Stories you might have missed

Jan. 07, 2008
Bar owners in Nova Scotia can't charge customers less than the wholesale cost of an alcoholic drink. And some owners calculated that as a dollar a shot. But does the marketing of buck-a-beer nights contribute to binge drinking? Last summer, the province relaxed the rules about advertising drink prices; bars can now spread the word in newspapers, electronic media and with increasing fervour, online, through sites such as Facebook.

In the wee hours of Christmas Eve (coincidentally, a dollar-a-shot night) a brawl outside the Dome - a series of connected Halifax bars - led to 38 arrests. The owner of the Dome temporarily lost his licence. He then raised drink prices to $2.50, and said he hoped that other owners would do the same.

But a few blocks away from the Dome, cheap shots are alive and well. A Facebook site called "Dollar Dayz at the Palace Night Club" describes the downtown Halifax watering hole as "the only bar in town where you can get dollar drinks."

Mark Parent is Minister of Environment and Labour, the department that regulates how bars price their drinks and how they advertise. (runs 8:31 l RealAudio)



Jan. 03, 2008
More than 300 people have been killed in Kenya since the December 27th elections - including at least 50 who were burned alive in a church. Raila Odinga's opposition party had called for a massive rally to be held on January 3rd to protest the re-election of President Mwai Kibaki. But that was called off after security forces used tear gas & water cannons to disperse people heading for the central square of Nairobi.

Tim Bannister is orginally from Fredericton, but he and his wife Diane now live about 40 kilometers south of Kenya's capital city Nairobi.  (runs 8:31 l RealAudio)




Dec. 28, 2007
90 year old Roy Harnish was one of a kind. He was the man behind the legendary Shore Club in Hubbards, Nova Scotia - a dance hall that showcased the best big bands in the business throughout the 40's and 50's. Roy was our guest on the phone in on December 28 when we asked you to call with your memories dancing the night away to big bands. Roy Harnish died a few days - on New Years Day - while walking on the beach he loved. (runs 53:04 l RealAudio)



Dec. 19, 2007
Around this time of year you will hear a lot of people talk about jolly old St. Nicholas who carries gifts on Christmas Eve. Well, according to folklorist Steven Freygood they're talking about the wrong guy. St. Nicholas was a serious Greek bishop, the patron saint of sailors and children. He rides a white horse and he turns up on Dec. 6. Thanks to a mistake by the poet Clement Moore he's confused with Santa Claus, a jolly elf in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Santa's the one who shows up on Christmas Eve. And, according to Steven Freygood, Santa's been through a lot of changes over the years.


WHEN CHRISTMAS WAS ILLEGAL...




Dec. 18, 2007
Compared to the rest of the country, you're up against long odds when you go looking for a family doctor on Prince Edward Island. And if you add a person's first language into the equation, the odds are even worse. Currently, there are only two French-speaking family doctors working on P.E.I., serving more than five-thousand francophone islanders.

Laura Chapin talked to patients and doctors about the serious consequences this can have, when you can't get healthcare in your mother tongue. (runs 7:33 l RealAudio)



Dec. 11, 2007
At the turn of the 20th century, Sir William Van Horne set out to create his personal Xanadu on Minister's Island, near St.Andrew's, New Brunswick. At low tide, the island is joined to the mainland. But when the Bay of Fundy rolls in, Minister's Island is set apart, and echoes of a bygone era seem to float across the water.

Romantic? Yes, but it was all part of William Van's Horne's dream. And the mansion he built there - called Covenhoven - was much more than a summer retreat.

David Sullivan has just written a book entitled "Minister's Island", and he joined us on Maritime Noon. (runs 11:04 l RealAudio)



Dec. 10, 2007
It's a cliché, but it's the little things that make life worthwhile. That first sip of coffee in the morning, the last rays of sun on a cold day. If you could help provide those little things to someone you love - someone who really needs them - how far would go do to do so? Would you call the Maritime Noon phone in? That's exactly what happened here on MN last week, when the esteemed Janice Murray Gill was answering questions about baking and cooking.

We took a call from a grandmother who wanted nothing more than to provide one of those "little things" for her grandson. (runs 7:33 l RealAudio)



Enriched Part 1
When it comes to remembering the Halifax Explosion of 1917, different facts can stick in your mind. The 2000 dead, the 9000 injured, the 200 who were blinded, the 25,000 whose homes were blown down by the shock wave or burned in the ensuing fires.

But how much do we know about the way local society dealt with the profound material and psychological needs of the survivors - both immediately and in the years that followed? Michelle Hébert Boyd has explored that in her book Enriched By Catastrophe : Social Work & Social Conflict "After the Halifax Explosion".

She sees the aftermath as a struggle between a model of helping the poor that was centuries old and an emerging profession. (runs 7:25 l RealAudio)



Dec. 4, 2007
Red squirrels of Cape Breton, beware. An old enemy is moving back into your neighbourhood. Don't think you can make nice and be friends. This bully is out for blood and for a guy the size of a kitten, he packs a wallop.

Dave Atkinson brings us the story of the re-introduction of the American Marten to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. (runs 5:55 l RealAudio)



Dec. 3, 2007
Since immigrating to Canada from the US in the 60's, Betty Petersen has marched for peace, advocated for women's issues, aboriginal rights and the environment, and inspired a generation of younger activists. Recently, she turned 90, and family and friends gathered to eat, dance and celebrate her life. And, being Betty, the party doubled as a fundraiser for African grandmothers who raise children orphaned by AIDS.

