Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
- The first-ever Tour of Alberta wrapped up today with 23-year-old Rohan Dennis of Australia taking the win. More than 115 cyclists competed, including the winner of the 2011 Tour de France. The event started here in Edmonton on Tuesday, causing traffic delays around the city. Here are some photos from Metro.
- School’s back in session, and for some that means big changes. It all boils down to an ever-expanding city and challenges in keeping schools open.
- In case you missed it: Edmonton’s love affair with suburbs can’t endure, researcher warns. “From 2006 to 2011, 86 per cent of all population growth in Edmonton occurred in auto suburbs, areas where almost all residents commute by automobile.”
- Edmonton will soon have a direct flight to Reykjavik, Iceland, making it faster and easier to access more than 20 European destinations. Icelandair begins regular scheduled service in March 2014.
- Somewhat related: EIA has a fancy new responsive website!
- I am thrilled that Edmonton now has three legal graffiti walls!
- Here’s an update from the University of Alberta on the budget situation. “The University of Alberta is a resilient, creative organization that effectively uses its resources to benefit all Albertans, and will continue to do so despite current budget challenges, said acting-provost Martin Ferguson-Pell.”
- Nomination day is September 23 which means the City is getting ready and you should too.
- The City of Edmonton’s CFO Lorna Rosen wrote a blog post this week, ostensibly about the LRT. Make it to the end however, and you’ll realize it’s actually all about funding the downtown arena.
- Some sad news to report: a fire caused an estimated $350,000 in damage at the Bissell Centre’s Thrift Shoppe on Monday.
- New show homes are now open in Oxford, “the first large subdivision where the City of Edmonton set environmental standards that apply to every home.”
- Among other things, City Council’s Executive Committee will be discussing the Make Something Edmonton report tomorrow. It contains a number of recommendations, including the creation of a “champions office”.
- The Eskimos lost to Calgary on Friday, falling to 1-9 in the process. It’s the second worst start in team history (the 1971 team opened the season with a 1-10 record).
- MacEwan University has a new brand look and identity. I quite like the new logo and combination of colors. Here’s the new brand story to go along with it.
Here are some upcoming events:
- Nerd Nite Edmonton begins a new season on Thursday at the Citadel Theatre.
- Also Thursday is the Summer Streetcar Show!
- The new E-Town festival gets underway on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre. It wraps up on Friday evening.
- Alberta Avenue comes alive once again for the Kaleido Family Arts Festival, taking place Friday through Sunday. A big part of Sunday is Fiesta Latina.
- Will the Eskimos drop another one and tie their worst season start ever? We’ll find out on Saturday when they play Winnipeg at Commonwealth Stadium.
- The Mercer Collective Makers Market returns on Saturday.
- Also Saturday is EPL Squared, an outdoor library festival taking place in Churchill Square.
- DECL is holding its annual CornFest event at Beaver Hills Park on Saturday afternoon.
- FC Edmonton hosts the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Clarke Stadium on Sunday.
- Save the date for our biggest What the Truck?! event ever: Friday, September 20 at Churchill Square!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
Great photo of Capilano Park by Robert.
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