Heads up! A parking ban has been declared and takes effect at 11pm tonight. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Blaming the Province’s financial situation, the City of Edmonton pulled the plug on its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games this week. The committee will instead “shift its focus to 2026” but I don’t see how that’s going to be any more successful.
• From David Climenhaga: Where’s former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel now that his city really needs him?
• WestJet has launched a new daily Encore flight between Edmonton and Kamloops.
• Crazy dump of snow/rain the other day that is now almost gone again thanks to the warm weather. The City will begin neighbourhood blading on Tuesday.
• The City is looking for input on the Galleria project with a couple of open houses and an online survey that is open until February 27. Careful though, as Paula warned: “What colour is the sky in the Galleria promoters’ world? Through that pretty glass roof? It’s always blue.”
• To better accommodate detour traffic thanks to construction on the 102 Avenue bridge, the City will be restricting parking on Stony Plain Road starting March 2.
• The Edmonton Food Council is seeking new members. The deadline to apply is March 16.
• The latest population figures from Statistics Canada have made the Edmonton region the 5th largest urban region in Canada, surpassing Ottawa-Gatineau.
• Times Higher Education has ranked the University of Alberta at #87 on its list of the “most international universities.” That’s up nine places from last year.
• The Edmonton Police Service started using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, commonly called a drone) last year. The UAV has been used in over 15 major collision investigations.
• Have you shown how much you love Edmonton recently? Our city is trying to become the Earth Hour Capital of the World, and they need support through social media to make it happen. Tweet, Instagram, or vote online until March 28.
• Great to see a couple of Startup Edmonton companies finding success and growing beyond the space. Very exciting times for Edmonton’s startup scene!
• The 2015 CFL schedule was unveiled this week. The Eskimos will start the preseason against Saskatchewan in Fort McMurray to make room at Commonwealth Stadium for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• Looking to geek out in Edmonton? Here are five suggestions from The Local Good.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Talus Dome, photo by Kurt Bauschardt

Upcoming Events

• Happy Family Day! Enjoy free family activities at The Legislature and at City Hall, among other places.
• The Oil Kings have a home game on Family Day, hosting the Prince George Cougars. They host the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday.
• The Silver Skate Festival is on at Hawrelak Park until Sunday – don’t miss it! The Winter Triathlon takes place on Sunday.
• The Oilers host the Bruins on Wednesday night at Rexall Place. They host the Wild on Friday night and the Ducks on Saturday night.
• Thursday is Chinese New Year! Chinatown will welcome the Year of the Sheep on Saturday along 97 Street from 11am until 3pm.
• Coming up on Saturday and Sunday is the 5th annual Edmonton Flow Festival.
• The inaugural InFocus photography exhibition takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Harcourt House.
• Saturday is also the Coldest Night of the Year, in support of the Hope Mission.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton By Night, photo by Danny Roberts

I don’t often do this, but I have backdated this post (and actually posted it on Monday). Jetlag completely wiped me out Sunday when this would have normally gone up! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The City says it issued $4.625 billion worth of building permits last year, an increase of 17% over 2013. You can see monthly reports on construction permit values here.
• Congratulations to Westin chef Ryan O’Flynn on winning gold at the Gold Medal Plates competition over the weekend. He’s the first Edmonton chef to take home first place!
• A recent survey has found that 86% of callers to 311 are satisfied overall. In 2014, Edmontonians contacted the 311 Call Centre 2,192,863 times. And since the 311 app was released six months ago, it has been downloaded more than 12,000 times.
• The City filed an injunction against Uber to get them to cease operations.
• Within the next two months, a pilot project at Southgate LRT Station will make Wireless Edmonton available to Wi-Fi users! A step in the right direction.
• Could Leduc County and the City of Leduc tighten their relationship? A news release said the two will “evaluate and consider alternative governance models for the two municipalities.”
• According to Sandra Sperounes, at least six local acts have been signed to Canadian or American record labels over the last three months. Awesome!
• Five new routes have been equipped with Smart Bus technology: 12, 36, 123, 152, and 154. That brings the total number of routes with Smart Bus to 22. You can use ETS Live here.
• A new report from Alberta Environment says that air pollution at two out of ten Edmonton monitoring stations has exceeded government limits and must be reduced.
• All new schools built for Edmonton Public Schools will feature two gender-neutral washrooms. Jasper Place and Strathcona high schools already have gender-neutral washrooms.
• Do you miss Ryan Smyth? OilersNation did a pretty lengthy interview with him.
• The Local Good did a Q&A with Marissa Loewen on creating a resilient economy with pop-up stores.
• Following on from Premier Prentice’s decision to take a 5% wage cut, Alberta MLAs voted to do the same effective February 1.
• Want to file an appeal to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board? You can now do that online.
• This spring, scientists at SNOLAB will switch on a dark-matter detector that was designed and built at the University of Alberta.
• Toronto chef Michael Stadtlander is NAIT’s new Chef-in-Residence for 2015.
• Here are the latest urbanism headlines from Spacing Edmonton.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Caution Hazardous Girders by More Bike Lanes Please

