Edmonton Notes for November 20, 2016

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Gail Hall touched so many Edmontonians with her love of food and all things local, including myself and Sharon. Sadly, Gail died early Wednesday at the age of 65 after living with breast cancer for eight years. We’re going to miss bumping into her at the market or at Credo but will always remember what she taught us about eating local and cooking simply. Liane wrote a wonderful piece on Gail in the Journal this weekend.
• The proposed 2016-2018 operating budget adjustment holds the property tax increase expected in 2017 to 3.1%. That includes 1% for base budget programs and services, 1.5% for the Neighbourhood Renewal Program, and 0.6% for the Valley Line LRT. Council will receive the details at its November 29 meeting with a public hearing scheduled for December 8.
• Mayor Don Iveson has filed his papers to run in next year’s municipal election. Along with the mayor, 25 other Edmontonians have expressed interest in running for Council.
• Progressive Conservative MLA Sandra Jansen crossed the floor this week to join the governing NDP cacus. Her switch gives the NDP 55 of 87 seats in the legislature which resumes its fall sitting tomorrow.
• Slowly but surely winter is arriving here in Edmonton and our city’s love of winter is getting noticed. Check out the latest issue of Canadian Geographic Magazine!
• NIMBYism against turning an old church into a daycare in Westmount is just too much. Some residents appealed to the SDAB and lost so now they’re taking the issue to the Alberta Court of Appeal in January. “So what’s the basis for an appeal to our over-burdened Court of Appeal? Parking, of course.”
• The Eskimos lost their bid to advance the Grey Cup today against Ottawa losing 35-23 in an extremely snowy game.
• Connor McDavid scored his first career NHL hat-trick against Dallas on Saturday! You can listen to Jack Michaels call it on 630 CHED here.
• The Edmonton Police Commission and Edmonton Police Service have release the Third Quarter Report to the Community. Online crime reporting was launched in 2013 and usage continues to increase. So far this year, 6,122 online crime reports have been processed, a 61% increase over 2015. “By the end of the third quarter of 2016, property crimes increased by 14.6 per cent and violent crimes decreased by 2.7 per cent compared to the same time frame in 2015.”
• The latest economic update from the City says “employment in the Edmonton region was essentially unchanged in October 2016.”
• I love the idea of EDMojis – Emojis for Edmonton. Congrats to Sandra and Lucas on reaching their fundraising goal already! Here’s a feature on the project from CBC Edmonton.
• Bike Corrals in Old Strathcona are now going to be available throughout the winter. “Year-round bike infrastructure is an important step as the City provides more connectivity and options for cyclists.”
• On October 19, the City of Edmonton’s Disabled Adult Transit Service (DATS) set a record for the highest number of passengers in a single day, carrying 3,802 people to their destinations. Last year, DATS provided a total of 946,335 trips.
• The City of Edmonton has been recognized as a finalist for the 2016 Customer Experience Visionary Award from Vision Critical for its work on the Edmonton Insight Community. Congrats! The Insight Community is closing in on 6,500 members.
• More than 30 intersections are now safer according to the City of Edmonton thanks to recent upgrades made as part of Vision Zero. Upgrades included improvements to pedestrian crosswalks and more than 50 new driver feedback signs to tell drivers their speed, among other things.
• Here are the ten acts on the shortlist for the Edmonton Music Prize. Three finalists will be announced in mid-December.
• EPL has opened the call for book submissions for the 2017 Alberta Readers’ Choice Award. Authors can submit their titles until December 31, 2016.
• Eat Alberta’s first video is up and focuses on the Organic Master Gardener Program available in Stony Plain.
• From YEG Date Night: 5 places you need to eat Mac & Cheese in Edmonton.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton ATC, photo by Jeff Wallace

Upcoming Events

• The Oilers host the Blackhawks on Monday and the Coyotes on Sunday at Rogers Place.
• The 2016 National Housing Day Luncheon takes place on Tuesday at the new Hyatt Place hotel.
• Food blogger Karlynn Johnston has written a book about baking and is launching it at Audreys Books on Wednesday evening.
• The Festival of Trees kicks off on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Support the Edmonton Tool Library at their fall fundraiser taking place on Friday at the Bellevue Community Hall.
• There are quite a few holiday/winter markets taking place this weekend. Indie Handmade runs Thursday through Sunday at The Enjoy Centre. Make it Edmonton takes place Thursday through Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre. And on Saturday you can check out Hand2Hand Christmas Market, Silver Bells Winter Market, and Shop the Hall.
• The Great Sweater Run takes place on Saturday Emily Murphy Park.
• Support adult literacy in Edmonton at An Afternoon of Jazz at Yellowhead Brewery on Sunday. Proceeds support the Learning Centre Literacy Association.
• Be sure to check out my Winter 2016/2017 Festival & Event Guide for even more holiday & winter related events!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.