VIDEO: Tattoo's New Events & Performers 2012

The Royal International Tattoo will feature more than national and international performers this year. They will host a new Nova Scotia Webcam to give fans a backstage peek of rehearsals and set up of the Halifax Metro Centre. On Canada Day, Tattoo events will air on PBS, and former Tattoo members are set to get married during the show. Artistic Director Ian Fraser says they put the event together as a fast moving package with lots of variety.



The show will also feature 3 sub themes: The Titanic, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the War of 1812. And after 12 years, the Naval Gun Race will return. There will also be free pipe and drum workshops. The annual Tattoo hits the stage on July 1st.

Jennex Nixes Moratorium On School Closures

The province's Education Minister is saying "no" to a moratorium on school closures in Nova Scotia. Ramona Jennex turned down the request during a meeting with District of Lunenburg mayor Don Downe Tuesday in Halifax. Downe was hoping for a moratorium because three schools have been closed in the municipality and are now their responsibility. He's calling on the government to take action.




Downe presented three options to the minister which includes a provincial position on the impact of school closures in rural communities, reviewing and revising the 1982 agreement between the Department of Education and Municipalities to transfer ownership of schools to the province to reflect the change in municipal units borrowing powers and reviewing the school review process. The two sides are expected to come together in the next few weeks.

PC Leader Embarks On South Shore & Valley Tour

Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservative Leader has embarked on a two day tour of the western part of the province.  Jamie Baillie is concentrating on the South Shore, Yarmouth and the Valley as he prepares for a provincial election, which could happen next spring.  His tour is aimed at the fishing, farming, forestry and tourism industries. 

He tells us South Shore residents deserve to know his beliefs and his party stands.

Baillie has meetings lined up with business and community leaders and citizens at large. He will be touring fish plants, the Shelburne ship repair facility and the restoration project at White Point Beach resort.



Baillie will wrap up his swing through the area when he speaks Thursday night at the nomination meeting in Bridgewater for new-minted Lunenburg-West PC candidate David Mitchell.

Staying The Course: MODL Says "No" To E-Voting

The Municipality of Lunenburg is sticking to their guns when it comes to voting. Council members decided against a motion to watch a presentation on e-voting for the upcoming municipal elections. Deputy Mayor Frank Fawson attended a meeting recently with the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities and says roughly 70% of municipalities in the province will be using some form of e-voting. Councillor Martin Bell says its too late to try and establish e-voting with only four months before the October elections. Bridgewater and Chester have both indicated they will use electronic voting for their advance polls.

South Shore: Bogus Money Floating Around

Police are trying to figure out if there is a connection between phony money floating around Halifax and the South Shore. Three cases have been reported in Bridgewater and Lunenburg in the last week where counterfeit bills were passed. Three other cases were spotted over the last week in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The bills seized were mainly $50's and $20's and are the older series paper currency as opposed to the new polymer banknotes. Constable Will Creamer of the Bridgewater Police Service says his office is working with the Financial Crime Unit in Halifax to see if the cases are connected. A Dartmouth man has been charged in relation to the incidents in Halifax. Counterfeit bills have also turned up recently in Windsor and Amherst.