Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
- Mosquitoes swarmed the city this week, both day and night. City pest management officials say that after two years or record low mosquito levels, we’re back to normal.
- City Council came up with 140 questions for the Katz Group, Northlands, and City Administration related to the proposed downtown arena. You can download all the questions in PDF here.
- Tons of City Centre Airport news this week: Envision Edmonton was booted from Taste of Edmonton and Capital EX after fairgoers complained. On Thursday evening they unveiled a proposal for the lands but without cost figures. A few MLAs and Enbridge joined their cause, as did Danielle Smith, which got Mayor Mandel pretty upset. It was also revealed that taxpayers could be on the hook for almost $1 million to hold a plebiscite on the issue. And don’t miss this: Economics fuel pilot’s desire to close City Centre Airport.
- The Edmonton Corn Maze is now open for 2010! This year’s design features Edmonton’s Food Bank.
- More than $72 million has been saved and more than 4 million tonnes of materials have been recycled since the City’s aggregate recycling program began 30 years ago. Great story.
- You can now surf the web for free at the Edmonton International Airport! They launched free wi-fi on Friday. EIA was also in the news for providing a sneak peek at Expansion 2012, which is on time and under budget.
- Local social media startup Empire Avenue officially launched this week. Chris has a good write-up on why EAv is a must-watch.
- Mayor Mandel was profiled in the National Post yesterday.
- New walking maps for eight north-central communities were made available this week. Get out and walk!
- Thinking of running for City Council? You might want to attend an event on August 11 to learn more about the new rules for campaign contributions and expenses.
- For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
- The Heritage Festival is trying to be 100% green this year. The annual event runs through Monday.
- The Edmonton Eskimos finally won a game last night! And then fired GM Danny Maciocia this morning. Their next home game is Friday, when the Toronto Argonauts are visiting.
- Cariwest kicks off on Friday, as does Animethon.
- The Edmonton Folk Music Festival starts on Thursday (on ShareEdmonton).
Summer is for eating outside!