Happy Birthday Sharon!
Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
- Thankfully it sounds like the flooding in Calgary is subsiding, though they are still in a state of local emergency. Our city is responding to a request for assistance from Calgary by sending 60 volunteer firefighters and six pieces of heavy equipment. They join 100 Edmonton Police officers and several EPCOR crews already there.
- Here in Edmonton the North Saskatchewan River rose quite a bit but water levels have peaked. The City is urging everyone to exercise caution and avoid flooded park areas and closed trails. Here’s a photo of Whitemud Park under water. And here’s a scary looking photo from Robyn that illustrates just how high the river got:
- Councillor Don Iveson launched his campaign for mayor on Tuesday at the Edmonton Petroleum Club. He wasn’t the only candidate making headlines though. Scott McKeen announced he’ll run in Ward 6, and Bev Esslinger is running in Ward 2, and believe it or not, Kathleen Smith aka KikkiPlanet is rumored to be running in Ward 5. Check out Dave’s updated list of candidates here.
- Even as the election starts to heat up, Council is still busy. This week they voted to keep pressing other orders of government for LRT funding, and will try to put up interim money to keep the 2019 schedule for the Southeast LRT. They’ll revisit the issue on August 28.
- They also voted to expropriate land at the City Centre Airport, which means the redevelopment can move ahead. For more on what Council was up to this week, check out the latest roundup.
- Want to help out with the election in the fall? The City of Edmonton is looking for 3,000 workers to help run the voting stations.
- Do developers play kingmaker in civic politics? Elise Stolte crunched the numbers and has details on who contributed to campaigns in the last election.
- I attended the Stand Up for Edmonton conference all day Saturday, and really enjoyed talking with everyone about the U of A’s role in our city. Kudos to Emerson and the entire organizing team for a great event. Here’s the Gateway’s recap.
- Imagine if there were three Edmonton Queen riverboats!
- There was a great block party during lunch on Friday to help celebrate the opening of the new Visitor Information Centre. You know that ugly concrete box to the west of the Shaw Conference Centre? It has been opened up and replaces the old location at the World Trade Centre.
- Congratulations to the latest group of Edmontonians inducted into the Edmonton Hall of Fame.
- I’m very happy to see Smart Bus technology making its way onto bus routes in our city. Route 128 will get the treatment in July, followed by route 111. Everything should be fully operational by September.
- The Stollery Children’s Hospital is receiving a $55 million upgrade that will create 48 neonatal, pediatric, and pediatric cardiovascular intensive care beds.
- Can you believe Capital Ideas Edmonton has had 18 panels already?! Video from the Starting Something Big panel is now online.
- Slow Food Edmonton recently held its first Market Mob. I love the logo!
- The Oilers say it’s always hockey season in Oil Country, and that’s why newly minted GM Craig MacTavish provided the Sate of the Oilers address this week.
- I really like the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science (CCIS) building at the U of A, so I was happy to learn it has been awarded a LEED Silver designation!
- During the latest Operation 24 Hours, Edmonton Police handed out a total of 3,074 tickets, 91% of which were for speeding. Slow down!
Councillor Iveson in the media scrum after announcing his mayoral campaign, photo by Dave
Here are some upcoming events:
- There are two open houses this week where you can learn more about the City’s Street Art Pilot Program.
- Head over to the Arts Barns on Tuesday evening for DIYalogue Talks Fashion.
- Taylor Swift plays Rexall Place both Tuesday and Wednesday!
- The Freewill Shakespeare Festival gets underway this week with A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Tuesday and King Lear on Wednesday.
- ATB Financial is launching its new platform for local businesses called Alberta BoostR on Wednesday evening.
- The Mercer Collective returns on Saturday at the Mercer Warehouse!
- ENTS is holding its Spring Open House on Saturday. It’s your chance to see what ENTS is all about.
- The Roughriders are in town to take on the Eskimos on Saturday afternoon.
- Have you checked out The Works yet? Head over to Churchill Square this week! I’m definitely going to have to check out the shopping cart carousel after seeing this! Apparently attendance hasn’t been great thus far.
- The 2nd annual Found Festival takes place this weekend in Old Strathcona!
- Improvaganza continues this week, as does the Edmonton International Jazz Festival.
- Head over to Foote Field this weekend for the Edmonton International Track Classic.
- The Minnesota Stars take on FC Edmonton on Sunday at Clarke Stadium.
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
This photo was taken on the morning of June 13 by Sarah – great shot, I totally missed the fog!
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