Good day, Kathleen —
Too often, we take our infrastructure for granted — that is, until we see it diminish. As you’ve read in our 5 Year Investment Strategy, maintaining and improving the region’s infrastructure is key to our success: A reliable infrastructure means increased commerce. And so we begin this week’s newsletter...
TRANSPORTATION IN SW NS: AN UPDATE
As of today, the Princess of Acadia is undergoing maintenance work which will continue until April 5. And in case you missed it in last Tuesday’s Chronicle Herald, here is Denny Morrow’s op-ed piece reinforcing the concept of the ferry route as a marine highway. Speaking of highways, the Provincial and Federal governments have announced a joint investment in roads in our region. And late breaking news: Yarmouth Airport will once again be offering flights to Maine as of March 15. We’ll keep you posted on the results of ACOA’s transportation study which is due to be published in the coming weeks.
TOURISM BENEFITS FROM A STRONG INFRASTRUCTURE
When it comes to tourism in this province, getting to one’s destination is half the battle. Consequently, the condition of our roads is key to sustaining our tourism sector. And on the topic of sustainable tourism, the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association is holding a two-day workshop with the goal of creating new and exciting collaborations between our region’s UNESCO-designated biosphere and local tourism operators. And another reason to keep our heads up: Upper Clements Parks has announced its plans to install zip lines and swinging suspension bridges as part of its $500,000 aerial park development.
HEALTH CARE UPDATE
South West Health will hold a meeting this week in Digby to consult with the public on ways to keep the hospital’s emergency department open all day, every day. We look forward to giving you an update on the results. A step in the right direction: A new site manager has been named for Digby General and will begin work next week.
THE LATEST STATS
From immigration to housing starts, here’s Canada At a Glance for 2009, along with Nova Scotia’s Winter 2010 Scan, which outlines major trends and issues which influence our economic and social environment.
AND THESE GENTLE REMINDERS…
You still have time to register for some great skills development workshops taking place in our region:
Grow Your Business One Employee At a Time
The Turning Point: Enhancing Your Business Skills
And with availability going fast ... How to Develop a Winning Market Strategy for Breakthrough Innovations
Ever wondered how to make better use of your woodlot? Want to invest in one? Don’t miss the Woodlot Owners Conference being held on Saturday! Learn how that humble plot of land can put money in your pocket … reap untold rewards by harvesting the mushrooms and blueberries that naturally grow there.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
There Was a Big Hurrah in Kandahar!
On the front lines in Kandahar, the crowd went wild
The crowd at New Canada House during Sunday's the gold-medal hockey game, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Steve Rennie/The Canadian Press
Canadian troops in Afghanistan cheer on Team Canada's nail-biting win over the U.S.
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See also:
Olympic Record Book: Canada makes Olympic history
Ottawa Notebook: Obama loses boozy bet with Harper
More Vancouver 2010: The shot heard round the world
Article Comments (42) Josh Wingrove
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan — Globe and Mail Update
Published on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 8:28PM EST
Last updated on Monday, Mar. 01, 2010 5:23AM EST
From the beginning, Corporal Nicole Harcombe had a feeling.
Wearing a Team Canada T-shirt and waving a Canadian flag, Cpl. Harcombe took a second-row seat in a theatre at Kandahar Airfield's New Canada House just after midnight Monday morning.
The military clerk is the middle of a tour here in Afghanistan. Her husband, Peter, a soldier and Afghan veteran himself, was across the world in Edmonton, but she was sure they were both settling in for the same event, albeit at different times of the day - watching the men's hockey gold-medal game.
The married Cpl. Harcombe was, however, forthcoming about a wee crush, a player she felt sure would win it for Canada. A certain slumping star forward from Cole Harbour, a Nova Scotia town she once lived in. The player who'd win it all?
"Sidney Crosby," she says before the game, breaking a wide smile.
