Edmonton Notes for September 9, 2018

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The City of Edmonton has been named 2018 Organization of the Year at the International Association for Public Participation of Canada (IAP2 Canada) Core Values Awards Gala. “This is IAP2 Canada’s top honour, recognizing organizations and projects that give people a say in decisions that affect them and tell them how their input will be used in decision-making.” I’m proud to have played a small part! Edmonton is now in the running for the international IAP2 Organization of the Year award.
• Council got a mid-year update on the budget last week and learned the City is projecting a $14.4 million deficit by the end of 2018. “That’s led to a clamp down on hiring, said Harmalkit Rai, acting branch manager for finance, in a presentation to council Tuesday.”
• Councillor Andrew Knack has asked for proposed cuts totalling $64 million. “I don’t know if it’s going to be swimming hours, or those single-sheet ice rinks,” said Knack. “But we have to be able to have those tough conversations.”
• City Council approved the hiring of Edmonton’s first Integrity Commissioner and Ethics Advisor. Jamie Pytel will be the City’s first Integrity Commissioner. Brent Rathgeber, a former Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, will be the City’s first Ethics Advisor.
• The new trails around the Walterdale Bridge officially opened on Thursday night, nearly a year after the bridge itself went into service. Contractors are facing up to $13 million in late penalties as the bridge was supposed to open in June 2015. While initially tight-lipped on the fines, Council now may be willing to share details.
• Cartago owner Katy Ingraham has won the right to open a new deli in Forrest Heights. The appeal board “said neither the city nor the residents presented any professional evidence to prove the developer’s parking impact assessment was wrong.”
• According to new figures from Avison Young, downtown Edmonton’s office vacancy rate dropped to 12.5% at the end of June, down from 15.3% in 2017.
• The hotel in the Quarters is no longer affiliated with Hyatt. “The decision to pull the Hyatt Place branding comes two weeks after the hotel failed an Alberta Health Services health inspection, though Hyatt is not confirming whether the decision was directly linked to the failed health report.”
• The funicular was closed on Thursday and Friday so crews could replace glass damaged by vandalism. The cost? $47,000!
• Rob Yager has been appointed President and CEO of the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. He takes over for Anne Smith, who spent more than 30 years in the role.
• Edmonton police recovered 83 stolen bikes in a recent investigation. “The city and police service are launching a new bike theft campaign to remind residents to keep track of their bike details in order to reclaim their bike if it is stolen.”
• Here’s what you need to know about the discussions coming up at City Council this week. A big topic of discussion is smart transportation, which includes electric vehicles.
• According to new figures from Alberta Health, 355 people died from apparent accidental opioid overdoses in the first six months of 2018.
• The next Pecha Kucha Night is coming up on October 25. You can now apply to present.

Premier Rachel Notley meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, photo by Premier of Alberta

Upcoming Events

• The United Way is hosting An Evening with Sarah Chan on Monday night at EPCOR Tower. “Proceeds from the evening’s ticket sales will go to Women United – A component of United Way’s All in for Youth program that specifically focuses on girls from Grade 8 through to high school completion.”
• The third annual Bridge of Life awareness event, organized by the Edmonton Mental Health Awareness Committee, starts at 7:30pm at Constable Ezio Faraone Park.
• AlbertaAI is hosting Open Data and Data Science at the City of Edmonton on Wednesday evening at ETLC on the U of A campus. “In this event, speakers from the City of Edmonton will introduce open data and the work related to data science, smart city, robotics and AI.”
• The next Instagrammable Walls Photo Walk is taking place on Wednesday evening. Meet at the Happy Wall in Churchill Square at 6pm.
• Sam Smith is performing at Rogers Place on Wednesday evening.
• Homestead Coworking is hosting a social networking night on Thursday evening.
• The Edmonton Permaculture Guild is hosting Permaculture Pub Night: Preserving the Harvest on Thursday evening at Yellowhead Brewery.
• The Kaleido Family Arts Festival runs Friday to Sunday on Alberta Avenue.
• The Good Fight‘s first conference takes place from Friday to Sunday. “The goal of The Good Fight is to build the local, grassroots capacity to counter fascism and white supremacy and grow a culture of justice, inclusivity, and equity in our diverse community.”
• The Edmonton Public School Board is hosting a volunteer appreciation screening of the film Won’t you be my neighbour? on Saturday afternoon at the Garneau Theatre.
• Saturday is Community League Day around Edmonton. DECL is celebrating with its annual CornFest.
• The grand opening of ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞, the Indigenous Art Park within Queen Elizabeth Park, takes place Saturday from 12-4pm.
• Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers at Fan Day on Saturday at Rogers Place.
• The Autism Speaks Canada Walk takes place Sunday at Rundle Park.
• The Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope takes place Sunday at Kinsmen Park.
• There are still a few weeks of listings left on Taproot Edmonton’s 2018 guide to summer festivals and events! It includes 75+ happenings this summer in and around the city.

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