Edmonton Notes for February 11, 2018

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• It sounds like a three-or-more bin system is an inevitability for waste management in Edmonton. “The more we create a Cadillac system that does it for people, the more it’s going to cost,” Mayor Don Iveson said. A new strategy will be brought to the Utility Committee later this month.
• The Valley Line LRT west is going to affect more than a dozen homes and nearly two dozen businesses including Western Cycle and the United Way. Elise Stolte has the scoop.
• Epcor wants to build a 23-hectare solar farm next to the E.L. Smith water treatment facility in the river valley, but some are opposed. “The 12-megawatt solar farm will run the water treatment facility and produce 30 per cent extra to feed into the grid.” An open house for the plan is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13 at 6pm at Good Shepherd Elementary School.
• Some encouraging news for agricultural land in the city: “mayors of the Edmonton region voted to find a way to preserve agricultural land Thursday.” A new task force will start meeting March 2 to discuss the issue.
• The federal government has announced $330,270 in funding for the Theatre Network Society to support “the architectural design and engineering phase of construction for a new Roxy Theatre, to be rebuilt in its original Westmount neighbourhood in central-west Edmonton.”
• The newly opened Kim Hung School, located at 1950 Glastonbury Boulevard (out west of Anthony Henday Drive), is the first to be named after a city builder from the Chinese community.
• Crews have started installing the ice track in Louise McKinney Riverfront Park and along Jasper Avenue in preparation for Red Bull Crashed Ice, which takes place on March 9 and 10.
• Research firm Urban Analytics says in a new report that new multi-family home sales more than doubled in the last year. Downtown led the way, of course.
• The City of Edmonton is hosting the CitiesIPCC Cities and Climate Change Science Conference from March 5-7. Residents are encouraged to attend a series of community events.
• David Staples wrote about the ambitious TOD plan for Bonnie Doon which includes “retail, gardens and park space, cafes, patios, bike paths, newly created streets, rental and condo towers with at least 1,000 units.”
• Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was the most borrowed non-fiction book of 2017 at the Edmonton Public Library.
• Remedy Cafe opened its first location in the early 2000s and now has plans to expand outside Edmonton starting in 2020.
• According to a recently released traffic scorecard for 2017, Edmonton ranked 10th out of 22 Canadian cities, and 114th out of 319 North American cities. “The study found Edmonton drivers spent about five per cent of their commute stuck in traffic.”
• EndPoverty Edmonton is looking to hire a communications officer.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Arrowed!, photo by Kurt Bauschardt

Upcoming Events

• The Silver Skate Festival is on now at Hawrelak Park.
• The Oilers are back at home this week after a very disappointing road trip to California. They host the Panthers on Monday night.
• You can learn more about preliminary design options for the 105 Avenue Streetscape project on Tuesday evening at Iconoclast Coffee.
• Edmonton Opera’s Valentine’s Gala takes place on Wednesday evening at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Usually on Valentine’s Day they host the Valentine’s Day Disco Skate at City Hall. I haven’t seen anything about this year, but I presume it will be happening again? Unfortunately, the Valentine’s Day Disco Skate will not be happening this year.
• SOUND OFF: A Deaf Theatre Festival runs Wednesday to Sunday at the ATB Financial Arts Barns.
• The first of three meetings on the Centre LRT Study takes place Thursday afternoon.
• Brownlee LLP is running an all-day event on Thursday called Emerging Trends in Municipal Law looking at the new MGA and cannabis, among other topics.
• Thursday is a concert night at Rogers Place with Avenged Sevenfold and Breaking Benjamin.
• Winefest is taking place at the Shaw Conference Centre on Friday and Saturday.
• There’s a student-focused game jam taking place on the weekend at MacEwan Univesrity.
• The Cold Hands Warm Hearts fundraising walk in support of Hope Mission takes place on Saturday.
• Swing ‘n’ Skate takes place Sunday afternoon at the City Hall rink.
• Boodang presents Frequency on Sunday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Monday is Family Day! Yay long weekend!
• The City is hosting a series of watch events for the Olympic Winter Games at rec centres starting Tuesday, February 19.
• There are still plenty of things to enjoy listed in Taproot’s guide to winter festivals & events!

Photo by Dinur