NEWS ARCHIVE

21apr2011: $35,000 additional claim against Bowood owner...  there are more legal woes for Ralston MacDonnell as the Bank of Montreal has filed a court action to collect $35, 538.90 they say is owed by the entrepreneur and putative owner of the former Shelburne Youth Centre and his wife Charlene Lattimer. The interest on the credit card debt exceeds $7,000 per year and the suit has yet to be proven in court. 
     Further complicating the couple's finances is the $600,000+ mortgage they took from Halifax developer Besim Halef for the purchase of the Youth Centre in 2009, which had as collateral the couple's expensive seaside home near Halifax. Macdonnell and Bowood are $152,000 in arrears on the taxes for the property.

20apr2011: At $152,000, Bowood big debtor in tax sale listings... the annual tax sale listings in the Municipality of Shelburne were published in this week's Coast Guard and the largest debt is owed by Ralston MacDonnell's Bowood Corporation for $152,000 overdue on two properties at the former Shelburne Youth Centre. The Municipality has scheduled May 17 for auction sale for the properties.  Bowood's debt exceeds that of the other 35 listed combined.
     MacDonnell acquired the properties under questionable circumstances from SWSDA, which resulted in complaints being filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, whose report was highly critical of SWSDA operations. CEO and MacDonnell associate Frank Anderson, was terminated in the moths following the report. 
     Despite the claims then by local officials that  having the facility in private hands would generate business in and taxes for the Municipality, the facility has served only as a recycling depot and those operations were often suspended because Bowood did not have the funds to repay consumers ten cents for their bottles. The facility has deteriorated dramatically under the ownership and management of MacDonnell and Bowood, including leaking basements and outdoor chemical drums, as well as having the hardwood floor of the former gymnasium ruined due to rainwater leaking from the building's roof. Nothing has come of MacDonnell's plans to create a security school at the site.
     MacDonnell and his MacDonnell Group of companies have been the subject of more than 20 lawsuits on file in Nova Scotia, including claims from several contractors who allegedly were not paid for goods or services. The cases, some of which were settled prior to trial, included Irving Oil, Holloway Lodging, Atlantic Underground, Workmans Compensation Board, and Joneljim Construction. records show that the debts also included one for more than $10,000 to the now-bankrupt Chez Bruno in Yarmouth. 
      Another SWSDA client, Seacoast Entertainment, has failed to pay municipal taxes exceeding $100,000 for two years on the former military base at sandy Point, but just missed the deadline for tax sale. Seacoast and SWSDA are both in bankruptcy proceedings and it is unlikely  that those taxes will be forthcoming any time soon.

3apr2011: Cooke steps up aquaculture activity with $2.3 million well boat lease...  The latest attraction on the Shelburne Government Wharf is the 41-meter Norwegian well boat, the Ronja Carrier, leased by Cooke Acquaculture for seven months for $2.3 million (CAD) from the Norse firm, SØLVTRANS. The ship features a top-deck, 25,000-litre tank of hydrogen peroxide(H2O2), commonly used to treat sea lice in farmed Atlantic salmon. Well boats are used to immerse fish in a H2O2 solution, prior to returning them to the cages.
     Acting CEO for SØLVTRANS, Roger Halsebakk, told marine news sources, "We are very pleased to be awarded a second contract from Cooke Aquaculture and view this as confirmation of a satisfied client." The combination of the recent approval of new cages in Shelburne Harbour by Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau and the well boat lease could signal more activity on Cooke's plans for a $150 million processing facility in Shelburne.
     Cooke Aquaculture Inc. farms and distributes fresh seafood in the Canadian and US markets. The company is based in Black's Harbour, New Brunswick and also owns Salmones Cupquelan, a salmon farming company in southern Chile.

24mar2011: New Shelburne Harbour aquaculture sites approved...  Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau has approved the proposals by Cooke Aquaculture and Kelly Cove Salmon for three new open net fish farms in Shelburne Harbour.  Minister Belliveau did not respond to requests for an interview but a department spokesperson said that he had already notified industry officials.
     Friends of Shelburne Harbour, vocal opponents of what they determined was a seriously flawed process for assessing proposal for an the increased presence of open net cages in the harbour, received an email Thursday from Belliveau saying that he had approved the expansion and was "...confident that this process has taken the necessary steps to reach a proper conclusion."
     The Ecology Action Centre also opposed the proposal by Cooke and, in a 26-page letter, they outlined reasons why they thought Minister Belliveau should reject the proposal. Rob Johnson of the Ecology Action Centre told SCT, "The EAC rejects rejects the inappropriate ministerial decision on an industrial salmon feed-lot in Shelburne harbour." When questioned about the wisdom of approving such a large development in the harbour with no public consultation, Johnson said, "The lack of public consultation here on major decisions about an important public resource is contrary to the government's own published development policy." 
     Although the proposal has been characterized by Cooke as simply moving previous fish cages, the approval of the three new sites is expected to increase the square area for fish farms substantially, with an increase of 343% in the "Sandy Point" site alone, to a size greater than 23 square hectares. Materials presented to Belliveau by EAC showed that toxic sulfide levels at the abandoned sites were many times above the industry standards and suggested that a similar problem would develop at the new sites. "This is a familiar pollute-and-go strategy," added Johnson. 
     Cooke has recently announced that, if the sites in Shelburne Harbour and St. Mary's Bay are approved, they would consider installing a fish processing plant and fish hatchery in Shelburne, with an attendant 350 full-time, year-round jobs.
      Shelburne Municipality CAO Kirk Cox told SCT that he imagined that the provincial and federal officials had done the appropriate due diligence in assessing the sites and that he looked forward to Cooke bringing other projects to the area.  
      Jim Spencer, president of the Shelburne and Area Chamber of Commerce, told SCT, "I was expecting it. I don't think they could pass up something like this with so much at stake, especially with the track record of Cooke." When asked about the risks described by some fish farm opponents, Spencer said, "Any opportunity has risk, but there is also risk of losing if we don't grow the population and diversify the economy here. I'm willing to accept the potential risk." The Chamber, added Spencer, has been in favour of the project from some time.

24mar2011: $380,000 for aquaculture PR program....  ACOA and the government of Nova Scotia re investing $343,000 dollars in a Nova Scotia Aquaculture Association project to bolster public confidence in the industry in province. In a news release, Bruce Hancock said the confidence is "critical to continued development" of the industry. Cooke Aquaculture has proposed increasing their production in and near Shelburne and Freeport, with several open net cages being installed in both locations over the coming months. Industry sources are expected to contribute close to 10% of the costs of the program. See news release here.

15mar2011: More ferry fuss in Yarmouth.... Yarmouth area councils were told last week that three operators remain part of the discussions for a local ferry service, two from the US and one from Europe, according to Dave Whiting of the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission. >>> see story here . A Facebook created to promote ferry service and called "Let's make a new Yarmouth" has been critical of recent ferry efforts and lack of information provided to citizens. One regular poster Tuesday morning called the ferry issue "an albatross" and suggested that YAIC executives had been "bullshitting us year after year after year."

11mar2011: Task force will not be Yarmouth-only, says govt.... In response to inquiries about the economic development task force proposed by a group of Yarmouth businessmen, Nova Scotia Economic and Rural Development official Toby Koffman told SCT in telephone and email interviews that any task force formed would have to meet several strict standards in order to have government support an infusion of $100,000 requested from the department in the next budget cycle. 
     The cash request will be considered as part of the next provincial budget, as long as the agreement meets conditions, says Koffman. "The task force, added Koffman, "would have to be inclusive of the whole Southwest region, both geographically and with respect to the diversity of the area's population."
     In the wake of the demise of the corruption-plagued South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA), the department has previously told regional officials that a new RDA would have to encompass the same geographic region as did SWSDA. Koffman added that, to get any cash for a task force, there would have to be a full accounting for and tracking of all public funds and a smooth transition to the new RDA, when it is created.

10mar2011: No money, no movies from SeaCoast... Despite assurances from Yankee movie moguls Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow, their financial partners and lawyers that bills would get paid and movies would be made at SeaCoast Studios in Sandy Point, no one has seen a dime, including the Municipality of Shelburne, which is due (as of March 31) three years of taxes totaling more than $200,000. 
     The latest episode in the 7-month, multi-million dollar bankruptcy drama of the duo had SWSDA execs proposing that SeaCoast pay only $20,000 per month on the huge debt and only the current year's taxes, but not the $160,000 backlog. "We've heard nothing from them at all," says one public official familiar with the matter. Another official said that SWSDA "has no right to negotiate away the tax bill to the citizens of Shelburne Municipality."
     Reputed SeaCoast money partners Structured Capital (NYC) have yet to offer up one cent of the more than $4 million execs there told CBC radio weeks ago would be forthcoming "soon". There has been no sign of activity at the shuttered movie site, which will reportedly have to have complete building, fire and safety inspections to renew operations. Several calls to SWSDA officials have gone unanswered.

7mar2011: Very positive announcement possible soon from Cooke Aquaculture, says Shelburne mayor.... in a ranging interview on CJLS radio Sunday, Shelburne mayor Al Delaney said that residents here could possibly expect a "positive announcement very soon" regarding the large New Brunswick-based aquaculture company. Cooke has previously said that, if they get all of the approvals needed for increased salmon pens in Shelburne Harbour, Jordan Bay and St. Mary's Bay, they expect to increase their presence in Shelburne with a $150 million facility, providing 350 full-time, year-round jobs.
     Delaney added that, if Cooke does expand here, it would likely protect any tax rate increase. Cooke has large ads this week ni the Coast Guard seeking additional employees at their sites in Shelburne and Digby. As for concerns voiced by some that the expansion here would over-burden the harbour environmentally, Delaney said those groups or individuals should deal with provincial authorities. 

2mar2011: New SouthWest Nova RDA plan in the wings?...  The Town of Yarmouth Council was told by CAO Jeff Gushue that a plan is in the offing soon for a new regional development authority based on the same geographic plan as the ill-fated and now defunct SWSDA. 

23feb2011: Conservations groups claim waters poisoned by aquaculture pesticides... On Feb. 18, 2011 , 20 groups - including Friends of Shelburne Harbour, Ecology Action Centre, David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Straight Alliance - saying they represent tens of thousands of Canadians, sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to protect the marine environment and coastal communities by halting progress in the development of a proposed DFO’s “Pathogen and Pest Treatment” regulation. The letter says the regulations  would undermine the Fisheries Act, which prohibits the dumping of toxic substance into fish bearing waters, effectively exempting salmon farmers from legislation designed to protect the marine environment and Canada ’s fisheries. >>> see story here   >>>see letter here    >>> see news release here

21feb2011: More stalling from Sea Coast as they bank only 3% of bankruptcy debt... like a bad penny that keeps coming back to an unsuspecting owner, the troubled SeaCoast Film Studios has gotten yet another lease on life, as executives with major creditor South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) have decided to give the American couple behind the studio another month to come up with monies due to SWSDA and other creditors. According to the Coast Guard, SWSDA chairman Phil leBlanc has apparently given SeaCoast an extension until February 25. SWSDA directors contacted by SCT had not been informed about the decision or asked to vote upon it.
     Creditors had previously agreed to allow SeaCoast until January 31 to meet its commitment to put up $4.2 million, but according to an internal memo circulated by SeaCoast president Jim Kendrick more than a week ago, he and Mary Barstow have been able to bank only $150,000, but insist that they have three films ready to go at the site. Previous news releases by Kendrick and Manhattan partners Structured Capital Group claimed a group of more than eight different movies would be started in Shelburne in January. 
     Up until this past weekend, the only thing moving at the Sandy Point SeaCoast facility was the wind-blown snow drifts. None of the producers of the eight films from the previous release contacted by SCT had even heard of Kendrick, Barstow, Structured or Shelburne. One of the names in the distribution list of the recent memo was Montreal entertainment lawyer Sam Coppola. In an exclusive interview withy SCT, when asked if he had been in discussions with Film Nova Scotia about the critical tax credits for any films made in Shelburne, Coppola said that he was only in "discussions" with SeaCoast, but had not been "mandated" to discuss projects with anyone.
     Neither Film Nova Scotia nor any of the unions engaged in film making in Nova Scotia have heard anything from SeaCoast or Structured Group about films to be produced. According to the IATSE union rep in Halifax, the coming season is likely to be quite busy and others in the industry say that getting a full crew to shoot a movie cannot be done "on the fly". Kendrick said in his memo that Hollywood director Bob Boris was due in Shelburne last Tuesday. Boris' agent could not confirm his involvement in any films in Shelburne.
     Both the bankruptcy trustee Peter Wedlake and SWSDA financial consultant Grant Thornton declined to speak on record about the prospect of SeaCoast satisfying its $4.2 million financial obligations. 

16dec2011: Hurlburt could face 46 years... Former Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt could face 46 years in prison, according to statements from the Public Prosecution Office reported in Metro Halifax on Wednesday. Whatever sentence is meted out in any prosecution of Hurlburt for fraud, breach of trust and forgery will be tempered by a $57,000 per year MLA pension. Former MLA Dave Wilson could face a sentence of over 300 years if found guilty of all charges. >>> full story  

See Richard Hurlburt's InYourFaceBook page HERE  See Hurlburt (and other) cartoons HERE

Hurlburt finally charged with serious fraud..... 52 charges against 4 MLAs... Disgraced former Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt was charged by the RCMP recently with fraud, forgery and breach of trust, according to published reports on Monday. Hurlburt was one of four former MLAs charged with a variety of crimes. "In Canada," says someone familiar with the situation, "this usually means they may all do some time in prison".
    Hurlburt is reported to have purchased a generator and big-screen TV from government funds for his personal use and may also have had the paperwork for a personal security system for his home altered to show that it was a legislative expense.
     Insp. Jim MacDougall, officer in charge of the unit, said investigators spent "countless" hours reviewing thousands of documents over the past months and filed 52 separate charges. He said they notified three of the men personally and the other through his lawyer..  >>> Herald

8feb2011:  Local chambers seek ferry task force at Legislative Committee... a task force for creating a business case for a Nova Scotia-New England ferry was sought by chambers of commerce from Shelburne, Barrington, Liverpool and Yarmouth, according to testimony at the Nova Scotia legislature Standing Committee on Economic Development on Tuesday.
    "We thought the Committee members were very receptive to our proposal," said Jim Spencer, president of the Shelburne and Area Chamber of Commerce told SCT. Spencer was joined for the presentation by Chris Atwood, CBDC Yarmouth executive director and Ed Cayer, president of Shelburne-based Strategic Perspectives Consulting Associates. "There could be a brand new landscape now for a fresh look at the real economic development opportunities from this long-standing and important international business and communication link", added Spencer.
     "I think the presentation and plan put forward were good and I was encouraged by hearing from Clarrie MacKinnon and other backbenchers on the committee who appear to be seriously in favour of having a ferry into Yarmouth", Argyle MLA Chris D'Entremont told SCT.  "This will not be resolved if the government sits back while other folks try to solve the problem. To move this forward, we need the input of the government and a few dollars and I hope that the government will not use the prospect of a task force as an opportunity to stall on a solution."
     Yarmouth MLA Zach Churchill told SCT he was also impressed with what he heard from Committee members who voiced interest in pursuing some of the ideas broached by the Spencer Consulting study. "The presentation put the ferry issue in a much broader perspective and I hope that the government will now see the ferry as an important economic development issue and as an investment, not as a cost or subsidy."
     Former Yarmouth MP - and current Liberal nominee - Robert Thibault weighed in on the ferry issue in an exclusive interview with SCT. "The route between New England and Nova Scotia is an age-old route and should be maintained," Thibault, pointing out that, in addition to tourism, the ferry service has been critical for commerce and for connecting families who may need to travel the route in order to stay connected.
     "In my conversations with Michael Ignatieff, Thibault added, "he assured me that a Liberal government would commit to be long-term subsidies for both the Yarmouth and Digby ferries." Thibault also suggested that, if a private operator could not be found, the government should seriously consider operating te service as it does others. "The feds own all of the important infrastructure here and Marine Atlantic clearly has the expertise to operate the service in a professional manner."
     One of the criticisms voiced by several parties interviewed by SCT was that Yarmouth appeared to have little interest in cooperating with other municipalities in trying to solve the ferry dilemma. Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney was a surprise guest at the hearing and told the Committee that Yarmouth would now welcome a more collaborative effort with other business groups and municipal leaders.
     The Yarmouth Industrial Commission and CEO Dave Whiting have made several announcements about prospective ferry operators for 2011, but none materialized as a viable option. A company called Scotia Cruises held a poorly promoted and sparsely attended meeting in Yarmouth recently to assess interest in a Boston-Yarmouth route. The company, which has also made several aborted ferry  announcements, has a message on its web site suggesting visitors should expect an "exciting announcement SOON about a new ferry service". The spokesman in Yarmouth said that they would be looking for a $15 million loan from the company to make the service work. A government spokesman told SCT that they have never been contacted by the company.

