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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

@benmacleod.bsky.social
3.7K followers 852 following 1.4K posts

Hong Kong / Halifax, urban & transportation things

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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Laura White, P.Eng. @lecwhite.bsky.social · 1h
laurawhite.ca/nova-scotia-...
laurawhite.ca
Nova Scotia Capped Assessment Program Impacts - Laura White, Councillor for District 7
Council received a presentation, asked questions of clarification of staff and then debated a motion regarding the Nova Scotia Capped Assessment Program
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Municipal staff: When capped properties pay less, others must pay more. "Because HRM must raise a fixed amount of revenue each year, any reduction in taxes paid by capped properties must be made up by the rest of the residential tax base."
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This old road concept was premised on the military disposing of land at Shearwater, which they ended up holding onto. It is disappointing to hear it is still being considered but it does dovetail with Tim Houston's plan for car-centric sprawl around the Shearwater Flyer trail.
A plan showing a conceptual alignment for a new road linking the dead end of Mount Hope Avenue in the Russell Lake area of Dartmouth with Caldwell Road. The plan shows a red line running around the edge of the Shearwater air base. There is one other line linking the new road to the Portland Estates subdivision.A Nova Scotia government slide from around 2022 titled "Morris Lake Expansion Special Planning Area". It has a plan highlighting a large area of land in between Morris Lake and Eastern Passage. There are three bullet points on the slide that read: "Dartmouth East Holdings (Crestco). 3100 units. Shovel ready 2024." A small note at the bottom reads: "these are estimates and may change."
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Kristin Meekes @kmeekes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Something else I’ll add about this is that conversations around Covid are so revealing (beyond the usual contempt for disabled people that shows up right away): people have no imagination. Like we don’t have to live like this, everyone.
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
‘We need real leadership. People are dying, people are getting hurt’: Transportation committee hears pleas for safer roads Story by me www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/c...
halifaxexaminer.ca
'We need real leadership. People are dying, people are getting hurt': Transportation committee hears pleas for safer roads - Halifax Examiner
Advocates call for better infrastructure as pedestrians, cyclists continue to be killed and seriously injured on roads.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sullivan's Pond, Dartmouth 🌴 My point-and-shoot camera has a retractable lens cover that sometimes gets stuck partway closed, with interesting results:
A film photo of a placid pond surrounded by trees, green lawns, and a brown, hexagonal concert pavilion. There is an island in the pond with trees and a totem pole. Some people are sitting on benches in the distance. This scene occupies only a slim horizontal space stretching across the middle third of the image; it is framed above and below by black bars that are the result of the camera's lens cover failing to fully retract.
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Jan Brown @writenrun.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Jeebus. We’ve learned nothing. A pox on the head of Dr. Strang and his associates.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Greetings from the maskless public health clinic, where the official coronavirus guidance in the year of our lord 2026 is to cough into your elbow.
A poster at the Nova Scotia Health Authority's public health clinic. The title is "good hygiene stops the spread of germs" and the subtitle is "good respiratory hygiene". There is a graphic of hands being washed. The poster recommends "coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your elbow to cover your nose and mouth", throwing away the tissue, and cleaning your hands. There are instructions on how to properly wash your hands. The bottom of the poster notes that it was "updated May 28, 2020" and has the logo of the Nova Scotia Health Authority. Finally, it says: "for more information, visit novascotia.ca/coronavirus"Various posters on the wall of the public health clinic. A large one is titled "how to build global community" and has a long list of guiding principles such as "talk to strangers", "question consumption", and "notice the workings of power and privilege in your culture". There are many other, smaller posters promoting such things as HPV vaccines, privacy protection, and zero tolerance for workplace abuse. One poster, titled "positive space", says: "this is a place where we uphold human rights and provide affirming, inclusive healthcare for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations".Ben taking a photo of himself in the mirror of the public health clinic bathroom. Ben is wearing a black cap (to hide helmet hair), an N95 respirator, and a striped blue t-shirt. There is a heart-shaped, "Progress Pride" sticker on the bathroom mirror.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"We’ve come 4,000 kilometres. Many of us have been sounding the alarm on climate change for 20 to 30 years, and we feel like we’re running out of time. So, we will be persistent, we will not be violent, but we aren’t going to turn around and go home easily."
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Sad to have had to miss Kidical Mass in my neighbourhood this morning!
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Clean Air Library HRM, Protect Our Province Nova Scotia, and Halifax Mask Bloc have a table at the Anarchist Book Fair this afternoon! Old library on Spring Garden, until 6 pm. @popns.bsky.social @calhrm.bsky.social
Table at a book fair with many pamphlets related to covid safety
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The Quinpool Centre puddle is deserving of heritage status at this point. I swear the landlord could redevelop the entire property and they would find a way to keep the puddle
An asphalt pathway next to the Quinpool Centre parking lot in Halifax. There is a large puddle covering the path. There are two pedestrians walking on two well-established, dirt desire paths flanking the big puddle. There is also a double mattress lying in the mud next to the puddle.
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
fern k hahn @fernkhahn.com · 01/09/2026
an absolutely delightful week in and around halifax. like, "i got to pitch my map to a transit agency" delightful (outcome pending). i certainly won't go another 18 years without seeing the north atlantic. many thanks to @benmacleod.bsky.social for taking the time to show august and me around!
