So this is a bit of an apology and a bitch...

I was coming down Portland Street on my bicycle, moved into the left turn lane just as the light turned red and stopped—with my left arm out signaling to turn left. You came up Portland Street in the opposite direction and signaled to turn right just as the light turned green. You had right of way and yet waved me to go first. I motioned for you to go first as I knew you had right of way but you insisted so I went, shaking my head in frustration.

I apologize for not acknowledging your courtesy. However, I would have preferred if you had followed the rules of the road and taken your right of way. The greater courtesy for all would be if cyclists and motorists would simply LEARN and FOLLOW the rules of the road and respect each others' right to their space on the road. —FeelBetterNow

Dear grown-up man that pushes women when they’re standing alone at a gig: The first time you pushed me, I was scared. Congrats to you for living the life of a fair-sized white man and never having to be afraid of someone assaulting you. I do not live that life. You kept pushing me every time you entered or exited the room until I was just done. I gave you a chance to explain yourself in case there was some fun reason I was being accosted that I was unaware of. You seemed startled. Do the women you push around not normally talk back? The next time you almost knocked me over. You said you didn't know what my problem is, but that you'd stop pushing me if that's what I wanted. Then once my husband's band was done playing and I wasn't alone, and once my friend arrived and started eyeing you from across the bar, you tucked it between your legs and scurried home.

Next time you see me feel free to spontaneously grow into an adult and come up and apologize to me. Alternatively go right ahead and develop a taste for country music. Those will be the only gigs in the city I'm not at. And wherever I am, you need to know there are people who know you push women you view as alone and vulnerable. I want you to feel like I felt at the gig, at every gig—scared and unsure if you should just go somewhere and hide until it is over. —Not Fucking Having it at My Favourite Bar

It is so awesome that you are using an electric saw and a drill and hammering shit outside my bedroom window at 7am on a Saturday. Keep up the great work! You are my favourite person ever! —zzz

I don’t understand the predictable response to developments like the Fares proposal for Quinpool and Robie – no homes would be affected by shadow or wind, and contrary to the people who “slammed” the development, there are benefits to the whole city from developments like these.

The missing piece of the puzzle in my mind is not the height or scale of the development, but that in this country cities don’t have the constitutional rights to enact inclusionary zoning policies (density bonusing) with developments like this.

Regardless of the lack of an affordable housing component (because of the inadequacies of our city’s charter and inaction by the province on the file), concatenating the property taxes a development like this will produce (~$1 Million a year) to 1/4 of a city block helps Halifax to pay to maintain the unpaid-forward infrastructure sprawling out all around us. Which the Stantec report pegged at Billions of dollars over the next few decades.

Without density in our core, how do we ever hope to get a handle on our problem with runaway suburban development and auto-centric culture? Should this be built in Clayton Park or Bedford West instead so we can have another 1,000 people driving into the core every morning? So we have to build new water and sewer mains, new sidewalks, new streets and new transit lines to service it?

These opponents may mean well but it seems their knee jerk reactions are really uneducated ones – contrarians without merit.

Are these vocally oppositional residents special? Do they have the right to effectively raise the taxes for the rest of the city because they have a quasi rural fantasy they identify with while living next to one of the busiest intersections in the city?

I’m not a growth at all costs kind of guy, but this location is Halifax’s gold Coast, and like central Park, the land costs at this location are naturally higher because of location and demand.

Sure, Fares could propose a 4 story development, with each unit costing $1 million so they could recoup costs and perhaps make a little profit as businesses are destined to do, but does that alternative, that could satiate the quasi-rural fanatics, make sense?

—Tried of the bullshit

It was probably the hickey. hard to stop looking at your hickey on your neck. you look sucky —your old boss

A local Downtown Dartmouth stored which is not on your list has relocated to the Burnside area and has expanded into Antiques and looks like a turn of the century old general store. We have still failed to get your attention-Dartmouth is a part of Halifax. —Brenda

I am at the IWK to have my beautiful baby girl and realized I locked my keys in my car, so I called a towing company to unlock my car and they told me it was $55 plus tax to have my car unlocked. I told him to send a guy out and to call me when he is here so I could come out and get my keys and pay for it. When he called me and my fiance were having a conversation with the surgeons prior to having a c section so I gave my brother in law $80 to go pay for the unlock bill. If you add up the cost 55 +15% is 63.25 when I got my change back from $80 I only got 2.50 back. When I called the towing company he had explain how it was my fault by saying the driver was only paid 60 dollars and that he didn't charge me tax but if that were the case I would have gotten 5 dollars back not 2.50 and when my brother in law asked for a recite he told my brother in law he was not making one up for him and jumped in his truck and left with my 25 dollars thanks a lot a-holes and your shitty dispatcher had the worst customer servicer by saying my own brother in law must have rook the money because his truck driver wouldn't do that we'll you and your truck driver are greasy dirt bags —Mitchell

this bitch goes out to the construction workers on Richmond st. Letting you know how much you have all disturbed our lives for digging up our street, closing off our street, litter it with pylons, leaving the dirt and gravel everywhere, the constant drilling at 7am, giving no concern to the residents that work late and need to sleep! congradualations on being the slowest most incompomtent workers ive ever seen. youve all been working on our street for over 7 weeks now! from Richmond to you all..FUCK YOU. stop taking your long breaks and finish the job already —How long does it take?

To the dipshit that side swiped my wife while driving on lacewood near Needs. Check you f%$%ing blind spots dumb ass. Aaaaand your saying its her fault because she was driving too fast in her lane, which I know is not true. Even if it was so, you wouldn't have hit her had you checked your blind spot!!! sick of you assholes who can't take responsibility for your actions. We will see who's fault it really was. 2nd car F&*ked by some dumb twit who can't Pay Attention, Peices of Shit. —PAPS

The end of Portland Street by the Tim Hortons reeks. It only stinks in the summer when the backed-up sewer system heats up and starts humming. Fix the fucking sewer. I am so sick of breathing in other people's fermented fucking feces. They even had the nerve to put up new apartments (condos?) which they charge a pretty penny for. Nobody wants to move in to buttstink village. —Property values are plummeting!