1feb2011: Paris on the hot seat for Tuesday's meeting.... Cabinet Minister Percy Paris is likely to get an earful when he visits Yarmouth on Tuesday, according to reports in The Vanguard from the Jan 27 Council meeting. Town Councilor Martin Pink is quoted as saying that Paris "...has to be called to task." Councilor Dares complained the then province has caused great damage to Yarmouth. "It’s about trying to stop this bleeding.." Dares also criticized the lack of action by MP Greg Kerr. Councilor Ken Langille said,  "I’m shocked that given the devastation from this community . . . that government has done nothing to educate the businesses on what’s available to them.” Paris was invited to a meeting with tourism operators by freshman Liberal MLA and vocal government critic Zach Churchill, who says he expects "...a continual dialogue" with the province.
     A department spokesperson said that Minister Paris would not be addressing the subject of the cancelled Yarmouth ferry at the meeting.

31jan2011: No word from SeaCoast on $4 million restructuring payment... in a circumstance which appears to surprise no one in the region, American land speculators and erstwhile movie mavens Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow and their shadowy Manhattan business partners at Structured Capital Group have failed to make good on an agreement to come up with $4 million to satisfy a restructuring plan reached with creditors in December. The duo stormed into town more than two years ago, promising to invest millions in the former Canadian Forces facility at Sandy Point, but produced instead a series of hapless small businesses which were all abject failures.  
     The sale of the property by Frank Anderson of SWSDA was questioned at the time by another film producer and was the partial subject of investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman and other entities. After the series of failed business ventures and no payments for taxes, mortgage, power or other services, the American pair decamped to their luxury, lakeside homes in New Hampshire, trolling on the internet for investors and wannabe filmmakers. The last film company to visit the site (filming Moby Dick in 2009) left abruptly after an assistant director was reportedly punched in the nose by a relative of Kendrick's and film crews complained loudly about the "horrific" food delivered by Seacoast under supervision of Barstow..
     Peter Wedlake of Green Hunt Wedlake, who are handling the restructuring process, told SCT that he is still sorting out some details with SeaCoast and that further "discussions" are expected through Wednesday.

24jan2010: Shelburne Muni creates 'age friendly" initiative program... The Municipality of the District of Shelburne has created a new program designed to enhance community infrastructure and services for seniors throughout the Municipality. The initial funding supports Clyde River River Busy Bees , Port Saxon Leisure Hour Club , Black Loyalist Heritage Society , Birchtown Community Centre , Jordan Bay Community Hall , Sandy Point Recreation Group, Middle Ohio Fire Department and Community Hall, Lower Ohio Recreation Centre , Upper Clyde Social Club , West Green Harbour Recreation Centre and Sable River Community Hall. Programs involving youth and solid waste were also funded at the recent Council meeting.

24jan2010: Trans-Canada trial groups dumps ATVs from future trials funding... in a move that is expected to affect Nova Scotia more than some other provinces, the Trans Canada Trail Association has announced that it will no longer provide funding to "mixed use" trails, or those which include use by hikers and all terrain vehicles (ATVs). More than 400 kilometers of mixed use trials exist in Nova Scotia and several hundred additional kilometers are on the drawing boards by regional trail groups and associations.
    Current mixed use trails are "grandfathered" in the new arrangement, but future maintenance support will be available only for costs related to making the trials "green" or used for hikers only. It is not know how many of the 26 trails on the South Shore will be affected by this decision.  
    Nova Scotia ATV Association director Barry Barnet says ATV owners have invested millions of dollars and thousands of hours in building trails in Nova Scotia and are unlikely to continue investing if they cannot use the trails. >>> CBC story

28june2010: No amalgamation, eliminate recreation department, Shelburne must take urgent action to avoid property value loss and population decline, say consultants... After a series of public meetings, online comments, interviews and discussions with the Mayor, Council and staff, the consultant firm hired for the $20,000 study of the economic future for the Town have concluded that amalgamation discussions with the Municipality of Shelburne are premature, that the Town organization is not ready for such discussions and that there is "bad news" in the offing,  requiring urgent action.
    Ramp Up Consultants have published a web site with copies of much of their conclusions, including that the bad news for the Town is "some urgency" to take action in light of the population declining at a significant rate, which will pull down property assessments and the tax base with it. "Current conditions are not sustainable," says the online report and a "slow, steady decline will increase rapidly to an unrecoverable point.", "...resulting in residents losing value in their homes and attracting residents and business will be next to impossible."  
     The report and recommendations recently submitted is a follow-up to an earlier  draft Operation Review report submitted to Council by Ramp-Up. When contacted for a copy of the review, Deputy Clerk Rhonda Henneberry first said that Council was never given a copy of the draft Review, but then offered to provide SCT with a copy. 
    One of the more controversial recommendations offered by Ramp Up is that the recreation department be disbanded and that its services be parsed out to other Town departments. The staff and budget of the department would be "reassigned" for economic development and planning activities. 
     Another recommendation to Council was that a "world-class" consultant firm be hired to create a "heritage community" economic development plan designed to attract businesses and residents to Shelburne. The cost of such a plan is estimated by an economic development expert to be between $200,000 and $500,000.  Ramp Up's preliminary estimates the cost of such a study are $50,000 to $100,000. The report containing the recommendations to Council does not appear on the Town's website or the project website created by Ramp Up. The report can be downloaded from SCT HERE.|
     A decision about the recommendations is due by the Council at their meeting July 7.  Copies of the project news letters can be viewed online at https://townofshelburne.blogspot.com.

28june2010: SWSDA's Anderson booted from Industrial Commission and World Trade Centre...the once-powerful South West Nova economic czar Frank Anderson seems to have met his Waterloo in the form of the current NDP government and has become somewhat of a pariah in government circles. Anderson has been embroiled in a series of lawsuits over recent years, was the subject of a complaint to and investigation by the Ombudsmans Office and a government-provoked audit has been publicly rebuked by Premier Darrell Dexter and privately by senior government staffers. 
     Recently, the government stripped Anderson of his prestigious board membership in World Trade Centre in Halifax and the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission (YAIC)  announced last week he had been let go as CEO, where, according to the Ombudsman, he oversaw the agency's predeliction for back-room deals, questionable financial transactions and other dealings. YAIC general manager, port manager and former senior SWSDA staffer Dave Whiting will do double duty as GM/CEO.
     AllNovaScotia reported that Anderson made a proposal to the YAIC to keep his job, but was rebuffed by the agency board. 
     "He's finished doing business around here," said one economic development official of the beleagured Anderson. Word in local government circles is that any meeting involving government funding will not take place if Anderson is present. The full extent of repercussions from Anderson's peculiar style of doing business is yet to be felt, if recent reports are at all accurate. 
     A construction company is owed $370,000 Anderson allegedly spent on other projects, the local tourism committee committee is complaining to SWSDA of monies gone awry and consultant bills not paid and the current tenants of the Sandy Point sound stage appear to have cleared out for good after racking up $66,000 in unpaid mortgage fees and $150,000+ in unpaid taxes. Apparently, the pair of American land speculators have allowed the once multi-million dollar property to degrade under their watch so that it would bring "less than half a million", according to a source familiar with the property
      There is also speculation that a recent forensic audit of SWSDA's books from the Anderson years might also result in further investigation by the RCMP, with the potential for criminal charges being laid. Economical Development Minister Percy Paris was reported on Friday to say that the nine municipal units which comprised SWSDA have to bear the full weight and responsibility for the economic consequences of Anderson's actions. 

june2010: Deep Horizons oil gusher editorial elicits responses from NoRigs, others..."We believe that a large spill in a much smaller ecosystem like Georges Bank with its gyre currents would demonstrate Georges Bank has less resiliency than the Gulf of Mexico."... >>> see all letters

9june2010: July drunk driving court date for movie mogul.... not satisfied with producing the world's worst-ever YouTube videos and a near-nude fisherman's calendar of the same calibre, Yankee trader Jim Kendrick is reported by Frank Magazine to have a date with the judge in Yarmouth on July 8 to face the music on at least two drunk driving arrests. If Kendrick decides to show his face again in these parts, I guess that means walking to town or staying out at the Sea Side Inn and playing mini-golf. The pair is also reputed to be two years in arrears on taxes and $44,000 behind on mortgage payments to SWSDA.
     With SWSDA's new slogan of "We spend your money like it's our money, hard to tell how many hundreds of thousands of dollars CEO Frank Anderson will let Kendrick and his muse rack up before Anderson comes to folks in Shelburne County, claiming it is really we that owe him the money? 

9june2010: Shelburne amalgamation meeting delivers some surprises...  The Shelburne Town Council hosted a meeting Tuesday night as a run-up to the inevitable amalgamation which will take place locally in the nest few years. The meeting was run by a consulting firm hired by the Council and was attended by more than one hundred citizens, many of them with questions which remained unanswered after all was said and done.
     After admitting that they were surprised that the overwhelming majority of attendees saw the recent newsletter as a pro-amalgamation piece, and after fielding several questions challenging their methodology, the consultants seemed to get a bit thin-skinned and refused to answer some questions.
     Several Municipal councilors and warden Sherm Embree were there, as was Mayor Darian Huskilson of Lockeport, who accused the Town and consultants of putting the cart before the horse in the amalgamation discussion. Huskilson was recently taken to task publicly for a churlish "pound sand" response to an invitation to Lockeport to engage in a discussion about amalgamation.
     Following a series of small-table discussions, the audience was asked to prioritize their concerns in possible amalgamation. The delivery of services ranked highest, with cost concerns a close second. Issues about representation polled a distant third. Huskilson's group suggested that the towns of Lockeport and Shelburne amalgamate and the Municipality be made to disappear. 

21may2010: Belliveau pitching cabinet for $500,000 SWSDA bailout... All Nova Scotia is reporting Friday that Shelburne MLA Sterling Belliveau is trying to convince his cabinet colleagues to bail out the beleagured South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and CEO Frank Anderson. Anderson has asked for the additional half-million to pay pressing bills, including $370,000 from a Tusket project whose funds Anderson spent elsewhere. Some sources say that Garian Construction may have threatened to sue SWSDA and the province if their long-overdue payment is not forthcoming.
     As a Barrington municipal warden, Belliveau was a strong supporter of Anderson and SWSDA.  Since donning the ndipper orange, the MLA has taken a less friendly stance. 

18may2010: Hurlburt likely to face criminal investigation... Auditor General Jacques Lapointe announced Tuesday that he was referring the files of four former and one sitting MLA whom he found "may have committed illegal acts related to their constituency expense claims." Lapointe added, " Due to the serious nature of my findings, I determined it would not be appropriate for my Office to continue to do additional work in regard to these specific individuals. Accordingly, we referred our investigation files for these five individuals to the RCMP for criminal investigation.
     Former Yarmouth Tory MLA Richard Hurlburt quit his post suddenly several weeks ago in the wake of an initial audit and report on expenses by Lapointe.  The criminal probe would be based upon additional information acquired by Lapointe and is likely to also include MLAs Dave Wilson (Liberal) and Trevor Zinck (NDP). 
     Any investigation surrounding Hurlburt is likely to include allegations that he acquired generators, TV sets, security systems, etc. in an illegal fashion using his MLA expense capacity. There is no indication whether the AG or RCMP will investigate Hurlburt's personal relationships with executives of the Quebec-based airline which received $2 million from the former Tory government based upon Hurlburt's prodding. The funds were used 400% more quickly than planned and the NDP goverment said that there would be an audit.
    Hurlburt told CBC News Tuesday that he has heard nothing from either the auditor general or the RCMP. He reportedly declined to answer any questions about his spending.
 

14may2010: NS pols not impressed with moratorium decision... amid all of the hoopla about the NDP governments "no decision" decsion about the Georges Bank moratorium, Nova Scotia MLAs - and would be MLAs - weighed in on their take on the announcement by Premier Dexter that drilling would be banned until 2015.
     A campaign worker Belle Hatfield, independent hopeful in the Yarmouth riding vacated by disgraced MLA and former minister Richard Hurlburt, responded to a query from SCT saying she had a comment posted on her Facebook page. "No surprise, the government is extending the Georges Bank moratorium," says Hatfield, " What took [Fisheries and Environment Minister Sterling Bellivea] so long to stand with his constituents in support for the extension?" Hatfield says that the decision smacks of. "More evidence that party discipline will always trump representation," Hatfield adds.
     "Of course we support having an extension of the moratorium," said Liberal leader Stephen McNeil, in an exclusive interview with SCT, "but there are a lot of unanswered questions. "Since it is obvious that no new science or other data has been gained by the government on the issue since they took office, why have they put the fishing communities in Nova Scotia through all of these months of anxiety?"
     McNeil also questioned why the government did not match the U.S. ban on Georges Bank through 2017. "The people of Nova Scotia deserve to know all of the answers here, not just those which support what appears to be a political decision."
     Some fishing industry officials also expressed their disappointment in the decision on Thursday.

14may2010: Google tool shows oil spill footprint... Goggle engineer Paul Rademacher has created a Google widget which shows how much of your town would be covered by the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Some samples...

13may2010: Georges ban oil and gas ban extended through 2015.... A moratorium on oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank has been extended for three years by the federal and Nova Scotia governments. Premier Darrell Dexter announced today that the moratorium is being extended until Dec. 31, 2015.
     Dexter has said the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has brought the matter of offshore drilling activity to the forefront of public discussion. Nova Scotia fishermen who fear potential damage to fish stocks support the moratorium, in place since 1988.
     “We are disappointed that the NDP government has chosen not to align its moratorium with the one until 2017 recently announced by President Obama in the United States,” says Denny Morrow with NoRigs3 Coalition. “We thought that five years would be the minimal extension period and we wonder why the government chose such a short extension. NoRigs intends to be vigilant in working with governments to continue to protect Georges Bank indefinitely and to protect the cooperative relationship with the U.S.”
     U.S. President Barack Obama has extended until 2017 the moratorium on the much larger American side of the fishing grounds between Nova Scotia and Maine.

