Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
- People around the world gathered to mark September 11th, and here in Edmonton it was no different. Brittney has a great recap and collection of photos from the Edmonton Firefighters Memorial. The Edmonton International Airport also held a memorial today. The Journal has a good collection of coverage here.
- The City of Edmonton has secured external counsel and expert analysis as part of a process to ensure due diligence in the pursuit of an agreement on the downtown arena. In total over the course of 2010 and YTD 2011 the City has spent $1.1 million on consultants related to the arena project, with another $500,000 budgeted.
- The Alberta Liberals chose former Tory MLA Raj Sherman as their new leader yesterday.
- The Capital Region Board approved a $10 billion public transit plan on Thursday.
- Could it be true? Is the end in sight for the empty lot on the corner of 104 Street and Whyte Avenue? Apparently the final phase of the remediation process is now set to get underway.
- More than 113,000 students are now back at school. How are you handling the increased traffic volume?
- The Capitals lost on Sunday but still lead the best-of-seven NAL final 3 games to 1. They square off again on Tuesday evening! Go Caps Go!
- Elise Stolte’s summer series Living on the Edge wrapped up this past week. Here’s the Journal’s summary and closing thoughts.
- Edmonton’s resale housing market saw higher sales but constant prices in August compared to a year ago. The average selling price last month was $370,438, down about 0.2 per cent from $371,187 a year ago.
- According to new stats, the City is receiving fewer complains about aggressive panhandlers this year than it did in 2010.
- On Tuesday the City Auditor released a report describing a joint investigation into the sale of counterfeit ETS monthly transit passes. Approximately $29,000 in revenue was lost as a result of the counterfeit passes.
- Tens of thousands of Edmonton poplar trees are in danger of being wiped out by bronze leaf disease.
- The Edmonton Police Service is going to be changing the look of its police cruisers. The mostly white and blue cars will now be a retro black and white.
- City Council recently shifted $5 million from its financial stabilization fund into an Edmonton filmed entertainment fund, which some people are really not happy about. The idea is to lure more movie makers to the city.
- Here’s a link from September 1 that I wanted to capture: City Council Advances Downtown Revitalization and City Safety.
Let’s look at some events coming up this week:
- On Tuesday at lunch time, YWCA Edmonton’s second annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event takes place at Churchill Square. If you’d like to sponsor me, you can do so here!
- Inside City Hall at the same time, the City is hosting another discussion on The Way We Green, this time about the success and municipal opportunities of German renewable energy policies.
- If you’re downtown later that evening, don’t miss the Patio Flash Mob happening at 105 Street and Jasper Avenue!
- The 11th edition of Pecha Kucha Night takes place on Wednesday evening at the University of Alberta.
- Thursday is the kickoff for the 2011 United Way Campaign.
- On Thursday evening Edmonton Girl Geek Dinners returns with S2E2 at Lux!
- Friday evening is the grand opening of the Capital Theatre at Fort Edmonton Park.
- But you’ll be downtown at What the Truck?! 2 right? Our second food truck extravaganza takes place on 102 Street south of Jasper Avenue. Don’t miss it!
- Saturday is of course Community League Day all across the city. DECL is hosting its 6th annual CornFest at Beaver Hills House Park.
- There are Big Bin events taking place on Saturday and Sunday!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton. You might like the calendar view too.
Photo by Jonathan Janke
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