Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Calgary Stampeders today with a 45-31 victory at Commonwealth Stadium. That means the Esks will make their 25th Grey Cup appearance when they face off against the Ottawa RedBlacks on Sunday in Winnipeg.
- The Province unveiled its climate change plan today, which includes a carbon tax, will phase out coal pollution and plants by 2030, and sets a greenhouse gas emissions cap on oilsands production. Expect to hear a lot more about this in the weeks ahead.
- The City is making some very visible progress on the new Walterdale Bridge! The giant steel arches were floated into place this weekend and will soon be raised. You can watch it all unfold on the live streaming video feeds. The new bridge is slated to open to traffic by late next year.
- The new interchange at QEII and 41 Avenue SW opened to traffic on Thursday morning. The completion of the $205 million project will be celebrated with a grand opening in December.
- There were two Globe & Mail features on Edmonton this weekend: How Edmonton’s theatre community rose to the challenge of the Roxy fire, and Shape of things to come, a feature on City Architect Carol Bélanger and the impact he’s having.
- Some things I mentioned earlier this week: local startup Jobber has raised $8 million, City Centre Mall is slated to receive a $41 million investment, and Edmonton is gearing up to welcome Syrian refugees.
- Arts Habitat Edmonton’s proposed Artists Quarters building has hit a snag as the cost has ballooned to $62 million and is still at least a year away from starting.
- David Turpin was officially installed as the University of Alberta’s 13th president this week.
- Cal Nichols was named to the Order of Canada this week. He is perhaps best known for his efforts to save the Edmonton Oilers, first in 1996 to help the team receive equalization payments and then in 1998 when the team was nearly sold.
- A new University of Alberta study of people who use drugs in inner-city Edmonton shows most participants see a need for help but just 15% report having those needs met.
- According to Statistics Canada, demand for employment insurance benefits in Edmonton and Alberta is almost double what it was a year ago.
- Phil Wilson (aka Baconhound) has started a new food odyssey – this time he’s looking for the best perogies in Edmonton.
- Wondering where to buy a real Christmas tree in and around Edmonton? Here’s a good a list.
- There’s still time to have your say on the 2016-2018 Operating Budget! There’s some good Q&A content on the Transforming Edmonton blog too.
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Bridge Float, photo by Dave Sutherland
Upcoming Events
- This year’s Salute to Excellence Awards takes place Monday evening at City Hall.
- TEC Edmonton is hosting a Health Summit & Health Venture Forum on Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald.
- Reconciling Edmonton takes place at City Hall on Wednesday.
- This year’s edition of the Festival of Trees kicks off on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
- Make It Edmonton takes place Thursday through Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre!
- CITYlab is hosting a design event on Thursday evening featuring Ken Greenberg.
- Edmonton’s 46th Social Media Breakfast takes place on Friday morning at Startup Edmonton.
- Royal Bison is once again running two weekends this holiday season. The first takes place Friday through Sunday at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre.
- Want to do some good on Friday night? Consider helping out at the eight annual Santas Anonymous Wrapping Tweetup!
- On Saturday evening the Art Gallery of Alberta is hosting Metal Refinery, from 9pm to late.
- There are again many markets taking place on the weekend, like the Silver Bells Winter Market, the Hand2Hand Christmas Market, and the Golden Prairie Marketplace.
- Also Saturday is the start of A Christmas Carol at the Citadel.
- Be sure to check out my guide for even more holiday & winter festivals and events!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
Winter is Inbound, photo by Jeff Wallace
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