Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- Premier Designate Rachel Notley has started making some announcements, including that she will retain Richard Dicerni as head of the Alberta public service. She also announced that school boards can have a month long extension to get their financial documents for next year in order.
- As of Wednesday, the danger rating for fire in Edmonton moved to the “extreme” category which means that open burning is restricted until further notice. You can find out more about all fire advisories, restrictions, and bans in Alberta here.
- It was another tough week for the PCs. The party fired most of its staff and closed its Edmonton and Calgary offices. Dave wrote about their impressive patronage machine grinding to a halt.
- I agree with Mike Nickel on this one: I’ve never understood why the Galleria was so high on the downtown CRL project list. I’d be surprised if the NDP were more supportive of the project than the PCs were.
- That other big downtown project, the arena, continues to face a $32 million gap in funding. The City always expected the Province to fill that hole, but asking the new government for it would be a waste of political capital says Mayor Iveson.
- The damaged girders from the 102 Avenue bridge replacement project have been repaired and are being installed now. Groat Road may need to close in a couple weeks to finish the installation.
- Here’s an interview with Carol Belanger, Edmonton’s head architect. He talks about some past projects as well as some upcoming ones, like the new rec centre and library in Lewis Estates.
- The boardroom on the mezzanine level of the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald has been renamed The Cavanagh Room in honor of former mayor Terry Cavanagh, who was instrumental in saving the hotel from the wrecking ball.
- ETS is now conducting training exercises on the new Metro Line and they’re reminding everyone to be patient, stay alert, and stay safe. No opening date for the new line has been announced.
- Congratulations to the Edmonton Police Service on launching a new responsive website. Looks pretty good!
- This is cool – Linda is reviewing Edmonton restaurants from A to Z. Can’t wait to see what Q and X are!
- As you may have heard or seen today, Edmonton made it onto another National Geographic list, this time as one of the Best Summer Trips 2015.
- In case you missed it, here is Karen’s latest roundup of local blog posts.
- The theme for this year’s Fringe festival has been unveiled: SupercaliFRINGEilistic.
- Congratulations to the winners of the 15th annual You’re Welcome Edmonton awards which recognize great customer service in the tourism industry.
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Marbleopolis, photo by Grempz
Upcoming Events
- Tomorrow is Victoria Day so enjoy the long weekend!
- Mayor Don Iveson will join St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse for a luncheon and workshop on Tuesday celebrating inclusive hiring.
- Capital Ideas is hosting its next lunchtime event on Wednesday, where the topic will be cultivating productivity.
- The next public meeting of the Edmonton Police Commission takes place on Thursday at City Hall.
- It’s week #2 for the 124 Street Grand Market! Check it out on Thursday evening.
- Friday is the kickoff for the 2015 Night Market Edmonton located at Beaver Hills House Park downtown.
- The kickoff to the outdoor season of the City Market wasn’t great yesterday thanks to the cool, windy weather, but week #2 looks like it’ll be much nicer.
- Our first What the Truck?! event of the season takes place at Churchill Square on Saturday evening! You can check out the menus here.
- The first urban farm tour from Northlands took place on Friday. Upcoming tours start on June 6.
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
The new City Hall Express van
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