Edmonton Notes for July 3, 2016

I hope you had an excellent Canada Day long weekend! Now the countdown is on to celebrate our sesquicentennial. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• This has to stop. “A 50-year-old woman is dead after being struck by a vehicle in a parking lot in north Edmonton.” Be sure to check out Glenn Kubish’s series on Vision Zero.
• The Oilers made a number of moves this week including the controversial trade of Taylor Hall to the Devils in exchange for defenceman Adam Larsson. They followed that up by signing goaltender Jonas Gustavsson and winger Milan Lucic. GM Peter Chiarelli feels that with the changes the Oilers have “improved our team signficantly.”
• The North by NorthGretz podcast says goodbye to Taylor Hall, OilersNation has a recap of all the changes and outlines what’s next, and I like what Maurice Tougas wrote about the trade: “The player, a defenceman named Adam Larsson, is the type of guy who isn’t even a household name in his own household.”
• Uber returned to Edmonton as of July 1! “We want to give a big thank you to riders, driver-partners, and community friends who supported us in our journey to bring reliable rides to Edmonton. We’re thrilled to be back on the road again!” Here’s an update on the TNC regulations from the Province.
• Council approved the 45 storey Emerald tower in Oliver this week. Here are Mayor Iveson’s thoughts on the matter.
• The City announced this week that it expects the 102 Avenue Bridge over Groat Road to open to traffic in early August, slightly ahead of the revised September schedule. “The City of Edmonton thanks the local businesses on 102 Avenue and 124 Street, residents, motorists and trail users for their patience.”
• The Edmonton Music Awards took place on Tuesday evening. Here’s a recap from Michael Senchuk over at Gig City.
• Also from Gig City, here’s a recap of the Fire Aid concert that raised more than $2 million for Fort McMurray fire relief.
• According to a new report, startup companies assisted by TEC Edmonton over the last five years have created 1,530 jobs and earned $680 million in revenue.
• The Government of Alberta has updated and expanded its sunshine list of salaries with data from 2015. “Government staff who earned more than $104,754 in the 2015 calendar year now have their compensation information posted online.”
• Is it just me or does the “imagine Jasper Avenue” project seem to be taking forever? I mean, I wrote about the New Visions initiative more than seven years ago. Anyway, three new interactive art pieces have been installed and Edmontonians are encouraged to sahe a picture with the hashtag #ImagineJasperAvenue.
• City of Edmonton outdoor pools are open for the season! Except the outdoor pool at Borden Park which remains closed for redevelopment.
• Did you see the “thankful” whiteboard that made the rounds online this week? It’s a few weeks old, but seemed to go viral (locally) this week.
• Planning a staycation in Edmonton? Here are ten things to do from Karlynn.
• More than 56,000 children were born in Alberta last year and once again the top names were Liam for boys and Olivia for girls. But it’s a very long tail. “The Vital Statistics branch of Service Alberta recorded 6,374 distinct boy names and 7,590 distinct girl names in 2015.”
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Upcoming Events

• Sand on Whyte continues all week in Old Strathcona.
• The Freewill Shakespeare Festival continues in Hawrelak Park featuring Love’s Labour’s Lost and Romeo and Juliet.
• The Historic Festival & Doors Open Edmonton kicked off today and continues all week at various locations throughout the city.
• This year’s edition of The Works Art & Design Festival wraps up on Tuesday.
• Wednesday is the 2016 Athletics Canada Hall of Fame Gala & Annual Awards Celebration taking place at the Delta Edmonton South.
• You’ve got two options for patios on Thursday! The Shaw Conference Centre is hosting another patio party at the Hall D patio, and of course the summer patio series continues at Latitude 53.
• The 2016 edition of the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival kicks off on Friday at Churchill Square.
• The Whyte Avenue Art Walk runs Friday through Sunday on the streets of Old Strathcona.
• I hope to see you Friday night at Northlands Park for our next What the Truck?! in conjunction with Park After Dark! Here are the menus.
• Also Friday night, the Eskimos host the Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium.
• Color Me Rad takes place Saturday morning at Capilano Park.
• If you missed the Meet Me in McCauley Market last month, you have another chance on Saturday!
• Over in St. Albert, the Seven Music Festival takes place on Saturday.
• For even more summer festivals & events, be sure to check out my guide for 2016!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Premier joins in Canada Day celebrations, photo by Premier of Alberta