12may2010: Georges Bank announcement expected Thursday..   several media sources in Halifax are informally reporting that word has circulated that Premier Darrell Dexter will announce the government's decision Thursday morning regarding the extension of the current oil and gas development prohibition on Georges Bank (expires in 2012).      
     Given the on-going disaster from a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and the lack of any credible scientific evidence which says seismic testing and oil and gas exploration is safe for fish and other marine life, it is expected that the government will announce an extension of the ban at least through 2017, which coincides with the current U.S. ban.
     A long-time political observer noted that lifting the moratorium would be "political suicide" for the NDP government and, given the lack of any scientific or technological justification, even creating a review panel could create a firestorm of criticism.
    A news release issues today by the NoRigs3 Coalition pleaded for an indefinite extension of the moratorium.

12may2010: Barrington muni says no to Georges Bank drilling...   in a unanimous vote on a motion by Councilor Shaun Hatfield, the Barrington Municipal Council this week voted to inform Environment and Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau that the currently oil and gas exploration and development moratorium on Georges Bank should not be lifted.

12may2010: Bail out SWSDA mess again, says d'Entremont...  in what many political observers in South West Nova Scotia are seeing as a "no-win game" for former Tory minister and Argyle MLA Chris D'Entremont, the opposition member is now telling the NDP government to bail out political friend Frank Anderson and his embattled SWSDA organization to the tune of $500,000, according to a allNovaScotia.com report today
    Calling the governments refusal to pay for missing monies in the reportedly "messy" SWSDA  accounting system a "personality conflict", d'Entremont's comments were not well received by government officials. Chris D'entrement says if there is any money missing, Anderson probably spent it on other positive projects demanded by the previous government.
     Economic Development Minister Percy Paris reportedly said "'we're not paying twice for it." (the Tusket community centre project). Premier Darrell Dexter says there are difficult questions about how money was managed and where monies went. "We don't know what exactly is going on with SWSDA".
    Saying that the region has been done a disservice, Dexter also said that it was SWSDA's mess" and was for SWSDA to clean up. SWSDA and Anderson have been the subject of several audits and investigations over the past year, including one from the Ombudsman referred to the RCMP. 

12may2010: Yarmouth to have independent candidate for MLA spot...  former Vanguard deputy editor Belle Hatfield has tossed her eater bonnet into the ring for the upcoming by-election in Yarmouth to fill the seat of Richard Hurlburt, who resigned after becoming the poster boy for the MLA expense scandal.
    Telling CBC Radio that Yarmouth's status has steadily degraded under the eight years of Hurlburt's care in the assembly, Hatfield said there was a strong aura of mistrust and disgust in the Yarmouth area from the attitude of entitlement displayed by MLAs regarding expenses and expense claims.
     Hurlburt is part of a now-completed and exhaustive investigation by Auditor General Jaques Lapointe, who some say is likely to recommend criminal proceedings in the most egregious of the MLA expense violations. Because of the outrageous nature of some of his expenses, Hurlburt was named by CBC as a leading contender for further action.
     Hatfield is part of a long-time Tory family and is the sister to famed Yarmouth lawyer Cliff Hood, who was one of the architects with Hurlburt and embattled SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson in the "Oceans First Task Force." As a result of investigative reporting by SCT, the project was discovered to be a sham designed to provide backing and support for the Department of Energy headed by Hurlburt in their quest to drill for oil and gas on Georges Bank.
     After a bogus and luxurious  fact-finding trip to Norway by Hurlburt and staff, Hood, Anderson and others, and without the agreement or knowledge of Oceans First members, Hood issued a news release saying that the group had determined that oil and gas development would not impact the fisheries or ecosystem on Georges Bank. One of the first actions of the new NDP government was to axe the project. 
     Hatfield will compete with Liberal candidate Zack Churchill. Former Mayor Charles Crosby has indicated he will run for the Tories and the NDP has not announced a candidate. It is thought by some observers that the announcement of the bye-election will coincide with a decision on the Georges Bank Moratorium.

8may2010: Another $367,000 missing from SWSDA's books?... Frank Anderson at centre of yet another financial scandal... emergency meeting called...  audit being withheld...   $1.75 million SeaCoast mortgage likely to default...   pitch to government to forgive $450,000 loan....  Word is out now after being hushed for two months or more by the NDP government that, under embattled CEO Frank Anderson's direction, the South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) is overdue more than $367,000 on a final payment to Garian Construction Ltd. for the development of Ecole Secondaire de Par-en-Bas project.
     A senior Department of Economic Development official confirmed to SCT Friday that they have known for two months or more that federal, provincial and federal monies which are required to be segregated from SWSDA's operating funds have gone missing and are unavailable to pay the final payment on the $3 million-plus project in Tusket, which includes a community centre and 300-seat auditorium/theatre. 
     The official confirmed that the department has also recently received the financial audit of SWSDA's books, but refused to say if or when the audit would be shared with SWSDA board members or public and press. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were criminal charges coming out of this," said a source familiar with SWSDA's operation. The audit was demanded by the Ombudsman's Office after a year-long investigation of SWSDA and Anderson. The investigated was sparked by citizen complaint after a previous 500-person petition to the Rodney MacDonald government was ignored.
      Unbeknownst to his board of directors, Anderson has apparently also appealed to the government for a bailout on the missing funds and has suggested that the loan could be repaid from the $22,000 per month now due on the questionable sale of the former Canadian Forces property at Sandy Point to a pair of American land speculators. Only one of the pair is allowed entry into Canada now, as the other partner was arrested in Shelburne for drunk driving last year and has apparently told local officials that he cannot enter the country legally.
     Mary Barstow visited Nova Scotia some weeks ago with some funding partners in tow and reportedly met with Anderson and also with lawyers in order to delay or avoid payments on the property Anderson gave the couple a "sweetheart deal" on the property, which included two years of no payments. The sale was invetigated by the Ombudsman, who referred his concerns to the RCMP. "Hell, they haven;t even paid taxes on the property for two years," says a source familiar with the situation, "and the property looks like it is abandoned, so how are they going to make payments of a quarter a million a year?"
     News reports state that Anderson has also approached the government to forgive (or convert to a grant) the $450,000 loan he negotiated just after SWSDA acquired the property more than decade ago. There has never been an accounting of the monies nor any attempt to repay any portion of the loan. Such a move would require approval of cabinet, which would seem unlikely under the current regime.
    Premier Darrel Dexter told the assembly and a media scrum following recently that Anderson was largely the cause of much of the economic havoc in this region and that he had no intention of further funding organizations headed up by Anderson.  Since Anderson was driven out of Shelburne County economic development recently, the recent creation of Team Southwest is seen by many in the region as a concoction by Anderson and MP Greg Kerr to further establish Yarmouth's domination of the regional development apparatus. "It's just a way to suck money, time and attention out of Shelburne County and other places, while most of the development funds flow to Yarmouth," said one disillusioned economic development expert.

8may2010: Drilling for oil and Belliveau's broken word... Nova Scotia Fisheries and Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau, picking up on several years of low-key oil company pressure on the issue, mused a couple of weeks ago about fish and oil being able to co-exist as the deadline to review the Georges Bank moratorium on drilling loomed. That went around the coast here like political oil slick. Belliveau, MLA for Shelburne, had championed the no-drilling-on-Georges campaign. Now, he had "become a politician," and broken his word. >>> read Ralph Surette's column

6may2010: Not worth the risk to drill on Georges, says Herald editorial... with the black eye for the oil industry growing each day visible from space, the full force of the man-made disaster in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, fire and spill still not evident, the PR disaster is in full swing and politicians are in full retreat...  >>> read editorial.

6may2010: Renew moratorium now, say Stoffer, Regan and others.... win exclusive interviews with SCT, federal fisheries critic and MP (NDP) from Sackville-Eastern Shore Peter Stoffer and Halifax-West (liberal) MP Geoff Regan encouraged the Dexter government to extend the Georges Bank oil and gas development moratorium. Stoffer repeated his plea to the Nova Scotia government to renew the Georges Bank moratorium "sooner than later". Stoffer told SCT that he has sent letters to Nova Scotia Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks and federal Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis imploring them to immediately extend the moratorium, which is due to expire in 2012.
     In 2008, Stoffer joined Darrell Dexter and MLA (now Fisheries and Environment Minister) Sterling Belliveau at a news conference in Barrington Passage, where they all pledged to fight to renew the moratorium. Both Belliveau and Dexter subsequently backed away from those campaign promises recently as the government appeared to position itself to OK drilling on Georges Bank.
    After days of badgering in the assembly during question period, Belliveau relented on Tuesday and now says he is lobbying cabinet colleagues to extend the drilling ban. Belliveau told media on Wednesay that his constituents are overwhelmingly opposed to drilling on Georges Bank.
     In a telephone interview from Ottawa, Regan also told SCT that he believes the moratorium should be extended immediately. "Although we all agree that petroleum extraction and production needs to be an important part of the economic future of Nova Scotia," said Regan, "there are simply too much risks in damaging such a valuable and productive fishing ground as Georges Bank."

22apr2010: Ecological risk grows as Deepwater Horizon oil rig sinks in Gulf... with the rig now sunk and the fire out, concerns are now growing that the situation could mirror a deep-water spill caused by a fire on the West Atlas rig off Australia last year, which environmentalists likened to a "disaster movie."  

22apr2010:  Big oil spill possible from sunken rig... The oil rig in Louisiana that exploded, caught fire and then sank 36 hours later could lead to a major oil spill, officials said Thursday.

22apr2010:  Offshore oil rig sinks, 11 missing workers now presumed dead... 330,000 gallons of crude oil a day possibly leaking... 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel on sunken rig...  >>> see Houston Chronicle story   >>> see Wall Street Journal story

22apr2010: Horrific drilling blowout, critical injuries and 11 workers missing at sea should be warning to Nova Scotia on Georges Bank drilling plans.... A massive explosion and fire on an offshore oil rig should be a dire warning to the Nova Scotia government as they prepare to recommend oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank, say fishing industry and environmental sources... Eleven oil and gas drilling workers are lost at sea and seventeen of their colleagues are injured - three critically - after a massive explosion and fire on a state-of-the-art offshore drilling off the Louisiana coast. The smoke plume from the fire extends 10,000 feet in the air and there are 13,000 gallons of crude oil burning every hour, according to news reports.

20apr2010: Tories want Georges Bank review... NDP govt refuses to disclose drilling plans... Citing the impending end to the 10-year moratorium on oil and gas exploration on the pristine fisheries and ecosystem on Georges Bank, Conservative Cape Breton MLA Cecil Clarke offered a resolution on April 13 in the House of Assembly calling for the Energy Minister to immediately convene a scientific panel to review the issues surrounding the moratorium. Several NDP MLAs opposed the resolution and it was tabled.
     Open for business... Two days later in the House, Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks defended the government position of being "open for business" regarding offshore oil and gas development and said that "sensitive" talks were ongoing behind the scenes, but refused to disclose details to his colleagues. He told fellow MLAs that the government would reach a decision about Georges Bank oil and gas development by June 1. Terms of the he current moratorium require that the Provincial and Federal governments to make a decision about convening another panel by June 30. [see Hansard here]
     Over my dead body... Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister and Shelburne County NDP MLA Sterling Belliveau appears to have a dramatic change of heart about protecting Georges Bank from oil and gas development. During both of his election campaigns Belliveau stated that he and his government would allow oil and gas drilling on Georges Bank "over my dead body". In a recent House session Belliveau refused to disclose the government's policy on drilling for oil and gas on Georges Bank when queried by Digby MLA Junior Theriault.  [see Hansard here] Belliveau now says privately that he is personally opposed to drilling, but will support a government decision to develop oil and gas on Georges Bank.

14apr2010: Ch-ch-ch-changes... Barrington warden quits... Shelburne hires new clerk... In a move that surprised some council members, Barrington warden Louise Halliday resigned  suddenly from her post Monday evening at a council meeting. With only a cryptic item of "resignation letter" on the agenda, some of her fellow council members and most of the dozen or more spectators had no idea that the warden would resign and be replaced with Councilor George El-Jakl in a 4-3 vote opposing Councilor Shaun Hatfield.
     Warden Halliday had made no secret in past months about her growing displeasure at the helm of the municipality and her letter stated that she was unable to devote the time required for the job. Several observers say that a more likely reason is the criticism the warden has faced over past year from media and citizens. 
     During some very fractious council meetings regarding questionable land deals involving the Yarmouth Industrial Commission, the Regional Development Authority and development czar Frank Anderson, Halliday appeared quite defensive and unprepared for the public criticism she faced. Two separate requests have been filed recently with the Ombudsman's Office to further investigate the council's role on the mink farm land deals. The telephone at Halliday's home remained unanswered during several attempts to interview her.
     The Town of Shelburne's search for a new clerk is over with the appointment of Rhonda Henneberry to replace the retiring Wilmot Hardy. Henneberry has been serving as the deputy clerk for more than a year.

22apr2010: Horrific drilling blowout, critical injuries and 11 workers missing at sea should be warning to Nova Scotia on Georges Bank drilling plans.... A massive explosion and fire on an offshore oil rig should be a dire warning to the Nova Scotia government as they prepare to recommend oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank, say fishing industry and environmental sources... Eleven oil and gas drilling workers are lost at sea and seventeen of their colleagues are injured - three critically - after a massive explosion and fire on a state-of-the-art offshore drilling off the Louisiana coast. The smoke plume from the fire extends 10,000 feet in the air and there are 13,000 gallons of crude oil burning every hour, according to news reports. The U.S. Coast Guard has described the explosion and fire as a "catastrophic event"  >>> see AP video   >>> see CNN report  >>> see AP TV news story 
Risky business could also destroy billion-dollar fishery..."This is another example of what could be happening right off the coast of Nova Scotia and New England", says Denny Morrow, spokesman for the NoRigs3 Coalition, who are opposing the recent moves by the Nova Scotia and Canadian governments to end the decades-old moratorium on oil and gas development on the pristine Georges Bank fishing and spawning grounds. U.S. and Canadian fishermen. In addition to being a unique habitat for whales, sea birds, sharks and turtles, Georges Bank is also one of the most productive fishing areas in the Atlantic, resulting in close to a billion dollars per year in landed catches of herring, lobster, yellowtail flounder, haddock and other species. Georges Bank was recently named as off-limits in the offshore oil and gas announcement by U.S. President Obama and Interior Secretary Salazar. 
Public inquiry of blowout, fire and major spill ongoing in Australia. The explosion and fire are similar to that on the West Atlas rig off the coast of Australia last fall, which resulted in a 71-day, 2 million litre spill causing a 9,000 square mile oil slick and a catastrophic fire which destroyed the rig. An inquiry in Australia heard that improper capping of the drill hole was to blame and that there may be as many as three other wells in danger of a similar incident. >>> see photos here     >>> read inquiry transcripts here  >>> see Montara wikipedia site here
Not to worry says Nova Scotia minister... Responding to questions from colleagues in a House Committee just hours before the explosion, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment Minister and Shelburne MLA Sterling Belliveau said that the modern oil and gas rigs were "virtually accident free."  Belliveau and Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks said this week that the government will announce a decision by June 1 about breaking or continuing the current moratorium on oil and gas development on Georges Bank. “Despite the enormous pressure he has received from oil and gas interests, President Obama and his government saw the need to protect Georges Bank," said Mark Butler, policy director for the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Ecology Action Centre. “Especially considering this recent tragic occurence, it is inconceivable now that the Canadian or Nova Scotian governments would even think about ending the moratorium.”   >>> see Halifax Herald story here
Blowout likely cause, says rig owners... Transocean Ltd. said a pressure surge violent enough to rupture pipes, known in the oil and natural-gas industry as a blowout, may have triggered the explosion and fire yesterday on a deepwater rig that injured 17 people and left 11 missing. The assumption is based on the nature of the fire, which is burning from the top of the well, fed by escaping oil or gas. The West Atlas explosion and fire was triggered by a similar blowout. >>> see Business Week story
500 rig fires, nine major blazes, two dead 12 seriously injured since 2006... The Houston Chronicle is reporting that nine major oil rig fires have killed at least two people and seriously injured 12 since 2006 in the Gulf of Mexico, a lonely, high-risk drilling area where workers stay for weeks at a time, working 12-hour-a-day shifts. Those fires are among 509 recorded on oil platforms in the Gulf since 2006, according to the U.S. Mineral Management Services, which monitors and collects platform data. >>> full story9apr2010: Season opens at Sea Dog with great weather, 99 cent beer, Canadian folk music...  Dining on Shelburne's waterfront becomes easier starting Wednesday, April 14th, when the weather is slated to turn grand and the kitchen for the Sea Dog Saloon opens for business. In addition to the standard menu, the Sea Dog will feature 99 cent beer. 
     On Friday, April 23, the Sea Dog will also host Canadian singer-songwriter Jay Aymar.  Aymar will be fronting his latest CD, Halfway Home, which features "My Cherry Coloured Rose", recently covered by the famed Ian Tyson. Sea Dog owner Allan Reid says that seating for the $10, 8pm show is limited and early reservations are suggested. Reservations at 875-1131 and at the Sea Dog on Dock Street.