The gold-medal match was aired live throughout the Canadian buildings at Kandahar Airfield, the home of Canada's military efforts in Afghanistan. Most prominent, however, was the gathering at New Canada House, where about 200 people crowded in to watch the game. Whether sitting on chairs, stairs, the floor or standing in back, the late hour didn't discourage many people, though free Timbits and coffee were served as incentives.
At another Canadian recreation centre nearby, where the game was also being shown, U.S. Marine Rene Garcia sat in the corner - he'd come there with two friends to take in the game, leaving the safety and taunt-free American section of the military base.
"We came to party in your house... It's good to watch with a little bit of a rivalry," said Chief Warrant Officer Garcia, who plays in the on-base ball hockey league.
"It's better to watch the game with people who know hockey," added his fellow American, soldier Kevin Bartlett, a native of Pittsburgh, where Mr. Crosby now plays for the NHL Penguins.
“ Why does it always have to come like this? Every time? We can't ever get a good, easy win. But it couldn't have ended any better. ”
— Canadian Corporal Mike Zebiere, 33
The scene back in New Canada House was a raucous one during the game. Cheering erupted at almost every occasion, however mundane - puck drop, body checks, missed body checks, a good clearing attempt, the end of a shift, the appearance of William Shatner on television, or whenever the game's broadcaster cut to a live shot of them. Many soldiers, in keeping with policy, had their weapons slung over their Team Canada jerseys and shirts.
But no cheers were so loud as in overtime, when Mr. Crosby took a pass from Jarome Iginla to beat United States goalie Ryan Miller, sealing the gold medal for Canada.
"I'm actually at a loss for words," a beaming Cpl. Harcome said at the end, adding a message to her Cole Harbour crush: "God bless, and we love you over here. And, you did your country proud."
Beside her, Corporal Christopher Nadon, 25, said that despite the shots of celebrations in Vancouver, he wouldn't have watched the game anywhere else. However, he and his friend beside him, Matthieu Couture, were due at work at 8 a.m. Monday, fewer than five hours after the game's end.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Canada won gold in Canada, and we got to watch it in Kandahar serving our country," Cpl. Nadon said.
"It was worth staying up all night," added Mr. Couture, who took a leave from his airline job to work a civilian contract in Afghanistan.
The head of Canada's mission here, Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard, came in plain clothing, taking a seat in the centre of the front row and cheering loudly throughout the game alongside his soldiers. Top diplomat Ben Rowswell, Canada's representative in Kandahar, also came to watch.
The Canadian soldiers and civilians in KAF were lucky. Most Canadian bases, where much of the country's infantry are scattered, were too remote to view the game.
Others at the base nearly missed it. Corporal Mike Zebiere, 33, a Canadian helicopter flight engineer, returned with his team from a mission just before puck dropped, taking a seat on the staircase. Afterward, he lamented the up-and-down nature of the win - the gut-wrenching third period collapse and the elation of the overtime goal.
"Why does it always have to come like this? Every time?" Cpl. Zebiere said with a smile. "We can't ever get a good, easy win. But it couldn't have ended any better."
The crowd at New Canada House during Sunday's the gold-medal hockey game, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Steve Rennie/The Canadian Press
Canadian troops in Afghanistan cheer on Team Canada's nail-biting win over the U.S.
Share with friends Close
Please enter a valid e-mail address
Please enter a comma delimited list of valid e-mail addresses
Other ways of sharing:
Tweet this on Twitter
Share on Facebook
Add to Delicious
Submit post to Digg.com
Seed this post at Newsvine
Print or License Close
Print this page
License this story
Recommend | 46 Times
See also:
Olympic Record Book: Canada makes Olympic history
Ottawa Notebook: Obama loses boozy bet with Harper
More Vancouver 2010: The shot heard round the world
Article Comments (42) Josh Wingrove
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan — Globe and Mail Update
Published on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 8:28PM EST
Last updated on Monday, Mar. 01, 2010 5:23AM EST
From the beginning, Corporal Nicole Harcombe had a feeling.
