Edmonton Notes for 6/7/2015

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• What a fantastic start to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015, with 53,058 fans packing Commonwealth Stadium to cheer on Team Canada! That’s a record-breaking crowd for soccer in Canada. As you probably know, our women struggled against China but came away with a 1-0 victory after Christine Sinclair scored on a penalty kick in the 92nd minute. Makes Cathal Kelly’s piece in the Globe and Mail look even worse than it did when sparked some controversy online and the end of the week.
• I saw a few complaints about the LRT on Twitter, but given the large number of people moving in and out of the area, it sounds like everything went smoothly. What was your experience?
• It was a thrilling evening on Friday night as the Edmonton Rush won their first ever National Lacrosse League title right here at home. I’ve been going to games with my brother since the inaugural season so we really felt like we’d been on the journey along with the team. There were a lot of low points, but now the Rush are on top. Mark Matthews was named MVP as he put on a stellar performance in front of 12,275 fans. Let’s hope they stay in Edmonton.
• They say it’s not because of delays to the Metro LRT Line, but ETS General Manager Charles Stolte was let go from the City on Monday. Given he was in charge of transit operations, not capital projects, the rumor that he was let go for philosophical differences seems to make sense to me. Stolte always supported having transit far and wide even though lots of research and experience elsewhere suggests that focusing on high frequency service along busy routes is best.
• On the topic of transit, here’s a very thoughtful post from Mark Holmgren, CEO of the Bissell Centre and member of the endPoverty Edmonton task force. He argues for free public transit and says he’s hoping to generate more interest and discussion in the idea before we write it off as being too expensive.
• ICYMI: Here’s a great piece by Omar on the idea of a park in Old Strathcona. “Nobody comes for the parking,” he says.
• The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) held their conference in Edmonton this week. Unsurprisingly our country’s big city mayors are calling on the federal government to do more for urban issues, especially transit funding.
• Charlotte Cranston has been named the City of Edmonton’s first youth Poet Laureate. The 21-year-old will serve a one year-term starting June 1, 2015.
• From Zoe Todd, here’s a manifesto for the Edmonton arts scene. “I’ve written elsewhere about the highly neocolonial and eurocentric operations of the arts scene here. But it doesn’t seem to really have made a difference. So I’m getting shoutier.”
• Apparently contracts haven’t even been signed yet for the E-Parking meters, so their roll out is being delayed. The new target is the end of June.
• Here are the five most popular items in a variety of categories at the Edmonton Public Library. The top e-book? Fifty Shades of Grey.
• Did you miss the Edmonton International Cat Festival last week? Here’s a recap from organizer Linda.
• The Edmonton Eskimos and TELUS have announced the installation of a free Wi-Fi network at Commonwealth Stadium. The $2.1 million project is expected to be finished in August with an official launch slated to take place on August 21 when the Eskimos host the Tiger-Cats. This is so great! I know Rogers Place will have this as well when it opens.
• The latest Community Justice Awards were presented to Albertans for leading local safety and crime prevention initiatives this week. Edmontonian Kari Thomason, long-time EPS officer Terry Grant Jordan, and Edmonton’s Alliance Jeunesse-Famille de l’Alberta Society (AJFAS) were among those recognized.
• It’s still hot out there, but the fire ban was downgraded to a fire restriction on June 2.
• This is neat: here’s what an ETS ticket looked like in 1950.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

53,058 fans attended the first game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 here in Edmonton! Photo by IQRemix

Upcoming Events

• Both Nextfest and the Pride Festival continue all week!
• The NextGen Month Kickoff Event takes place Monday night at Iconoclast Koffiehuis.
• Also Monday evening is Indulgence 2015, taking place at the Delta Edmonton South.
• The next Citizen Edmonton event from interVivos takes place on Wednesday at The Pint on Whyte Avenue. It’s a great opportunity to learn about how to get more involved in the community.
• There are FIFA Women’s World Cup games all week on TV, but the next live action here in Edmonton is Thursday when China PR takes on the Netherlands followed by the Canada vs. New Zealand game at 7pm.
• Pecha Kucha Night 22 is taking place on Thursday, outside at Louise McKinney Park. You can see the lineup here.
• Also Thursday evening is the Latitude 53 summer patio series!
• The Yards is hosting a launch party for its third issue on Friday night at Latitude 53.
• Saturday is the June Hack Day at Startup Edmonton – go build something cool!
• We hope to see you on Capital Boulevard for brunch on Sunday at our next What the Truck?! event!
• On Sunday evening the Edmonton Music Awards will take place at the Royal Alberta Museum.
• Heads up: here’s the lineup for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Linda Duncan and Rachel Notley wave in the Edmonton Pride Parade, photo by Richard Le Sueur