7apr2010: "Too little too late," says d'Entremont, as he backs heckling protesters who shout "Darrel Dexter needs to go!"... Tory MLA Chris d'Entremont issued a news release Wednesday complaining that the NDP government's commitment of $200,000 for marketing to the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism region was a cse of "too little, too late.". CJLS Radio reported earlier that the MLA was backing a protest which resulted in what CBC TV called a "rude reception" for Premier Darrell Dexter as he walked the streets of Yarmouth. 
      d'Entremont, reported CJLS, "hopes as many people as possible will show up at Yarmouth town hall to show their displeasure" at the Premier. More than a dozen angry protesters plagued Dexter during his stay in Yarmouth, some with "Save Our Ferry" signs aloft. >>>see Vanguard story here

2apr2010: SWSDA goose finally cooked?... Province cuts off funding, sends investigators to Yarmouth and orders audits for for CEO Anderson and his gang... The province has cut loose the South West Shore Development Authority from receiving more government money after the troubled organization missed a March 31 deadline to reapply, Economic and Rural Development Minister Percy Paris said Thursday. >>> full story here

2apr2010: Province buys out Bay Ferries contract... The provincial government says it has saved $600,000 by buying out its contract with Bay Ferries and will forward the money to be used in SouWest Nova economic development... >>> full story

31mar2010: Possible shut down of RDAs and Industrial Expansion Fund, says AIMS... The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) released a paper Wednesday that provides tips for the Nova Scotia government in its quest to balance the books. The 14-page critique says in part, "It is to be hoped that one of the most immediate consequences of a program review will be the abolition of the Industrial Expansion Fund and a dramatic reorganization, if not outright closure of the multiple regional development agencies scattered across the province.

31mar2010: Dead end street for NDP in politicizing Industrial Expansion Fund loans, says McNeil... Liberal leader Stephen McNeil says Nova Scotia Business Inc. should be in control of the Industrial Expansion Fund and not the NDP cabinet. McNeil introduced legislation earlier this week to transfer control of the IEF to NSBI and out of the hands of politically-motivated cabinet ministers. 
     “Politics has no place in the loan business,” said McNeil in a news release. “I
believe this province’s greatest opportunities for prosperity are created when business decisions are made by business people and not by politicians.”  The NDP, added the leader,  are headed down the same "dead end path” of patronage trod by the previous Tory government.

30mar2010: Province better come with $1 million or more for Yarmouth economic development, says d'Entremont... Citing the NDP government's refusal to "admit they made a mistake in Yarmouth” regarding the CAT ferry subsidy, Argyle MLA Chris d'Entremont told the legislature Monday that the province would not elaborate on how the decision was reached nor would they give information about their economic assessment of the service. 
    While admitting that the service was not sustainable, d'Entremont decried the negative effect the decision to end the $20 million-plus subsidy would have on the Yarmouth area. >>> full story

30mar2010: Hurlburt regrets resigning, is likely target for forensic investigation by AG.... Nova Scotia Auditor General Jacques Lapointe announced Monday that he was increasing the scope of his investigation into the MLA expense scandal to include a forensic (criminal) audit of expenses of certain MLAs. Those certain to invite further scrutiny include Dave Wilson (Glace Bay), Trevor Zinc (Dartmouth North) and Richard Hurlburt (Yarmouth).
     If Lapointe finds evidence of fraudulent or other criminal activity, he says he will turn the matter over to the police. Hurlburt has already been found to charge an $8,000 generator for his home and a big screen TV to his MLA expenses. The AG will also likely be investigating where the monies came from for a security system and driveway paving at Hurlburt's Carleton manse. Payments made to long-time assistant and neighbor Bob Manuel are also being reviewed.
     The defrocked former Tory minister has been telling friends and colleagues that he regrets resigning as an MLA in the wake of the discovery of his expense transgressions. Hurlburt apparently now thinks he could have weathered the storm of media scrutiny and constituent rage which followed the scandal.

25mar2010: Shel muni first to support new "Team Southwest" concept... The Municipality of the District of Shelburne announced Thursday that it will support the efforts underway to establish Team Southwest. Team Southwest has a clear mandate from ACOA Minister Keith Ashfield to address the severe economic challenges in southwestern Nova Scotia, according to a news release from ACOA. MP Greg Kerr has been a proponent of the project.
     "We intend to be a full participant in the Team Southwest process and to work cooperatively to meet common objectives relative to economic development," says Chief Adminstrative Officer (CAO) Kirk Cox. "Service Canada has announced that our region has the highest unemployment rate in the province and we are glad that ACOA will take a leadership role in trying to create jobs and economic opportunity." 
      The Municipality developed its own strategic plan recently, according to Cox, and he hopes to work with the other levels of government to partner on many of the strategic initiatives,  including; the Eastern Shelburne County energy strategy, a Municipal investment strategy,  Shelburne industrial park development, Municipal sewage treatment facility, physician recruitment and the Development of a state-of-the-art medical clinic.
     ACOA spokesman David Harrigan said that the "Team" model has been successful in the past in locations such as Guysborough.

25mar2010:  Fishing industry worried about threats of seismic testing on lucrative Georges Bank fishing grounds ... The Groundfish Enterprise Allocation Council says that recent scientific studies from the governments of Canada and Norway , plus anecdotal experiences from groundfish fishermen and boat captains are generating growing concerns that the $200 million commercial fishery on the Canadian portion of Georges Bank will be under threat. >>> read news release

23mar2010: The premier on expenses: Dexter’s other superproblem... two months ago, it would have been hard to believe this spring’s session of the legislature would be focused on anything except the Dexter government’s 2010 austerity budget. What could compare with avoiding the fiscal train wreck of a potential $1.4-billion deficit? >>> Herald editorial

23mar2010: Downtown site too small says Th’YARC... plans for a $9 million new facility on Parade Street includes a large theatre, rehearsal hall, kitchen, costume studio, administrative building, and more, all connected by a glass-fronted gallery, says executives with Th'YARC, explaining why the downtown space suggested in the new "Yarmouth Revitalization Plan" is inadequate.  >>> full story

19mar2010: Film studio back on market for $5 million... in an ad posted on The Business Place web site, American real estate speculators Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow are asking $5 million for the former Canadian Forces Station at Sandy Point, which they describe as North America's "most unique location"
     The ad claims $1.2 million in sales from the "motion picture production campus", which would come as a surprise to the folks who have been waiting for two years of overdue taxes. The listing also points out 22-acre film studio complex and 150 acres of oceanfront vistas (no mention that the ten prime lots are sold). Included in the sale is a fully-licensed restaurant, a hotel and a jet plane. The department of alcohol and gaming does not show an active liquor license for the property. 
     The property was purchased by the pair from South West Shore Development Authority for $2.75 million, which included a $1.75 million, mortgage, with payments of $22,000 due starting in May. The ad also states that there are ten full-time and six part time employees at the facility. The only filming done at the studios has included portions of a low-budget vampire movie in 2008 and a series of low-brow, amateur YouTube videos by Kendrick and Barstow.
     Recent visits to the site show it to be largely abandoned, with snow drifting into some of the work bays which are open to the elements. The ad states that the reason for selling is "medical" and that there is financing available. The values is stated at $21 CDN,  but previous ads have stated a value of $21 million.

17mar2010: Premature to develop oil and gas on Georges Bank, says Liberal Leader McNeil... in an exclusive news interview in Shelburne with SCT, Liberal Party Leader Stephen McNeil addresses the shifting attitudes of the NDP government about drilling for oil and gas on the protected Georges Bank fishery and ecosystem. When asked how he could explain why Premier Darrell Dexter and Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau would campaign to South West Nova Scotia fishermen on a platform of no drilling on Georges Bank but now appear to be backing away from that commitment. "It's an issue of trust, said McNeil, "You have to be able to trust what leaders are telling you." The fishery is the bread and butter of South West Nova Scotia. Why would we risk our lucrative fishery when we don't know what, if anything, is on Georges Bank."   >>> view news interview here...   

17mar2010: Yarmouth Farmer's Market nixes downtown move.... Saying that no one contacted them prior to the recommendation in Yarmouth's new "Revitalization" plan that they move downtown, Farmer's Market organizers say they want to remain at their present location, which has been very successful for them.  >>> full story

17mar2010: Hurlburt's pension parachute to be $54,000 per year...  Kevin Gaudet, a spokesman for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the public has a right to be irked that politicians such as Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt, who acknowledged an "error in judgment," still get a hefty pension when they quit  >>> full story

16mar2010: RCMP investigation suggestion provokes angry outburst regarding Yarmouth Port Plan tender... a Yarmouth citizen felt the wrath of Yarmouth Port director Dave Whiting on Monday when it was suggested that the RCMP be invited to investigate the circumstances of the recent contact awarded to a company headed by Ralston MacDonnell. MacDonnell was in the centre of the scandal surrounding the $3 million divestiture of the Digby Wharf several years ago. Whiting recently received certification from a MacDonnell-operated port training program. MacDonnell is a frequent recipient of untendered and competitive contracts from YAIC and South West Shore Development Authority, both of whom have Frank Anderson as their CEO and who are named in the recent report from the Nova Scotia Ombudsman. 

12mar2010: Team Shelburne secrecy destructive and damaging, says Liberal leader...  in an exclusive interview Thursday with SCT, Liberal Party leader Stephen McNeil spoke about the aura of mistrust and cynicism developing in Nova Scotia surrounding the lack of disclosure and transparency involving public funds. The leader said that the "closed shop" style of secrecy and non-disclosure by Team Shelburne (mayors and wardens in Shelburne County) surrounding $700,000 or more recently received from SWSDA would likely have a negative affect on citizens. The use of public monies needs to done in the open, McNeil insisted. "This secrecy can only lead to damaging the institution of public government," the leader said. "Why would we not be willing to say how much is there?" 
      In addition to refusing to disclose the amount of funds in the Team Shelburne account, chairman and Clarks Harbour mayor Leigh Stoddart has refused to disclose the amount of the loan made by Team Shelburne to SWSDA, reportedly in order for the embattled development agency to meet the terms of the recent court settlement with OPI International.
     The "cone of secrecy" regarding the Team Shelburne cash seems to include the various members of the five councils in the county. None of the councilors contacted by SCT has been told by their respective warden or mayor how much money is in the Team Shelburne fund or how much money was loaned to SWSDA. More than seven calls to mayor Stoddart have gone unreturned. 

12mar2010: Yarmouth ferry cash from feds news to Dexter...  No one told Premier Darrell Dexter about Ottawa’s apparent financial backing for the Cat ferry, the premier said Thursday. The Yarmouth-area municipalities made a pitch to Dexter last month for Provincial cash but didn’t mention the federal involvement. Dexter said he would have expected the federal government to be up front about such a position, which was outline earlier in the week by Tory MP Greg Kerr. 
     In an interview with SCT last week, Kerr said that he couldn't understand why the Dexter and the NDP government would turn their backs on such a substantial offer of help. Kerr did not say then whether the offer for assistance from Ottawa had been clearly spelled out to the Province.  >>> full story here

12mar2010: Tory MLAs withheld crucial ferry funding information from new government and local pols... One of the exacerbating issues in the very public CAT-fight over cancelled subsidies for the Yarmouth-USA ferry was the discovery that part of the deal made with Bay Ferries Ltd. included a $ 3million "cut fee", which now has to be paid to Bay Ferries, even though there will be no ferry.
     As cabinet members at the time and as strong proponents of the Both Chris D'Entremont and Richard Hurlburt knew about the $3 million deal, according to informed sources but remained silent. In an exclusive interview with SCT, Liberal leader Stephen McNeil said, "I can't imagine why both MLAs would withhold such information." McNeil admitted that for the Yarmouth municipal officials to be without that important knowledge put them "at a great disadvantage" in negotiating with the government for continuation of the multi-million subsidy to Bay Ferries.
     A Yarmouth-area politician who asked not to be named told SCT, "These people are supposed to be on our side. Why would they be playing political games when the stakes are so high?" 

11ar2010: Lives of the rich and famous... Movie mogulette back in NS with bodyguards... Erstwhile movie producer and twitterite Mary Barstow has arrived back in Nova Scotia with a duo of bodyguards to protect her from who knows what?... the more hysterical partner in the pair of U.S. land speculators trying to dump their white elephant "state-of-the-art" film production centre on unsuspecting internet buyers was seen entering the SWSDA headquarters in Yarmouth early Thursday with two brawny types named Guido and Louie.
      SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson had recently requested permission from his board of directors to seek legal action toward Barstow and bunkmate Jim Kendrick and likely invited the trio to his bunker to discuss whether Barstow and Kendrick had any intention of making good on their commitment to start paying $22,000 per month on the $1.75 million "sweetheart" mortgage Anderson wrote for them when they breezed into town two years ago from their lakeside retreat in New Hampshire.
       Later in the day, Bartow was seen doing some upscale sartorial scanning at Chez Francios in Shelburne, while Ralph and Alf bided their time outside doing the Blackberry hustle. Where Barstow did not stop while in Shelburne, according to sources, is at the municipal tax office, who has apparently not heard from the pair in two years.  

10mar2010: Argyle MLA Chris D'Entremont fingers colleague Richard Hurlburt as double-dipping, kick-backing, loop-holing MLA in radio promo... despite the assertions by Q104 Radio executives that the "Frugal Richard" ML in their latest online promotion was completely fictional, Chris D'Entremont insists that the high-living and tax dollar-grabbing culprit is really a stab at his friend Richard Hurlburt, who resigned after admitting to installing more than $15,000 of goods destined for office expenses in his home.
     Hurlburt retreated to Florida the day following his resignation. If Hurlburt does return to Nova Scotia, he is also likely to have to answer questions about the real costs of the $11000 generator and $3000 big-screen TV, the installation in his home of a security system, his relationship with the marketing director of an airline given $2 million in cash by the cabinet on which Hurlburt sat, the paving of his driveway and the sale of building lots with business partner and RDA CEO Frank Anderson, also recently the subject of a year-long investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman involving, in part, questionable land transactions.  >>> read Vanguard story

10mar2010: Economic development department poised to sweep SWSDA audit under the carpet??... in surprising turn of events, the senior government official in charge of oversight for the regional development authorities suggested that the $70,000 audit of South West Shore Development Authority would find no problems regarding provincial funding for the troubled agency.
    Neal Conrad told the economic development committee Tuesday that there’s no indication the $150,000 in core funding the province annually gives the authority was misused, according to a Herald reporter David Jackson. "The activities . . . that the ombudsman specifically identified as possibly problematic and require further investigation are activities that normally fall outside the core funding of (the) regional development authority," the Herald reports that Conrad told the committee. "We would have no knowledge of what some of that activity would be."

