Edmonton Notes for 7/8/2012

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• On Friday, Mayor Mandel signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and Dialog with Grand Chief Cameron Alexis and Vice-Chief Stanley Lagrelle of the Treaty No. 6 First Nations to strengthen professional ties between the First Nations and the City.
• Scientists are fairly sure they have at long last discovered the elusive Higgs boson, which some are calling one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the last 100 years. It turns out the University of Alberta had a hand in the project – three U of A professors helped in the development, design, and construction of equipment for the ATLAS particle detector.
• Did you enjoy the hot weather this weekend? Better get used to it! Temperatures will be around 30 degrees for the next week. Records will fall!
• Possibly my favorite quote of the week. Councillor Bryan Anderson on Windermere: “I certainly accept the fact that this is a poorly planned neighbourhood.” He made the comment reacting to a battle over the construction of a new mosque.
• Could smart parking meters finally be on the way for Edmonton? A new report was released this week that shows the City is looking to adopt a system similar to Calgary’s, where motorists can pay by cellphone and even be alerted when their time is about to expire.
• Council passed a draft policy this week that would enable community leagues to ask the City to review speed limits on roads inside their districts. It could lead to a patchwork of speed limits across the city.
• Here’s the latest City Council Roundup.
• Capital EX is coming up – you can check out some of the new food-related features here.
• Today was the celebration of 100 years of history on Whyte Avenue – the Commercial Hotel was the focus, but the amalgamation of Strathcona and Edmonton, as well as the 100-year anniversaries of Tipton Block, Hulbert Block, and the Douglas Block were also celebrated.
• A new mural honoring the Famous Five has been put on the side of The Wall – the Melcor parkade at 10027 102 Street.
• Ryan Smyth signed a two-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers at a cap hit of $2.25 million per season.
• A new campaign is underway in Seattle to attract workers to Edmonton and Northern Alberta. From the news release: “To put Alberta’s economic growth into context, around $193 billion of major investments are underway or in the works, equivalent to 211 CenturyLink Fields or 175 Hoover Dams.”
• New statistics show that Edmonton added more than 10,000 full-time jobs in June, which caused our unemployment rate to drop from 4.9% in May to 4.4% last month. Here is Paula Simons’ take on the economic boom.
• Tossing cigarette butts on the ground can result in a $250 fine, and there’s an enforcement blitz now underway.
• The new public washrooms located at the corner of Whyte Avenue and Gateway Boulevard opened on June 29. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No word on when permanent public washrooms are coming to Jasper Avenue, but Council has approved $35,000 to keep the temporary ones operating until November.
• A new hotel is being constructed in The Quarters at 96 Street and Jasper Avenue. It’ll be 12 stories tall when completed in the spring of 2014.
• Also slated to open in 2014 is the new Clareview Community Recreation Centre and Clareview Library. The $115 million project will feature an aquatics centre, fitness centre, gymnasium, two hockey rinks, the library, a multicultural centre, and more.
• The boat launches at Capilano Park and Laurier Park are now open to the public.

North LRT to NAIT Construction, looking south on 105 Street. Photo taken by Sharon!

The Fort Edmonton Footbridge finally had its grand opening celebration today with a Block Party on the Bridge. We didn’t make it in time for the festivities (what kind of block party lasts two hours) but we did enjoy walking through the area!

Here are some upcoming events:

• The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival kicked off on Friday and runs for the rest of the week in Churchill Square!
• The Freewill Shakespeare Festival continues at Hawrelak Park.
• Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series continues on Thursday evening.
• This weekend in Old Strathcona you can catch the 17th Annual Whyte Avenue Art Walk. It runs from 10am to 5pm between 100 Street and 108 Street.
• The Blue Bombers are in town on Friday night to take on the Eskimos.
• Sharon and I are looking forward to the Park after Dark Tweetup which takes place on Friday evening at Northlands Park.
• The next Handmade Mafia event is scheduled for Saturday at Orange Hall.
• Also Saturday is the Capital Power Go Kit Derby, part of Race Week Edmonton celebrations.
• On Sunday the Valley Zoo is celebrating National Zookeeper Week with a Summer Celebration from noon until 4pm!
• FC Edmonton is in action on Sunday as they take on FC Tampa Bay.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton Sunset, July 7