But DFO Scientists say their measurements are based on science, and they’re standing by their study.
A 27-year-old Port Hawkesbury man has been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking following a vehicle stop in Whycocomagh. Police conducted the stop on Highway 105 on Tuesday, and a search uncovered cocaine. Michael Warren Ryan was arrested without incident. He’s since been released from police custody on conditions to appear in Port Hawkesbury Provincial Court on July 29th.
The Health Authority says the E-R in Tatamagouche will be open for the night shift as usual this weekend. But the daytime hours at the Lillian Fraser’s emergency room will be cut back. It means there’ll be no doctors from 4pm until 8pm at the Tatamagouche E-R on Saturday, and nobody on duty from 8am until 10 am Sunday morning.
Coming up on Sunday, workers, friends and family members will gather to remember brothers and sisters killed or injured on the job. The Annual Day of Mourning Ceremony for Pictou County will take place at Trenton Park with a wreath-laying Sunday evening at 6. For more information, the contact is Mary Lloyd; Pictou County Injured Workers Association at 902-695-7249. The email address is pciwa@eastlink.ca
“Transformative Upbeat Conversations” or TUC Talks are a new project from New Glasgow’s Trinity United Church, and their next conversation centers on the News Industry. It takes place this Sunday night at Trinity United’s “Multi-Purpose Room” which is 100% accessible from the Maclean Street entrance. A-J will be moderating a conversation with Paul Withers of CBC, Brendan Ahern of NG News and Janet Whitman of the online news service known as AllNovaScotia.com We’d love to have you join us for coffee, tea and conversation about the news industry this Sunday night at 7 o’clock. We’ll be at the Trinity United Church multi-purpose room off Maclean Street. (There’s no admission and the coffee and tea is free)
This year marks the 38th annual Battle of Culloden ceremony. That Pictou County event takes place tomorrow at the Cairn in Knoydart. It’s been 274 years since the Jacobites rose up to return the Stuart dynasty to the throne of England. Their efforts ended on Culloden Moor in southern Scotland. The annual ceremony honours that battle and the subsequent migration of Scots to the shores of Pictou County.
The proclamation-signing and kick-off for this year’s Marathon of Respect and Equality, which is the 10th edition of the event will take place next Tuesday. It’s slated for 10:30 in the morning at the Community College Campus in Stellarton. The annual program is designed to celebrate and bring awareness to MORE’s core goals of racial tolerance and respect and equality for everyone in Pictou County. The event features entertainment and a presentation by long-time human rights activist Henderson Paris. The kick-off is hosted by the NSCC, the MORE organizing committee, AND Michelin, and it’s open to the public. The marathon takes place the following Wednesday, which is May 8th.
Lawyer George Conway, who is the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, has unveiled a new nickname for President Trump, going after “Deranged Donald” on Twitter.
“Deranged Donald is at back at it again. Deranged Donald can do things like this and it’s not even the top of the news, because it gets lost beneath all of the other deranged things Deranged Donald does,” Conway wrote on Twitter, including the hashtag #DerangedDonald. Conway was responding to a Wednesday report from The Washington Post about Trump’s suggestion that the United Kingdom had helped the Obama administration spy on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Conway also wrote that “Deranged Donald” does not read books composed of the “accurate, highly valuable, top secret information” compiled for him because they don’t “have lots of pictures and tell him how great he is.”
A much-loved children’s music performer is lending his star power to help a four-legged friend find a new home.
Fred Penner, the famed Childrens’ entertainer from CBC television, urged dog lovers in Truro to step up and adopt an eight-year-old beagle named after him, saying adopted pets can be the most loving companions – and harshly condemning those who harm animals. Penner says “It drives me crazy that people are so cruel and unfeeling and pick on the most vulnerable.” Penner learned about the beagle from a notice posted on the Truro News’ website and social media this week, which he retweeted. Sympathetic Ear Animal Rescue Society is still looking to re-home Fred Penner the beagle.
“The Simpsons” consulting producer Tim Long grew up in Ontario and has always sensed something secretly Canadian about Lisa, the middle child and most critically-minded member of the enduring American animated family. So when it came to this Sunday’s Canadian-themed episode, Long says it felt natural to make Lisa the one who spends time on this side of the border. It happens when the Simpsons visit Niagara Falls and, through a series of wacky mishaps, Lisa goes over the powerful flow of water that separates Ontario and New York. She lands on the Canadian side and is admitted to hospital, where she realizes Canada is the place for her. Yes, much of the Simpsons family also visits Canada in the episode, which Long says has “a shocking number of Canadian things” that “95 per cent of the American audience won’t get.” Earlier this week, Toronto journalist Lucas Meyer (with Antigonish roots) revealed he voices Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the episode. While Meyer recorded his role in September, Long says they write episodes “until the very last second,” leaving room for current references. The episode, “D’Oh Canada,” airs on Citytv and Fox.
SPORTS
NHL Playoffs
First Round
Boston 3 Columbus 2 (OT)
(Boston leads series 1-0)
St. Louis 3 Dallas 2
(Blues lead series 1-0)
NBA Playoffs
First Round
San Antonio 120 Denver 103
(Series tied 3-3)
MLB
American League
Boston 7 Detroit 3
Cleveland 2 Houston 1
L.A. Angels 11 N.Y. Yankees 5
Seattle 14 Texas 2
National League
Arizona 5 Pittsburgh 0
L.A. Dodgers 2 Chicago Cubs 1
Miami 3 Philadelphia 1 (10 innings)
Cincinnati 4 Atlanta 2
