Edmonton Notes for August 6, 2017

Happy long weekend! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Edmonton’s unemployment rate rose to 8.5% last month, up from 7.9% in June, as our city lost 4,000 mainly part-time jobs.
• The Globe and Mail wrote about Blatchford this week, noting that despite delays the heavy equipment is now at work. The City’s Mark Hall says the first residents of Blatchford could be moving into the community as early as winter 2018, and the entire neighbourhood, housing 30,000 residents, built out by 2037. Builders will be selected in the next couple of months.
• The City announced it has been posting photo radar locations to the Open Data catalog since the beginning of July. “The City of Edmonton reminds you that automated enforcement locations are subject to change due to weather, construction, and other circumstances.”
• Northlands CEO Tim Reid told Global Edmonton that he is “more confident than ever before that there is a great future for Northlands.” K-Days attendance was up again this year to 816,250 (it was 803,087 last year).
• A proposed amendment to the Municipal Government Act would give the City the power to tax derelict non-residential properties. This would be a really useful tool!
• The Edmonton Eskimos are now 6-0 with a 33-29 victory over Hamilton on Friday night!
• Our latest Taproot Edmonton story takes a look at the challenges of building a new home in an old neighbourhood. Often when we talk about infill people think about rowhouses or lot-splitting, but single-family housing that replaces aging housing stock is a key part of Edmonton’s infill strategy.
• I would certainly agree that Edmonton could benefit from more free public wi-fi! The City says an average of 11,000 people connect to Open City Wi-Fi each day. I do think networks like Shaw Open and Telus Wi-Fi diminish the need for the City-owned network, but not everyone can access that.
• AGLC is changing the rules to allow farmers markets to sell beer and spirits, but only at markets approved by Alberta Agriculture.
• Bathrooms at Rogers Place are being expanded to help alleviate the lineups that fans saw this past season.
• ETS has launched a new campaign called Let’s Keep Each Other Safe that “encourages riders to report unusual, suspicious or unsafe activities that could impact themselves or others.” It will run through September 30.
• Researchers at the U of A are developing a new walkability app for downtown Edmonton.
• If you’re unable to vote in person during the 2017 municipal election, you can now request a special ballot from Edmonton Elections.
• That was quite the summer storm yesterday! A severe thunderstorm caused localized flooding, knocked out power in a couple of areas, and started at least one fire.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Upcoming Events

• There’s one more day left for the Heritage Festival at Hawrelak Park! We had fun today, though it took a long time to get in – apparently we were among the record 147,000 who took a bus to the site between 10am and 4pm. You can see a neat visualization of the various booths and menu items here.
• Kurios by Cirque du Soleil continues at Northlands through Sunday.
• Movies on the Square is back! The first film is Moana on Tuesday evening.
• Alberta Women Entrepreneurs is hosting a two hour introductory workshop on the life of an entrepreneur on Tuesday evening.
• Wednesday evening is International Coworking Day and Homestead is using the opportunity to celebrate and to mark its first birthday!
• The second Downtown Sustainability Stroll takes place on Thursday at 4pm. Meet inside City Hall.
• The Edmonton Folk Music Festival kicks off on Thursday.
• The 2017 Sturgeon County Bounty Culinary Cookout takes place on Friday evening at Cardiff Park in Sturgeon County.
• Animethon takes place from Friday through Sunday.
• Cariwest also takes place on the weekend, and the parade starts at noon on Saturday.
• There’s an Instagrammable Walls of Edmonton Photo Walk taking place on Saturday in Chinatown.
• MADE for PETS, Edmonton’s first market for animals, takes place on Sunday at the Edmonton Humane Society.
• Sunday’s Chinatown Walking Tour is “sold out” so the organizers have added another date on August 27!
• Plan the rest of your summer with Taproot’s 2017 guide to summer festivals & events!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Smoke Midway at K-Days, photo by Kurt Bauschardt