A brazen attempted abduction Tuesday in south end Halifax.It happened just before 10 yesterday morning at 6400 Oakland Road, a $4 million plus mansion on the Northwest Arm. A masked gunman walked into the home and tried to force a resident to leave. Somehow he fended off the attack and the would be kidnapper fled. How that was managed police aren't saying right now. They're looking for a white male, about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a black mask with a black jacket and dark, baggy pants. The home is owned by Gammon Gold co-founder Bradley Langille who may have been the gunman's intended target. What motivated the attempted kidnapping isn't known yet either. Scary incident.
A suspicious Stephen McNeil is wondering if Premier Darrell Dexter isn't setting Nova Scotians up for another broken promise. The Liberal leader is wary of the premier's comments yesterday. Dexter says the province is on track with its plans to balance its books next year but, with the Harper government in Ottawa about to table a budget implementation bill soon, he says that could affect Nova Scotia's financial situation. The province gets about 35% of its revenue from federal sources. McNeil says Dexter may be setting the stage to back off his promise to balance the books by next year. Have you noticed the increased political rhetoric in the past few weeks? Seems to me a spring election is increasingly likely.
Another celebrity endorsement for Tuxedo Stan, the cat running for the Halifax mayoralty in Saturday's election. Daytime television host Ellen DeGeneres told her audience yesterday she'd "vote for that cat." DeGeneres isn't the first tv personality to back Stan. CNN's Anderson Cooper threw his support behind the feline candidate a few weeks back. Stan of course cannot win the election. Cats of course cannot run for office. But Stan's candidacy has brought attention to the problem of wild cats in HRM and a lack of a spay/neuter program to control their population. 5 of the 6 human mayoral candidates have signed pledges to deal with the issue if they're elected Saturday.
Justin Trudeau says the more the merrier. The federal Liberal leadership hopeful wrapped up a two day visit to Halifax yesterday with a stop at Citadel High. He says he'd welcome Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty into the race, that it would result in a strong and robust leadership race. McGuinty this week surprised many with his resignation announcement and he was coy about his federal leadership plans. Students yesterday packed into Citadel's auditorium and fired questions at Trudeau. He got a standing ovation when he told the students the Liberals have long supported the decriminalization and perhaps even the legalization of marijuana. Many of these kids will be first time voters the next federal election. Whether Trudeau can win the leadership contest remains to be seen, but his candidacy has clearly given the Liberal party some new wind in its sails.
Have a great day. Get involved. And if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
Rick Howe
