HALIFAX, NS / ACCESS Newswire / March 11, 2026 / Watts Up Solar has been recognized with the 2026 Consumer Choice Award in the Solar Energy Systems category, marking the company’s seventh time receiving the distinction in the Halifax region.

Watts Up Solar designs and installs residential solar energy systems for homeowners across Nova Scotia. The company focuses on system performance, clear pricing, and long-term reliability, working directly with customers to assess site conditions, energy goals, and technical requirements before installation.

Solar systems installed by Watts Up Solar are designed to perform in Nova Scotia’s climate and incorporate modern components such as microinverters and real-time monitoring tools. These systems allow homeowners to track energy production and performance over time, supporting informed use and ongoing system management.

From initial consultation through installation and follow-up, Watts Up Solar coordinates projects with attention to site conditions, system efficiency, and long-term operation, helping homeowners understand what to expect at each stage of the process.

“Receiving this award for the seventh time speaks to the consistency of our work and the trust homeowners place in us,” said Tom Rendle, Managing Director of Watts Up Solar. “Our focus has always been on installing systems that perform well, are built for local conditions, and are supported by clear communication throughout the process.”

The 2026 Consumer Choice Award reflects Watts Up Solar’s continued role in supporting residential solar adoption across Halifax and surrounding communities.

About Watts Up SolarWatts Up Solar is a solar energy systems provider based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company specializes in the design and installation of residential solar systems, offering performance monitoring and ongoing support to homeowners throughout the province. For more information, visit www.wattsupsolar.ca.

About Consumer Choice AwardConsumer Choice Award has been recognizing and promoting business excellence in North America since 1987. Its rigorous selection process ensures that only the most outstanding service providers in each category earn this prestigious recognition. Visit www.ccaward.com to learn more.

SOURCE: Consumer Choice Award

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

Nova Scotia’s Education Department and the Halifax Regional Centre for Education say there are no concerns about school photos being taken by a company once connected to a man mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“The department is aware there is some chatter online about a previous owner of an investment group that acquired Lifetouch being part of the U.S. Epstein file disclosure,” Education Department spokeswoman Krista Higdon said in an email.

Online discussions and calls for avoiding school pictures popped up on social media and in online discussions, including in Nova Scotia. They suggested photos and students’ personal information were being kept in a catalogue and were accessible. In the United States, some schools were cancelling picture days.

The connection

USA Today reported that the connection people were making between Lifetouch and the Epstein files was Leon Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management and a billionaire investor found in the U.S. Justice Department’s files on convicted sex offender Epstein. AGM owns Shutterfly, which is the parent company of Lifetouch.

Apollo bought Shutterfly in September 2019, one month after Epstein’s death in prison.

The response

Lifetouch issued a statement saying there was a lot of misinformation online and that it doesn’t keep school photos and information for open access.

Ken Murphy, the Lifetouch group’s CEO, said in a statement posted online that “when Lifetouch photographers take your student’s picture, that image is safeguarded for families and schools, only, with no exceptions. Lifetouch does not – and has never provided – images to any third party.”

He said images are only shared for school records, and so parents or guardians can purchase them.

“Here in Nova Scotia, all schools follow the Provincial Privacy of Student Information Policy, which requires that student personal information be protected and only collected, used, or shared as authorized by law,” Higdon said.

“Provincewide guidance is also in place for school photographers specifically. This includes expectations around communicating with families, limiting the information shared with photographers to what is necessary, incorporating appropriate privacy clauses in contracts, meeting data residency requirements, and ensuring that student information is permanently deleted once the contract ends.”

A device created by a Nova Scotia doctor and his two engineering partners is expected to be featured in one of the most popular medical dramas on TV on Thursday.

Local emergency physician Dr. Kevin Spencer conceived of a tool in 2018 to help patients remove stuck rings from fingers. It was a common problem he kept encountering at the Dartmouth General Hospital and, with the help of engineers Patrick Hennessey and Brad MacKeil, they created a solution at their new company, Ring Rescue Inc.

Their Dolphin Ring Cutter looks similar to a power drill and is about the same size, so it fits in a doctor’s hands for the procedure. It piqued the curiosity of the creators of the hit HBO Max show The Pitt, and Spencer got the chance to demonstrate how it works to series star Noah Wyle at a recent emergency medicine conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Its a great example of how the show stays grounded in real emergency medicine,” Spencer said in a news release. “To see a made-in-Nova Scotia innovation represented on that stage is exciting and it’s a major opportunity to raise awareness about a real clinical issue and the solution we provide.”

The Pitt: A grounded critical and ratings success

The Pitt is a medical drama set in Pittsburgh that premiered a little more than a year ago. It has earned rave reviews for its authentic portrayal of the hospital experience.

It draws roughly 10 million viewers per episode across streaming and cable platforms and is the highest-ranked show of any kind on Crave at the moment. It won an Emmy for best drama in 2025 and carries a 97 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Matt Rainnie, Dartmouth General Hospital senior manager of communications and marketing, said “HBO keeps its cards close on plot details” so everyone is in suspense about how the device will show up in the episode. And contrary to some social media scuttlebutt that made the rounds this week, Spencer does not appear in a cameo.

This is the second hit hospital drama of Wyle’s career. He was an original cast member of the blockbuster series ER back in the 1990s and 2000s. His character, Dr. John Carter, appeared in 254 episodes. He now plays Dr. Michael (Robby) Robinavitch on The Pitt. Wyle is also an executive producer on the show.

