Edmonton Notes for 6/5/2011

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• I generally don’t post about crime, but I feel compelled to mention Edmonton’s growing murder count, now at 25. In all of last year, there were just 27 murders in our city. It’s bad enough that EPS held a media conference this week.
• The arena is still in the news, mostly because of the questions that remain unanswered. As expected, the City and the Katz Group are looking to the province for funding.
• Edmonton has been named a TripAdvisor top ten family vacation destination in Canada for 2011.
• One of the biggest concerts to hit Edmonton in years took place this week – U2 rocked Commonwealth Stadium on Wednesday night!
• According to the City, Edmontonians’ taxes and utility fees are in the “middle of the pack” in a comparison of charges across the country.
• Proposals have been put forward to overhaul the aging Kinsmen Sports Centre. You can learn more about the design concepts here.
• Local chef Shane Chartrand is going to be representing Alberta the upcoming National Chef’s Challenge.
• The Alberta Association of Police Chiefs would like to see customers pre-pay for gas, and some gas station owners in Edmonton are supporting the idea.
• Local fashion designer Sid Neigum was honored with an Emerging Artist Award at this year’s edition of Nextfest.
• St. Albert is going to be streaming council meetings online as early as this fall.
• More than 25 individuals and organizations were honored at the 2011 IABC Edmonton Capital Awards this week.
• The Oilers haven’t been in the news much lately (aside from in relation to the arena) but they did sign Ryan Jones to a two-year deal this week.
• Strathcona Composite High School recently won its 40th consecutive track-and-field city championship, and they want the Guinness World Records to recognize the achievement.
• The City will be installing 18 km of on-street bicycle routes this summer. You can learn more here.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Congratulations to local podcast The Unknown Studio on achieving a milestone 50 episodes!
• Are you Edmonton’s worst golfer?
• In case you missed it: here’s my list of summer festivals in Edmonton!
• The Creative Age Festival kicks off on Tuesday morning at City Hall.
• There’s an interesting food event with Michael Schmidt taking place on Wednesday evening.
• The YWCA’s Women of Distinction of Awards gala takes place on Thursday evening at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
• The Edmonton Capitals host the Lake County Fielders a few times this week, beginning on Thursday evening.
• The Edmonton Pride Festival starts on Friday.
• On Friday evening, FC Edmonton hosts the Carolina Railhawks.
• Saturday is another really busy day in Edmonton. Al Fresco is taking place on 104 Street downtown. TEDxEdmonton is taking place at the Citadel. Across the river, the Handmade Mafia is once again at the Strathcona Baptist Church. The Pride Parade starts at noon at NorQuest College downtown. The Sprouts New Play Festival for Kids takes place at the Stanley Milner library. And the Bikeology Festival’s 24 Hour Repair-a-Thon takes place at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

4th Street Promenade put up new banners this week!

The weather didn’t cooperate, but the Slut Walk went ahead anyway. Bill has some more photos here.