Edmonton Notes for 1/23/2011

If you walked outside and proclaimed it to be April, I don’t think anyone would fault you. This mini heat wave has been a welcome change from the icy cold temperatures and piles of snow we’ve had! Especially since the City’s response to all of that snow was “effective, but still fell short” – whatever that means.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• City Council voted on Monday to enter formal negotiations with the Katz Group to develop a downtown arena, and on Tuesday, they conditionally approved the organization’s rezoning application.
• After nearly 30 years, West Edmonton Mall is finally getting a major overhaul. Phases 1, 2,  and 3 will be renovated mostly at night over the next 18 to 24 months.
• In 2010, the City of Edmonton issued building permits for nearly $2.73 billion worth of construction projects, an increase of 11% over 2009.
• One of the things on the agenda for Tuesday’s TPW meeting is the new Walterdale Bridge, which could cost $250 million. I wrote about the project and the open house back in November.
• Local tech company Cleankeys got a financial boost this week from AVAC Ltd.
• The City of Edmonton is looking for citizens interested in serving on one of three advisory committees.
• The Edmonton Capitals are joining the new North American League.
• Congrats to local startup TestFlight for getting some much-deserved love on TechCrunch. They showed off their solution to deploying iPhone apps at DemoCampEdmonton12 in September.
• From the long-overdue-dept: the University of Alberta is looking at the possibility of adding a civic planning program.
• The Edmonton Police said Friday that certain crime decreased 18% last year, though sexual assaults actually increased.
• The federal government announced funding on Friday for 21 arts, culture, and official languages projects in Edmonton.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Axis Café is closing, and they are holding a celebration on Thursday at 7pm.
• Tuesday night is the next UX Book Club meeting.
• Nerds Night Out is happening again on Wednesday evening at Ceili’s downtown.
• The Edmonton Rush will play their first home game of the season on Friday against the Calgary Roughnecks. The Rush are still looking for their first win in 2011.
• The Oil Kings are in action at home twice this week, on Wednesday against Saskatoon, and on Saturday against Prince Albert.
• Winter Light continues with Illuminations in Churchill Square on Saturday.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
• On Tuesday, City Council will be talking about Smart Bus technology, which includes GPS location services. Let them know how badly you want it!
• Donate-a-Ride ends on January 31 – it’s not too late to give a ride to someone in need!

Ice on Whyte wrapped up today. This one was my favorite! Photo by Jennie.

Fantastic sunrise in Highlands, by Tre Photographic.