10mar2010 Kerr: Feds to address ferry-related job losses...Providing help to hundreds of people who may lose their jobs because a ferry won’t be docking in Yarmouth this summer must be addressed, says the MP for West Nova. >>> full story

8mar2010: $20,000 for guessing "MLA Richard's" purloined cash promo... a catchy promotion on Halifax rock radio station Q104 has caught the fancy of the station's listeners, according to general manager Ted Hyland. The promo idea surfaced after the promotional team at the station reviewed the results of a recent "Citizen Q" segment which focused on the growing MLA expense scandal. The listener who logs in with the exact amount of taxpayers money taken by frugal MLA "Richard" will be flown to Cuba where he or she will unearth the hidden booty. Station management says that any relationship between the promo and real-life circumstances of former Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt is purely coincidental.

8mar2010: Yarmouth Councillor Pink cited for possible conflict of interest... Attorney and Yarmouth Town Councilor Martin Pink has failed to disclose his business interests in votes he engaged in as a Councilor for the Town of Yarmouth, according to a complaint filed on March 7 with Mayor Phil Mooney and Council for the Town of  Yarmouth.
     Pink is the official agent for Yarco Holdings, a firm owned by disgraced MLA Richard Hurlburt and SWSDA/Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission CEO Frank Anderson.
     Yarco, according to the letter,  was a "beneficial recipient" of more than $100,000 in taxpayer dollars relating to a sewer project benefiting Yarco properties. The letter also raises an issue surrounding Yarmouth Town Attorney Greg Barro, law partner of Pink. 
     Pink is also said to represent Hurlburt in the possible civil or criminal investigations surrounding the MLAs use of his government expense accounts, if and when the former minister returns from the USA. Pink recently traveled to the USA to confer with Hurlburt.
     Anderson has recently been the subject of a one-year investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman, who cited serious problems with conflicts of interest  >>> see letter to Town of Yarmouth here

4mar2010: Yarmouth Liberal nomination set for May 8... According to emails sent to supporters by candidate Adam Vickery, the Yarmouth Liberal riding nomination meeting for upcoming by-election for MLA has been set for May 8th, at 1:00pm at the Yarmouth Lions Club. Registration begins at noon and only party members registered by April 8 are eligible to vote.

4mar2010: Team Shelburne continues illegal secret meetings about SWSDA cash....  Despite a recent Ombudsman's Report expressing concern about financial transactions involving the trouble South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and its CEO Frank Anderson and despite a complaint filed last week Ramona Jennex, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Team Shelburne members continue to meet in secret discussions surrounding a controversial loan or gift by the body to SWSDA from the $700,000 derived from the sale of the former Shelburne Youth Centre.
     The Municipal Act is explicit in its prohibitions that "no decisions shall be made..." at private meetings, which are designed discuss sensitive matters like real estate sales and personnel issues. In addition to the improper meetings about public funds, none of the five mayors and wardens comprising Team Shelburne have advised their council members about the financial decisions made behind closed doors.
     Minister Jennex is slated to meet with all of the County councils on Friday and the improper meetings are likely to be among those topics discussed. Six calls to team Shelburne have gone unanswered.

26feb2010: SWSDA Response to ombudsman’s report in works... The South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) is getting ready to respond to a provincial ombudsman’s report, reports The Herald. In marked contrast to the generally bombastic style of SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson, the board of directors has apparently committed themselves to "professional discretion" in their response. Despite being excoriated by the recent report of Ombudsman Dwight Bishop for conflict of interest and other misdeeds, Anderson is reported to have been telling friends and associates that the Ombudsman was "really more upset at the Department of Economic Development than SWSDA." Anderson did not respond to queries on the matter from the Herald.

26feb2010: Family affair in Yarmouth politics...   Fraser Mooney, brother of Yarmouth mayor Phil Mooney and son of long-time Yarmouth politician Fraser Mooney Sr., has confirmed with SCT that he will be seeking the liberal nomination at the by-election to be called by Premier Darrell Dexter to fill the for the MLA spot in Yarmouth recently vacated by Richard Hurlburt. Tory riding president and Yarmouth Muni councilor Trevor Cunningham, who was named by several sources as a likely candidate, told SCT that he would not run, saying it would be unfair to his three small children. Former Yarmouth mayor Charles Crosby has been named as a likely candidate, but Cunningham could not confirm that, saying the the nomination process is on-going.
     Hurlburt resigned earlier this month under a cloud of controversy after admitting to having charged $8,000 for a generator installed at home and a big-screen TV on his MLA expense budget. The generator is estimated by some to have really cost less than $5,000 and the Auditor General has said he would investigate further. Hurlburt could face criminal fraud charges if he bought the generator for personal use or if he charged the province more than he spent for the generator or the $3000 claimed for installation.
     The disgraced politician and former building contractor is also a business partner of Frank Anderson of SWSDA, who is now being further scrutinized by the Ombudsman's Office. There are reports that additional complaints may have been filed with the Ombudsmans Office involving Anderson, SWSDA and the Yarmouth Industrial Commission. Hurlburt was also a key figure in the establishment of Starlink Aviation, whose books are being pored over by the provincial government after having burned through $ 2 million in government cash in nine short months.

25feb2010: No cabinet decision on ferry....  Nova News Now reports that the ferry funding partnership proposal delivered by Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney Tuesday to Premier Darrell Dexter was not discussed at cabinet and there are no plans to do so, according to the premier's press secretary. In expressing his disappointment at a Town Council meeting Thursday, mayor Mooney apparently said, "No boat --- no vote", referring perhaps to the upcoming by-election for the now vacant seat of Richard Hurlburt. Mooney is the liberal riding president for the area and is apparently pushing for his brother Fraser Mooney as a Liberal candidate. No date for an election has been named by the Premier.

25feb2010: Ferry cash deadline given to Premier...  In what many consider a bold but risky political move, Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney has given Premier Darrell Dexter until Friday to pony up $3 million in "matching" funds for the 2010 season of the Yarmouth-U.S.A. ferry which was shut down in late December.
     The offer from Mooney includes an equal amount committed by the towns and municipalities in the Yarmouth area. Argyle MLA Chris d'Entremont and Liberal leader Stephen McNeil have publicly weighed in on the issue, urging Dexter and Economic Development Minister Percy Paris to move on the offer. d'Entremont accused the government of "turning their backs" on the ferry issue.
     McNeil said in a news release that the shutdown was done with no consultation and no warning and that committing to the funding could "right a wrong." A Nova News story cited ridership on the CAT ferry of up to 175,000 per year, while the preliminary report from the ACOA-funded South West Nova Scotia Transportation Study cites the actual CAT passenger load at 80,000, a precipitous drop from the 2003 figures of 280,000 passengers. The per-passenger government subsidy to Bay Ferries Ltd. in 2009 exceeded $110 dollars.  
     Statistics from the Department of Tourism show a drop in visitors to Nova Scotia over recent years and the Study show that, since 2001, the ratio of visitors arriving in South West Nova Scotia via ferry has dramatically shifted to the Digby-St.John ferry. The government has stated recently that they intend to make a decision about subsidies to future ferry service out of Yarmouth after the final results of the Study.
    Dept of Economic Development has refused repeated requests for comment.

24feb2010: MEDIA SLAMS SWSDA... improper spending... conflict of interest... RCMP probe... All of the major regional media have run front-line stories about the on-going problems of accountability and management with the embattled South West Shore Development Authority and its CEO Frank Anderson... the stories by CBC TV, CBC Radio, CBC Online, Halifax Herald, CJLS, NS Business Buzz and allNovaScotia have focused on the litany of abuses by Anderson and his staff and directors in the improper spending of public money, untendered contracts, questionable land deals and other breeches of the public trust   See and hear the stories here: Halifax Herald,  CBC Online, CBC Radio, CBC TV(voice only), Coast Guard

24feb2010: Digby-St, John ferry vital to SW Nova...  Marine transportation and ferry services in southwest Nova Scotia have been very much in the news lately. This interest is both useful and timely in anticipation of an interim report on transportation infrastructure analysis and recommendations expected to be released shortly >>> read editorial

23feb2010: Aboriginal fishermen on Georges Bank are worried.... For hundreds - if not thousands - of years Aboriginal peoples have fished the rugged, rocky coastlines and the more subdued shorelines and sandy beaches on and surrounding the Gulf of Maine, including Georges Bank, and they are worried that the recent productive fishery could come to an abrupt end by the dangers posed by recent moves to approve oil and gas production on Georges Bank >>> full story

23feb2010: SPECIAL REPORT: Ombudsman takes SWSDA and Anderson to task... In a report issued Monday, based on a complaint in 2008 by two Shelburne County residents (SCT publisher being one), Nova Scotia Ombudsman Dwight Bishop concluded that the complainants' concerns were warranted.

Recommendations: he made a number of recommendations with respect to: SWSDA's incorporation - that will stop any RDA from operating under the Societies Act; accounting for Boys school money that was problematic; SWSDA's relationship with Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission and CEO Frank Anderson's role re: a number of concerns related to conflict of interest; Board of Director failings in exercising its fiduciary duties.

Audits: The Report made a number of recommendations to the Department of Economic Development and SWSDA related to each of these including a recommendation that the Province undertake three audits back at least two years related to: a.) Governance Compliance - this would appear to be an over-arching audit of SWSDA policies and management of its programs and funds; b.) Value for Money Audit - Somewhat similar to the work conducted by the Comptroller General of Canada where a review is undertaken of the efficiency, effectiveness and economy issues at SWSDA; c.) full audit of the Boys School monies including the expenditures attributed to maintenance, the proceeds collected and the interest collected. The Ombudsman recommended that all monies spent without prior approval be returned to Team Shelburne.

Further investigation: In addition, the Ombudsman has set aside for future investigation three issues raised by the complainants: a.) Loan guarantees made by the municipalities to SWSDA; b.) SWSDA's sole source and tendering practices; c.) The recent Mink Farm land deal between SWSDA/YAIC and the Municipality of the District of Barrington.

In addition to these recommendations the Ombudsman has recommended changes to the Regional Communities Development Act that would ensure more transparency and accountability and the Department has accepted a recommendation to review the model now used by the Department to assess the performance of RDAs.

Pound Sand on Team Shelburne monies: The report notes that both SWSDA and the government have agreed on all recommendations except SWSDA has not agreed to return monies spent inappropriately from Team Shelburne Funds.  

all Nova Scotia reports Tuesday that their sources say an audit is underway, but could not say by whom. Shelburne County MLA Sterling Belliveau and Liberal leader Stephen McNeil have both called for a full audit of SWSDA finances

>>> download a copy of The Report from the Ombudsman's Office here

18feb2010:  Possible Georges bank oil spill concerns many.... Some members of the NoRigs3 Coalition are terrified that a dramatic oil spill, similar to that off the coast of Australia late last year, could damage or devastate the unique Georges Bank ecosystem if a moratorium on oil and gas drilling is lifted.
     Georges Bank is home to many species of sea life and one of the most productive commercial fisheries in the world. Hubert Nicholas, Mark Butler, Bee d’Entremont and others are members of the NoRigs3 Coalition, a group of fishermen, food processors, environmentalists and others who are opposing any lifting of the moratorium. They believe that the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of fishermen who depend on Georges Bank catches could be ruined.   >>> see story  

18feb2010:  Hurlburt reported close to collapse in Florida...  Former MLA Richard Hurlburt is reported by reliable sources as being distraught about being forced to resign in shame after disclosure by the Auditor General that he made several inappropriate personal purchases though his government expense accounts. The anonymous, but usually reliable source said that Hurlburt had sought the sanctuary in Florida, citing "severe depression" and that he had been visited by his son and by Yarmouth attorney Martin Pink.
     Hurlburt did not respond to email inquiries but Pink, when reached by SCT in Florida by telephone, said he could not disclose whether he was representing Hurlburt in any possible criminal charges surrounding a current investigation by the AG regarding possible misuse of taxpayer-supported expense account funds. Pink said he was not aware of any potential charges. 
     One area of investigation by the AG surrounds possible misuse of the housing allowance by MLAs. Apparently, based upon the practice of Hurlburt and other MLAs residing in family properties in Halifax while attending Legislative business but charging up to $20,000 per year for housing allowances, the rules were changed to allow the practice of MLAs claiming the allowance without proof of expenditure. Note: SCT was contacted via telephone Friday by MLA Michel Samson, who took exception to a previous post naming him in connection with this item. Mr.  Sampson stressed that he has never been involved in the practice of claiming as an expense rent for an accommodation owned by anyone in his family. We appreciate Mr. Sampson's clarification and apologize for any embarrassment to him or his family. 
     Hurlburt has been the target of public outrage in the mounting expense account scandal engulfing the Nova Scotia legislature. On his own Facebook website, constituents posted messages branding Hurlburt as a "crook" and "thief" for his apparent abuse of the arguably lax expense regime for MLAs. On other web sites, visitors have opined that Hurlburt and other big spenders should not be afforded their generous pensions and should be sent to jail for their misdeeds.
     When asked when Hurlburt is expected to return to Nova Scotia, Pink would only tell SCT, "I don't think even he knows."

17feb2010:  Georges Bank drilling could destroy Aboriginal fishery, says coalition: Recent drumbeats in the media about “clarification” being needed surrounding the current exploration and drilling moratorium on Georges Bank are a cause of great concern to the growing Aboriginal commercial fishery, according to the NoRigs3 Coalition.        Recent drumbeats in the media about "clarification" being needed surrounding the current exploration and drilling moratorium on Georges Bank are a cause of great concern to the growing Aboriginal commercial fishery. 
     The waters surrounding the Georges Bank are some of the most productive in the world and Aboriginal communities have entered the commercial fishery in record numbers, with Aboriginal-held licenses increasing from 1999 to 2009 by more than 400%, from 316 to 1238. 
     In 2007 there were approximately 315 First Nations people and 63 off reserve Aboriginal people working directly as fishers or crew in commercial fisheries. Additionally, there are salaries for support, administration and other workers. 
     In 2009, 54 off-reserve Aboriginal commercial fishermen were employed by the Native Council of Nova Scotia generating some $750,000.00 in employment earnings and in the Bay of Fundy and First Nation fisheries include some 70 commercial fishing licenses that generate $13.3 million annually. 
     “The loss of fishery access to the Georges Bank would be economically devastating to many Aboriginal communities in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes,” says Hubert Nicholas, a Mi'kmaq commercial fisherman for 20+ years and now Commercial Fisheries Liaison Coordinator for the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR). “It is important the moratorium be preserved.>>> see pdf version

18feb2010:  NDP comes clean on staff payments... South Shore MLAs in upper echelons... MLAs Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne) and Vicki Conrad (Queens) were two of the biggest spenders in payments to non-assistant employees. Conrad spent $17,822 and Belliveau $16, 691, according to files released by the NDP Caucus Thursday. The average for NDP MLAs (exclusive of Premier Darrell Dexter) was about $7,800. Dexter clocked in at $54,300 and John Macdonnell was lowest with $750.00.

