Edmonton Notes for May 13, 2018

Happy Mother’s Day! This one is special.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Thales Canada fired back at the City of Edmonton this week saying “a big challenge is education, fundamentally.” Thales vice-president Dave Beckley said “it’s at all levels of the organization.” They have submitted a new schedule for review, which the City is evaluating.
• City of Edmonton Chief Economist John Rose says Edmonton’s economy should continue growing as long as the Province avoids deep spending cuts. “We have already seen the leader of the UCP (Jason Kenney) talking about significant reductions in provincial expenditures, so that could be very negative in terms of the outlook, but right now, modest growth.”
• The City received 12 formal submissions and 50 ideas on developing the Northlands Coliseum lands. The next step is to review the submissions and explore “a list of viable, innovative ideas that best realize the project’s potential and guiding principles.”
• Clare Drake, “the legendary University of Alberta coach known as the winningest college hockey coach ever,” died today at the age of 89.
• The City of Edmonton’s proposal in the $50 million Smart Cities Challenge has been officially accepted by Infrastructure Canada. “Edmonton’s proposal makes the case for an innovative Healthy City Ecosystem of residents, post secondary institutions, research organizations and governments united to provide meaningful and efficient health services to people.” You can read the submission here.
• Joy Lakhan is the City of Edmonton’s new GoatWorks coordinator. “I’m both humbled and excited to work in this position,” she said. You can look forward to “Meet and Bleat” events this summer!
• Edmonton’s Borden Park Pavilion won a Governor General’s Medal in Architecture and is another example of how architecture in our city is improving. “I think the whole culture of architecture in Edmonton is really … frankly, it’s become interesting to the rest of the country,” Pat Hanson said.
• Jay Esterer, who bought the Edmonton Queen riverboat two years ago, has received regulatory approval to operate for the next two summers. “I think it showcases the river valley. It gets more people down on the river and it’s really beautiful here.”
• Could colorful crosswalks enhance safety in our city? The idea came up recently from Child Friendly Edmonton and Councillor Aaron Paquette thinks it could really make a difference.
• Organizers for the 2018 Grey Cup Festival, taking place right here in Edmonton in November, are looking for 1,000 volunteers to help out with activities like the zipline, which is coming back, bigger and better than last time!
• Edmonton Fire Rescue Services planned to visit 350 homes in Eastwood and Alberta Avenue over the weekend to install combination carbon monoxide/smoke detectors. “Since the Smoke Alarm Program began in 2007, EFRS has provided close to 7,000 smoke alarms.”
• ICYMI: Here’s my recap of the topping off ceremony for the new JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District.
• Mark Messier was among the 45 Canadians invested into the Order of Canada this week.
• From Explore Edmonton, here are your Summer Must-Dos in Edmonton. They made a video too.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Upcoming Events

• Edmonton Crime Prevention Week kicks off with a launch event on Monday afternoon at Giovanni Caboto Park.
• Governor General Julie Payette will visit Edmonton on Tuesday as part of her first official visit to Alberta.
• Two concerts this week at Rogers Place: the Eagles are on Tuesday, Queens of the Stone Age are on Friday.
• The Volleyball Canada National Championships start on Wednesday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.
• Learn about selling to the City at an information session on Wednesday evening at City Hall.
• The City is hosting an information session on the proposed rezoning of Bonnie Doon Centre on Wednesday evening at La Cite Francophone.
• The DBA Spring Luncheon takes place on Thursday at the Chateau Lacombe and will feature a presentation on the Valley Line LRT, described as “a game changer for Downtown when the first phase is completed in 2020.”
• Friends of the Royal Alberta Museum Society is hosting Connections Through Collections: The Future of Museums on Thursday evening at Allard Hall, MacEwan University.
• Rainforest Alberta’s next Connector networking event takes place on Thursday afternoon at the Advanced Technology Centre (Edmonton Research Park).
• Head over to the ATB Entrepreneur Centre on Friday morning for Entrepreneurship 101.
• The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald is hosting a royal wedding viewing party early Saturday morning.
• Etsy is hosting the Made in Canada Spring Market on Saturday and Sunday at the Alberta Aviation Museum.
• Save the date: Waste Free Edmonton, Boomerang Bags, and MacEwan’s Office of Sustainability are hosting a free screening of the documentary “Bag It” on Wednesday, May 23.
• The City is hosting a series of Big Bin Events this month and throughout the summer to help you clean up.
• Plan your calendar with Taproot Edmonton’s 2018 guide to summer festivals and events! It includes 75+ happenings you can look forward to this summer in and around the city.

Edmonton Playground, photo by Kurt Bauschardt

Thanks for reading! Want to support my blog? Buy me a coffee!