For a complete update on Coast-FM please go to the News page...

Check out the South Shore Webcam, courtesy of Tradewinds Realty....Here

Coming to Nova Scotia? Wow!!! How to get here, where to eat and stay when you do, what to see, and scads more! Here

For the latest Nova Scotia Great South Coast AccuWeather, please click here

Here for the latest Canadian, U.S. and World-wide weather

Here for the latest school closings

Here for Nova Scotia highway conditions

Here for airport updates, including flight info/delays

Nova Scotia's South Coastal weather is somewhat temperate, and while it  certainly has a winter, it is nothing as severe as, say, Chicago's or Milwaukee's or Winnipeg's.  It is not uncommon to see green grass in December, or people sailing on Christmas Day. Christmas Day, 2008, it was 46F., while at the same time in the Windy City it was 8F! Temperatures are given in celcius, so don't panic if you see it's '25' in July - it's really about 77. Whatever it is in New York City, we'll be about 10 degrees [F.] less a day later as the weather moves up the coast. Coast-FM will give  the temperature in both systems so there is no confusion.  Our broadcast area will be closer to the equator than the North Pole, and the Gulf Stream goes right by us, a fact that keeps the ocean somewhat temperate. For example the water is a lot warmer than that along the California coast, even down around Laguna. People surf year 'round, BUT [and it's a huge 'but'] in the winter anyone would trade the ocean here for that around Laguna Beach.

We're not trying to paint the area as a 'banana belt,' but in the early part of January, 2009, the area was 78 degrees F. warmer than Minneapolis!

Our 'Links' page will transport you to amazing places. And people. Especially, the people.

Happy searching and come see us! Halifax International Airport has five U.S. airlines flying into it, and non-stop service from Chicago, Newark, Laguardia, JFK, Boston, Washington, Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris, Amsterdam and [take a coat!] Iceland.  And yes, even Bermuda!

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About Jim Ernst....

I have been passionate about radio forever. Why? Because you can connect with people, and it can be such a great companion, as well as a communicator of local events. And for the most part, it is just downright fun.

Coast-FM has been evolving for quite some time. It is the result of years of taking a little from here and a little from there. I started on the air back in 1960 in Bridgewater and did everything there. It was a great time, and I made many friendships which are still with me today. I also, in 1969, worked at an easy listening station [2CH] in Sydney, Australia for a few weeks. It was also fun, but Australia at that time was in a nationalistic phase, and there were negative comments about my 'accent.' I ended up returning to Canada  in 1970 and played top 40 at CHAM in Hamilton for about a year.

Then, I was made an offer I couldn't refuse - in May, 1971, management of the second biggest Honda dealership in the States - VIP Honda, in Plainfield, New Jersey.  You see the Honda connection came about because we had opened - in Mahone Bay, no less! - what became the second largest Honda dealership east of Montreal, three years running. This all happened in 1966....Anyway, I was at VIP about three years when I went to Honolulu on vacation one winter and decided that I just didn't want to return to the East Coast. When I made that decision, it was 86 in Hawaii, and -2 in New Jersey!

While in Honolulu, I worked at KGMB, reading news for about a year. It was a great station, #1 in a 30 station market, and a huge bonus was being able to work under Earl McDaniel, who had just moved over from KFWB in L.A. KFWB was the #1 station in Los Angeles, inarguably the most competitive market on earth. Earl was great to talk to, and a lot of what he knew rubbed off on me.

In 1983, after ten years on Oahu, for a number of reasons, I returned to the 'Mainland,' moving to Austin where I currently reside. Austin's weather falls somewhere between that of Hawaii and New Jersey, so it seemed a great compromise. While I stayed in the car business, I also worked a little over a year at KGSR, which was a 'smooth jazz' station at the time. When they changed formats, I left.

I got back into the car business [I love interesting cars, in case you haven't figured that out!] because there was no station in town with a format I felt easy with, and have been running a place called 'The Auto Depot' since the early 90s. We sell and repair mostly foreign cars, like Toyota, Honda, Lexus,  Infiniti , Mercedes and BMW etc. We have been voted #1 six times by a local newspaper, called The Austin Chronicle. I've kinda felt that's not too bad for a city of over a million, and being ahead of 2500 other repair shops! Running this business has, however, given me a great foundation for how 'the real world' works. And we're restoring a '49 Mercury woodie to be our Coast-Patrol News cruiser! Well, sort of....By the way, the beauty to the left is about $175 grand, and no, it's not ours! Even more painful, those are U.S. $$$$! My father traded his in 1954 and got $200 for it - he thought he had stolen the bank. Ours came out of Arkansas via - what else? - eBay, after a tree had fallen on its roof. But that's another story....

But, after my family,  my passion is still radio, and I have reconnected with the South Shore. I really think Coast-FM will be a great thing for the area, and I look forward to getting this station on the air and becoming a vibrant part of this wonderful community.

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