Wearing a Team Canada T-shirt and waving a Canadian flag, Cpl. Harcombe took a second-row seat in a theatre at Kandahar Airfield's New Canada House just after midnight Monday morning.
The military clerk is the middle of a tour here in Afghanistan. Her husband, Peter, a soldier and Afghan veteran himself, was across the world in Edmonton, but she was sure they were both settling in for the same event, albeit at different times of the day - watching the men's hockey gold-medal game.
The married Cpl. Harcombe was, however, forthcoming about a wee crush, a player she felt sure would win it for Canada. A certain slumping star forward from Cole Harbour, a Nova Scotia town she once lived in. The player who'd win it all?
"Sidney Crosby," she says before the game, breaking a wide smile.
The gold-medal match was aired live throughout the Canadian buildings at Kandahar Airfield, the home of Canada's military efforts in Afghanistan. Most prominent, however, was the gathering at New Canada House, where about 200 people crowded in to watch the game. Whether sitting on chairs, stairs, the floor or standing in back, the late hour didn't discourage many people, though free Timbits and coffee were served as incentives.
At another Canadian recreation centre nearby, where the game was also being shown, U.S. Marine Rene Garcia sat in the corner - he'd come there with two friends to take in the game, leaving the safety and taunt-free American section of the military base.
"We came to party in your house... It's good to watch with a little bit of a rivalry," said Chief Warrant Officer Garcia, who plays in the on-base ball hockey league.
"It's better to watch the game with people who know hockey," added his fellow American, soldier Kevin Bartlett, a native of Pittsburgh, where Mr. Crosby now plays for the NHL Penguins.
“ Why does it always have to come like this? Every time? We can't ever get a good, easy win. But it couldn't have ended any better. ”
— Canadian Corporal Mike Zebiere, 33
The scene back in New Canada House was a raucous one during the game. Cheering erupted at almost every occasion, however mundane - puck drop, body checks, missed body checks, a good clearing attempt, the end of a shift, the appearance of William Shatner on television, or whenever the game's broadcaster cut to a live shot of them. Many soldiers, in keeping with policy, had their weapons slung over their Team Canada jerseys and shirts.
But no cheers were so loud as in overtime, when Mr. Crosby took a pass from Jarome Iginla to beat United States goalie Ryan Miller, sealing the gold medal for Canada.
"I'm actually at a loss for words," a beaming Cpl. Harcome said at the end, adding a message to her Cole Harbour crush: "God bless, and we love you over here. And, you did your country proud."
Beside her, Corporal Christopher Nadon, 25, said that despite the shots of celebrations in Vancouver, he wouldn't have watched the game anywhere else. However, he and his friend beside him, Matthieu Couture, were due at work at 8 a.m. Monday, fewer than five hours after the game's end.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Canada won gold in Canada, and we got to watch it in Kandahar serving our country," Cpl. Nadon said.
"It was worth staying up all night," added Mr. Couture, who took a leave from his airline job to work a civilian contract in Afghanistan.
The head of Canada's mission here, Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard, came in plain clothing, taking a seat in the centre of the front row and cheering loudly throughout the game alongside his soldiers. Top diplomat Ben Rowswell, Canada's representative in Kandahar, also came to watch.
The Canadian soldiers and civilians in KAF were lucky. Most Canadian bases, where much of the country's infantry are scattered, were too remote to view the game.
Others at the base nearly missed it. Corporal Mike Zebiere, 33, a Canadian helicopter flight engineer, returned with his team from a mission just before puck dropped, taking a seat on the staircase. Afterward, he lamented the up-and-down nature of the win - the gut-wrenching third period collapse and the elation of the overtime goal.
"Why does it always have to come like this? Every time?" Cpl. Zebiere said with a smile. "We can't ever get a good, easy win. But it couldn't have ended any better."
NSP and Tidal Power
NSP keen on subsea hydro
Electrical utility has "a lot riding on this’
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter Chronicle Herald
Mon. Mar 1 - 4:53 AM
North America’s rush to renewables has forced the region’s largest energy conglomerate to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this year going cleaner and greener.