Selfie of Ben, Fern, and August at Halifax Transit offices. Fern holds three of their own Halifax Transit rider guides, and August holds one open, showing the system map inside. All three are masking.View of Halifax's skyline and suspension bridges from across the harbour. Resting on a glass railing at the Woodside ferry terminal, August admires the skyline. Conditions are moody and overcast, and there are ripples in the water.As a small, cable-hauled car ferry crosses the LaHave River, Fern walks away from the camera along the rocky riverbank. A clear, late-afternoon sky casts orange light and long shadows.August leans on a curious seating installation to photograph the pedestrianized Granville Street in downtown Halifax. The street is adorned with quaint paving and ornate four-storey buildings, which give way to modern office and residential towers in the background. It is not busy as a grey sky threatens rainfall.
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
august 🍂 @auguststreet.ca · 28/08/2026
halifax's waterfront is pretty impressive. it's continuous, well-lit, integrated with downtown, has some art, ample individual and group seating, and retail directly on the space. the level of activity at 9pm is testament to the success of its design. people love to hang out here
small boardwalk market with some tables with umbrellas, string lights overhead, and stallscrowds at a waterfront market areaan pier that juts out from the main waterfront boardwalk, which forms an inclined path on the roof of a restaurant. the photo is taken from atop the inclined roofview of the waterfront as it weasels around piers jutting out into the harbour, brightly lit and containing abundant covered tables and seats. some ships are docked
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august 🍂 @auguststreet.ca · 27/08/2026
i like that halifax route 1 is sooo frequent at night (every 10 to 15 min until 1am). in a sea of infrequent late night buses in halifax, the 1 feels like a lifeline to avoid long, lonely waits that would otherwise turn me off from staying out late, or using transit at night altogether
next bus screen on transit app showing buses in 0, 2, 9, and 23 minhalifax transit bus leaves a quiet neighbourhood bus stop at night
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Scott Edgar @scottedgar.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
When I first arrived in NS, the public conversation was all about the Ivany Report, and its findings on why young people and immigrants were fleeing the province. Since then, NS has never stopped telling young people and immigrants that they're nothing but ATMs to be used by old white people.
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Scott Edgar @scottedgar.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
My city has designed its property tax regime to tax younger people and recent immigrants at higher rates than older people and long-time (disproportionately white) residents. This is a genuinely villainous policy.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I would love to know the transportation modal split of Citadel students compared with those at new schools in suburban Halifax. Most classmates I knew just walked, some took the bus, because the surrounding land use looks like this:
An aerial photo of snowy Halifax, Canada in the winter, centred on Citadel High School, a long building at the foot of the Citadel Hill national historic site. The school is surrounded by mixed-use neighbourhoods including Quinpool, the North End, Downtown, and Spring Garden Road.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I had a fun morning thanks to the nice staff of the provincial archives 📽️
A 16-mm film viewing table at the Nova Scotia Archives in Halifax. The table has a viewing monitor, a speaker, and separate film plates for video and audio reels. An archivist is preparing a film for viewing by feeding the film through the guide rollers and syncing up the audio and video.A large, heavy, blue film container lying on the floor. A archivist has opened the lid of the case, revealing a big, Scotch-brand open reel video recording of Nova Scotia "ETV" educational programming produced by CBC Halifax.A closed storage room in the Nova Scotia Archives building with large artworks on hanging, sliding racks on the left, work tables in the centre, and shelving with various holdings (such as photos) on the right.An old, grey Electrohome CRT television with two knobs
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Ysa (she/her) @ysabet.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Thread:
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Canadians, while you're signing that Hoekstra petition – please also lend your support to this call for the government of Canada to clear the humanitarian immigration backlog:
ourcommons.ca
Petition e-7636 - Petitions
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
These two arrived in Halifax yesterday and we walked all over. Florian was captivated by our backrooms-like downtown walkway network.
Ben on a Halifax wharf next to two Austrian visitors, Florian and Jonas.Jonas sits, smiling, on a bench built into an otherwise featureless, beige corridor in downtown HalifaxFlorian squats in another empty, underground, tiled corridor in downtown HalifaxJonas and Florian pose next to a cartoonish painted map of Canada that is displayed in the Alderney Gate library in downtown Dartmouth
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Steve Schwinghamer🇨🇦 @sschwinghamer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
watching members of the public discover in amazement that current events have historical context is somehow both encouraging and discouraging
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Yesterday I came across this piece in which Halifax Transit's director expressed his belief that we'll build an efficient transit network "in a relatively short time" as soon as our politicians "decide to promote transit". May 1973.
A long article in the May 5, 1973 edition of the Mail Star titled "Transit waits, plans for day of key decision" by Ian Thompson, staff reporter. It begins: "A decision to opt for greater emphasis on transit over new road construction must be made by politicians. In the meantime all the transit authority can do is wait and plan for the day when the decision is made". Tom McKim, general manager of Halifax Transit, explains that the transit company cannot unilaterally advance construction of measures such as bus lanes. Rather, "the city has to make the move". He says that Halifax Transit is keeping abreast of transit developments in other cities and trying to apply lessons to the Halifax situation.
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Reposted by Ben MacLeod 馬志斌
