Edmonton Notes for 8/28/2011

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Jack Layton’s death dominated the headlines this week. Flags at City Hall were flown at half-mast on Monday, and yesterday for the funeral. Thousands of Edmontonians attended a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening at the Legislature to pay their respects. Here’s a great collection of photos from that event.
• On Thursday the City released a report outlining a possible downtown CRL. Unlike the arena CRL that had been discussed previously, this one would cover the entire downtown and could help fund other revitalization projects. Here’s my initial take on the proposed CRL.
• On the same day that the City of Edmonton apologized for massive delays on the Quesnell Bridge, Statistics Canada released the results of its commuter survey and found that on average, Edmontonians get to work faster than commuters in any other big Canadian city.
• This letter from Ben Henderson explaining his support for the proposed downtown arena was widely circulated this week. In other arena news, Gary Lamphier is “sick of the downtown arena debate.”
• The Edmonton Journal on Northlands: “If Northlands isn’t going to get a seat at the arena negotiating table, it surely deserves the right to stand on its own.”
• On Thursday, Mayor Mandel received a notice from the Government of Alberta explaining that the planned $15 fee for motor vehicle searches has been suspended. It’ll now be considered for the 2012/2013 budget.
• Summer is nearly over, yet the snow at our city’s storage facilities still hasn’t melted completely. Apparently the City is building another snow storage facility to help in the coming years.
• According to RBC Economics Research, Edmonton has one of the most affordable housing markets in Canada. A person buying a home in Edmonton would spend 33.8% of their household income on owning a home, on average. CMHC expects that prices will rise significantly next year, however. The average sale price will reach $337,000 according to CMHC estimates.
• Don’t forget: Alberta’s distracted driving law comes into effect on Thursday!
• What do you think, is Ted Morton showing Edmonton some love?
• The City of St. Albert has lost another senior administrator – CFO Dean Screpnek is leaving to join the City of Edmonton.
• Want to buy a seat from Commonwealth Stadium? As the old seats are replaced, they’ll be sold for $100 each.
• The Edmonton Oilers have hired Duane Sutter as a scout.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Here’s a great post by Andy Grabia on Edmonton buildings to be proud of.
• Interesting post from David Staples on how the Wildrose Party’s agenda would threaten LRT.
• On Wednesday, City Council will be discussing the proposed downtown CRL.
• A stakeholder conversation for EFCL and Edmonton Next Gen on the Rossdale redevelopment is being held on Wednesday evening.
• Symphony Under the Sky kicks off on Friday with Mozart, Handel & Brahms.
• Also Friday: Movies on the Square! Actually it is happening on Saturday and Sunday too.
• Josh Groban is performed at Rexall Place on Friday evening.
• FC Edmonton is hosting the NSC Minnesota Stars on Saturday.
• It’s back! Bacon Camp 2011 is happening Saturday evening at Lux.
• Also Saturday evening, Metropolis is back for the 6th year.
• SONiC BOOM 2011 is taking place all day Sunday the Edmonton Expo Centre.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The Calm Before the Storm by Braeden Petruk

It was fantastic to see so many people in Churchill Square on Thursday for the I heart yegdt BBQ!

The Alley of Light got a makeover today!