Edmonton Notes for 6/17/2012

Happy Father’s Day! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Three guards with G4S Cash Solutions were shot and killed during an armored car robbery early Friday morning on the University of Alberta campus, and a fourth victim remains in critical condition. The accused triple murderer Travis Baumgartner was caught attempting to cross the border and remains in RCMP custody. I don’t normally highlight crime stories, but there’s a lot of angles to this story, and it has generated a lot of coverage. I’ll have more on that tomorrow.
• A new report shows that development in older neighbourhoods in 2011 was the highest it’s been in 10 years. The southeast and southwest sectors of the city have the most development underway.
• The City is looking for your input on priorities and the cost of civic services. Tomorrow is the last day to fill out the online questionnaire.
• Which local executives make the most money per year? Canadian Western Bank’s Larry Pollock and former Brick CEO Bill Gregson led the pack with total compensation of just over $3 million each last year.
• Well that didn’t take long: First & Jasper is now fully leased!
• Congratulations to experimental filmmaker Kyle Armstrong and hip-hop artist Mitchmatic who were among the winners of this year’s Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artists Awards.
• Edmonton’s French Quarter has applied for a business revitalization zone and hopes to become the next trendy, walkable shopping and restaurant district in our city.
• A proposal to charge a sliding fee for waste management based on how much garbage you throw out has been trashed.
• Sharon first noted the arrival of frozen yogurt establishments to Edmonton back in 2009. Now, three years later, it’s probably time to call it a trend.
• The Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre received a national award for being a historic modern landmark.
• Shaw Conference Centre sous chef Serge Belair won the Canadian Culinary Federation’s chef-of-the-year challenge at its recent annual conference in Halifax. Congrats!
• Felt Up, an Edmonton-based web series, won an award at last week’s Banff World Media Festival.
• The Journal has analyzed 896 complaints filed against bus and LRT drivers in March. The results are pretty interesting. “There were 19,571 comments about ETS operators in 2011. That’s in line with industry averages and a small fraction of the 80 million passengers that were carried…”
• Have you noticed EPS officers on bicycles lately? They’ll be out and about more regularly now that the weather is warmer.
• Nice to see City Council being more positive about the 311 service, which was recently ranked as the #1 medium-sized call centre in Canada and the United States in terms of service quality and cost efficiency.
• The City is going to reconsider building park-and-ride lots along the new LRT routes because of demand. Fine, but let’s build safe, clean, well-lit, and attractive parking lots please!
• He’s back! Craig MacTavish is rejoining the Edmonton Oilers as senior VP of hockey operations.
• Here is Sharon’s latest City Market Report.
• Alberta Municipal Affairs is looking for feedback on the Local Authorities Election Act. You have until July 31 to participate in the online consultation.

Beautiful long exposure blue hour of the West Henday by Darren Kirby.

Here are some upcoming events to note:

• The Bikeology Festival continues with a couple of events this week, including Bikey Movies, Mocktails on the Bridge, and on Saturday a Bike In Movie at Victoria Park!
• Also continuing this week is Improvaganza, with shows at the Varscona and Garneau theatres.
• The Salute to Excellence Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place on Tuesday evening at the Winspear Centre.
• Thursday is National Aboriginal Day. The official commemoration takes place at Canada Place.
• The Works Art & Design Festival kicks off on Thursday. Don’t miss the Opening Night Celebration at Churchill Square!
• The Eskimos host the BC Lions on Thursday evening at Commonwealth Stadium.
• The Edmonton International Jazz Festival gets underway on Friday.
• On Saturday, the EPS West Division is holding a Community Safety Fair at Belmead Park.
• Head over to the Myer Horowitz Theatre on Saturday evening for the Philippine Arts Festival.
• Also taking place Saturday is ZooFest, the Valley Zoo Development Society’s annual fundraiser.
• The next edition of the very popular Refinery series takes place at the AGA on Saturday evening. The theme this time is The Automatiste Revolution.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Canada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep wins the Women’s 100m Hurdles at the Donovan Bailey Invitational Track Meet.