Sales of flavoured e-cigarettes and juices will be completely banned across Nova Scotia on April 1st. Health Minister Randy Delorey says that makes us among the first provinces to look at the serious health damage from vaping and the only province to announce a full flavour ban. The minister says “we’ve worked hard to shift to a smoke-free culture and we do not want to lose ground.” He says vaping rates, especially among young people, have been growing and his department is concerned. 95 per cent of young people in Nova Scotia who vape say they prefer flavoured juices and over 48 per cent say they would quit the risky vaping habit if flavours were banned.
New Brunswick gas prices are down by just over a penny per litre today. A similar price drop is expected when the Utility and Review Board re-sets Nova Scotia prices tonight at midnight.
BOSTON TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY SET FOR TONIGHT
Facebook Photo: 2019 Boston Common Tree Lighting: https://www.facebook.com/events/1342416552631546/
The lighting of the City of Boston’s official Christmas tree, which is from Pictou County is happening tonight (Dec. 5th) with thousands expected to be in attendance. Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister Leo Glavine and Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin, joined by several Nova Scotia companies, will also be in attendance to witness the annual tradition on the Boston Common. You can watch live beginning at 8:00pm (AST) on WCVB Boston, an ABC affiliate. This marks the 47th year Nova Scotia has given a tree to the residents of Boston as thanks for relief efforts following the December 6, 1917, explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax Harbor.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS GETS UNDERWAY
Facebook Photo: Town of Stellarton
You may have noticed some activity yesterday on Bridge Avenue in Stellarton. The province has partnered with Stellarton Police and County RCMP officers in hosting Operation Christmas 2019. All Pictou County departments and RCMP detachments were on hand for the launch of Nova Scotia’s annual impaired driving campaign. The success of the month-long campaign is a direct result of police agencies and government departments working together with groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In addition, Corp. Ron Bryce of Pictou District RCMP says they will be working in conjunction with the Province with a longer-term focus on road safety throughout the coming year. For the month of December, police will focus on Impaired Driving, specifically Impaired Driving by people using drugs. Stellarton’s new police chief Mark Hobeck says don’t be surprised if you see an extra high number of impaired driving check-points this year.
2 NOVA SCOTIA HEROES RECEIVE THE PROVINCE’S HIGHEST RECOGNITION FOR BRAVERY THIS WEEK
Facebook Photos: Nova Scotia Government
An eight-year-old Cumberland County girl who helped rescue her family from a van that plunged into a river has received a bravery award from the premier. Sophia Grace LeBlanc of Amherst and two siblings were in a van driven by their mother on Remembrance Day of last year, when the vehicle left Highway 204 near Little River and landed on its roof in the water. Sophia’s siblings, a two-year-old sister and four-year-old brother, were trapped upside down in the vehicle. Her little brother was unconscious and her mother was too injured to get out. Sophia, who was only six years old at the time, unbuckled her sister’s seatbelt and got her out of the vehicle before climbing out to flag down another driver for help. Sophia is the youngest Nova Scotian ever to receive the award for bravery. Eighteen-year-old Elijah Watts of Port Hood is being honoured for helping two men after their lobster boat capsized in the early morning of May 12th of last year. Watts, his father, and another man were thrown overboard from the Ocean Star off the shore of Colindale in the Gulf of the Saint Lawrence. Watts stayed in the storm-tossed waters, without any regard for his own safety to help the other two men.
A man who beat a prominent gay rights activist to death in Halifax will not have to worry about extra restrictions on his freedoms. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has refused a bid by Crown prosecutors to restore restrictions imposed on Andre Denny. Denny was sentenced to 8 years back in 2015 for killing Raymond Taavel in 2012. Justice system rules mean Denny has already served his full sentence for killing Taavel. He’s still being held at the Dartmouth psychiatric hospital because he had earlier been found not criminally responsible for a serious attack in his home community of Membertou. That was back in 2011. Prosecutors went to court this week to challenge the Criminal Code Review Board’s authority, saying it had failed to properly consider all factors before it loosened the strings on Denny, granting him more freedom.
The provincial Labour department is investigating a complaint involving an elevator at one of Halifax’s tallest buildings, the Maritime Centre on Barrington Street, known to many across the province as the building where you renew your passports. The investigation follows an incident last week, when one of the elevator cars serving the 21-storey building came to an abrupt halt. Managers are seeking to re-assure people in the building. Ironically, the Labour Department itself is housed within the building. Elevators in the 42-year-old building are currently undergoing modernization, which includes replacing all of the elevator cables.
A 37-year-old workplace supervisor from Halifax has been charged following the death of a young man in March in last year, who fell from the roof of a Kent Building Supplies store under construction in the Dartmouth Crossing area. 22-year-old Brandon Alcorn of Porter’s Lake died after falling from the roof of the store. Jeff Scott Gooch, who was the worksite supervisor at the time of the incident, was arrested on Saturday and is now facing a charge of criminal negligence causing death.
Visiting your local supermarket might mean doing your homework on prices before you even begin strolling the aisles in the New Year. The latest Canada Food Price Report, which is a team effort between Dalhousie University, and University of Guelph says we’re likely going to be paying more for dairy, meat, seafood, fruits, and vegetables next year, with bakery items likely to stay about the same price. Sylvain Charlebois is with Dalhousie and says food inflation should actually reach four per cent next year, with meat prices being bumped up by as much as six per cent. Charlebois says for an average family of four, that means spending more than $480 extra next year on groceries.
If you bought a “smart” TV this Christmas season or are planning to, consider this warning to consumers from the FBI in the states. They say the device sitting in your living room could be used to hack into your home computer network and spy on you. Since Smart TVs come with an internet connection, they allow users to browse the web and watch shows from their favorite streaming platforms. They also come with a range of customizable features to substitute for a remote, including voice commands to flip through channels or to turn up the volume. But cyber crime experts say Smart TVs are equipped with cameras, microphones and, in some cases, facial recognition technology. And they’re often poorly secured by their manufacturers compared to computers or smartphones. So that opens up the technology to cybercriminals who can exploit their vulnerability to access your home routers.
There will be a parking ban on Provost & Archimedes streets from 4 until 8 pm on Sunday for the New Glasgow Santa Clause Parade. Town officials say vehicles left parked along the parade route will be towed away. More parade details here: https://mix941.ca/events/240176/
SPORTS
NHL
Colorado 3 Toronto 1
Pittsburgh 3 St. Louis 0
Ottawa 5 Edmonton 2
The Atom A Toy Drive for Tearmann House is taking place this afternoon from 5-7 (Thursday, Dec. 5th) and from 4 to 6 pm tomorrow (Friday) at the New Glasgow Walmart
This Sunday (Dec 8, 2019) starting at noon, the Atom A Crushers (Team White) will be canvasing the West Side of New Glasgow for food donations to be given to the Pictou County food bank in preparation for the holiday season.
