Edmonton Notes for 6/24/2012

Happy Birthday Sharon! We went to Calgary for the weekend to celebrate – I’m sure she’ll be blogging about the great places we ate at soon. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Edmonton and Calgary have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Alberta to formalize their commitment to develop a big city charter to help meet the challenges of growth. “This is an exciting moment for Alberta’s big cities, Edmonton and Calgary. Premier Redford and Minister Griffiths are opening the door for discussions about the unique challenges we face,” said Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel. “Signing this memorandum of understanding is the first step in the process and I look forward to working closely with the Province, Minister Griffiths, and Mayor Nenshi to meet our objectives over the coming months.”
• Edmonton’s annual consumer-based inflation rate slowed from 1.0% in April to 0.4% in May, continuing the slowing trend that started at the end of 2011.
• A new report preparing for the 2013 budget suggests that property taxes could increase by up to 8.6%.
• The Edmonton Oilers used their first overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft to select Nail Yakupov.
• Congratulations to all of the recipients of the 61st annual Salute to Excellence Awards!
• On June 30, the last regularly scheduled flight takes off from the City Centre Airport. Northern Air is relocating to the Executive Flight Centre at EIA, and its first scheduled flight at that airport will leave on July 4.
• There’s another new option at EIA too. Airside Properties, a company owned by Don Wheaton, Kim Ward, Daryl Katz, and Ledcor, opened a full-service business aviation terminal on Wednesday.
• Responsible Hospitality Edmonton has released a new report that shows the total economic output generated in Edmonton by the late night entertainment economy was $686 million in 2010.
• Edmonton Transit (ETS) has received a Marketing and Communication Award and a Safety and Security Award from the Canadian Urban Transit Association.
• The Edmonton Heritage Council (EHC) is working with the City to explore the possibility of establishing an Edmonton City Museum. You can have your say on the idea by filling out the online survey. The results and a recommendation will be available in October 2012.
• Summer service changes for ETS take effect on July 1, so be prepared!
• The arena is coming up at Council on July 4, and as part of his preparations Councillor Diotte is running an online survey to gather feedback.
• Edmonton Transit (ETS) is hosting a three week pilot project with sensors that detect explosive and radioactive materials in ticket vending and validating machines in Churchill Square.
• Looks like our city’s efforts to promote itself as the perfect place to shoot horror movies is gaining some traction: actor/producer Michael Biehn was recently scouting locations in the area.
• More than 1250 participants in Edmonton raised over $787,000 for cancer research and treatment as part of The Underwear Affair.
• The City is considering a bid to host the 2019 Parliament of World Religions at a total cost of about $10 million.
• Wayne Gretzky doesn’t seem to care whether or not the City moves the statue of him from Rexall Place to the new downtown arena. What do you think?
• Don’t miss the latest City Council Roundup.
• Here is the City’s design for its new balloon entry in the Capital Ex parade:

Here are some upcoming events:

• This is the final week for the Bikeology Festival!
• The Works, the Edmonton International Jazz Festival, and the Vocal Arts Festival all continue this week.
• The Little Big Run takes place on Monday morning at Foote Field.
• The Freewill Shakespeare Festival kicks off at Hawrelak Park on Tuesday evening.
• The Argonauts are in town to take on the Eskimos on Saturday evening.
• FC Edmonton is hosting the Puerto Rico Islanders on Sunday.
• Sunday is of course Canada Day. There are events all around the city, including at City Hall, at the Valley Zoo, at the Muttart Conservatory, and at the Legislature.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The Pearl under construction