By Alison Strachan Who else has spent some time sorting through photographs during the pandemic? While most of mine are digital, the May 18 issue of The New Yorker featured a woman sitting on the floor sorting through hundreds of print photos with the caption, "You're...
Coronavirus Coverage

Alison Strachan: Sifting Through Photographs & Thinking About A Vacation Close To Home

Brian Lee Crawley’s Think Tank: Justin Trudeau Has Increased Deficit To Whopping $400 Billion
Thanks to a Halifax & Nova Scotia business leader, who I shall not name, but is among the wealthiest business titans in the Atlantic - and who became a new paid reader when I offered this business person a discount Friend's Rate Notebook subscription, I am able to...

Halifax Tourism Executive Ross Jefferson: ‘Governments Will Need To Fund Shovel Ready Infrastructure Projects To Prop Up Economy’
By Andrew Macdonald Over the last little while, The Notebook has heard from leading hoteliers in the region, and a commercial broker on whether an infrastructure economic stimulus package is necessary to prop up the economy post-pandemic times. In the Saturday edition...

HFX Insurance Broker Keith Dexter Campaigns Against Global Insurers By Demanding Lower Premiums During A Pandemic
By Andrew Macdonald HFX Insurance Broker Keith Dexter Campaigns Against Global Insurers Demanding Lower Customer Premium Payments During A Pandemic Keith Dexter, a retailer for entrepreneurs and consumers at his insurance brokerage Gateway Insurance, headquartered on...

Halifax Tourism Agency Sees Budget Evaporate Over Pandemic – CEO Ross Jefferson Forecasts $2.6 M Loss
By Andrew Macdonald The global pandemic is playing havoc with the significant tourism economy in Halifax — no question about that. It has also impacted the Ross Jefferson, led Discover Halifax, formerly known as Destination Halifax, the regional destination marketing...

Don Jones Is A ‘Glass Half Full’ Kind Of Entrepreneur
By Phil DeMont Don Jones is a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy. Most observers see Canada’s near-term prospects in terms of months of tough slogging as the country tries to restart its economy whenever the current COVID-induced lockdown ends. The 63-year-old Halifax-born...

MacPolitics: Don Mills Rates ‘Strong Pandemic Performance’ Of Premier Stephen McNeil
By Andrew Macdonald Don Mills, who is a retired 40-year long pollster, says he expects an uptick in Premier Stephen McNeil’s popularity because of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. “People get behind their leaders in times of crisis, and their support...

We Get Mail: Cottage Dweller Layton Dorey Writes…
Haligonian raised Layton Dorey, now living in Ontario writes on Dr. Robert Strang's orders on cottage living in a pandemic, which was carried in the Wednesday Notebook. Dorey has a cottage in Blue Rocks, Lunenburg and a second cottage in Muskoka, Ont., where he and...

Bill MacAvoy, Part II: ‘No Fire Sales Yet Of Existing Commercial Buildings During Pandemic’
By Andrew Macdonald Commercial broker Bill MacAvoy says there are no fire sales of commercial properties during the pandemic. “I get a variety of phone calls every day from lots of people, and there are lots of really aggressive buyers, who are calling me wanting to...

Commercial Broker Bill MacAvoy: Listings, Showings And Transactions Down To A Trickle In Pandemic
By Andrew Macdonald Bill MacAvoy, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield Atlantic, says commercial real estate listings and sales are continuing during the pandemic, albeit on a reduced scale. I caught up to MacAvoy to talk about the health of the brokerage...