Dawn MacPhee brings us the sounds of the evening. (runs 6:04 l RealAudio)



Nov. 26, 2007
When homeowners are advised to "call before you dig", it's usually to help them avoid disturbing underground electrical or gas lines. But in Englishtown, Cape Breton it's to avoid disturbing history. Nova Scotia's Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage recently sent a letter to about 40 households in the area reminding them that they should call the department before they put a spade in the ground. While residents of Englishtown appreciates the community's history, not everyone appreciates the reminder, and the news that they'll have to pay for an archeological assessment before they dig.

Listen to Dave Atkinson's story(runs 6:04 l RealAudio)



Nov. 22, 2007
Recreational drug or valuable therapeutic tool ? For much of the past half century, LSD has been out of bounds in the world of medicine. But Dr. Erika Dyck says the psychedelic substance showed plenty of promise when researchers experimented with it in the 1950s. She told us about new investigations.

Listen to the interview (runs 6:33 l RealAudio)



Nov. 19, 2007
Poultry plants and pulp mills are both big businesses in Northwestern New Brunswick. While they're not exactly birds-of-a-feather, it seems they've found a way to stick together. Fraser Papers is testing the chicken manure mix at its co-generation facility in Edmundston.

Listen to Melissa Friedman's story. (runs 6:04 l RealAudio)



Nov. 15, 2007
When students graduate from university these days, many are shackled with crushing debts. Graham Watts isn't one of them. He grew up on a 100-acre woodlot in Eastern Prince Edward Island. From the time he could walk, he helped his Dad grow Christmas trees, blueberries, and to tap trees for maple sugar on their land.

Then, one day in those woods, Graham stumbled on a business opportunity that's put him through school, and allowed him to buy not one, but two woodlots. Graham has sold nearly 2,000 walking sticks so far through his business "Nature Trails". Laura Chapin tracked him down as he was planting trees on one of his plots of land in PEI.

Listen to Laura' profile. (runs 7:14 l RealAudio)



Nov. 14, 2007
For more than 40 years, Annie Mackenzie of Glace Bay struggled to raise six children without the disability pension to which her family was entitled. Her husband was a World War II vet, but when he died in 1968, his pension stopped coming.  Mrs Mackenzie was repeatedly told that her family was not entitled to the pension because there was no record her husband had a disability. In 1999, her youngest daughter, Cheryl Deveau, took up her mother's cause, and discovered the problem lay in a simple bureaucratic error. This week, they got some good news.

Listen to Bob Murphy's interview with Cheryl Deveau. (runs 8:01 l RealAudio)



Nov. 13, 2007
Say it ain't so! Residents of Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island hope there's nothing behind the rumours. Could their 79-year-old postmaster be thinking about retirement?

Listen to Kerry Campbell's report.
(runs 6:25 l RealAudio)



Nov. 01, 2007
It's make-or-break time for many first-year university & college students.What happens over the next few weeks could determine whether a student comes back after the December break.That's something students at the Truro Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College noticed. They realized that some people need extra help.

So they started a peer intervention program, pairing new students with those who are further along in their studies. Peer counsellors Vickie Deveau and Gino Spinazzola went through their own struggles in first year.

Listen to the interview (runs 10:03 l RealAudio)



October 31
Sandra Aylward is president of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia. She responds to criticisms (see Oct. 22 and 30 below) by the Competition Bureau that consumers are paying too much for their drugs.

Listen to the interview (runs 6:55 l RealAudio)



Oct. 30, 2007
Prescription drugs are a necessity for many Canadians. We spend millions of dollars every year for a variety of medications, and generic drugs help make health care more affordable. But the Competition Bureau of Canada says consumers are still paying more than thay should for their drugs. Sheridan Scott is Commissioner of the Competition Bureau.

Listen to the interview (runs 6:23 l RealAudio)



Oct. 22, 2007
A new study says doctors generally aren't aware of cheaper choices when it comes to prescription drugs. That's no surprise to Doctor Joel Lexchin. He teaches in the school of Health Policy and Management at York University. Dr. Lexchin says provinces need to have more measures to educate doctors and think about better systems to keep drug prices in check.

Listen to our interview with Dr Lexchin. (runs 11:20 l RealAudio)


When it comes to big ticket items like cars, you can imagine the importance of the loyal customer who returns to spend tens of thousands of dollars at a time.

But the loyalty of Maritime customers to local car dealers could be dissolving - especially when they compare prices across the border in Maine.

Listen to our interview with Jack Quirk, the President of Quirk Auto, which represents 11 franchises in the state of Maine, and with George Iny, the president of the Automobile Protection Association, a membership-based non-profit which promotes consumer interests in the marketplace. (runs 11:38 l RealAudio)





Oct. 18, 2007
DAWN OF THE REPTILES OR PREMATURE PUBLICATION ?
When Howard Falcon-Lang took a walk on the shores of the Bay of Fundy last year, he hadn't been having an especially good day. That's because he's a paleontologist who'd come all the way from the University of Bristol in the UK and hadn't found anything of note.

But the changing light allowed him to see something he'd missed - what he now believes to be evidence that reptiles had evolved between one and three million years earlier than previously thought. The discovery has been published in the Journal of the Geological Society of London.

But Dr Falcon-Lang's conclusions about the signifigance of those fossilised reptile tracks found in New Brunswick were quickly disputed byDr John Calder, Senior Geologist with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. He's also collaborated with Dr Falcon-Lang on previous papers.

Listen to the interviews with Dr Falcon-Lang and Dr Calder (runs 14:22 l RealAudio)