Happy Mother’s Day! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- Rachel Notley will be Alberta’s next premier after the NDP won a majority in Tuesday’s election, defeating the ruling PC party. It was the result the polls were predicting but few believed could actually happen. Even a few days later, many found it hard to believe the NDP won. Here in Edmonton, the NDP won every seat. They also won every seat in the surrounding areas like St. Albert and Sherwood Park. You can see the full results here.
- The story behind the NDP’s rise and the PC’s fall is so compelling that newspapers around the world covered it, including the Guardian, the New York Times, and Vox.
- Former mayor Stephen Mandel was one of the many who lost his seat on Tuesday evening.
- The City of Edmonton has kicked off its summer construction season, announcing $451 million of investment in more than 175 road projects. You can see the full list of road projects here.
- Another big announcement from the City was that investments have contributed nearly $750 million to civic programs and facilities over the last decade. Without those investments, they say Edmontonians would have faced a tax increase of 7% over that period of time.
- Apparently the Edmonton region lost 1,300 jobs in April, and City of Edmonton Chief Economist John Rose says that could be a sign of things to come. The unemployment rate for the Edmonton CMA rose to 5.8% in April.
- The Northlands Board of Directors announced this week that they accepted all recommendations of the Northlands Arena Strategy Committee. That frees the management team to start moving forward on finding an alternate use for Rexall Place.
- Could the Metro Line soon be open? ETS began field training on May 2, another sign that launch day is approaching.
- Edmonton’s LRT has a new voice, but it’s not Brittney, sadly.
- Faculty of Engineering Associate Dean Steven Dew has been named the new Provost and Vice-President (Academic) of the University of Alberta.
- Here’s the Edmonton Rush season wrap-up! Let’s hope the post-season is just as positive.
- Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2014 Yeggies!
- Oilers coach Todd Nelson is still under contract, but it’s no secret that the team are looking at other options right now, including Mike Babcock and Todd McLellan.
- June 21 will be DIYcity Day here in Edmonton, a citizen-driven urban makeover day. If you need funding, you can apply for the Make Something Edmonton Project Accelerator Grant, but the deadline is Monday, May 11 at 5pm!
- If you liked Dustin Bajer’s YEGpie Flag you can now order your very own!
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Photo by Don Voaklander
Upcoming Events
- MacEwan is hosting it’s annual President’s Reception on Monday evening.
- The Global Visions Film Festival continues through Thursday.
- The Edmonton Public Library is hosting a workshop on Tuesday to help imagine what the future of the Stanley Milner library could look like.
- The City is hosting two sessions this week for EcoCity, one on Tuesday at the downtown library and one on Wednesday at the HSBC building. You can learn more about EcoCity Edmonton here.
- The Edmonton Real Estate Forum takes place on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
- Head over to 124 Street on Thursday evening for the season launch of the 124 Street Grand Market.
- Also Thursday evening is an event called YEGForward, which looks like a new initiative for young business professionals.
- I’ll be at Rexall Place on Friday night for the NLL Western Final between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Edmonton Rush. Go Rush Go!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
Just in case you forgot that we live in Edmonton, Alberta:
Photo by Jason Woodhead on May 6
Photo by Jason Woodhead on May 9
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