Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoyed the turkey this weekend. I sure did – I was in too much of a food coma to post this yesterday.
Here are my latest Edmonton notes:
- Over the first five days of advance voting, 8,438 Edmontonians cast their ballot, up from 6,198 during the first week of advance voting in the 2010 election.
- Disappointing news for frequent travelers to London – Air Canada is grounding its direct flight over the winter. It’ll restart again on March 29.
- Looking for something to read? Why not a free copy of EPL’s Centennial Book, written by Todd Babiak!
- Interesting story about an architect and his family that chose Edmonton.
- The Province has reversed an earlier decision to force an external review the finances of the University of Alberta. Still, students and faculty are dealing with the realities of budget cuts. The Faculty of Science is looking to fill a $4 million hole in its budget.
- Mayor Mandel was recognized by the University of Alberta recently for his unwavering support of post-secondary institutions in our city.
- It’s not just Stephen getting all the recognition though. His wife Lynn was honoured this week with a surprise gala.
- The Edmonton Waste Management Centre is about to get a $10 million addition in the form of an organic waste processing facility.
- Looking for some ideas for a first date in Edmonton? The Wanderer has a list of 50.
- The City’s Planning Academy is back, with courses beginning on October 29.
- As if it wasn’t already late enough, the renovation of the Federal Building has now been delayed until next fall.
- The Edmonton Community Foundation announced this week the creation of the Alberta Social Enterprise Venture Fund.
- After nine seasons, Edmonton Rush favorite Jimmy Quinlan has decided to retire from playing but will serve as Assistant Coach for the 2014 season.
- The City of Edmonton has won three awards for its leadership in innovation and planning from the Alberta Professional Planners Institute. The TOD Guidelines, WinterCity Strategy, and Food & Urban Agriculture Strategy were all recognized.
- The Villeneuve Airport is lengthening one of its runways and is installing an ILS, which will allow medevac flights to land there as well as plans travelling at night and in bad weather.
- The EPS Canine Unit recently competed in the annual Canadian Police Canine Dog Trials. Maverick, Xeiko, Quattro, and Storm all finished in the top five. It’s some good news after the recent loss of Quanto.
- This has got to be one of the funniest and most popular local tweets of the year:
Here are some upcoming events:
- Advance voting continues this week from Tuesday through Saturday.
- Edmonton’s NextGen is holding two Candi{date} events this week – opportunities for nextgeners to speed date with candidates. Tuesday’s event is at the Robbins Health Learning Centre downtown and Wednesday’s event is at SUB on the U of A campus.
- CBC is hosting a mayoral forum at Centre Stage over lunch on Wednesday.
- This year’s edition of the Edmonton Comedy Festival runs Wednesday through Saturday!
- LitFest 2013 kicks off on Wednesday!
- The Downtown Business Association’s AGM & Luncheon takes place at the Westin on Thursday over lunch.
- Friday at lunch is the CPRS mayoral forum.
- The Eskimos host the Stampeders on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
- No more outdoor dates for the City Market Downtown, but you can find some of the vendors indoors at City Hall over the winter.
- Edmonton’s eleventh Homeless Connect takes place on Sunday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
- The Edmonton Woman’s Show takes place at the EXPO Centre on Saturday and Sunday.
- Monday is Election Day! Make sure to get out there and vote!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
