Edmonton Notes for 3/20/2010

Welcome to Spring! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Good news for supporters of the swimming pool at MacEwan – officials have decided to keep it open for at least another year.
The Journal’s weekly readership increased by 14,700 last year. At The Sun, weekday readership grew by 7%. Also, The Journal earned a record six [...]

2010 TEC VenturePrize Awards Luncheon

As longtime readers will know, I was one of the finalists in the VenturePrize business plan competition back in 2006 (along with Yardstick Software). It was a great experience, and I learned a lot. I also know how much effort goes into it, so I have great respect for all the competitors who came [...]

Recap: TEDxEdmonton

On Saturday I spent the day with about 100 other creative Edmontonians at the TransAlta Arts Barns in Old Strathcona. We were there for TEDxEdmonton, the local edition of TED’s popular independently organized event series. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated by volunteers in each community, but all feature TEDTalks videos, and TED’s [...]

Edmonton Notes for 3/13/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

City Council put $17 million of last year’s $33.7 million surplus into a rainy day fund.
Wearing a seatbelt has been law in Alberta since 1987, yet many Albertans still choose not to wear one. March is Occupant Restraint Month, which means police will be raising awareness about the importance of [...]

Why I went to Reboot Alberta 2.0

I live in Edmonton, Alberta. I’m proud to call myself a Canadian.
I don’t consider myself a progressive. To be honest, I’m not even sure I know what that label means.
I enjoy the mountains.
I reject partisan politics. If you look through the archives here, you’ll see that I have voted for every major party in Canada [...]

Recap: Open City Workshop

Saturday’s Open City Workshop at the Art Gallery of Alberta was a fantastic event! Excellent turnout, great discussions, and lots of enthusiasm for the open data/open government movement here in Edmonton. We started the day with some opening remarks from Councillor Don Iveson, CIO Chris Moore, and FusedLogic’s Walter Schwabe. I really liked Don’s key [...]

Edmonton Notes for 3/6/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Thanks to some fantastically warm weather, all City of Edmonton outdoor rinks and toboggan hills are now closed. Stay off thin ice!
It is still winter though, so be sure to answer the City’s Snow & Ice Control Survey.
As you know, the Dawson Bridge is closed for renovations. Here’s a great [...]

Open City Workshop & Participation Inequality

The City of Edmonton is hosting a workshop tomorrow at the Art Gallery of Alberta called Building Community through Open Information (on ShareEdmonton). It’s a follow-up to the open data workshop that happened last year and the conversations that have taken place since, but is focused on connecting stakeholders, increasing a shared understanding of Government [...]

Recap: Launch Party Edmonton 1

Tonight I attended Edmonton’s first Launch Party, and I’m happy to report that it was awesome! Including the presenting companies, investors, and media, there were about 250 people in attendance, a fantastic turnout and great show of support for Edmonton’s startup scene. There was food, drinks, a DJ, great conversation, and of course, some of [...]

Preview: Launch Party Edmonton 1

Edmonton’s first Launch Party is set to rock your socks off on Wednesday evening (on ShareEdmonton). There won’t be any formal presentations or panels, but the event will be a great opportunity to network with some of Edmonton’s best and brightest entrepreneurs and developers. It’s also a chance to celebrate the creative and interesting [...]

Edmonton Notes for 2/27/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Fantastic post from Sharon – Edmonton’s Downtown Dining Week: Stagnant and Uninspired?
Here is Avenue Edmonton’s 25 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton.
The Edmonton Arena District, Katz’s organization supporting his arena vision, launched a website this week annoyingly named Revitalize Downtown. Also on the topic of Katz, check out this picture.
Planning [...]

Help bring Tech Days Canada to Edmonton!

Microsoft is planning the 2010 edition of Tech Days Canada, and they’re considering a stop here in Edmonton. In previous years, local developers have had to make the trip down to Calgary. If you’ve never heard of Tech Days, here’s what it’s all about:

With forty 200+ level sessions, Tech Days is the learning conference [...]

Edmonton Notes for 2/20/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

City Councillors are not happy about the Local Authorities Amendment Act, which imposes stricter rules on campaign funding and disclosures. Councillor Iveson blogged his thoughts on the issue here.
Edmonton will be one of three test sites for Shaw’s new gigabit Internet technology. Sign me up!
On Valentine’s Day, Daryl [...]

Edmonton Notes for 2/13/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Maybe the biggest story of the week here in Edmonton was the new arena plan unveiled by the Katz group, and the fallout that went along with it. Don’t miss Paula’s column on the issue, or Don’s two posts.
The other big story was the Alberta Budget announcement. Jeff has a [...]

Valentine’s Day in Edmonton: Deal or No Deal?

Sharon and I decided to collaborate on this post. Enjoy!
Sharon:
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a holiday where consuming chocolate is the national norm, and for an occasion that is marked with an indulgent feast. And though I realize that Valentine’s Day has been escalating in its commercial nature over the past two decades [...]