Upcoming Events

• DemoCamp Edmonton 27 takes place on Tuesday evening at the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the U of A.
• Are you a student looking to procrastinate? As if you needed help! Check out Procrastinite at the Myer Horowitz on Thursday.
• The Silver Skate Festival kicks off on Friday at Hawrelak Park! This is the festival’s 25th year.
• Winefest Edmonton is back on Friday and Saturday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Saturday is of course Valentine’s Day. Don’t miss the Valentine’s Day Disco Skate at City Hall!
• Looking for more Valentine’s Day activities? Check out suggestions from Sharon and Linda.
• The Edmonton Rush host the Colorado Mammoth on Sunday at Rexall Place.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton Chinese New Year 2015 by IQRemix

I am in London, UK for the week on business! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• It was a week full of winter, even though it felt like spring for most of it! The Winter Cities Shake-Up conference took place all week, capped off by a big public event in Churchill Square. Here is Sharon’s recap of the market and festival. Edmonton’s Signature Winter Drink was announced – the “Traveling Mercies” by Transcend Coffee and Edmonton AM won. And don’t miss this recap of the Make Something Winter event!
• Councillor Amarjeet Sohi has announced that he will run for the federal Liberal party nomination in Edmonton-Mill Woods. A victory for him would be a big loss for Council.
• For the second year in a row, the City of Edmonton is a finalist in the Earth Hour City Challenge. Citizens are encouraged to show their support for the We Love Cities campaign on social media.
• It was another eventful week in Alberta politics. Dave has all the latest happenings here.
• Politician salaries were in the news this week. City Council received a 3.8% increase (as did Calgary’s City Council) while Premier Jim Prentice announced a 5% cutback for himself and his cabinet (and suggested for all MLAs).
• Capital City Records: Edmonton Local Music is a new initiative from the Edmonton Public Library to celebrate and promote Edmonton-made music, while also building an ongoing historical record of the local music scene (PDF). It is set to launch in the spring – you can learn more here.
• Uber has decided that all rides in Edmonton will be free, the latest tactic to push for legal status in our city (after which the free ride ends, presumably). This follows a petition the company posted online, which currently has a little over 8,000 signatures.
• The Oilers announced that their AHL franchise will be located in Bakersfield, California and will play in the newly created Pacific Division.
• The City and the Edmonton Nordic Ski Club are looking for your input on cross-country skiing.
• What do you think of the Freezeway idea? Crazy? Or crazy enough that it just might work? The concept is attracting attention far and wide.
• Daniel Zalmanowitz, Q.C., was appointed to Edmonton Provincial Court, Family and Youth Division, effective January 30.
• The City of Leduc recorded more than 2000 business licenses in 2014, setting a new record and increasing by 11% over 2013.
• Here’s a piece on the Omniplex at the Edmonton City as Museum Project.
• Apparently Holt Renfrew is looking to expand in Edmonton, but will it stay downtown?
• From Linda, here are 20 things to do in Edmonton for Valentine’s Day.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Photo by Robert