17feb2010: SWSDA cash due in Shelburne County Thursday...  a long-awaited infusion of economic development monies is due to arrive at in the bank account of the Town of Clark's Harbour on Thursday, when $620,000 is deposited from the South West Shore Development Authority, according to Team Shelburne chair and Clark's Harbour mayor Leigh Stoddart. The funds are destined for the various partners in Team Shelburne and were held for more than a year in an escrow account under orders from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
      In December, 2008, Justice Allan Boudreau was told by SWSDA's lawyers that the proceeds of the sale of the Shelburne Youth Centre had been dissipated by SWSDA and, according to CEO Frank Anderson, were nothing more than a "book keeping entry". The judge ordered Anderson and SWSDA to replace the monies from the proceeds of the sale of the former Canadian Forces Station at Sandy Point and the funds were released two weeks ago as a result of the settlement of a $5 million civil suit against SWSDA.
     Some Team Shelburne members expected the transfer sooner and no explanation was offered as to why the funds had not been transferred earlier. Team Shelburne agreed to loan SWSDA an undisclosed amount in order for the near-bankrupt agency to comply with the terms of the settlement.

17feb2010: More legal woes for U.S. movie moguls as Irving Oil chases them to court for oil bill...  The two American land speculators who purchased the former Canadian Forces Station at Sandy Point three years ago are being pursued in Small Claims Court for unpaid heating oil bills, according to testimony offered last week in a courtroom in Shelburne. Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow (doing business as SeaCoast Entertainment and seven other affiliated businesses) got the property in a controversial deal with Frank Anderson,  CEO of South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and assured local politicians and media that they would invest "millions" in the facility and make it a state-of-the-art film production centre.
     After assuring his board of directors that the province would cover a $1.75 million mortgage, Anderson instead offered the loan to SeaCoast with no payments due for three years. Mortgage payments of $22,000 begin in May. 
      SeaCoast is also apparently under threat of legal action from SWSDA's lawyers under direction from its board of directors, according to recent meeting minutes. During their two-year, payment-free tenancy, the pair sold off almost $1 million in prime lots without applying any of the income to the $1.75 million outstanding mortgage.
     In the court hearing, the adjudicator determined that proper service of SeaCoast had not occurred and instructed Irving's representative to serve their agent, local lawyer Donald Harding.

16feb2010: Belliveau wants $6 million federal cash for marketing lobsters to China.... Low prices for Atlantic lobster are forcing the provinces and Ottawa to find new markets for a product that is the mainstay of many coastal communities. The Atlantic Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers — which includes representatives from the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Nunuvut and the federal government — met in Halifax Monday and agreed to work together to expand and improve markets for lobster.
     $6 million of the $15 million in lobster industry "bailout" funds have not been spent and should be used to promote lobster to potential customers in China, said Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau. "We raised the issue, and we should be targeting that money toward new marketing initiatives," Belliveau told media Monday after the one-day meeting. "Our whole industry for generations has depended on the United States, and we have to move away from that."
    It was also announced that the new Lobster Council will receive $417,000 to develop a marketing strategy  >>> see story  >>> see Herald story

12feb2010: Fraud now part of "forensic investigation", says Auditor General...  Hurlburt named as target.... CBC reports just now that at least one MLA is now being investigated for possible fraud in expense claims and that Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt is one of the "forensic" investigation targets... AG Jacques Lapointe says that his decision is based upon information about purchases received from media and citizens, as well as from preliminary investigations  by his staff. CBC reports that Lapointe said that he is now looking at "irregularities of law breaking."
     
$7000 fraud???...  AG's office apparently has been investigating the whereabouts of at least one of the two television sets purchased by MLA Richard Hurlburt, ostensibly for his office. CBC TV reported Friday night that their investigation shows that the retail price for the generator model for which Hurlburt charged taxpayers $8000 and which they filmed in his garage earlier in the week was closer to $1000.

Staff bonuses still secret... CBC reports that staff party leaders oppose release of the list of staff bonuses. House speaker Charlie Parker said that he would release the list of all $185,000 in staff bonuses paid by MLAs, none of which were reported to Canada Revenue, but that he needs the permission of the Premier and party leaders. Tory head Karen Casey admitted to paying her assistant $1000 each year, but the list referred to by the Auditor General shows at least one staffer got a bonus of $43,000. 
    Both Liberal leader Stephen McNeil and Casey told CBC that they opposed releasing a list of the various payments made to MLA staff. 30 staffers were given bonuses totaling $185,000 and 157 "contract" employees were paid more than $400,000. The AG said that he saw little evidence of any contracts or invoices or paperwork of any sort detailing hours worked , task performed or any other details. said that he would release the list of all $185,000 in staff bonuses paid by MLAs, none of which were reported to Canada Revenue, but that he needs the permission of the Premier and party leaders. Tory head Karen Casey admitted to paying her assistant $1000 each year, but the list referred to by the Auditor General shows at least one staffer got a bonus of $43,000. 
    Both Liberal leader Stephen McNeil and Casey told CBC that they opposed releasing a list of the various payments made to MLA staff. 30 staffers were given bonuses totaling $185,000 and 157 "contract" employees were paid more than $400,000. The AG said that he saw little evidence of any contracts or invoices or paperwork of any sort detailing hours worked , task performed or any other details. said that he would release the list of all $185,000 in staff bonuses paid by MLAs, none of which were reported to Canada Revenue, but that he needs the permission of the Premier and party leaders. Tory head Karen Casey admitted to paying her assistant $1000 each year, but the list referred to by the Auditor General shows at least one staffer got a bonus of $43,000. 
    Both Liberal leader Stephen McNeil and Casey told CBC that they opposed releasing a list of the various payments made to MLA staff. 30 staffers were given bonuses totaling $185,000 and 157 "contract" employees were paid more than $400,000. The AG said that he saw little evidence of any contracts or invoices or paperwork of any sort detailing hours worked , task performed or any other details.

12feb2010: Hurlburt may have collected $150,000 or more for "ghost" Halifax apartment... Tory leader says "not breach of the rules...".... Hurlburt may have collected $150,000 or more for "ghost" Halifax apartment... Tory leader says "not breach of the rules...".... Hurlburt may have collected $150,000 or more for "ghost" Halifax apartment... Tory leader says "not breach of the rules...".... In another stunning revelation about expense claims certain to further infuriate his previously loyal constituents, Former Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt is tagged by allNovaScotia.com to have taken between $16,000 and $20,000 for an annual apartment allowance, despite living with his wife in her HRM home. 
     The system apparently didn’t require receipts to prove Hurlburt had an apartment before he took the money and Tory Leader Karen Casey said she didn't think it was a "breach of the rules."
     Hurlburt resigned earlier this week after admitting to expensing $8,000 on a home generator but failing to disclose his $2,500 TV. Casey admitted she knew about the TV but said she didn’t mention it because Hurlburt was seeking clarification from the speaker. On Wednesday she altered her story, saying Hurlburt should have disclosed the TV but it was OK for her to say nothing because it is the individual MLA’s responsibility.
     In a usually bitter and partisan political environment, and despite the mounting evidence of widespread abuse of expense account system, party leaders are unanimous in not wanting any further inquiry. 

11feb2010: Goucher and Hurlburt the big gougers in $700,000 expense spree... when the Speakers office released a list today of all technology expense account purchases totaling more than $700,000 made by MLAs over the past 3 years, former Tourism Minister Len Goucher took the prize, having walked away with 11 computers, 12 printers, 5 cameras and 4 VCRs...  Goucher's expenses totalled almost five full pages and topped $43,000.
      Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt bought 5 computers, 2 printers, 3 cameras and 2 television sets (plus an $8000 generator) for a total of more than $33,000... Tory leader Karen Casey bought 5 computers and 6 printers...racking up almost $19,000 in gew-gaws
    The $1000-plus double-dippers who charged twice for the same amount included Michelle Raymond ($3400), Percy Paris ($2400), Michelle Raymond ($1400) and Murray Scott ($1000) other Nova Scotia. Bill Dooks claimed $9400 for a generator, which is now hard wired into his home. He spent $25,000 in the period.
     MLA Sterling Belliveau spent $17,500 on tech items, which for the large part, were spent in his riding in Barrington ($12,000)  and Shelburne ($1300).
     These expenses, the Auditor General told SCT today, were for "receipted expenses". Each MLA is also entitled to a large volume of "unreceipted" expenses each year, which could drive the MLA outlay past $1.5 million for the period covered. >>> CBC story  >>> full list of expenses   >>> Herald story   >>> all stories

Read Richard Hurlburt's full resignation letter... expresses "deep regret"... Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservative party released the full text of Richard Hurlburt's resignation letter Wednesday, one day after announcing that the MLA for Yarmouth was quitting. >>> full text

Hurlburt quits - Casey torpedoed... Nova Scotia’s spending allowance scandal has claimed the political career of one of its central figures with the resignation of veteran Yarmouth Tory Richard Hurlburt, who admitted buying a generator and big-screen television at public expense. On CBC radio Wednesday, veteran political reporters Jean Laroche and Paul Withers opined that PC Party interim leader Karen Casey has "torpedoed" her chances as permanent leader by keeping mum about the full extent of Hurlburt's excesses for a full five days.
     In recent days, Casey retreated to a "Dick Cheney bunker", refusing to meet with media face-to-face. Party insiders say that an agreement was reached during the recent annual PC Party meeting in Halifax not to discuss the leadership, but insiders say that the humiliation brought upon the party by Hurlburt's dogged refusal to own up to his transgressions was a major topic on conversation at the meeting. The reporters agreed that no one would want to step forward during the current expense flap.
     Argyle MLA Chris D'Entremont has been named as a likely possible candidate for leader. In the inevitable by-election for Hurlburt's seat, PC riding president Trevor Cunningham is the odd-on favourite to take the Party nomination. Cunningham has also made no secret of the fact that he is also covetous of the position as superintendent of the Tri-County School District.   >>> CBC story  >>> Herald story

 8feb2010: Topping $14,000 in questionable, "excessive" personal expenses charged to his government expense account, Yarmouth's Hurlburt is biggest "grifter" in growing expense account scandal...  friends denounce him a liar and thief... Tory politician Richard Hurlburt spent $14,000 for giant TV and generator during the past year, both installed permanently at his private residence. After first denouncing calls for him to repay the province for the generator, Hurlburt announced Friday that he would cough up the $8000, after having previously paid back the $3000 installation fee for the machine.
      During his public exculpation, including several media interviews, Hurlburt never once admitted that he was the "mystery" MLA who paid $3000 for a massive, flat screen TV set installed in his expensive country home. The Speaker of the House released the information Monday. Party leader Karen Casey has known about the expenses since February 3, but has also remained silent.
     Once used to promote Hurlburt's election campaign, his Facebook page is now the home for angry diatribes from those who have registered as "friends" on his page. Some of the comments include: "Liar!, Thief!", "I am glad you got caught stealing...", "...take a good look in the mirror. CROOK!", "THIEF!!!!!!!!!!!", "you should BUY YOUR OWN", "Do you think were all that dumb?", "Richard's got a touch of gangsta!!", "...what other deals have you made for yourself?", "Richard is a bonehead...Good to see corruption finally have some accountability...", "I would appreciate the $2500 paid back to the province now."
      This scandal is only the latest episode in MLA Hurlburt's track record surrounding his spending habits as MLA and for Minister. In early 2009 questions were raised about the then-Minister of Energy when he awarded an untended contract for $150,000 to business partner Frank Anderson and his troubled South West Shore Development Agency (SWSDA) in Yarmouth. The give-away was for the creation of an "Oceans First Task Force", which was defunded by the government after a scandal developed surrounding reports that an expensive junket to Norway by Hurlburt, Anderson and other was, according to some fishermen who attended, "like some big, expensive party every day." 
     The Oceans First project was part of the just-completed, extensive investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman surrounding years of questionable financial dealings by SWSDA. No report from Oceans First was ever tabled.  Many questionable financial dealings of SWSDA under Anderson's leadership are expected to be outlined in an Ombudsman's Report due out this week.
      "This guy's an embarrassment to the party," one Progressive Conservative politician told SCT about Hurlburt. "Any thoughts he ever had of being party leader are pure fantasy now."  >>> see Hurlburt's Facebook page HERE.  See "generator" news conference video HERE.   Nova News Now story HERE.   A story about Hurlburt and a list of the excessive expenses is HERE

"This is what makes people think politicians are crooks," said former Tory minister Jane Purvest. >>> see major CBC story HERE  >>> see  The AG Report HERE  >>> CBC "mea culpas" story HERE  >>> Herald story HERE. >>> See Globe & Mail story HERE

8feb20910: SWSDA decamps Barrington.... South West Shore Development Authority senior staffers told the Barrington Municipal Council last week that the development agency was canceling its lease for office space at the municipal building, effective February 28. When contacted by The Coast Guard, SWSDA chairman Rode Rose said that renewing the lease would depend upon "who's in and who's out" of a new development agency that Rose, CEO Frank Anderson and others are trying to create after SWSDA ceases operations March 31.

4feb2010: MLA Hurlburt at the centre of pervasive and irresponsible MLA expense spending, slammed by media... Yarmouth MLA big winner in provincial "Expense Lotto"... named in Auditor General's report to speaker regarding expense account spending... The just-released Auditor General's Report points out that, even though the NDP government has made some inroads in curbing excesses in MLA spending, problems remain and Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt is apparently named as one of the culprits for having an $11,000 generator installed at his home. >>> full story

2feb2010: Shelburne County cash goes to pay off SWSDA legal debt... After recently losing a legal battle it instigated ten years ago, the South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) will be bailed out of a large cash settlement with Ocean Produce International for a cessation of the suit and counter suit.
     In their closed-door, January 28 "Team Shelburne" meeting, the Shelburne County mayors and wardens agreed to contribute to SWSDA an "agreed amount" from the Shelburne Youth Centre Fund. In actuality, such a fund does not exist, as SWSDA lawyers testified in a Yarmouth court in 2008 that, under CEO Frank Anderson's direction, all of the funds from the sale of the Youth Centre, plus the remaining administrative fund supplied by the province, was spent by SWSDA and remained only as a "bookkeeping entry".
     The judge ordered SWSDA to place $780,000 of other funds in a separate account until the legal action was over. A court order from Justice Allan Boudreau releasing the funds was delivered to the Yarmouth Court on Friday. Team Shelburne also voted to have SWSDA release the funds to the Town of Clarks Harbour for safekeeping, but clerk Brian Crowell says it may be weeks before the "banking procedures" provide for the transfer of the funds.
     One economic specialist familiar with SWSDA's operation told SCT, "Given the past record of Anderson and SWSDA deducting all sorts of costs from Shelburne County project funds, I'd be surprised if there was much, if anything, left when they finally turn the remainder over to Team Shelburne." Anderson has recently admitted that at least $181,000 in "project funds" were charged against the OPI legal costs. As for Team Shelburne's expectations that they will receive monies from the "Youth Centre Fund", the specialist thinks that is "wishful thinking."

2feb2010: Yarmouth council attacks province for "punishment" in "personal" CAT decision.... Members of Yarmouth town council are keeping up that offensive against the NDP government surrounding the recent decision to cut off subsidies to the CAT ferry owners after $20 million over less than five years.
     Councilors say they believe the province’s decision to discontinue funding of The Cat ferry service is personally motivated. “This is a choice to cause strife and hardship,” Councillor Esther Dares was quoted in the Yarmouth Vanguard. “How can we read that any way but personal? It’s punishment.”   >>> full story

30jan2010: Legal bills still outstanding... According from sources from within South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA), at least $50,000 in legal bills for the 10-year civil suit are outstanding to top-end Halifax law firm McInnes Cooper. Two of the firm's top litigators - Gavin Giles and Bob Belliveau - led the McInnes Cooper team until the suit was recently settled just days before a six-week trial was to begin.
     At a recent Shelburne Municipal Council meeting, warden Sherm Embree described the fees as SWSDA's primary liability and the controversial $1.75 mortgage on the Shelburne Sound Stage property as the primary asset. SWSDA has been order by the province to wrap up their affairs and cease operating by March 31. 
     The legal fees over the ten years are estimated to be more than $300,000, but SWSDA accounting reports have never shown the fees as a line item. Previous reports appeared to have the fees lumped in with paper and copy supplies and recently CEO Frank Anderson created a "dummy" project called "Shelburne Sound Stage/Park", which now shows a $181,000 deficit. Anderson has told board members and others that the project account is really to cover the legal fees. 

