Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- Edmonton Transit is looking to explore a partnership with Uber as part of its shift to develop express routes in the suburbs. I think this is a solid idea that is already being implemented elsewhere.
- Festival organizers are looking for $372,500 from the City to help pay for relocation costs during the summer of 2018 when Churchill Square is inaccessible for the Valley Line LRT construction. I hope Council doesn’t approve it. This seems like a cash grab from some established festivals who have known about this temporary inconvenience for years and yet have done little to plan for it. I’d rather see the money go toward supporting new festivals.
- A new report says there has been an increase in crime and calls for service in the immediate vicinity of Rogers Place since it opened but reports of violent crime have fallen. And much of that increase in calls was anticipated and “is due primarily to pre-emptive work by officers”. Here is Paula’s take on the new report.
- Did you find winter this year noisy? You weren’t imagining things – leaf blowers were out in full force!
- The City’s new infill compliance team released its first report this week which says they have issued 114 tickets so far. They made surprise visits on 416 residential building sites in their first year of operations.
- Edmonton songwriter Ruth B won Breakthrough Artist of the Year tonight at the Juno’s!
- The Oilers not only secured a playoff spot this week, they also took over first place in the Pacific Division. Expectations are growing at a hellacious pace, says Dan Barnes.
- OilersNation marked the 38th anniversary of the Oilers joining the NHL. “The Oilers, along with the New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets all merged from the WHA to the NHL, paying a $6 million fee.”
- In an effort to boost repeat visitors and to reach new audiences, students and youth under 18 can now visit the Art Gallery of Alberta for free.
- The south wall of Gene Dub’s 10-storey office tower on 104 Avenue across from MacEwan University will be covered in solar panels, the largest vertical solar wall in Canada.
- Construction has begun on the Encore Tower at 103 Street and 102 Avenue. It is slated to become Edmonton’s tallest condominium-only building at 43-storeys.
- Here’s the Gig City review of The Lumineers who played Rogers Place on Friday night.
- A new survey conducted by the City suggests there is a need for more public washrooms in central neighbourhoods.
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Upcoming Events
- The Oilers have three more games on the road before returning for their final game of the season on Sunday, April 9 against the Vancouver Canucks.
- The City of Edmonton is hosting an open house for the Heritage Interpretive Plan for West Rossdale on Monday at the new Edmonton Tower.
- 100.3 The Bear presents Weezer at the Spring Fling event on Tuesday evening at the Shaw Conference Centre.
- The Local Good’s next Green Drinks event takes place on Wednesday evening at Yellowhead Brewery.
- Rapid Fire Theatre’s 2017 Bonfire Festival runs Wednesday through Saturday at the Citadel Theatre. You can get tickets here.
- The 2017 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship continues at Northlands Coliseum through Sunday.
- Thursday is Global Meetings Industry Day and Edmonton’s event is taking place at the Shaw Conference Centre with guest speaker Alvin Law.
- Global Edmonton’s Woman of Vision Celebration Luncheon takes place at the Shaw Conference Centre on Friday.
- Electric Six is performing in Edmonton on Friday evening at The Starlite Room.
- Canada’s Vape Expo takes place at the Edmonton Expo Centre from Friday through Sunday.
- Save the date! 100in1Day returns on June 3.
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
Photo by Jeff Wallace
MasterMaq's Blog 