I’m on vacation at the moment in Europe, so I likely won’t be blogging much until I get home in a couple of weeks. But I am today! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- Bridget Stirling was elected as the EPSB representative in Ward G on Monday, winning the by-election to replace Sarah Hoffman with about 47% of the vote.
- The City has released its 2014 Report on the Environment. Among the report’s findings: Edmontonians, on average, used 195 litres of water per day per person, a reduction from 204 litres in 2013.
- Alberta’s minimum wage increased on October 1 to $11.20. Approximately 38,000 individuals in Alberta earn minimum wage.
- Although traffic impacts due to the Metro Line were not as bad as expected, Council is said to be considering moving NAIT Station. Sounds pretty wasteful, especially considering such a move would only be temporary.
- Crestwood, Ormsby Place, Ottewell, and Newton have all been selected to participate in the City’s Traffic Shortcutting Pilot Project. Each will have “a variety of traffic calming measures installed to dissuade drivers from speeding or shortcutting through the neighbourhoods.”
- The City is also working to convert most of its traffic signals to a new wireless control system.
- A new survey suggests that Uber has quite a bit of support in Edmonton and that its popularity is only going to grow.
- Here’s a great overview/history of Edmonton’s video game industry from Shayne Woodsmith.
- Want to join the Community Infill Panel? The panel will provide feedback to the City on infill-related initiatives. You can apply online to become a member.
- Mayor Iveson on the latest federal election debate: “If this ends up being the niqab election, I will be among the many millions of disappointed Canadians.”
- EPS recently deployed the Community Action Team (CAT) for the 50th time. “The longevity of the CAT initiative not only demonstrates its effectiveness in fighting crime, but our continued commitment to fighting crime in all city communities,” says EPS Deputy Chief Tony Harder.
- Speaking of fighting crime, it sounds like Spider-Mable had a great day on Monday!
- Roughly 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles use Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton every day, and now the provincial government is going to study what should be done to deal with the volume. High speed rail could be one option that is considered.
- Here’s a recap of the 2015 Edmonton Expo from Linda.
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Having a cigarette at the End of the World, photo by Dave Sutherland
Upcoming Events
- The Edmonton International Film Festival kicked off on Thursday and runs through Saturday at Landmark Cinemas in City Centre.
- A public engagement session for Alberta’s royalty review takes place in Edmonton on Tuesday at MacEwan.
- One Book One Edmonton encourages Edmontonians to read the same book, discuss it, and participate in book-related programs and events. The launch takes place on Tuesday at the Stanley Milner library downtown.
Talk #elxn42 on Wednesday evening at the next interVivos event, taking place at Hawkeye’s Too.- Also taking place on Wednesday and also focused on the federal election is the next Green Drinks event at the Yellowhead Brewery.
- The Edmonton Comedy Festival kicks off on Wednesday and runs through Saturday.
- The final 124 Grand Market of the year takes place on Thursday!
- The third annual Up+Downtown Music Festival takes place from Friday through Sunday at ten venues throughout the downtown.
- It’s the Thanksgiving Weekend and that means there’s just one more City Market on 104 Street left before the vendors move to City Hall for the winter.
- This year’s Litfest starts on October 15!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
Nuit Blanche Edmonton, photo by IQRemix
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