Upcoming Events

• There’s another Valley Line Open House taking place on Tuesday evening at the Old Timers’ Cabin.
• There are information sessions on new Edmonton Public School sites taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.
• The Oil Kings host the Hurricanes on Tuesday evening.
• Wednesday is Winter Walk Day – get out and enjoy the fresh air!
• The next Green Drinks takes place on Wednesday evening with the theme of Local Resilience.
• The Oilers host the Penguins on Wednesday evening.
• There’s a neat event taking place on Thursday at the Prince of Wales Armouries called Old Yeg Cafe. It is being hosted by a new group called Heritage Forward!
• The Flying Canoe Adventure returns on Friday evening at Mill Creek Ravine Park!
• The first Edmonton Resilience Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Looks like a great lineup of interesting topics!
• Will the groundhog see his shadow tomorrow?
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The Government of Alberta and representatives of Alberta’s municipalities signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week that will see a revised Municipal Government Act in place in 2016.
• The City announced another delay to the Metro Line LRT extension this week. Watch for it sometime in May, hopefully. We also learned that construction on the Valley Line LRT will close a portion of 102 Avenue for four years.
• Another big discussion this week was of course about Uber and Edmonton’s taxi industry. Here’s my recap of the Council meeting and next steps.
• More details about the Outlet Collection at EIA were announced this week. Developer Ivanhoé Cambridge has increased the shopping centre’s retail area to 415,000 square feet and plans to welcome more than 100 outlet brands when it opens in 2017.
• EIA also announced a new 210,000 square foot facility for Rosenau Transport Ltd. too. Together the projects will bring $225 million in investment to the region and will create approximately 1000 jobs.
• Some potentially big news for City Council as Councillor Amarjeet Sohi has confirmed he is considering seeking the federal Liberal nomination for Edmonton-Mill Woods.
• More big news in provincial politics too. Doug Horner announced he’ll be leaving the public sector, and then Fred Horne also announced his departure. And of course, rumors have started about who else may run.
• Retailer La Maison Simons announced it will open its second Edmonton location at Londonderry Mall in the fall of 2017. It’s a big win for the mall which is undergoing a $130 million overhaul right now.
• Congratulations to Michael Janz who became the new chair of the Edmonton Public School Board this week.
• Cineplex announced this week that it plans to open a 35,000 square foot theatre complex in the new arena district in 2018.
• In case you missed it: here’s my look at what’s coming up at Council this week.
• Here’s a great read from Ken Bautista on the Full-Stack Entrepreneurial Community here in Edmonton.
• The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra may need to find a new music director in the summer as Bill Eddins’ contract ends in June. He would certainly be missed!
• Via Sharon, here’s a study on food deserts in Edmonton. “Only a few neighbourhoods in Edmonton have supermarkets within reasonable walking distance…”
• Paula Simons argues that Edmonton needs new tools to save old places, like McKay Avenue School and St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.
• New evidence from Statistics Canada suggests that Canada’s prairie cities are growing even faster than we thought.
• Interesting to hear that CP Railways is planning to redevelopment their south Edmonton yard, located between 82 Avenue and 63 Avenue along Gateway Boulevard. The site is 92 acres and they’re opening to redevelop it into a mixed-use development.
• If the Oilers could trade captain Andrew Ference, should they?
• Here’s a great piece on Alex Decoteau and the impact he had on Edmonton during his short 30 years.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out ShareEdmonton.