Steffani Cameron 🇨🇦 @snarkysteff.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
This was a couple weeks ago but if you are as concerned as I am that talk of privatizing Canada’s airports continue, then sign this petition for the House of Commons — (and don’t forget to do the email confirmation to complete your signature). www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
ca.finance.yahoo.com
Carney is serious about privatizing airports, Australian pension executive says
PM could unveil next steps when large fund managers gather in September at Canada Investment Summit
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
[angrily] "your face is full of cysts!!"
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Raccoon in the sky @seebo429.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I think this is a nice way for #BikeHFx to come together with people from the communities that Dr. Nouman Ali has been involved with to honour his memory.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
The things I find in my parents' basement
A binder with the logo of Harbour Hopper tours, a tour company in Halifax, featuring a smiling frog with wheels. The binder is titled "Harbour Hopper Script 2013".
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Bartek Ciszkowski @justbartek.ca · 26/07/2026
Slip lane to sit lane conversion. Dutch Village Road, Halifax
A sidewalk benches and greenery front two restaurants A slip lane
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Halifax Cycling Coalition @cyclehalifax.ca · 21/07/2026
In memoriam: Dr. Nouman Ali, a member of Halifax's cycling community, was killed last week when a driver opened their door into his path on Strawberry Hill Street. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and everyone who is mourning his loss. 🕯️
In memoriam poster with black background and lit candles. Text reads: In Memoriam, Dr. Nouman Ali. The Halifax Cycling Coalition is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Nouman Ali, a member of Halifax's cycling community who was killed last week on Strawberry Hill Street when a driver opened their door into his path. Dr. Ali was a respected professor at Dalhousie University and, by all accounts, a generous and devoted member of his community. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, students, and everyone who is mourning his loss. Every person who rides a bike in this city deserves to get home safely. We extend our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved him.
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Sara F.L. Kirk @sflkirk.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
"The driver of the vehicle was issued a summary offence ticket for not having a valid inspection sticker." I'm struggling with this one. A pillar of the community killed by a driver, a family mourning. The system's response feels grotesquely inadequate #VisionZero www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...
saltwire.com
Cyclist killed in Halifax after vehicle driver opens door into bike's path
A 71-year-old man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after colliding with the door of a truck that opened in his path.
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Sara F.L. Kirk @sflkirk.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is terrible news. The number of drivers that just fling their doors open in my path is a reason I take the lane. My heart goes out to this man's family.
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ScarletCoral @scarletcoral.ca · 18/07/2026
Which transport mode is the fastest in #Halifax ? 🚌 vs 🚗 vs 🚲 vs ⚡🛴 via @cbcnews.ca "In rush hour traffic, what's the fastest way to get around? We're putting Halifax's new active transportation infrastructure to the test" #bikehfx #hfx #publictransit #activemobility
youtu.be
We tested the fastest way to get around Halifax
YouTube video by CBC News Nova Scotia
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James Boxall 🇨🇦🍁 @jamesgis.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Halifax fire dept knows how to make a truck shine for pride
Halifax fire dept truck painted in pride colour's
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
New mural overlooking Barrington Street in Halifax – "Common Ground" by Peru Dyer Jalea
A new park on a grassy, sloping site along Barrington Street in downtown Halifax. There are stairs and ramps that ascend the slope to a multi-use path that runs parallel to Barrington. There is a long, concrete retaining wall on one side of the path, a remnant of the demolished Cogswell Interchange. A long mural is painted on the concrete wall. The mural is composed of bold geometric shapes in bright, contrasting colours. The shapes resemble things such as plants, flowers, and sunrises, while simultaneously appearing like letters that spell out the words "COMMON GROUND".
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
It's nice out but it's gusty. The wind picked up my lunch and then the crows came for me. Thankfully some nice @hfxgov.bsky.social staff appeared with tissues.
Granville Park in downtown Halifax on a really nice morning with a bright blue sky. The park has various benches, tables and chairs, open concrete walkways and a green lawn. Ben's coffee and salad are sitting on a table in the foreground.The same salad, but it flipped over. The small amount of salad that remained in the paper bowl is now strewn on the table.
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Abbydealer @abbydealer.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Forget avocado toast. People aren't able to afford stuff because they're indulging in the luxury of.. sleeping
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
"The main roadblock to solving this issue remains that a politically overrepresented proportion of the Canadian citizenry benefit immensely from housing scarcity." This is a great overview of Canada's feudalistic housing system, its self-interested defenders, and the problem with public hearings.
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Trevor J. Adams @trevorjadams.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Periodically, the Globe becomes aware the Maritimes exist, and the results are consistently hilarious. LOL How do you write this without mentioning police are currently investigating his office for financial improprieties?
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Terri @terriclarke.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
#BikeHFX, happening right now, and tomorrow:
Stop by to talk about walking, rolling, and cycling in your community:
Saturday, July 11 - Spryfield Day Festival
Time: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location: J. Albert Walker Sports Field.
230 Cowie Hill Road, Halifax
Sunday, July 12 - Farmers' Market
Time: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location: Spryfield Farmers' Market, 531
Herring Cove Road, Halifax

