Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- The City has kicked off its spring roads and parks maintenance program, which is great news for those of us suffering from all the dust! “Approximately 60,000 tonnes of sand mix were applied to roads to make them safe over the past six months.” Now crews will do their best to remove it. The City has also begun its annual offensive against mosquitoes.
- With spring in mind, the City is encouraging Edmontonians to get involved with Capital City Clean Up. Do your part to keep our city tidy!
- Edmonton’s fourth Historian Laureate is Chris Chang-Yen Phillips. His two-year term began April 5.
- Tom Mulcair lost the national NDP leadership today at the convention here in Edmonton. Don Braid argues that Rachel Notley should “formally split with the federal party” as a result.
- Edmonton’s unemployment rate was up slightly in March to 6.9% from 6.8% in February, but that’s still quite a bit less than Calgary at 8.6%. The overall unemployment rate in Alberta dropped though, from 7.8% to 7.1%, just slightly below the national average.
- The Oilers finished the 2015-2016 season in 29th, with only Toronto faring worse. It doesn’t matter though, because tickets are still selling! The team announced this week they are increasing the limit on season seats by 1,000 for the 2016-2017 season due to demand. “The Oilers will continue to offer Power Packs and individual game tickets in Rogers Place, though Season Seats are the best guarantee of tickets to the biggest games of the season.”
- Should anyone wear the C next season for the Edmonton Oilers? Ryan Batty thinks that Taylor Hall should, and I agree.
- ICYMI: Here’s my recap of the Farewell Rexall Place celebration that took place in Churchill Square.
- Congrats to the 38 high school students that graduated from EPS’ Youth Recruit Academy, a three day event offering a glimpse into a career in law enforcement.
- Expect to see reminders on Twitter about how to use 911 appropriately. “The Edmonton Police Service is taking to social media for the next several weeks to educate the public about when to call 911 and when to call the non-emergency line.”
- 403, 780, 587, and now 825: Alberta’s new area code went into effect this week.
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Farewell Rexall Place, photo by Jeff Wallace
Upcoming Events
- The Edmonton Career Fair takes place Tuesday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
- Make Something Edmonton and CITYlab have teamed up to launch 100in1Day Edmonton on Tuesday evening at the EPCOR building.
- Jennifer Cockrall-King is launching her new book “Food Artisans of the Okanagan” on Wednesday evening at Audrey’s Books.
- Also Wednesday evening is the first edition of Equal Voice’s #YEGparity speaker series.
- This year’s Global Woman of Vision celebration will take place Thursday evening at the Shaw Conference Centre.
- Urbanist Gil Penalosa will be in Edmonton on Friday evening to speak about his vision for a healthier, happier Edmonton at A City For Life.
- Friday is Meet the Media Tweetup 6, taking place at The Pint downtown.
- There’s more Cat Yoga on Saturday at the Edmonton Humane Society!
- The 2016 Edmonton Volunteer Fair takes place Saturday at West Edmonton Mall.
- The Spring edition of the Edmonton Woman’s Show takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
- The Edmonton Poetry Festival kicks off on Sunday!
- Here’s an early heads up on two workshops for the Transit Strategy. The first takes place April 26. There’s also an online survey you can fill out.
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
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