Edmonton Notes for August 28, 2016

I hope you had a great weekend! It certainly feels like summer is winding down with a noticeable chill in the air. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Rapidly rising water levels due to steady rainfall led to warnings to avoid the North Saskatchewan River this week. A number of river valley trails remain closed, which you can see here.
• EPCOR on Friday reiterated its appeal to Edmontonians to reduce non-essential water use, as the increased debris in the water has caused the rate of potable water production to slow. “Customers should not be concerned about the quality of the drinking water,” however.
• The final countdown is on for Rogers Place. The Oilers expect to receive the keys from PCL Construction on Thursday.
• Skater’s Arch is a sculpture created by artist Douglas Bentham for the northeast corner of Rogers Place. Also, here’s a gallery of the new Rogers Place bowl.
• The John Janzen Nature Centre celebrated its 40th anniversary today! “The nature centre was a project of the late John Janzen, Superintendent of Edmonton’s then-named Parks and Recreation Department from 1966 to 1972.” The Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre also celebrated a milestone this weekend: 50 years!
• A new report from the Downtown Business Association suggests that as office vacancy climbs downtown, some towers could be turned into residential or hotel spaces.
• A total of 3,583 tickets were given out during the Operation 24 Hours that took place on Wednesday. Of those, 3,213 were for speeding. In related news, anti-photo radar activists have been warning drivers across the city about the location of radar trucks.
• Here’s a recap of our last What the Truck?! event which took place at the Edmonton Ballpark. Our final event of the season is on September 25 in Churchill Square!
• The Oilers open training camp on September 22 and it’s at that event the Oilers will confirm that Connor McDavid is the team’s next captain.
• Alberta Health has partnered with Park Place Seniors Living to develop new long-term care spaces in Edmonton.
• You can now view Edmonton Crime Analytics online. The release of crime data was the “number one request from data seekers”.
• Urban Sparq has launched an appeal for its two proposed megabars that the City rejected earlier this month. It will be heard in early fall by the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.
• Postal workers in Alberta look set to strike on Tuesday, kicking off rotating job action across the country by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Upcoming Events

• This week is Race Week! Though as far as I can tell, nothing is really happening until Friday.
• Monday is the day to get tickets for the Rogers Place Open House which takes place on September 10.
• The next 100 People Who Care event takes place on Tuesday at the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre.
• The Callingwood Farmers’ Market runs Wednesday and Sunday at The Marketplace at Callingwood!
• The ITU World Triathlon Edmonton starts on Friday at Hawrelak Park.
• There’s a Food Bike Tour taking place on Saturday. It takes place over 6-8 hours at 5-7 different places!
• SONiC BOOM 2016 takes place at Borden Park on Saturday and Sunday.
• The Tour of Alberta comes through Edmonton on Sunday and Monday for Stages 4 and 5. Be aware of temporary road closures!
• It’s the long weekend, enjoy!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Canadian Derby, photo by IQRemix