At the bottom are the logos for Spryfield Community Association and Cycling Nova Scotia
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Below those weird stairs lies one of downtown Halifax's lesser-known attractions, the Barrington Street grease drums
Ben poses in a damp corner next to several blue barrels and a shopping cart with trash in it. There is a sign on the concrete wall that says "GREASE DRUMS" in bold, all-caps type.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I kind of hate that Halifax built a new showpiece downtown park and, at the height of summer, is using much of it as car storage.
A gravel area in Granville Park in downtown Halifax. There are seven cars and a motorcycle parked there.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Newly released renders of Halifax's $180-million Windsor Street Exchange redevelopment, which moves into phase two of contruction today. Not much to be excited about in terms of sustainable mobility.
A computer rendering of the Windsor Street Exchange in North End Halifax as it will appear following redevelopment. A significant change is the introduction of free-flow traffic between the Mackay Bridge and the Bedford Highway, essentially turning that route into a grade-separated highway surrounded by service roads for local traffic. The rendering also shows new multi-use paths and short transit queue-jump lanes at intersections.Another aerial view showing essentially the same thingAnother view focusing on the intersection of Windsor Street and Lady Hammond Road. The existing left turn from the Bedford Highway toward the Mackay Bridge has been replaced with a free-flowing ramp.
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Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
The pandemic also showed us how we can do things differently such as paying essential workers more and allowing people to work from home. We can make people’s lives better! Now those thing are rolled back. No wonder people are angry.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
"There is an almost willful refusal to accept that the pandemic may have changed us, or have any ongoing effects at all." I was chatting about this "mass forgetting" with @foxng.bsky.social just last night. Many of us are still stunned by it.
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august 🍂 @auguststreet.ca · 03/07/2026
it's been over a week since venezuela got hit by earthquakes. >30k people are still missing. it's really easy to feel hopeless right now. i've made this post to share how you can help from canada by supporting (1) trusted orgs & (2) local donation drives if you're in canada, pls share :) 🇻🇪🇨🇦 (1)
graphic with a yellow, blue and red macaw on a background of mountains.

text

you can help venezuela 

on june 24, two earthquakes hit venezuela. over 30,000 people are missing and over 15,000 are displaced. the best way to help is donating directly to aid and rescue efforts in in vzla.

(links in linktree below)
Sun.Risas
Dona con Yummy
World Central Kitchen
We Love Venezuela Foundation 
Direct Relief
GlobalGiving
Médecins sans frontières
Bomberos UCV
Project Hope
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Stoo Metz 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 @stoometz.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Why is Halifax Pride in July and not June? Pride Month was first federally recognized in the US in June 1999 coinciding with the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The first #Halifax Pride happened a decade earlier in July 1988 and is why our city's Pride continues to be in July. #HaliSky
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Tim Bousquet @timbousquet.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
‘Dream in colour’: Five artists to show artwork as part of InterCHANGE in the new Cogswell District Morning File by Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social
halifaxexaminer.ca
'Dream in colour': Five artists to show artwork as part of InterCHANGE in the new Cogswell District - Halifax Examiner
Halifax Regional Municipality and Iota Studios partnered on project, which is now in its second year.
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This is tonight!
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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌 @benmacleod.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Halifax friends, I've followed Reg on here for a long time and it sounds like he's had a rough week. Can we help him out?
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