29jan2010:Shelburne Town out of SWSDA orbit.... The Shelburne Town Council voted at a special meeting Wednesday evening to decline participation in any new regional development agency organized by the current staff and board of the South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA). The town joins Clarks Harbour and Municipality of Shelburne in separating from the troubled, Yarmouth-based development group.
     SWSDA has been the subject of an extensive investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman and has been on the two losing end of several legal actions recently, including claims that they refused to properly disclose expense accounts and that they misappropriated assets subject to a $5 million civil suit. The 10 year-old suit was settled just days before a 6-week trial was to have begun. Those familiar with the suit anticipate that the settlement ranged between one and two million dollars.
     $800,000 development funds to be released...  The settlement will release a court hold on almost $800,000 destined for economic development in Shelburne County. "I wouldn't be surprised," said a local economic development specialist, "if those funds disappeared into SWSDA's bank account within minutes of that court order being lifted." Previously, more than $700,000 from the sale of the Shelburne Youth Centre was spent by SWSDA and, according to lawyers for CEO Frank Anderson, became just an "accounting entry."

29jan2010: NDP cash grab charged in Cat Ferry cancellation...dead cat to cost $3 million.... The Cat Ferry could still cost Nova Scotia taxpayers up to $3 million this year, even though it won’t be running, according to Economic Development Minister Percy Paris... >>> full story.
    Liberal party leader Stephen McNeil told an online news conference on Thursday that the sudden decision to de-fund the Cat Ferry to the USA was really "a cash grab" by the government, who is exaggerating the economic condition of the province. McNeil was also critical of the government's decision to unilaterally remove up to $15 million in subsidies to the ferry operator in 2010. "They did this with no consultation with the citizens or government officials in the area affected," says McNeil.
     An ACOA-funded transportation study of southwest Nova Scotia is due to be delivered within weeks. The study is likely to address several possible iterations of ferry service for the regions, including how to protect the essential needs of the fishing and fish processing sectors to get product to markets in the USA and upper Canada. 

28jan2010: Shelburne County says NO WAY JOSE ! to SWSDA... Councils for the Municipality and Town of Shelburne met Wednesday evening to discuss the fate of their respective relationships with the South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and its controversial CEO, Frank Anderson. "Same head, different hat," was the comment of one municipal councilor, as the discussion turned to the possibility of joining up with Yarmouth-area municipal units in a "revised" SWSDA with Anderson at the helm.
     The municipal council voted unanimously to reject an offer from SWSDA chair Rod Rose to join the new group and voted unanimously to reject Frank Anderson's separate plea for a $30,000 funding commitment to the current SWSDA, which the provincial government will cease to fund as as March 31, 2010. "Throwing good money after bad," was a side comment heard during the debate. The Municipality has extended almost $200,000 in loans and guarantees to SWSDA, which might be lost if the agency's finances are as bad as has been reported.
      Municipal warden Sherm Embree announced that, on behalf of the five Shelburne County governments, earlier in the day he had sent a letter to Economic Development Minister Percy Paris requesting guidance in forming a county-wide Reginal Development Agency and had spoken with Economic Development executive director Neal Conrad, who offered the province's assistance in the County's efforts toward self-directed economic development.
     Previously, the Town of Clark's Harbour council voted unanimously to opt out of SWSDA's new development scheme and the Barrington Municipal Council has said that they would not commit "one red cent" to a new Anderson-led Agency until all of their questions had been answered. The Town of Shelburne met in closed session Wednesday to discuss the growing financial and legal entanglements with SWSDA. Previously, Mayor Al Delaney said the Town was not happy with SWSDA's recent performance on their behalf.
     Only the Town of Lockeport has agreed to continue with SWSDA. Mayor Darian Huskilson told and economic development summit recently that, despite all of the problems with SWSDA, it was "still a good investment for $3000." 

26jan2010: Not one red cent for SWSDA from ShelCo munis... at least three of the five municipal councils in Shelburne County have decided not to invest any monies in the core funding for the new Regional Development Authority being created in Yarmouth by Frank Anderson and his former SWSDA board of directors until Anderson and company can provide answers to a slew of questions directed at him by the councils. One councilor said his colleagues will not provide SWSDA "one red cent" until stringent conditions are met.
      The Town of Lockeport previously committed $3000 in funding to the new group and the Town of Shelburne expects a decision after a special meeting called for Wednesday evening. The various "in or out" SWSDA positions were announced at a brief economic development summit held in Shelburne Tuesday.
     In a letter to Anderson from all of the Shelburne County units, the SWSDA chief was put on notice that any involvement in the new RDA he has been pressuring municipalities to join would only be considered if the units felt assured about the issues of accountability, transparency, board structure, financial management, compliance with the development act and implementation of recommendations arising from the Ombudsman's investigation and report.
     The tone of recent meetings in this area and the reportedly hostile and fractious tenor of the recent SWSDA meetings in Yarmouth make it unlikely that Anderson will see anyone but Lockeport supporting a new RDA under his leadership. 

26jan2010: Shelburne Town still playing hide-and-seek with SWSDA documents... in an on-going game of cat-and-mouse, the staff of the Town of Shelburne continues to keep certain documents from public scrutiny, especially those connected to the Town's troubled relationship with the South West Shore Development Authority.
    Despite being advised on numerous occasions that Provincial law dictates that "A person has a right of access to any record in the custody, or under the control, of a municipality upon making a request..." the staff refused to make public Tuesday a recent letter to SWSDA chairman Rod Rose and a response to the Town from Rose. 
     Most recently in SCT, as a result of a document request,  it was disclosed that the many public assertions by SWSDA executives and town council that SWSDA was assisting in generating funding for the $5 million harbour project were a complete fabrication. One can only imagine what they are hiding now. 

 21jan2010: SWSDA BLINKS!... $5 million, ten-year civil suit with OPI settled...  in a surprising turn of events, SCT was advised today that the impending trial in the 10-year legal battle between South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and Ocean Produce International (OPI) is over, based upon a settlement between the two parties. The long-anticipated, high-stakes trial was originally set to start on January 18, but was postponed twice by SWSDA law firm McInnes Cooper, according to SWSDA sources.
     When contacted by SCT, OPI vice president Ed Cayer would only say that "the terms of the settlement were satisfactory to OPI." SWSDA chairman Rod Rose was unavailable for comment. The lawsuit was instigated by SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson soon after the agency acquired the assets of the former Shelburne Park Development Agency (SPDA) and has been a contentious issue among regional politicians and civic leaders. Deceptive and destructive practices by SWSDA and SPDA were alleged in court filings in the case and trial witnesses were expected to include Anderson, Cayer, Hugh Mackay (SPDA) and others.
     It is anticipated that the lawsuit settlement and legal fees to date have cost SWSDA member municipalities more than $1 million. Recently, SWSDA board members were advised by Anderson and his legal team that funds would have to be generated to pay for the upcoming trial. One SWSDA board member told a regional economic summit meeting recently that SWSDA was $120,000 or more in arrears to the lawyers and the SWSDA board had charged Anderson with seeking "funding partners" for the legal costs. Anderson is reported to have told municipal partners over the years that the OPI suit would never be a problem for SWSDA.
     At least $182,000 of the legal fees are thought to be obscured in questionable accounting entries in SWSDA's recent financial filings. None of the municipalities queried by SCT about an entry in the December 31, 2009 "project report" for "Shelburne Sound Stage/Park" could identify the project, purpose or activity related to the mysterious project. The entry shows an unaccounted for $181, 931 deficit against a $75,000 budget with zero income.. 
     A SWSDA board member would only say that "I think that entry is for legal fees," and another municipality agreed to seek clarification from CEO Frank Anderson.  Anderson and Rose have reportedly convened a special "in camera" meeting of his board on January 25 to seek approval for the settlement agreement.    

20jan2010: SWSDA sinks in year-end red ink... mysterious $181,000 project deficit...  the year-end 2009 financial statements filed recently by South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) show a deficit in project funding of $334,000 to year-end, with more than 50% of that amount, or $181,931 levied against a project called "Shelburne Sound Stage/Park". It is the only "planning and research" project with no income connected to it. None of the SWSDA directors contacted could identify the project and it has not appeared previously in any of the voluminous "staff reports" the agency produces. The Sound Stage property was sold by SWSDA more than two years ago.
     A regional economic development expert familiar with the operations of SWSDA told SCT that one strong possibility for the mysterious project is that it was created as a line item for charges for legal fees in SWSDA's 10-year, $5 million battle with Ocean Produce International. The case goes to trial one week from today and is estimated to cost SWSDA more than $500,000. A loss for SWSDA and judgment could add millions to the cost. "If it isn't purely illegal," said the expert, "it is certainly a deceptive way to hide expenses from prying eyes."
     Recent meeting minutes show that the board of directors instructed CEO Frank Anderson to seek "funding partners" to underwrite the legal costs. No announcement has been made about any success in this area.

19jan2010: Additional delay in SWSDA trial...  the clerk for Supreme Court Justice Allan Boudreau told SCT today that the $5 million civil trial scheduled for months to begin this week has been postponed once again to January 27. South West Shore Development Authority board members announced on January 12 at an economic development summit in Barrington that lawyers at Halifax law firm of McInnes Cooper had requested a delay until January 25. 
     The delay is the thought by some to be connected to the dire financial situation of SWSDA, which has been described by senior staff and board members as effectively "bankrupt". The January 12 summit was told that SWSDA was at least $50,000 in arrears to McInnes Cooper and that the firm required at least $150,000 additional to complete the six-week trial.
      No announcement has been made to the SWSDA board or staff about the results of a meeting between the authority's CEO and board chairman and Economic Development Minister Percy Paris last week to discuss an emergency bail-out. $500,000 was being sought by the embattled CEO Frank Anderson and long-time chair Rod Rose.

18jan2010: Clarks Harbour says no to SWSDA.... by a unanimous vote last week the town council of Clarks Harbour decided to withdraw from any future role with the Yarmouth-based Regional Development Agency which has performed very poorly for Shelburne County in its 14-year existence. “There’s been a lot of baggage with SWSDA,” said mayor Leigh Stoddart to the Coast Guard. He noted controversial land sales, a lawsuit and difficulties with finances as some of the past problems. A recent down-graded performance audit by ACOA and the Department of Economic Development noted that SWSDA "barely met expectations" in Shelburne projects while they exceeded in projects for Yarmouth County and that Shelburne County required "considerably more attention." >>> full story

17jan2010: Seacoast lawsuit in the offing?... the minutes of the December 18 and January 6 meeting of the generally-secretive South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and discussions with members of the embattled agency's board of directors suggest that a lawsuit against Seacoast Entertainment Arts might be in the offing regarding the recent transfer by SeaCoast of the prime waterfront lots from the former Canadian Forces property at Sandy Point to friends and family of SeaCoast management. SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson told his board he was caught unaware of the sale, although the department of Economic Development (holder of $450,000 mortgage on the property) told SCT in 2008 that they had no problems with a subdivision of the land.
     The self-described American real estate speculators registered nine separate businesses in 2008, with Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow as principals and former warden Paulette Scott as the registered agent. After helping the pair secure the property when she was warden, Scott was then hired as the chief financial officer, but was forced to resign as warden due to the obvious conflict of interest.
     Although Kendrick & Barstow told local political leaders and the media that they would be investing "millions" in the property and made several announcements of major films coming to the site, only a brief stint as a discounted, part-time production base for the Moby Dick remake and a few weeks hosting a low-budget horror flick materialized. The 20,000-a-day candle operation fizzled, as did mini-golf, restaurant, hotel, recording studio and magazine operations.
      The couple winter in New Hampshire, where Barstow owns a luxurious, lakefront home which rents for $10,000 per month in summer. Anderson reported to his board in December that the American pair would supply him with current income and expense statements and balance sheets. In an online sales brochure pitching the site for $5,000,000, Kendrick and company assert that the film complex produces $1.2 million in revenue yearly.

14jan2010: Sinking SWSDA likely to leave munis on the hook for $1 million-plus... in what could play out as a financial disaster for some of the municipal "partners" of the faltering South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA), the looming bankruptcy of the development agency would mean that the various loan guarantees and loans and grants to the agency would be unrecoverable, resulting in further economic hardship for some municipal governments. The Municipalities of Argyle and Clare are on the hook to banks for $116,000 each, while the town and municipality of Yarmouth have combined liability of $239,200. The Municipality of Barrington would have to write off $99,2000 and the Municipality of Shelburne has two guarantees outstanding for a total of $154,000. Additionally, SWSDA has an outstanding loan with the CBDC in Shelburne for $150,000. All of these figures include the recent scheme devised by SWSDA CEO Frank Anderson to convert a request for a $200,000 line of credit to a series of "repayable grants". 
     The justification for the lines of credit proffered by Anderson was for short-term support for programs underway for which payments had not been received from funding partners. There is no indication in financial data presented to the municipalities that any of the monies were used for programming. "We can pretty much count on writing off these SWSDA guarantees," said one local warden at a recent meeting discussing the SWSDA relationship. "These guarantees were intended to be used to add flexibility to SWSDA in carrying out programming," he added, "not to be used up immediately."
     If a SWSDA bankruptcy occurs after or as a result of the $5 million civil suit instigated by Anderson ten years ago against a former SWSDA tenant and coming to trial in ten days, the costs of the litigation, legal fees and judgments could increase SWSDA's debt into bankruptcy by several million. Several board members have said they were told by Anderson that SWSDA is effectively teetering on the edge of having no monies for day-to-day operations.
     In the light of a government mandate for the current SWSDA to cease doing business as of March 31, 2010, one scenario being discussed by some in the area now is to have SWSDA declare bankruptcy immediately, which would forestall any further debt incurred by SWSDA relating to the civil suit or other outstanding liabilities. "It is crazy for them to continue under these circumstances," said one local official.
     Any bankruptcy action by SWSDA would have a court-appointed trustee oversee the collection and distribution of assets to major creditors, who are likely to include Ocean Produce International (OPI) and the law firm of McInnes-Cooper, (worked for several years under Anderson's direction on the 2001 SWSDA suit and OPI counter-suit), Province of Nova Scotia ($450,000 mortgage on SeaCoast Studios property) and agencies, firms and individuals who hold unsecured loans with SWSDA. The most likely assets would include $780,000 set aside by Justice Allan Boudreau (also overseeing the up-coming civil trial) in a court action in 2008, a $1.75 million mortgage on the Sandy Point property adjacent to OPI's facilities and the building owned and occupied by SWSDA in Yarmouth.
     The trial was suddenly put on hold last week by McInnes-Cooper lawyers, but is scheduled to resume on January 25. SWSDA is reported by board members to be in arrears to the lawyers in amounts ranging from $50,000 to $122,000, with an additional minimum of $150,000 needed immediately to complete the trial. Any costs for a likely appeal in the case would be additional.

