The CBC and the Chronicle-Herald have both put out stories in the last 24 hours seeking to independently verify some of the claims in The Coast’s feature article about Mayor Peter Kelly’s mismanagement of the Mary Thibeault estate. CBC interviews a representative from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, who says they would be entitled to about $50,000 in Thibeault’s will and haven’t seen a penny of it. Significantly, $50,000 would account for “about half of its annual fundraising efforts from private sources,” but CNIB still thinks there must be a logical explanation for the hold-up. Thibeault died in 2004. Meanwhile, the Herald spoke to a cousin of Thibeault who was not named in the will, but thinks the dead woman probably wanted Kelly to have the large chunk of cash he removed from her bank account before assessing the value of the estate for the probate courts. Also, a councillor weighs in on why the Mayor should consider publicly explaining his actions, instead of dodging the questions like so far he has been.

The owner of a building on Spring Garden Road says his property assessment doubled in one year: from $2.2 million in 2011 to an assessment of $4.4 million today. The owner can appeal, but other business owners downtown and on Quinpool Road are feeling similar crunches, with their property tax doubling since 2004. Some are calling for a rollback on taxes or an increase in services to make the cost of doing business on the peninsula worth it. (Chronicle-Herald)

The province is launching a workshop series and website to encourage people to run and vote in upcoming municipal elections, including HRM’s. Workshop dates aren’t set but you can get on the mailing list here. (Metro)

MORE READING

The third Halifax police officer in three months charged with impaired driving is Jennifer McPhee. McPhee is
listed on the police’s website as a community response officer for Mulgrave Park/North End Halifax. (CBC)

Is Premier Darrell Dexter hesitating to wade into Halifax’s transit strike because his brother works for Metro Transit? (Chronicle-Herald)

And this isn’t exactly local, but it’s a thorough look at the current state of our foster system across Canada. In one case in B.C., children were placed with someone who had been convicted of sexual offenses. Highly worth a read. (Canadian Press/CBC)

Photo by Crunchy Footsteps.