Mayors Iveson & Nenshi talk with Premier Prentice

Upcoming Events

• Ice on Whyte got underway this weekend. Head over and check it out before everything melts!
• Also taking place this week is the Winter Cities Shake-Up, a gathering of urban planners, designers, entrepreneurs, artists, and all other people who want to take advantage of everything that winter has to offer.
• The Oilers host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at Rexall Place. They host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
• The Oil Kings are in action on Wednesday against the Kelowna Rockets.
• IllumiNITE is back! Check out the outdoor gallery of light installations and sculptures on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the pocket park behind the old Sobey’s on 104 Street.
• NextGen is hosting an event called #YegIdeaXchange on Thursday at Startup Edmonton.
• Also taking place Thursday is the next Culture Collective Variety Show.
• Friday night is the annual Chamber Ball at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• I’ll be at Rexall Place that night for the Edmonton Rush game against the New England Black Wolves.
• Head over to Latitude 53 on Saturday night for Parka Patio: Fort YEG.
• The U of A’s Alumni Association’s celebration of its 100th anniversary is starting on the weekend with the Green & Glow Winterfest.
• Planning for Valentine’s Day already? Here are some ideas from Edmonton Tourism.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

All Eyes on the Big Build! by Jeff Wallace

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• On Tuesday morning, a fire destroyed the historic Roxy Theatre on 124 Street. For more, here’s Liz Nicholls on the loss, and here’s a Make Something Edmonton post by Heather Zwicker.
• City Council is back at work this week – here’s my look at what’s on the agenda.
• Get ready for a Spring 2015 provincial election – the PCs have set a deadline for all candidates to be nominated by March 15.
• Heads up: snow removal on collector/bus routes begins on Monday! Though with the warmer weather, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of it melt this week.
• Bill Comrie announced a $1.5 million endowment to the MacEwan University hockey teams this week.
• A new report called Profile of Poverty in Edmonton shows that over 100,000 people still live in poverty in our city, a number the mayor called “unacceptable”. You can read the news release and download the report here.
• From Spacing Edmonton, here are 10 urban interventions that made Edmonton shine in 2014.
• We’ll hear a lot more about Uber this week as Council discusses a report on taxis. I’m not sure why the taxi companies felt making it harder to get a taxi was a good way to build support for their service, but that’s what they did Wednesday with a strike that saw about 100 cars drive by City Hall.
• The Edmonton Eskimos traded slotback Fred Stamps to Montreal in exchange for wide receiver Kenny Stafford.
• The Health Quality Council of Alberta has released the results of a review done on medevac operations since the closure of the City Centre Airport: they found no evidence that the airport closure had an impact.
• Here is Karen’s local blog roundup from January 12.
• Expect the new downtown arena to be more technologically advanced when it opens, with “a robust tech infrastructure for now and the future.”
• Muttart Lands, the 3.6 hectares of land between Commonwealth Stadium and Jasper Avenue, has been purchased by developer Brookfield Residential. Planning for a new community is underway, with the design slated to be released in the spring.
• The deadline to enter the Winter Signature Drink Competition has been extended to January 20! The final judging event will take place on January 26.
• Here’s a contribution to Edmonton Commerce News that argues winter and business can mean success in Edmonton.
• The Sign of Hope campaign surpassed its goal for another year, raising $3.4 million.
• Nominations are now open for the Mayor’s Awards which recognizes people or businesses that go the extra mile to ensure accessibility for all. The deadline for nominations is March 6, with the awards ceremony slated to take place on May 20.
• For more headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

The Winter Garden under construction, photo by Darren Kirby

Upcoming Events

• Make Something Mondays is back with a winter-themed event called Winter Makers.
• The next Capital Ideas event takes place on Wednesday, with a discussion building a killer brand.
• On Wednesday evening, the 18th Nerd Nite event takes place at the Citadel.
• Alberta’s Business Person of the Year Award Luncheon takes place on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• The first public meeting of the Edmonton Police Commission for 2015 takes place on Thursday evening at City Hall.
• The Oil Kings host the Kootenay Ice on Thursday, the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday, and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday.
• On Friday evening, The Society for American Wines is hosting an event at LUX.
• Ice on Whyte gets underway on Friday at End of Steel Park! Hope it’s colder again by then!
• The City-Region Studies Centre is hosting the Edmonton Infill Tour on Saturday.
• The City is hosting an event called Building the Momentum on Saturday to talk about the Council Initiative on Public Engagement.
• Also Saturday is the Lunar New Year Pyramid opening at the Muttart Conservatory.
• The Edmonton Pet Expo takes place on Saturday and Sunday! The organizers ask that you please leave your pets at home.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Premier Prentice at EEDC’s Impact Luncheon 2015, photo by Chris Schwarz

