Edmonton Notes for 1/19/2014

Be green for more than an hour…

Edmonton is one of three Canadian cities chosen as finalists in WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge 2014.

The Earth Hour City Challenge initiative was created by WWF in 2011 to celebrate cities that are taking innovative actions towards creating greener, cleaner and more sustainable cities to live in, while inspiring other cities to do the same.

Edmonton was selected as a finalist based on The Way We Green, “which uses community-centric commitments and publicly engaging actions to achieve a carbon neutral future.”

The winner of Canada’s Earth Hour Capital will be announced on March 27. You can also vote for Edmonton until March 20 in the “We Love Cities” campaign (check out more details here). Earth Hour 2014 takes place on Saturday, March 29 at 8:30 PM.

Headlines

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• It’s like spring out there! And you know what that means: crappy roads.
• In a bit of a surprise move, the City announced it has contracted Calgary-based ENMAX to provide electricity to all of its properties over the next five years. In 2012, the City spent $38.4 million on electricity to run all City of Edmonton buildings, and the new deal is expected to result in savings of up to $1 million per year.
• The federal government announced on Friday more than $5 million in funding over five years for WrapED, a new crime prevention program run by REACH that will help at-risk youth.
• Here’s a crazy stat that helps explain why some of EPSB’s newest schools are overcrowded: “There have been 46 new neighbourhoods created in Edmonton since 2005, most south and west of Anthony Henday Drive. The children in those neighbourhoods now account for 20 per cent of the total public school population.”
• It was a busy week for the Edmonton Oilers as they traded Devan Dubnyk to Nashville in exchange for forward Matt Hendricks, among other moves. Check out the OilersNation take: Congrats, you’re going to Edmonton.
• Don’t miss Liane’s great story on the frightening amount of food Canadians waste each year ($27 billion worth). There’s a lot of great Edmonton-focused statistics in there too.
• TEC VenturePrize, now in its 12th year, is adding a new stream for information & communication technology (ICT) entrepreneurs. Sponsored by TELUS, a total of $22,000 in prizes will be shared by the top three finalists.
• Michael Ross has put together some statistics on neighbourhoods, complete with attractive maps!
• Could students at the University of Alberta soon have a fall reading week? Other universities have already added the time off, apparently.
• Jetpac City Guides “analyzed” Instagram pictures to determine the happiest cities in Canada – Edmonton came in at #9.
• In Where Edmonton’s Essential Edmonton issue, a group of local foodies shared “their top choices for must-eat cuisine.” No major surprises in the list!
• The Edmonton Eskimos announced this week that The Knothole Gang Kids Club will now be known as the Eskimos Kids Club.
• Actress Jessica Biel made not one but two visits to Transcend Coffee when she was here with husband Justin Timberlake last week. She tweeted it was her “favorite Edmonton coffee shop!”
• David Staples goes on the offensive in his latest column on Premier Alison Redford’s unwillingness to budge on LRT funding: “If Redford is saying she really can’t find a way to keep LRT expanding, we need to elect a government that can make it happen.”
• You’ve only got until midnight on Monday, January 20 to take advantage of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s $20 seat sale. Great deal!

Glass and Brick Edmonton by Jeff Wallace

Upcoming Events

• The Canoe Theatre Festival kicks off this week. Also starting this week is Part 2 of the National Elevator Project!
• The Oilers host the Canucks at Rexall Place on Tuesday evening. On Friday, Phoenix comes to town.
• The next Capital Ideas Edmonton event takes place on Wednesday at the Edmonton Journal over lunch. The theme this time is “Looking back, looking ahead: Three Edmonton stories”.
• I’m really looking forward to the opening reception for the Edmonton Wayfinding Project at the Harcourt House on Thursday evening!
• Ever want to explore the Royal Alberta Museum after dark? On Friday you’ll be able to at the first signature event of the year. A guest speaker will also provide a look ahead at the new museum.
• Hopefully all the warm weather hasn’t impacted Ice on Whyte too badly. The annual winter festival kicks off on Friday.
• Saturday afternoon is the annual Edmonton Oilers Skills Competition at Rexall Place.
• Head down to the Edmonton Expo Centre on the weekend for the Edmonton Renovation Show.
• Students will be gathered at the U of A this weekend for the fourth annual Student Sustainability Summit.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Friday sunset over Whyte Avenue