Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- Edmonton added 2,000 full-time jobs last month but our unemployment rate actually rose to 8.7%, according to the City’s Chief Economist John Rose. He doesn’t expect it to drop much below that mark for the rest of the year. Alberta’s unemployment rate was 8.1% in August.
- Here’s the latest Edmonton Election Roundup from Taproot Edmonton.
- Accidential Beach now has a sign thanks to Alex Lakusta. #MakeSomethingEdmonton
- The federal government announced an investment of $26 million “to support fundamental research at the University of Alberta through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) 2017 competition for the Discovery Grants program as well as scholarships and fellowships.”
- A new shuttle will connect passengers between the Greyhound station near Yellowhead Trail and the Kingsway Transit Centre. It will start operating on September 17 and will run five to six times per day.
- Edmonton and St. Albert are working to establish a new entity that could eventually become a regional transit commission. The first step is a memorandum of understanding, followed by startup funding of nearly $4 million for the first two years.
- Rogers Place celebrated its 1st anniversary on September 8!
- The City has published an interactive map showing infrastructure projects across the city. “It is a snapshot of current major infrastructure projects in concept, design or being built by the City of Edmonton.”
- The 143-year-old tree known as “Garneau’s Tree” located on the University of Alberta campus will be removed for safety reasons.
- Two years after it was supposed to open, the City still won’t commit to a date for when the new Walterdale Bridge will finally open.
- Amazon announced it is looking for a second North American headquarters, kicking off a gold rush among cities across North America. Our city wants in, of course. Kendall Beleshko has outlined the reasons he thinks Edmonton could win here.
- Lonely Planet doesn’t seem to think Edmonton is a very appealing place though, calling our city “frigidly cold” while praising Calgary. Whoever wrote that clearly hasn’t been to Edmonton recently.
- I’m really happy that Alex Decoteau Park is now open at 105 Street and 102 Avenue!
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Moon Scoop, photo by Jeff Wallace
Upcoming Events
- Have you got ideas about how a National Food Policy could help build a better food system? Share them at a workshop being held at Edmonton’s Food Bank on Wednesday evening.
- Also happening Wednesday evening is Rapid Fire Theatre’s MINI MEAN TWEETS featuring Mayor Don Iveson.
- Friday is PARK(ing) Day downtown. Check it out along 101A Avenue between 96 Street and 97 Street all afternoon.
- The 2017 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Gala is taking place on Friday evening at the Delta Edmonton South.
- I am really looking forward to Kaleido on the weekend over on 118 Avenue.
- Also taking place over the weekend is the new EPCOR RiverFest festival, presented by the River Valley Alliance.
- The big headline-grabbing event of the weekend will no doubt be FISE World Edmonton, taking place at Hawrelak Park.
- There are tons of great events happening on Saturday for Community League Day!
- Edmonton’s NextGen is hosting a Trash Mob on Saturday to clean up the Accidental Beach.
- The 26th annual AIDS Walk & Superhero Run takes place on Saturday at Wilbert McIntyre Park.
- Check out Taproot Edmonton’s summer festival & event guide for more upcoming events!
Alex Decoteau Park is now open!
MasterMaq's Blog 