Emera Inc. and its subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power, are pinning their hopes on harnessing the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy to generate electricity.
"We’ve got a lot riding on this," said Emera CEO Chris Huskilson in a recent interview at his downtown Halifax office.
Cherubini Metal Works of Dartmouth made the base for the underwater turbine being tested in the Bay of Fundy by Nova Scotia Power and its partner Open Hydro.(Peter Parsons / Herald Staff)
"I think there is great potential both for us producing our own power from this source and Nova Scotians to get more involved in the technology."
Last November, Nova Scotia Power and its Irish partner, OpenHydro of Dublin, launched a commercial-scale underwater turbine in the Bay of Fundy.
"We’ve actually done some remote monitoring of the unit and we do know it is turning. We know it is still down there and still sitting on its legs," he said.
The data collected from the one-megawatt turbine is showing it is working though it is not connected to the grid, he said.
"We’ve got the machine in the water and it’s an exciting time because were gathering the data we need to understand whether this business can turn into something," said Huskilson.
Over the next year, Nova Scotia Power will determine whether it "will do a lot more" in this area.
"It’s an exciting time for the business."
Emera has invested US$16 million for an 8.2 per cent stake in OpenHydro in early 2008. The test turbine cost $10 million, with Nova Scotia Power investing the lion’s share and $4.6 million coming from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a non-profit green energy foundation.
Huskilson says the next step for Nova Scotia Power is testing an array of three tidal turbines and connecting them to an underwater power cable expected to be installed in 2011.
"We have to decide when it’s right for us to put the array in. That’s the next thing we need to do, is test an array," he said.
"The next thing to be tested is both the interaction with the power line and also the interaction with each other."
He said testing an array of turbines connected to a power grid has yet to be done anywhere.
Exploring the opportunities of tidal energy is part of Emera’s strategy to grow its renewable portfolio.
Renewables, including wind, hydro and tidal, account for about 25 per cent of the energy giant’s portfolio, and the company expects that to grow to 40 per cent by 2020, he said.
The utility and Emera will spend $200 million this year to have ownership stakes in three of the six wind power projects for which Nova Scotia Power signed power purchase agreements in 2008.
The provincial government ordered Nova Scotia Power to have five per cent of its total electricity purchases generated by independent power producers from renewable energy sources by the end of 2011.
Last week, the utility applied to regulators for approval to spend $28 million to kick-start a stalled wind power project in Point Tupper. Under the agreement, Renewable Energy Services Ltd. of Lower Sackville will build and operate the wind farm in Richmond County and Nova Scotia Power will have a 49 per cent interest.
Last month, the unregulated holding company bought a 100 per cent stake in another financially troubled wind farm. Troubled SkyPower Inc. of Toronto had partnered with Scotian WindFields on the project in Digby.
Last year, Nova Scotia Power purchased the $120-million Nuttby Mountain project in Colchester County from EarthFirst Canada Inc. of Calgary. The project had stalled due to the global credit crisis.
"We continue to believe that diversity of generation is an important aspect. You can’t have only one source of generation," Huskilson said.
Now that wind farms have been up and running for at least five years in Nova Scotia, the risk is more reasonable, he said.
Emera’s strategy appears to be working, with a five-year growth rate of nine per cent and a share price that increased 12.9 per cent in 2009, he said.
On the Toronto stock market Friday afternoon, Emera shares rose 10 cents to $23.85.
Electrical utility has "a lot riding on this’
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter Chronicle Herald
Mon. Mar 1 - 4:53 AM
North America’s rush to renewables has forced the region’s largest energy conglomerate to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this year going cleaner and greener.
Emera Inc. and its subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power, are pinning their hopes on harnessing the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy to generate electricity.
"We’ve got a lot riding on this," said Emera CEO Chris Huskilson in a recent interview at his downtown Halifax office.
