Edmonton Notes for 3/13/2016

Are you feeling robbed of time today? It’s too bad daylight savings isn’t in the mayor’s jurisdiction. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The Edmonton region gained 1,300 new jobs in February. Our CMA has added approximately 25,000 jobs over the last year, which means “slightly more than 20% of all net new jobs generated in Canada over that period” were created here in Edmonton. It’s not all positive though – our unemployment rate rose from 6.5% to 6.8% last month (Calgary is at 8.4%). You can learn more in this PDF and you can see the latest labour force data here.
• The City is conducting another Municipal Census this year and is looking for Edmontonians who want to serve as census workers. Door-to-door collection of census information will begin April 15.
• Lower than expected personnel costs in 2015 have resulted in a $27 million surplus for the City.
• I would be very surprised if the Royal Alberta Museum building is ever demolished, especially after the response that greeted an RFP to turn the building into a green space. I hope it can continue to serve Edmonton long into the future.
• There’s some controversy in Old Strathcona right now over the proposed Mezzo building, which would be 16 stories tall and therefore somewhat out-of-place in the heritage area where everything else is six stories or less.
• Edmonton Events, a partnership between the City and Edmonton Tourism, received the Sport Tourism Organization of the Year Award at the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance’s 2016 awards ceremony in Ottawa this week.
• This is a great video feature on the Mercer Warehouse, “a one hundred year old building” that “has become an entreprenurial hub.”
• Here’s an update on Reconciling Edmonton from Anna Marie Sewell.
• Transforming Edmonton has a feature on the funicular that will be constructed near the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. The stairs are now closed.
• There’s not much snow or ice left outside, but be sure to do your part to keep Edmonton’s waste collectors safe.
• The Province has proposed legislation called An Act to End Predatory Lending that will “strengthen consumer protection in Alberta so that a short-term loan in a time of need does not lead to a vicious cycle of debt.”
• Dr. Karen Grimsrud has been appointed Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health following a national search to fill the position. She has held the position previously, from 2007 to 2008. She starts April 18.
• TappCar is set to launch in Edmonton on Monday. They hope to have 200 cars on the road.
• If you haven’t already seen it, check out the new Edmonton weather nerdery blog. Great stuff.
• Here is the latest blog roundup from Seen and Heard in Edmonton.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Colourwall, photo by Dave Sutherland

Upcoming Events

• The Oilers host the Nashville Predators on Monday, the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, and the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
• On Tuesday evening the Edmonton Heritage Council is hosting Weaving City Narratives, an open conversation about the stories that connect us to Edmonton.
• Head over to Little Brick on Tuesday for JCI Edmonton’s latest cafe event.
• The next Capital Ideas Edmonton event on how you do business differently takes place at the Edmonton Journal on Wednesday.
• On Wednesday evening the City is hosting a public meeting to discuss the overpass on 50 Street over the Sherwood Park Freeway.
• Ticket to Ride is a fundraiser organized by YESS, EndPoverty Edmonton, and the City of Edmonton Youth Council to bring accessible transportation to Edmontonian youth at risk. It takes place Wednesday at Latitude 53.
• The Oil Kings host the Red Deer Rebels on Thursday at Rexall Place.
• The Serca Festival of Irish Theatre begins Thursday at the Alberta Avenue Community Centre.
• Head over to the Edmonton Expo Centre from Thursday through Sunday for the Edmonton Home + Garden Show.
• The University of Alberta’s eHUB is hosting its first hackathon from Friday through Sunday.
• Refinery en Vogue takes place Saturday evening at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
• The 37th Annual ACE Awards take place on Saturday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Edmonton Seedy Sunday takes place on Sunday at the Central Lions Senior Recreation Centre.
• The Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation’s 19th annual Harmony Brunch takes place Sunday at the Chateau Nova Yellowhead.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

High Level in the Fog, photo by Kurt Bauschardt