Edmonton Notes for 9/26/2009

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• The Edmonton International Airport (EIA) is in the midst of a $1-billion expansion, and this week released plans for a brand new, iconic office and control tower. It is slated to open in the summer of 2012.
• Gilles Hebert is the new executive director of the Art Gallery of Alberta. He’ll start at the end of October. I wrote about the new AGA building this week.
• HIV Edmonton announced that last weekend’s AIDS Walk For Life raised $119,438 so far, with donations and pledges still coming in. You can donate online until October 31st.
• Here’s a great photo essay from Alex, called Summer in Edmonton.
• Edmonton Next Gen launched a redesigned website this week, but the content is largely the same. Hopefully that’ll change!
• City Council will create a project office by the end of the year to handle bids on development of the City Centre Airport lands. Runway 16-34 is to be closed by April 30, 2010. That means the airport will have to be closed to air traffic for up to four weeks during the Edmonton Indy next year.
• Plans for the “new” Federal Building were released this week. Some of the highlights include an outdoor skating rink with a view of the Legislature, a new entrance pavilion with dining, retail, and conference opportunities, a LEED Gold rated design, and an underground parkade. You can learn more here.
• Ron Gilbertson, the CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC), was answering questions at Connect2Edmonton this week.
• It’s official: Grant MacEwan College is now Grant MacEwan University.
• The last segment of track in the South LRT extension was installed by City contractors this week. The Southgate and Century Park stations are on schedule to open in April 2010. Also announced this week: City Council approved the creation of a temporary surface parking lot at Century Park.
• The City-Region Studies Centre at the University of Alberta is hosting a free talk on Monday night called The Transportation – Land Use Connection.
• Also Monday is the artsScene Edmonton boardLink event.
• Edmonton’s 311 service was in the news this week because the six month status report was released. I wrote about it here. I also identified a proposed project for posting 311 statistics on the web that is a perfect example of where open data could save the City a lot of money.
• The first of two West LRT Information Sessions takes place on Tuesday evening at City Hall.
• Pecha Kucha Night 5 is less than a week away! You can see the list of presenters here.
• How far beyond the city does Edmonton Stories reach? I like the concept but wonder if the money is being used effectively.
• This morning I went to check out The Great Potato Giveaway at Norbest Farms, organized by the Greater Edmonton Alliance. Despite having to wait hours to get in (organizers didn’t anticipate how popular it would be) the event was quite unique and fun. You can see my photos here and read Sharon’s recap of the event here.