FOSTER PARENTS IN NOVA SCOTIA TO GET LUMP-SUM PAYMENT

The Rankin government announced today that full-time foster families will receive a one-time payment of $5,000 under the Because You Care Foster Family initiative. The initiative is in recognition of the fact that foster families incur expenses that aren’t always covered.   Community Services Minister Kelly Regan says Foster Parents are among the most dedicated volunteers in the province.  She’s promising more details on the revamped foster care system in the weeks to come.

 

ADVOCATE NEWS REPORTS NEW OWNERS BEING SOUGHT FOR PICTOU SHIPYARD

The Advocate publishing group is reporting that Aecon-Fabco is pulling out of the Pictou Shipyard, leaving it temporarily, in the capable hands of Halifax real estate developer Besim Halef.  His plan is to secure a deal with a new operator on the Pictou waterfront, and Halef says the Pictou yard has much better prospects than fabrication plants he had previously operated in Dartmouth.  Halef tells the Advocate that metal fabrication gave him his start in Nova Scotia when he first relocated here from Turkey back in 1975. He says talks are underway with a potential new owner, and adds it’s not Irving Shipbuilding, which used to operate in Pictou until they closed it down in 2004.  Halef is not offering any comment on whether or not a key Irving competitor is interested in the local facility, where the current payroll is between 50 and 60 people. (Advocate Publishing)

 

WITH 4-THOUSAND JOBS ON THE LINE, LOCAL MP SEAN FRASER SAYS GOLDBORO L-N-G PLANT NEEDS TO BE “NET ZERO”

An Environmental Group says Peridae Energy,  the company planning a $13-billion liquefied natural gas plant on the Eastern Shore seems poised to ask for nearly $1 billion from the federal government to support the idea.  But insiders are questioning that amount. The project would be in the riding of Cape Breton-Canso, and since it borders Central Nova, local MP Sean Fraser says “a major economic opportunity” is in the offing for us and the rest of the province.  Pieridae spokesperson James Millar is confirming the company is currently in talks with Ottawa about financial support, but isn’t revealing numbers.  Fraser tells our newsroom the project would have to achieve “net-zero emissions by 2050” to fall within the province’s climate plan.  The local MP says he’s looking forward to more talks with the company and the community to make sure it meets development and environmental standards. Some estimates say the LNG plant in Goldboro could create more than 4,000 jobs, which would definitely spill over into a large chunk of the province, adding major benefits for paycheques in Antigonish and Pictou Counties.  (Stingray News, Paridae Energy Image)

 

NEW BRUNSWICK GAS PRICES RISE FOR 14TH WEEK IN A ROW

New Brunswick gas prices have taken yet another sizeable jump.  Gas across the border went up by 4.8 cents per litre overnight to $1.33. Diesel prices went up by eight-tenths of a cent to a new maximum of $128.5.  Nova Scotia’s new prices come in at midnight.

WOMAN HIT BY LOCAL VEHICLE

New Glasgow Regional Police say a 76-year-old woman had to be taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being struck in a marked crosswalk on MacLean Street.  Police say the incident happened through the noon hour yesterday near the intersection of Provost Street and their investigation continues.

 

ATLANTIC BUBBLE IN THE WORKS, SAYS NB PREMIER

 

The Atlantic bubble will reopen in mid-April, according to New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who made that confirmation to reporters last night. That followed a conference call among all four Atlantic premiers.  A firm date is expected to be announced within a matter of days.

 

Two new cases of the original COVID-19 are on the latest list from Nova Scotia Public Health. 
The first case is in the Central Zone and is a close contact of a previously reported case.
The other infection is in the Western Zone and is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. That puts the active case-count in Nova Scotia at 15 infections this morning.

HEALTH ALERT FOR ILLEGAL DRUGS IN DARTMOUTH AREA

Nova Scotia Health has issued another alert about substance contamination. It says RCMP in Dartmouth have reported white, round, scored tablets with the logo “TEC” on one side have tested positive for heroin at the National Drug Analysis Service.

RCMP PROBING CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFTS IN THREE NOVA SCOTIA COUNTIES

There’s been rash of thefts of catalytic converters across a large swath of Eastern Canada over the past month. The latest victim is a bus used to drive seniors in the Windsor area. RCMP say thieves have been stealing the converters because of the value of precious metal contained inside them. The converters on trucks, SUV’s and buses are the most likely targets because there’s more space underneath for criminals to slide under a vehicle and cut off that valuable part of the exhaust system.  More than two-dozen similar cases have been reported across three Nova Scotia counties, with similar thefts in the other eastern provinces.

 

DALHOUSIE RESEARCH ON WHALES SUGGEST THEY’VE BEEN AVOID HUMANS FOR YEARS

New research from a team including a Dalhousie University biologist suggests sperm whales taught each other to avoid whalers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The scientists have published a paper in the journal “Biology Letters” saying sperm whales in the North Pacific quickly changed their habits to avoid open-boat whalers.  Dalhousie biology professor Hal Whitehead is co-author of this latest study.  He says log books from American whalers in the North Pacific show that successful harpooning trips fell by about 58 per cent over the first few years of hunting in the region.

Whitehead says the large mammals may have learned to adopt defensive measures from others in their close social units.Some of the evasive methods noted by whalers in the log books included swimming upwind to evade the hunters in row boats and getting close enough to attack the vessels.  The research also indicates sperm whales could likely sense and co-ordinate behaviour over several kilometres.  (Canadian Press)