A Beechville woman accused of defrauding the IWK Health Centre Foundation of $30,000 will go to trial in the spring.

Defence lawyer Geoff Newton appeared on behalf of his client, Brenda Ann Hubley, in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Thursday.

Brooke Taylor’s political career took a leap upward with Wednesday’s cabinet shuffle.

Once a cabinet pariah, the Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MLA is now near the top of the political heap as minister of transportation and infrastructure renewal.

Darlene Maskell doesn’t drive a school bus for the money.

In fact, over her 19 years behind the wheel, she has taken a pay cut of 39 cents an hour. The Middle Sackville woman now makes $12.49 an hour driving students to and from school, working about five hours a day.

Rhys Warren Stewart has added yet another chapter to his vast criminal history, the lengthiest record one Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge says he’s ever come across.

“I actually cannot remember when I have seen a record so extensive,” Justice Duncan Beveridge said earlier this week when sentencing the 51-year-old career thief.

New faces are at the top of government’s three biggest departments as Premier Rodney MacDonald reworked his cabinet Wednesday ahead of an expected election this spring.

Wednesday’s cabinet shuffle also means government’s long-promised climate change action plan, which had been set for release Friday, is likely on hold again while new Environment Minister David Morse gets up to speed on the background.

 About 4,000 homes and businesses throughout the province were hit with power outages on Thursday. The bulk of the electricity failures were initially in the Bedford area, where 1,456 customers were left in the dark between about 11:23 a.m. and about 1 p.m.

OTTAWA _ Federal officials say an operation is underway to evacuate more than three dozen Canadians from the war-stricken Gaza Strip.

A senior government official has told The Canadian Press the evacuation began early today and should be completed soon.

Herring Cove man charged with robbing five banks in Halifax between July and October of last year has elected to be tried by a Nova Scotia Scotia Supreme Court judge alone.

Officials have confirmed that this year's Nova Scotia International Air Show is moving to Yarmouth from Halifax.

Show director Colin Stephenson says the long-running event has faced a number of challenges over the last 10 years in Halifax, including the loss of 12 Wing Shearwater as host.

Due to extreme weather and slippery road conditions most newspaper deliveries in metro should be completed by 9 a.m..