Edmonton Notes for 1/18/2015

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• On Tuesday morning, a fire destroyed the historic Roxy Theatre on 124 Street. For more, here’s Liz Nicholls on the loss, and here’s a Make Something Edmonton post by Heather Zwicker.
• City Council is back at work this week – here’s my look at what’s on the agenda.
• Get ready for a Spring 2015 provincial election – the PCs have set a deadline for all candidates to be nominated by March 15.
• Heads up: snow removal on collector/bus routes begins on Monday! Though with the warmer weather, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of it melt this week.
• Bill Comrie announced a $1.5 million endowment to the MacEwan University hockey teams this week.
• A new report called Profile of Poverty in Edmonton shows that over 100,000 people still live in poverty in our city, a number the mayor called “unacceptable”. You can read the news release and download the report here.
• From Spacing Edmonton, here are 10 urban interventions that made Edmonton shine in 2014.
• We’ll hear a lot more about Uber this week as Council discusses a report on taxis. I’m not sure why the taxi companies felt making it harder to get a taxi was a good way to build support for their service, but that’s what they did Wednesday with a strike that saw about 100 cars drive by City Hall.
• The Edmonton Eskimos traded slotback Fred Stamps to Montreal in exchange for wide receiver Kenny Stafford.
• The Health Quality Council of Alberta has released the results of a review done on medevac operations since the closure of the City Centre Airport: they found no evidence that the airport closure had an impact.
• Here is Karen’s local blog roundup from January 12.
• Expect the new downtown arena to be more technologically advanced when it opens, with “a robust tech infrastructure for now and the future.”
• Muttart Lands, the 3.6 hectares of land between Commonwealth Stadium and Jasper Avenue, has been purchased by developer Brookfield Residential. Planning for a new community is underway, with the design slated to be released in the spring.
• The deadline to enter the Winter Signature Drink Competition has been extended to January 20! The final judging event will take place on January 26.
• Here’s a contribution to Edmonton Commerce News that argues winter and business can mean success in Edmonton.
• The Sign of Hope campaign surpassed its goal for another year, raising $3.4 million.
• Nominations are now open for the Mayor’s Awards which recognizes people or businesses that go the extra mile to ensure accessibility for all. The deadline for nominations is March 6, with the awards ceremony slated to take place on May 20.
• For more headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

The Winter Garden under construction, photo by Darren Kirby

Upcoming Events

• Make Something Mondays is back with a winter-themed event called Winter Makers.
• The next Capital Ideas event takes place on Wednesday, with a discussion building a killer brand.
• On Wednesday evening, the 18th Nerd Nite event takes place at the Citadel.
• Alberta’s Business Person of the Year Award Luncheon takes place on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• The first public meeting of the Edmonton Police Commission for 2015 takes place on Thursday evening at City Hall.
• The Oil Kings host the Kootenay Ice on Thursday, the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday, and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday.
• On Friday evening, The Society for American Wines is hosting an event at LUX.
• Ice on Whyte gets underway on Friday at End of Steel Park! Hope it’s colder again by then!
• The City-Region Studies Centre is hosting the Edmonton Infill Tour on Saturday.
• The City is hosting an event called Building the Momentum on Saturday to talk about the Council Initiative on Public Engagement.
• Also Saturday is the Lunar New Year Pyramid opening at the Muttart Conservatory.
• The Edmonton Pet Expo takes place on Saturday and Sunday! The organizers ask that you please leave your pets at home.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Premier Prentice at EEDC’s Impact Luncheon 2015, photo by Chris Schwarz