Edmonton Notes for April 26, 2020

As of April 26 at 4:45pm, there are 4,480 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, including 479 in the Edmonton zone. There have been 73 deaths in Alberta due to the disease.

The Government of Alberta’s page on COVID-19 has the most up-to-date information for our province. Anyone who has health concerns or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should complete an online COVID-19 self-assessment.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• On Wednesday, the Emergency Advisory Committee voted 12-1 to renew the State of Local Emergency (SOLE) for another week. Only Councillor Jon Dziadyk, who had floated the idea of ending the SOLE, opposed the motion. We talked about that, as well as Councillor Mike Nickel’s antics, on the latest episode of Speaking Municipally.
• "The mass mobilization of citizens and governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has some Edmontonians wondering about parallels to the climate crisis," reports Taproot Edmonton.
• The City of Edmonton is proposing expense reductions to lower the municipal property tax increase to 1.4% from the previously approved 2.08%. Delaying the bus network redesign until early 2021 would save $3.7 million and delaying the new organics waste program would save $4.2 million in the utilities budget. Construction on the Valley Line LRT would go ahead.
• In addition, further layoffs at the City of Edmonton are expected to be announced as early as Monday. "The cuts frankly will have to be deeper on the staff side in order to stem the bleeding on the revenue side and that’s going to make it hard to relaunch and rebound from this," said Mayor Don Iveson.
• This was the week that the rest of summer in Edmonton was cancelled. K-Days, Taste of Edmonton, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, the Edmonton Heritage Festival, the Soundtrack Music Festival, and the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final all succumbed to the reality that they cannot go ahead in 2020. An announcement from Dr. Deena Hinshaw on Thursday that the restrictions on gatherings apply to all summer festivals certainly helped (but shouldn’t have been necessary).
• ATB Financial, CWB Financial, and Jobber are the Edmonton companies named to the 2020 list of Best Workplaces in Canada.
• Edmonton soccer star Alphonso Davies has signed for another two years with Bayern Munich, extending his contract through June 2025.
• Edmonton Catholic Schools has hired Robert Martin as superintendent and CEO starting May 1.
• "Edmonton appears to be the potential host with the most," wrote Terry Jones on the idea of Edmonton hosting NHL games this summer. He cites the "state of the art" Rogers Place and attached practice facility and the accessible-by-pedway J.W. Marriott as key reasons.
• The City of Edmonton has announced that while community gardens will operate this season with some guidelines, garage sales will not be permitted.
• Councillors are calling on police and bylaw officers to do more to stop drivers making excessive noise. "People are starting to take matters into their own hands," said Councillor Tim Cartmell. "We’re getting interactions between drivers and residents that are going to end up with very serious consequences."
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Food, Health Innovation, the Region, Music, Arts, Business, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups.

Upcoming Events (April 27-May 3)

The vast majority of upcoming events have been cancelled or postponed, though an increasing number are moving online. If you’re unsure, just stay home – especially if you’re feeling sick.

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