Edmonton Notes for January 5, 2020

Happy New Year! I had a wonderful break, and am feeling refreshed and ready to tackle 2020.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Edmonton’s chief economist expects our city’s GDP will grow by about 1.4% this year, which is much better than 2019’s 0.5% but is still "sluggish" compared to historical growth rates.
• Property assessment notices for 2020 are in the mail. Property values are down 0.1% across the city compared to 2019, reports the Journal. Property tax bills will be mailed to property owners in May.
• The City will start collecting natural Christmas trees on Thursday, Jan. 9. Trees will be picked up before the end of the month. Apartment and condo residents can take natural trees, free of charge until Jan. 31, to an Eco Station or recycling depot.
• Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will represent the Oilers at the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend which takes place Jan. 24-25 in St. Louis. No surprise there!
• Two Edmontonians, Mathew Baldwin and Steve Hrudey, were named Members of the Order of Canada on Dec. 28, 2019.
• Edmonton’s New Year’s baby for 2020 is seven pound, four ounce Madilyn, born 36 minutes after midnight at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital.
• Sanjay Shahani, executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council, says Edmonton "values arts and culture in a different way than other cities" and strikes a positive tone about the future of arts in a new interview.
• Papaschase First Nation is now running the Petro Canada gas station on Calgary Trail just south of 34 Avenue. "The station, which was not for sale, had been a corporate asset owned by Petro Canada but the company sold it to the First Nation in an act of reconciliation."
• Edmonton had 26 homicides in 2019, the lowest annual total in a decade. I wrote a lot about our city’s homicide rate back in 2011.
• The brand new $210.7 million Kathleen Andrews Transit Garage will be home to about 275 buses and 700 staff starting next month.
• ICYMI: Troy and I did Edmonton Jeopardy again to wrap up 2019 on Speaking Municipally! Thanks to Councillors Andrew Knack, Sarah Hamilton, and Aaron Paquette for competing.
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Food, Health Innovation, the Region, Music, Arts, Business, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups.

This great photo of the NYE fireworks was shared on Instagram by Subrata Patra:

Upcoming Events

• The Ice Castles are now open at Hawrelak Park!
• Three of the City’s five public events to solicit input on the ward boundaries take place this week, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.
• YEG Fitness is hosting its 2020 launch party on Tuesday evening at Browns Socialhouse (West Henday).
• Deep Freeze Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday along Alberta Avenue. One of my favorite festivals of the year!
• There’s a protest planned for 11am on Saturday at the Legislature to "demand that Premier Jason Kenney and the governing United Conservative Party legislate a bill to hold a referendum on the lawful secession of the Province of Alberta from the Confederation of Canada."
• The Wedding Fair takes place at the Edmonton Convention Centre on Sunday afternoon.
• Swing ‘n’ Skate is on at City Hall every Sunday until Feb. 23.

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