Our trip to Portland was great – a little time away was exactly what I needed. That said, it’s great to be back in Edmonton! And I’m glad we made it back in time to catch the river valley turning yellow and orange. It’s a really beautiful time of year.
Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
- I have to say, given all of the other PR blunders he has made, I didn’t see this coming: an apology from Daryl Katz to “the People of Edmonton, Northern Alberta and Oilers Fans Everywhere”. I guess he realized the trip to Seattle was not such a good idea after all. Mayor Mandel has set October 17 as the deadline by which the Katz Group must make its arena demands clear.
- Standard & Poor’s affirmed its AA+ credit rating for the City of Edmonton this week.
- Uh oh. “Wasps are more aggressive than usual during fall, they are hungry, tired and food is tighter,” says Mike Jenkins, Biological Sciences Technician for the City of Edmonton. They’re going to get worse?! They’ve been pretty bad already this year!
- Two films split the win in the very first Edmonton Film Prize. Niobe Thompson’s “The Perfect Runner” and Trevor Anderson’s “The Man That Got Away” will each take home $5000. More than 20 Edmonton filmmakers were nominated this first year of the prize.
- Corso 32 and Tres Carnales were the only two Edmonton restaurants to make Macleans’ list of the 50 best restaurants in Canada.
- Whyte Avenue is home to the 9th addition to the Giants of Edmonton mural program.
- The Way We Green has been honored with the Government of Alberta’s 2012 Minister’s Award for Municipal Excellence in the category of Outstanding Achievement.
- Check out this fly-thru video of the design concept for the new Courtyard by Marriott hotel at the Edmonton International Airport.
- A report on patios came back from City Administration this week. It’ll be discussed by Executive Committee on October 10.
- I’m not 100% certain what the money is being spent on, but the Government of Canada says it is investing to help youth in Edmonton get jobs.
- Here’s the presenter lineup for Pecha Kucha Night Edmonton #14.
- About 10,000 people took part in today’s CIBC Run for the Cure, raising $1.7 million for cancer research and education.
- The City of Edmonton took part in the 2012 Alberta Employment & Career Fair this weekend. Learn more about working for the City here.
- There’s a new baby seal at the Valley Zoo. Nika was born on July 20.
- A new report suggests the City of Edmonton could save millions with a new office tower.
- If you haven’t already been reading Todd Babiak’s new blog, you should be.
- In case you missed it: Vue Weekly’s Best of Edmonton 2012. I’m planning to write a separate post, but thank you for naming me Best Twitterer and Best Blog!
Fall is here! Photo by Jeff
Here are some upcoming events:
- The draft of the City Wide Food and Agriculture Strategy is slated to be released Monday afternoon. There will be two open houses this week to learn more: Wednesday at City Hall, and Thursday at the TransAlta Arts Barns. The public hearing has been scheduled for October 26.
- The 26th Edmonton International Film Festival is on now until Saturday!
- The next Green Drinks takes place on Wednesday evening and the topic this time is food!
- As far as I know, Thursday is the final 124 Street Grand Market of the season. Don’t miss it!
- Dragonette is at the Starlite Room on Thursday evening.
- The Eskimos host the Tiger-Cats on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
- There may be no NHL this year, but the Oil Kings are in action! They host Prince Albert on Thursday and Saskatoon on Saturday.
- Don’t forget TEDxEdmonton Education is coming up on October 13!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
4th Street Promenade hosted the Alberta Culture Days kickoff party in Edmonton. Photo by Darren
MasterMaq's Blog 
Welcome Home Mack & Sharon!
Thanks 🙂