Edmonton Notes for February 23, 2020

Edmonton Notes 3 Minutes

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

  • City Council voted unanimously to participate in a new regional transit services commission. “Today’s decision shows that we are bought into working with our neighbours to find efficiencies that benefit our residents and contribute to regional economic prosperity," said Mayor Don Iveson.
  • Mayor Don Iveson says requiring the Province to sign off on all municipal agreements with the federal government would "create a whole bunch of extra bureaucracy" and introduce a “phenomenal amount of red tape”. The Fair Deal Panel, which is considering the idea, is expected to deliver a final report on March 31.
  • A coalition called Free Transit Edmonton has launched a campaign pushing for free public transportation in Edmonton. "We want to see public transit funded like our libraries, schools, hospitals and other public services — open and accepting of all, regardless of their ability to pay," said Laura Kruse an organizer with the group.
  • We discussed the above three stories and more on the latest episode of Speaking Municipally.
  • The Edmonton Police Service has confirmed it plans to roll out facial recognition technology later this year. “The facial recognition technology we plan to implement will have the capabilities of taking an image or video that we obtained during a criminal investigation and comparing it to a database of official records that we’ve already obtained for a lawful purpose,” said Warren Driechel, superintendent of the Edmonton police informatics division.
  • Erick Ambtman will start as the new executive director of End Poverty Edmonton next week. “We’re very good at sort of treading water when it comes to poverty, keeping the line,” he said. “If we can get everybody involved in this in a meaningful way, we could start going in the other direction, reducing poverty in our community.”
  • Robert Spencer Hospitality Group, owned by chef Paul Shufelt, has been selected to provide food operations at City of Edmonton golf courses starting in April. “We aim to continue the work we have done with Workshop Eatery and Woodshed Burgers to highlight great local ingredients and the flavours of the season while providing warm and genuine hospitality to our guests,” said Shufelt.
  • The Edmonton Petroleum Club will debut the new Edmonton City Club by the end of the year. "The club’s new location is being finalized currently as the Board has identified options within the downtown City Centre area," reads a news release. The organization promises the new club will be "a hub for Downtown businesspeople by offering a business centre with workspaces to host meetings or work sessions," reports the Edmonton Journal.
  • St. Albert-based Jack’s Burger Shack was named the winner of The Cut, a $125K pitch competition to attract new businesses to the first commercial building in Rohit Group’s new Stadium Yards development.
  • "Edmonton’s Mechanized River Valley Access, also known as the 100 Street funicular, was recently awarded a National Urban Design Award of Excellence in civic design," reports Global News. “A beautifully-conceived ensemble of built structures, open spaces, and public art that successfully connects Edmonton’s downtown to the river valley,” read a statement from the National Urban Design Awards jury.
  • "Effective March 31, approximately 390 free City-operated parking stalls at Century Park will be returned to the land developer," says the City of Edmonton. "When this transition takes place on March 31, there will no longer be any free parking stalls at Century Park."
  • Get the latest on Media, Tech, Food, Health Innovation, the Region, Music, Arts, Business, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups.

New funding model for child advocacy centres
Edmonton support dog Wren is retiring from Zebra Child Protection Centre

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Published by Mack Male

Mack is on a mission to change the world through code and prose. An entrepreneurial journalist based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Mack is the co-founder of Taproot Publishing, a digital publishing company that helps communities understand themselves better.

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