13jan2010: $320,000 SWSDA legal bill unpaid - trial postponed.... In a surprising announcement at a Shelburne County economic development summit on Tuesday, it was disclosed by South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) board members that the embattled agency has yet to pay its legal team a reported $172,000 spent to date and $150,000 or more needed for a six-week, $5 million civil trial scheduled to begin on Monday, January 18. The agency is represented by Halifax-based McInnes-Cooper senior partners Bob Belliveau and Gavin Giles. The costs of just the legal fees for the pair during trial is expected to be $15,000 per week and it is estimated that real costs of the case to SWSDA and its member municipalities is closer to $500,000. Trials of this nature almost invariably include "expert witness" reports, which would add $150-200,000 to the costs.
     It was also announced Tuesday that SWSDA's lawyers had asked for a postponement of the trial for at least one week. Trial was precipitated by a suit filed ten years ago by SWSDA against local firm Ocean Produce International (OPI), who also filed a counter suit and another separate action, with claims totaling $5 million. Board members say they were not advised by SWSDA executives about the reasons for the delay.
     Meeting chairman Sherm Embree suggested that OPI had recently refused an offer to settle by SWSDA, a claim denied by OPI vice president Ed Cayer, who was present at the meeting. "The exact opposite is true, as SWSDA refused our recent offer, but never bothered to respond with a counter offer." If SWSDA board members are being so misled by its executive managers about so important an issue, added Cayer, "what else are they not being told about SWSDA's legal action and other circumstances?"
     The five week trial is being heard by Justice Allen Boudreau. None of the allegations in the suit have been proven in court. 

13jan2010: SWSDA chiefs meet with ministers to get emergency cash...  SWSDA board chief Rod Rose and CEO Frank Anderson reportedly met with Economic Development Minister Percy Paris and Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau on Tuesday to plead for a $500,000 emergency loan to prop up the faltering development agency. SWSDA board members have been reporting for weeks now that the agency was "bankrupt", even before Tuesday's disclosure of the overdue legal bills. "The province would be crazy to give them more cash to feed directly to Halifax lawyers," said a political observer familiar with SWSDA's current state of affairs.   
     At an unusual special SWSDA board meeting over the holidays, according to board members, it was suggested that, rather than the legal fees being paid by SWSDA, the municipal units in Shelburne should front the legal fees. Clarks Harbour mayor Leigh Stoddart suggested that one scenario would have the five Shelburne County SWSDA members advance the $300,000-plus in legal fees and be reimbursed from the $22,000 monthly mortgage payments from "the base" (former CFS Shelburne, now owned by SeaCoast Entertainments) due beginning May 1. 
     Those familiar with the property sale and activity of SeaCoast owners Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow in the past two years think this scenario unlikely. The pair have reportedly failed to pay even property taxes on the site and have established a number of failed businesses at the property since taking control. Currently, the property appears to be abandoned, with battered vehicles in ditches and some of the buildings left open to the elements, including piles of blowing snow. (see photos HERE)

13jan2010: CAT ferry company wanted additional $5 million, says deputy minister.....  at a media scrum following testimony to the public accounts committee in Halifax on Tuesday, economic development deputy minister Ian Thompson told reporters that Bay Ferries Ltd wanted a subsidy of $5 million in 2010 to operate the high-speed ferry between Yarmouth and Maine.
     The government subsidies to the private firm were $1.3 in 2005 and grew by more than 900% to $12 million in 2009. Ridership during the same period plummeted, from more than 100,000 passengers to 76,000 in 2009.  The increase in per-passenger subsidy grew by more than 1200% in the same period. 
      According to AllNovaScotia.com, when asked by Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt whether Thompson or his department consulted with Yarmouth-based SWSDA on the ferry subsidy issue, the deputy replied in the negative. Anderson has reportedly been working behind the scenes in trying to influence the outcome of the ACOA transportation study for the region now underway. One of the scenarios presented would be a year-round service from the USA to Yarmouth, which is not likely sustainable without considerable subsidy, but which some observers fear would also result in the end of the Digby-St John ferry currently in service.
     Anderson reportedly also was trying to persuade his board to fund the CEO and SWSDA staff to prepare a "business case" for the Yarmouth ferry but has also reported to his board that he would be  virtually unavailable during the six weeks of the civil trial.
     The $2 million government subsidy given to the failed Maine-Yarmouth Starlink Aviation service amounted to a per-passenger subsidy of more than $550. The government also funded the failed airline by pre-paying blocks of tickets for then-minister Hurlburt and others to travel from Yarmouth to Halifax and return.
    

22feb2010: EDITORIAL: Same old, same old…  I feel embarrassed now to have thought that much would have changed in local political leadership in a short span of three years. What I am talking about, of course, is the willingness of our mayors, wardens, councilors and others to keep from us the information vital for our well-being – economic and otherwise. More specifically, I refer to the $780,000 (give or take) well overdue due to us in Shelburne County from the sale of the Youth Centre but held in a legal purgatory until the recent and relieving lawsuit settlement involving SWSDA and OPI .
     With all of the others, I have watched the very public sturm and drang which has enveloped us all over these past many months and the admissions by some political leaders that they had been “asleep at the wheel” somewhat in protecting our singular and collective financial assets from manipulation – or evisceration in some cases - by the former regional development authority.
     Despite what would be logical in the instance and despite assurances to involve the public in a decision to pledge allegiance to or separate from the previous RDA , that decision was made without the luxury of direct involvement by citizens. But that said, in the public hand-wringing sessions and council meetings which preceded the decision to forge our own regional economic destiny, the mayors, wardens and councilors – to a member – pledged that they wanted more accountability, more sensibility and more transparency in how decisions regarding our tax dollars are used.
     The recent decision behind closed doors by Team Shelburne to loan an unspecified amount of that $780,000 to the soon-to-be-defunct SWSDA so that that bankrupt group could pay OPI what it was owed in the court settlement should be a signal of the “open” process we can expect from these guardians of the public trust.
     Those monies belong to the citizens of Shelburne County . They are long overdue and, in our own ways, we fought hard to get them back. They are designated for economic development. If they are given or “loaned” to an entity – especially one with an absolutely spotty record when it comes to finances – we are entitled to know at a minimum: how much was loaned? On what Terms? When – if at all – can we expect repayment?   When push comes to shove, even this current crop of leaders don’t seem to trust the public. As for answers to these questions, I for one am not holding my breath.

4feb2010: MLA Hurlburt at the centre of pervasive and irresponsible MLA expense spending, slammed by media... Yarmouth MLA big winner in provincial "Expense Lotto"... named in Auditor General's report to speaker regarding expense account spending... The just-released Auditor General's Report points out that, even though the NDP government has made some inroads in curbing excesses in MLA spending, problems remain and Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt is apparently named as one of the culprits for having an $8000 generator installed at his home. Some of the most serious offenses include $43,000 in "excessive" spending for computers, furniture and cameras, plus $6,000 for one MLA for web design. The report details "pervasive and irresponsible" spending on luxury items like a $5000 laptop and $700 espresso machine, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreported and "under the table" payments to senior staff. One MLA bought 11 computers, one four VCRs, one twelve printers, one paid his brother for art work and another his brother to fix a driveway.
    Our local MLAs were both over and under the norm for spending, with Sterling Belliveau 15-20% over the average in some areas and 50% above in gadget spending, Chris D'Entremeont at 150% the average on advertising spending. Richard Hurlburt was the topper, though, claiming allotment assets of $24,710, more than 300% of the average of his colleagues. The Herald reports that the generator has been moved. Overall, Hurlburt spent 130% of the average for all categories.
    Though not named in the public version of the report, Hurlburt (with MLAs Colwell and Preyra, among others) is named specifically as an offender in the version supplied to the Speaker of the House. Hurlburt or others who may have "topped up" payments to senior staff without remitting the standard deductions and tax amount, may also be held accountable by Revenue Canada and other agencies.
     Premier Darrell Dexter has said through a staff member that he will repay $7800 for cameras and computers. Natural resources minister has paid $13,000 for custom furniture.  More than half of the MLAs double-billed the taxpayers for expenses. The Borque news site has banner headline 'DEXTER CAUGHT RED-HANDED."
     Auditor General Jacques Lapointe made several recommendations about changing accountability standards for MLA expenses. The report also addressed the issues of P3 schools, where the province will pay $52 million in extra fees included in contracts. Electronic health records were also discussed. The Report is HERE  CBC story HERE Herald story HERE. See Globe & Mail story HERE
    Brian Flinn of allNovaScotia.com said in CBC radio Thursday that rules created by a secret committee of MLAs allow for financial problems outlined in the report. In the last ten years, said Flinn, expenses for MLAs have grown two-to-four times the rate of inflation. Because the legislators could or would not vote themselves raises, says Flinn, they gave themselves more money through the "back door" of exaggerated expense budgets. "There is a psychology in government, said commentator Ralph Surrette on the same program, "where where those who do not "dip" are considered "nerds" and are excluded" from an inner circle. Graham Steele, according to Flinn, was told to "shut up" when he tried to address MLA expenses two years ago. 
     Asked about whether the most egregious offenders will come clean, Flinn opined that "in the next few days, we're going to see the dance of the seven veils."  
     This scandal is only the latest episode in MLA Hurlburt's track record surrounding his spending habits as MLA and for Minister. In early 2009 questions were raised about the then-Minister of Energy when he awarded an untended contract for $150,000 to business partner Frank Anderson and his troubled South West Shore Development Agency (SWSDA) in Yarmouth. The give-away was for the creation of an "Oceans First Task Force", which was defunded by the government after a scandal developed surrounding reports that an expensive junket to Norway by Hurlburt, Anderson was, according to some fishermen who attended, it was "like some big, expensive party every day." 
     The Oceans First project was part of the just-completed, extensive investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman surrounding years of questionable financial dealings by SWSDA. No report from Oceans First was ever tabled.

 2feb2010: Editorial: Lobbying is NOT the name of the game in economic development ...
Over the past decade, the South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) has increasingly interjected itself between populations and the municipalities in our area, not to mention the provincial and federal governments. A gradual process, SWSDA inserted itself by establishing itself as “the Authority” through which all funding was funneled and either acquired or controlled. People and officials actually began to believe that funding approval was contingent on SWSDA making the application.
     SWSDA’s control of funding applications to both provincial and federal agencies resulted in the eventual replacement of municipal governments in their efforts to plan and control their own socio-economic development in the geographic areas covered by the RDA .
     Additionally, SWSDA imposed itself in the funding and program relationships between individuals and non-government organizations and federal and provincial programs like Community Access Program (computers in communities), provincial immigration programs, human resources programs, seniors programs and community services through their designation by federal and provincial agencies and by the creation of subordinate agencies controlled entirely by staff with little or no accountability even to the SWSDA board pf directors.
     This made it increasingly difficult for individuals and NGOs to establish dialogues with government bodies and access funding from these bodies. It became not uncommon for civil servants to refer citizens to SWSDA if they were seeking funding or access to a program. A good example of this is the CAP program that is dominated by SWSDA with the active support of staff of the provincial Library system.
     The result has been a concentration of transformational power in the hands of SWSDA staff that is unfettered by the normal checks and balances imposed on governments by the electorate, its elected officials or public servants. In so doing, the RDA has dramatically weakened the relationship between populations and municipalities in South Western Nova Scotia and provincial and federal government bodies. The result is a weakening of local capabilities to plan and manage their own development.
     This destructive behaviour has further exacerbated the negative impact of SWSDA over our communities and citizens over the past decade. The recent examples of SWSDA contributing to political fund-raising, initiating letter-writing to provincial ministers by municipalities, leaking complaints to opposition parties and the press have now been compounded by SWSDA’s blatant efforts to generate negative press respecting the decision about subsidies for the high-speed ferry by taping local populations for YouTube.
     Neither the public consultation that led to the creation of RDAs or its enabling legislation anticipated that RDAs would take control and exclude people, organizations and municipalities from control of their own development. Nor did it expect that RDAs would become lobby groups using its resources to put pressure on governments or to moblize public opinion against governments. Neither the next RDA established to service Shelburne County or the “new” RDA being designed on the old SWSDA model should adopt any of these bad habits that defined our previous RDA for so long.

18jan2010: Editorial:  A bright light in cloudy skies... After a year of almost constant disturbing news about the economic development climate in this region, there appears to be emerging a fresh light from under the gloomy clouds of pessimism.  That this light is in part a result of the apparent death of a once-respected institution who has added to the gloom is more than ironic. If we can believe the reports from the area’s mayors and wardens who sit as directors of the South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA), that troubled agency may be suffering its last ghastly paroxysm before winding down its affairs after being so ordered to do so by April 1 by none other than the deputy minister of the Nova Scotia Department of Economic and Rural Development.

In the all-to-public drama worthy of its own “reality TV” status, SWSDA has been the subject of a lengthy investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman based on citizen complaints, has been engaged in ten-year legal battle which is likely to cost taxpayers in excess of five hundred thousand dollars  -  maybe more than one million - and is now fighting almost weekly pronouncements by board members and senior staffers that they are virtually bankrupt.

The litany of court battles over executive travel expenses, the scrutiny occasioned by trouble real estate deals for the Boy’s School and the base at Sandy Point and involvement in a questionable mink ranch land sale which resulted in a call for the removal from office of public officials has not quieted the waters. While they claim to be the “go to guys” for funding for municipal projects, SWSDA has been unable in more than a year to raise one red cent of the five million dollars needed for Shelburne’s vaunted Port Project and has done little better on the Barrington Industrial Park project.

But the light, you ask, where is the light? It became clear at their most recent meeting that, in the midst of all of this regional sturm and drang, the Municipality of Shelburne , with a young and able CAO working with a progressive-minded council has been burning the midnight oil towards creating sustainable development in their neck of the woods. In less than a year, under CAO Kirk Cox’s direction, and with Sherm Embree leading an apparently willing council, the Municipality has created a thorough and well-conceived Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, which the administration and council seem poised to use also as a roadmap for sustained economic development in the area.

Their recruitment of two new physicians to the area has resulted in the first month in memory of no Roseway Emergency Room closures. They appear to be committed to constructing a new medical clinic and they were instrumental in attracting the $ 8 million-plus provincial investment in Shelburne Ship Repair, creating solid jobs and an even stronger corporate citizen in Irving . The ICSP has also just spawned a pilot project for a seniors-based regional transportation project and the Plan has dozens of other possible projects embedded in it.  All of this in less than one year.

But the most ambitious – and attractive – move has been the Municipality’s announcement that, despite the collective hand-wringing which seems to characterize the municipal response from others in the county to the seeming collapse – or even bankruptcy - of SWSDA, they will be establishing a functioning economic development capacity starting now. They see clearly now that they can do it.

If I was warden Halliday or mayor Delaney, Huskilson or Stoddart, I’d be getting on the phone to Mssrs. Cox and Embree to find out how quickly I could “take a meeting” to discuss getting on that economic development engine, rather than being left behind at the station. Timothy Gillespie: editor/publisher

17dec2009: Shell game by SWSDA in $5 million Shelburne Port project... Contrary to assurances made by Frank Anderson, CEO of the beleaguered South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and Shelburne mayor Alan Delaney that Anderson has been actively pursuing funding opportunities for the five million-dollar "port expansion" project in Shelburne Harbour, records on file with the town suggest that Anderson's involvement is a complete fabrication.
      A thorough review of all of the records on file for the project, shows absolutely no effort by SWSDA or Anderson on behalf of the Town. The only reference on file regarding SWSDA are three memos written to Anderson by the mayor, town clerk and a project consultant - none of which received a reply by Anderson.
      Having been told that all correspondence for the largest-ever project in Shelburne's history was most verbal, SCT requested records of any conversations about the project. The Town failed to provide any record whatsoever of Anderson's involvement. The only other records of support on file for the project are a letter of support from the Town of Lockeport and a letter from South Shore MP Gerald Keddy to federal minister John Baird.
      Anderson and Delaney have repeatedly stated that SWSDA was helping to find funding for the project and Anderson reportedly told his SWSDA board that he had produced two funding applications. The town's records dispute those assertions.
     An economic development expert in the regi