Ring Rescue adopted at many hospitals

Since being widely adopted by doctors here at home, Ring Rescue’s devices have made their way into renowned hospitals in the United States like the Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai and Cleveland Clinic.

“Ring Rescue products are now deployed in every emergency department across Nova Scotia, as well as in more than 2,000 other sites across North America,” Spencer said in the release. “A Nova Scotia evaluation of provincewide deployment reported improved patient outcomes, reduced delays, and meaningful system cost savings. Combined with other publications, the results are compelling. We’ve solved this medical problem exceptionally well.”

Ring Rescue’s initial Compression Device focused on precise air pressure around the swelling in the finger where the patient’s ring was stuck. But Spencer and his team introduced a safe cutting mechanism in the Dolphin line for higher success rates. They are often able to salvage the ring after it has been removed.

“Over the past few decades, modern durable ring metals have become commonplace, with materials like tungsten carbide, titanium, and stainless steel now widely popular,” says Spencer. “But many health-care settings still rely on outdated equipment that cannot manage modern rings.”

Ring Rescue experienced its first publicity boost in October 2022, when Spencer appeared on an episode of the popular entrepreneur reality show Dragon’s Den on CBC.

“This is the modern standard of care,” Spencer said in the release. “That work started here at Dartmouth General, was adopted across Nova Scotia, and we’re now focused on expanding that footprint worldwide.”

It was a rock and a hard place for Halifax regional council: either order a developer to deconstruct the two storeys they built without a permit, or give them an exception to the rules.

“This is just an absolute pile of fun that we’ve landed on here,” summed up Coun. Sam Austin (Dartmouth Centre) on Tuesday.

It’s karma for most neighbours who have been encouraging Austin to make the developer take the two storeys off “because they’ve been absolutely miserable neighbours for the last number of years,” he said. “There’s no love in this little pocket of Wyse Road.”

Zagros Nova Home Development Ltd. is nearly finished with its residential build at 169 Wyse Rd. HRM gave them permits to build a nine-storey (with a non-residential/mechanical penthouse), 97-unit, mixed-use building in October 2022. They applied for two more floors — 20 additional units — to push the development into a highrise category, which requires different rules to mitigate wind and shadows. While waiting to hear back from HRM, the developer went ahead and built two extra storeys.

Austin said he met with the developer and is satisfied that it’s a situation of “poor judgment, some negligence, maybe some bad advice.”

“They genuinely thought that it was a matter of the paperwork catching up. Now, that’s not an excuse. You still went ahead and started building without a valid permit, and that’s really hard to look past,” he said.

Most councillors were not willing to let this developer get away with it.

“It’s a precedent. I’m not willing to go down that road,” said Coun. Becky Kent (Dartmouth South-Woodside – Eastern Passage). “This, to me, is so blatant. It’s a no-brainer.”

Developers in her district have pushed boundaries, she said, “and have really gotten away with some unpleasant, impactful things in neighbourhoods, and I believe every time they get away with that, they’re going to do it again.”

It undermines the other builders who are following the rules, said Coun. Patty Cuttell (Spryfield – Sambro Loop).

“The rules in our planning, they’re supposed to work for everyone, and that’s what kind of gives us the trust of the public. I think there’s public trust at risk here,” she said.

Cuttell added that she’s heard promises from developers before about fixing something by offering affordable housing and it was never realized, “especially when trust has already been broken in this case.”

Several councillors, lamenting the loss of housing units with some promised to be made affordable by the developer, asked if there were other options like a big fine.

HRM solicitor John Traves said it’s not up to HRM to hand out a fine; it’s up to the courts. He said HRM is taking Zagros to court over this.

Traves said if found in favour of HRM, a recommendation for a fine will be made, and the court will take the deconstruction cost into account.

“I would be extremely surprised if it were a million dollars,” Traves said.

Austin said council had to make a decision based on the planning merits alone, not on any kind of fine that might happen.

“It’s a terrible situation and the outcome is unsatisfying no matter what we do with it, and the only outcome that might work is the one we’re not allowed to have.”

The only councillor to vote against deconstruction was Coun. David Hendsbee (Lawrencetown-The Lakes – Chezzetcook – Eastern Shore).

He said HRM would get extra taxation because of the extra floors. He said the developer could make a public apology and find out exactly who was at fault.

Traves responded that the court may decide on a penalty but they are separate matters, and HRM can’t be punitive in planning.

The matter is before the courts, and the deconstruction is estimated by the developer to take 29 to 41 weeks at a cost of $1 million to $1.465 million.

No one has moved into the building yet. Staff told council that the developer is currently drywalling the bottom floors and would normally be asking for an occupancy permit within months for those floors. But no occupancy permit will be forthcoming because of several issues, primarily now because of the deconstruction of the top two floors.

Fallout of cuts to over 250 budget grants will impact every Nova Scotia community

The provincial budget hit nearly 300 community programs and organizations hard.

In total, 287 budget grants were reduced or cut to save $130 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year. This includes 127 grants that were completely eliminated.

The Nova Scotia government, with a deficit that ballooned to $1.25 billion in 2025-26, also made large-scale cuts to the civil service (five per cent annually for the next four years) and to the broader public sector (three per cent annually).

Nova Scotia’s latest budget fails those most in need, critics say

A public policy leader says the government’s Defending Nova Scotia, Planning for the Long Term budget isn’t working for the people who need it the most.

“I truly do not know what this budget is defending Nova Scotia against, and it certainly is not a long-term plan,” said Christine Saulnier, director at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia. “If anything, it is short-sighted, with a view to do the same thing that hasn’t helped most people, except the few at the top, for the last 40 years.”

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