Edmonton Notes for May 15, 2016

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The Fort McMurray wildfire and its effects continued to dominate the headlines in Edmonton this week. The worst appears to be over for the city, but the fire “remains out of control” and is “estimated to cover 251,000 hecatres.” A total of 15 wildfires are burning, with 2 out of control. The Province expects to share the re-entry plan for Fort McMurray evacuees within 10 days.
• The Province has made an online mapping application available to “provide a high-level satellite overview of the status of the city following the wildfires.”
• The City and Edmonton Emergency Relief Services opened a new centralized warehouse for donations on the weekend at 3870 98 Street. “Since May 9, the EERSS has served approximately 17,500 evacuees.” Here is the list of items most needed for evacuees. If you’d like to help out at the warehouse, you can sign up here.
• The special Fort McMurray Stuff-a-Bus campaign on Saturday raised 14,765 kg of food for the Food Bank.
• More than 150 animals are being cared for at the Animal Care and Control Centre, and that’s on top of the 180 that were temporarily calling the Edmonton Reception Centre home. “To date, close to 60 of the pets housed at ACCC have been reunited with their owners.”
• A memorial was held Friday to honour the 51 homeless Edmontonians who died in the past year.
• Our city has a long way to go to realize the goal of Vision Zero. “Despite a 50 per cent drop in injury collisions in the last decade, Edmonton’s 2015 Motor Vehicle Collisions Report shows the number of incidents rose from 2,912 in 2014 to 3,033 in 2015. There were 32 fatalities, nine more than in 2014.”
• Edmonton’s late-night economy continues to grow with impact “more than doubling” from 2010-2014. Amsterdam actually has a night mayor – should Edmonton?
• The Oilers announced this week that even after increasing the season set maximum to 15,000 seats at Rogers Place, all are now sold out. “The Club will continue to offer Mini-Packs and individual game tickets.” Here are some additional comments on the sales figures from CCO Stew MacDonald.
• More than 2,000 people have applied for jobs at Rogers Place. A quarter of the 500 positions available have been filled. Another job fair is coming up on June 5.
• Construction on improvements to the West Edmonton Mall Transit Centre begin Monday. All bus stops at the centre island are temporarily closed and new temporary stops have been added on 87 Avenue. Construction is expected to finish in early 2017.
• The latest graffiti vandalism audit shows “an overall decrease in the number of incidents and locations.” The figures for 2015 show an 8.8% decrease from 2014 and a 50.6% decrease since the inaugural audit in 2010.
• Metro notes that a new report from Vancity found that millenials in Edmonton have the highest discretionary income of any big city in Canada.
• The Province has introduced An Act to End Predatory Lending that if passed will “bring substantive changes to the payday lending industry, including the country’s lowest borrowing rates.”
• The Christmas Bureau of Edmonton is “seeking two dynamic, enthusiastic volunteers” to join its Fund Development Committee. The deadline to apply is May 27.
• From YEG Date Night, here are 5 incredible places to watch the sunset in Edmonton.
• Don’t forget that we’re still under a fire ban. Be smart. Also, the Province has launched a beta of its new fire bans website.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Good Morning Edmonton, photo by Dave Sutherland

Upcoming Events

• Several local chefs have come together to raise funds for the Red Cross in support of the residents of Fort McMurray at #YEGFOOD for #YMM. The event takes place Monday evening at BLVD.
• Selena Gomez is in town for her latest tour stop on Monday at Rexall Place.
• EPSB is hosting another Space for Students community meeting on Monday, this time for students in the Britannia Area.
• The City is hosting another Transit Strategy Workshop on Tuesday at the Terwillegar Rec Centre.
• The next Capital Ideas Edmonton event takes place Wednesday at the Edmonton Journal on why company culture matters.
• Wednesday is the kickoff for the Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market.
• Also Wednesday is a Drop-in Interactive Session to provide feedback on how to improve Edmonton’s mature neighbourhood development regulations.
• The DBA’s Spring Luncheon takes place Thursday at the Westin.
• Experience JCI takes place Thursday evening at Lexus of Edmonton. It’s an “opportunity to dip your toe in the JCI pool.”
• Also Thursday is the latest edition of Dark Matters at the TELUS World of Science.
• Night Market Edmonton returns on Friday to Beaver Hills House Park for the summer!
• Saturday is Hip Hop in the Park at the Boyle Community Centre.
• The NUOVA Opera & Music Theatre Festival kicks off on Saturday.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Jasper & 104, photo by Kurt Bauschardt