Edmonton Notes for 1/3/2016

Happy New Year! Here are my first weekly Edmonton notes of 2016:

Headlines

• The Wanderer has collected a bunch of resolutions for Edmonton for 2016 from various leaders in the community like Mayor Iveson, Timothy Caufield, Bill Eddins, and more.
• It turns out that “Bob from Calgary”, the guy behind the most popular comment ever posted to the New York Times website, is actually “Bob from Edmonton”. You may know him on Twitter as @RJSCity.
• You’ve probably heard about the local guy who was charged more than $1,100 on New Year’s Eve for his Uber ride. I’ll just repeat what many others have said this weekend: there’s no cure for stupid. The only thing dumber than that guy complaining is that Uber decided to refund half his bill. Also, this is not a new or unique story.
• Dave reports there are now 25 candidates who plan to run in the Ward 12 by-election to replace Amarjeet Sohi. For context, there were 119 total candidates in the 2013 Municipal Election, and just 2 who challenged Sohi.
• The City of Edmonton has officially posted the City Manager’s job. According to CBC, both Ottawa and Vancouver are also looking to replace their city managers, so there’s competition. Boydon, an executive headhunting firm, has been hired to look for candidates.
• Want to join a civic board or committee? Applications for roughly 45 vacancies are being accepted until January 29.
• Ross Sheppard High School is currently undergoing a $45 million renovation project, the biggest ever for Edmonton Public Schools in terms of size and cost, and that means some students will be in a construction zone for their entire high school careers.
• From OilersNation: Why hasn’t Peter Chiarelli fixed the Edmonton Oilers defence yet? And possibly related: Trading the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round pick in 2016.
• Here are 20 questions with Sam Abouhassan, “tailor to the stars” who has been in business in downtown Edmonton since 1978.
• In the market for a new home? This 13,300 square foot custom-built West Edmonton home could be yours for a cool $7.5 million.
• The day we typically call “Ukrainian Christmas” is on January 7, so expect the festive atmosphere in Edmonton to continue this week! Apparently 2016 marks the anniversary of the start of 125 years of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.
• Remember that you’ll now get three demerits in addition to a heftier $250 fine if you get caught for distracted driving.
• ICYMI: Here’s my 2015 year-in-review for Edmonton with links to a bunch of other 2015 lists.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton New Year 2016, photo by IQRemix

Upcoming Events

• The Ice Castle is now open at Hawrelak Park! Remember it’ll open until sometime in March, weather-permitting. For a preview/review, check out Linda’s post.
• Catholic Social Services is hosting a thanksgiving and celebration event for Sign of Hope on Tuesday at St. Joseph’s Basilica.
• YEG Fitness is launching a print magazine and they’re hosting a launch party on Wednesday at MKT.
• This week the Oilers host the Hurricanes on Monday night, the Lightning on Friday night, and the Panthers on Sunday.
• Deep Freeze takes place on Saturday and Sunday all along Alberta Avenue! It’s a great winter festival, don’t miss it.
• The Edmonton Bridal Expo takes place on Sunday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• From Raising Edmonton, here are 25 family-friendly things to do in Edmonton in January.
• For even more things to do this winter, check out my roundup of festivals & events here.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton Skyline, photo by IndustrialAndrew