Cherubini Metal Works of Dartmouth made the base for the underwater turbine being tested in the Bay of Fundy by Nova Scotia Power and its partner Open Hydro.(Peter Parsons / Herald Staff)
"I think there is great potential both for us producing our own power from this source and Nova Scotians to get more involved in the technology."
Last November, Nova Scotia Power and its Irish partner, OpenHydro of Dublin, launched a commercial-scale underwater turbine in the Bay of Fundy.
"We’ve actually done some remote monitoring of the unit and we do know it is turning. We know it is still down there and still sitting on its legs," he said.
The data collected from the one-megawatt turbine is showing it is working though it is not connected to the grid, he said.
"We’ve got the machine in the water and it’s an exciting time because were gathering the data we need to understand whether this business can turn into something," said Huskilson.
Over the next year, Nova Scotia Power will determine whether it "will do a lot more" in this area.
"It’s an exciting time for the business."
Emera has invested US$16 million for an 8.2 per cent stake in OpenHydro in early 2008. The test turbine cost $10 million, with Nova Scotia Power investing the lion’s share and $4.6 million coming from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a non-profit green energy foundation.
Huskilson says the next step for Nova Scotia Power is testing an array of three tidal turbines and connecting them to an underwater power cable expected to be installed in 2011.
"We have to decide when it’s right for us to put the array in. That’s the next thing we need to do, is test an array," he said.
"The next thing to be tested is both the interaction with the power line and also the interaction with each other."
He said testing an array of turbines connected to a power grid has yet to be done anywhere.
Exploring the opportunities of tidal energy is part of Emera’s strategy to grow its renewable portfolio.
Renewables, including wind, hydro and tidal, account for about 25 per cent of the energy giant’s portfolio, and the company expects that to grow to 40 per cent by 2020, he said.
The utility and Emera will spend $200 million this year to have ownership stakes in three of the six wind power projects for which Nova Scotia Power signed power purchase agreements in 2008.
The provincial government ordered Nova Scotia Power to have five per cent of its total electricity purchases generated by independent power producers from renewable energy sources by the end of 2011.
Last week, the utility applied to regulators for approval to spend $28 million to kick-start a stalled wind power project in Point Tupper. Under the agreement, Renewable Energy Services Ltd. of Lower Sackville will build and operate the wind farm in Richmond County and Nova Scotia Power will have a 49 per cent interest.
Last month, the unregulated holding company bought a 100 per cent stake in another financially troubled wind farm. Troubled SkyPower Inc. of Toronto had partnered with Scotian WindFields on the project in Digby.
Last year, Nova Scotia Power purchased the $120-million Nuttby Mountain project in Colchester County from EarthFirst Canada Inc. of Calgary. The project had stalled due to the global credit crisis.
"We continue to believe that diversity of generation is an important aspect. You can’t have only one source of generation," Huskilson said.
Now that wind farms have been up and running for at least five years in Nova Scotia, the risk is more reasonable, he said.
Emera’s strategy appears to be working, with a five-year growth rate of nine per cent and a share price that increased 12.9 per cent in 2009, he said.
On the Toronto stock market Friday afternoon, Emera shares rose 10 cents to $23.85.
Hootenanny for Haiti
The Native Council of Nova Scotia is holding a
‘Hootenanny For Haiti’
Where: Weymouth Legion
When: Saturday, April 10, 2010.
Time: 6:00 pm-10:00 pm
Free Will Offering
• Prizes to be won!
Country / Country Rock
Traditional Drumming/Singing
Rock n Roll
Blues
West African Drumming
For more information: (902) 467-0356
EVERYONE WELCOME!
‘Hootenanny For Haiti’
Where: Weymouth Legion
When: Saturday, April 10, 2010.
Time: 6:00 pm-10:00 pm
Free Will Offering
• Prizes to be won!
Country / Country Rock
Traditional Drumming/Singing
Rock n Roll
Blues
West African Drumming
For more information: (902) 467-0356
EVERYONE WELCOME!
Labels:
Haiti Nova Scotia Weymouth music
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