Heavy wind and rain leaves thousands without power this morning in N.S.

Heavy rain and high winds knocked out power for thousands of Nova Scotians overnight. At its peak Tuesday morning, there were more than 25,000 outages.
The biggest outages were in the Clayton Park area of Halifax, Dartmouth and New Ross, as well as parts of the Annapolis Valley.

Meanwhile, high winds have caused Northumberland Ferries to cancel the 8:30 crossing from Wood Islands, PE and the 10:00 crossing from Caribou, NS today (Dec 7).

 

Significant snowfall expected Wednesday evening in N.S.

Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement for Pictou County, advising of significant snowfall that’s expected Wednesday night through Thursday.  We could possibly see more than 15 cm. There does remain considerable uncertainty with regards to the track of a low pressure system, however at this time the highest snowfall amounts are expected along the Atlantic coast.

 

N.S. reports 45 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday

Nova Scotia is reporting 45 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday, bringing the active caseload in the province to 153 cases.  Of the new cases announced yesterday, 38 cases are in the central zone, six are in the northern zone and one is in the eastern zone.  There is a cluster of cases in a localized community in Northern Zone and there is also evidence of limited community spread in Halifax and parts of northern Nova Scotia.  Eleven people are now in hospital with COVID-19, including four in intensive care.  Premier Tim Houston and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang will hold a COVID-19 update briefing Tuesday at 3 p.m.  The update will be livestreamed on https://novascotia.ca/stayinformed/webcast

Three more people have died in New Brunswick as a result of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 136 since the start of the pandemic.  Meanwhile, officials reported 71 new cases of the virus yesterday.  There are 760 active cases in the province.  Forty-nine people are hospitalized, including 18 in intensive care.

A new online survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies finds more than four out of five respondents support closing the Canadian border to travellers coming from countries where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is present.  A majority of the more than 15-hundred respondents say they are in favour of possibly closing Canada’s border with the United States for a period of time.  In response to the detection of Omicron, Canada quickly put in place travel measures, including banning visitors who have recently travelled through 10 African countries, to curb the spread.

 

Newspaper publisher SaltWire offering employee buyouts

East Coast newspaper publisher SaltWire Network Inc. is offering voluntary buyouts and an option of reduced hours for employees.  In an internal memo, the company says that offers are part of its ongoing pivot from a traditional newspaper publisher to a digital media company.  SaltWire’s head of people and process Nancy Cook says in the memo that the company’s needs are shifting and it has to be nimble and ready to tackle the changes ahead.  The company doesn’t specify how many employees it expects to take up the offer, but notes that there are several eligibility criteria and that management will have to approve any applications.  In 2020, SaltWire permanently laid off 109 staff who had been part of a wider temporary layoff, which the company said was prompted by lower ad revenue because of COVID-19.  SaltWire owns 27 media brands in Atlantic Canada including The Chronicle Herald in Halifax and The Telegram in St. John’s, N.L. (The Canadian Press)

 

MOPC Rural Internet Project starts construction phase

Photo credit: MOPC

The construction phase has started with the Municipality of Pictou County’s Rural Internet Project.  Crews have begun placing fibre on poles in rural Pictou County, and are doing considerable work to the Municipality of Pictou County’s administration building as it prepares to be the network’s hub.  The Municipality says it’s building a network that will serve rural residents who want to stream movies or work from home, and will also support larger commercial and industrial needs.

 

Ceremony marks 104th anniversary of Halifax Explosion

Photo credit: Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nova Scotia

A ceremony was held Monday morning to commemorate the loss of more than two-thousand lives in the Halifax Explosion 104 years ago yesterday. Chief Superintendent Janice Gray of the Halifax District RCMP was among those laying wreaths at Fort Needham Memorial Park in remembrance of those who lost their lives and those left behind to rebuild.