Edmonton Notes for 3/17/2013

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

In case you haven’t heard – the seasonal parking ban that went into effect on Friday was lifted at 7pm this evening. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• The Edmonton Public Library celebrated its 100th birthday on Wednesday! And they announced an awesome surprise to mark the occasion – library cards are free until March 13, 2014! Mayor Mandel proclaimed March 13 as “Edmonton Public Library Day”.
• The Government of Canada announced $250 million in LRT funding for Edmonton this week, through the P3 Canada Fund. I wrote about the use of a P3 to build our LRT here.
• The City of Edmonton celebrated 2 million visits to Eco Stations on Friday! A total of 16,093,483 litres of household hazardous waste has been kept from landfills as a result. I’ve really got to make it to an Eco Station – old computer equipment is piling up!
• Terence Harding in Metro: Edmonton, we need to start saying no.
• Thursday was the final day for Government of Alberta Air Services at the Edmonton City Centre Airport – they moved to EIA on Friday.
• Plans have been released for the redevelopment of the Molson Brewery site in Oliver, but residents are concerned that the plans are too car-centric.
• Council has put the brakes on part of this year’s bike route construction following anger from homeowners and businesses along the proposed routes.
• Here are some behind-the-scenes photos of the North LRT tunnel construction. Can’t wait to see this wrap up next spring!
• The Edmonton Historical Board is seeking nominations for the Historical Plaque and Recognition Awards. You’ve got until April 2 to submit your nominations.
• Thanks to a $500,000 injection of funding from the City on Tuesday, the Art Gallery of Alberta will live to see another day. It has been running a deficit since 2010 apparently.
• It’s not looking so good for late night bus service. Council was not impressed with plans for a pilot, but will decide in April when a list of transit priorities is produced.
• We’re into year 5 of the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, and to kick it off four new members have joined the Edmonton Homeless Commission.
• Take a few minutes and make sure your waste collector can do his or her job safely!
• Here’s a letter from Leduc County Council to residents in response to the City of Edmonton’s proposed annexation plans.

Here are some upcoming events:

• I’m sure anyone selling green beer was happy the Oilers won tonight! They’re in action at Rexall Place again on Wednesday against the Sharks, and Saturday against the Blues.
• The new Edmonton Remand Centre is holding an open house for the next couple days. Stop in on Monday or Tuesday to tour the new facility.
• Head over to the Edmonton Journal on Wednesday for lunch – this week’s event is on hiring and retaining good employees.
• Thursday is the launch party for Make Something Edmonton. See you at the Avenue Theatre! (And just in time, here’s the Make Something Edmonton Launch Party in a Box!)
• Western Canada Fashion Week kicks off Thursday and runs through March 28.
• The Edmonton Home & Garden Show takes place Thursday through Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
• Earth Hour is coming up on Saturday from 8:30pm to 9:30pm. In 2012, power consumption in Edmonton decreased by 3.4% during the hour.
• Have you got your tux ready? The ACE Awards take place Saturday evening at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.ca.

Photo of the #CAPSE March on Friday, in protest of post-secondary education funding cuts. Check out Dan McKechnie’s photoset here.