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Want to get involved with a City of Edmonton agency, board, or committee? The City is looking to fill 34 positions. The application deadline is Friday, February 6.
• The City started mailing the 2015 property assessment notices last week (all 362,223 of them), so you should have yours by now! Total taxable value of assessed properties now stands at $122 billion for residential properties and $43 billion for non-residential properties. In total, the City anticipates receiving approximately $1.3 billion from property taxes in 2015, approximately 57% of the Operating Budget.
• In case you missed it, here’s my update on the initiative to end poverty in Edmonton.
• Is Edmonton the saddest Canadian city on Twitter? A new study looked at more than 100,000 tweets from across Canada, and decided we’re pretty sad. Edmontonians don’t appear to agree, which led to the #WhyYEGIsSad hashtag making fun of the results. I will say that 100,000 tweets from across Canada seems like an awfully small sample size; in 2013, Edmontonians posted at least that many tweets in just 2 days.
• The Eskimos announced this week a commitment of $250,000 over five years in scholarship funds to support the University of Alberta Golden Bears football program.
• The fifth annual Edmonton Music Awards are still happening, but three months later than usual on June 14.
• The City of Edmonton picked up Christmas trees on Friday, but if you missed it, you can take yours to a Recycling Depot or one of the Eco Stations. In Leduc, trees will be picked up this week.
• The Edmonton Rush are not off to a great start this season! They lost their home opener on Saturday 14-10.
• The Computer Poker Research Group at the University of Alberta have essentially solved heads-up limit Texas hold ’em poker with a program called Cepheus. It’s a big deal because unlike in chess where all the information about the game is on the board, poker players have imperfect information.
• MacEwan University’s Board of Governors has approved a 2.2% tuition increase to take effect in September 2015.
• There’s a lot of expensive projects underway in Edmonton, but even our biggest didn’t crack the top 20 in ReNew Canada’s Top 100 Projects report. A total of $157.9 billion is being spent on megaprojects across the country.
• On local megaproject, the $375 million Federal Building upgrade, is done with staff and MLAs slated to begin moving in next month.
• The City is looking to export its waste management expertise to China, but there’s some upfront cost involved.
• Pogo CarShare has signed up 350 customers and is looking to expand its fleet to 50 vehicles by the end of March. If you sign up before January 15 with the promo code POGO2015 you’ll get $10 off!
• Here’s a feature on Iconoclast Koffiehuis from The Local Good.
• Looking for a job in the local tech community? Check out the Startup Edmonton jobs board.
• A crowd gathered outside City Hall tonight to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks in France.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out ShareEdmonton.

Kelly Ramsey by Darren Kirby

Upcoming Events

• Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week continues through Sunday! Here are 20 questions with event chairperson Darrell Davis.
• EEDC’s annual Impact Luncheon takes place on Tuesday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• The Oil Kings host the Wheat Kings on Tuesday, the Pats on Friday, and the Royals on Sunday.
• The Edmonton Social Planning Council is celebrating its 75th anniversary on Wednesday at City Hall.
• The Edmonton Whiskey Festival takes place at the Delta Edmonton South on Wednesday.
• Dark Matters takes place on Thursday evening at the TELUS World of Science!
• The first Morning News, Edmonton’s News & Journalism Meetup, takes place on Friday morning at Startup Edmonton.
• Sunday is World Snow Day!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Code Blue by Jeff Wallace

Welcome to 2015! Here are my first weekly Edmonton notes of the year:

Headlines

• In case you missed it, here’s my recap of Edmonton in 2014 and collection of other local 2014-focused lists and recaps.
• Edmonton’s new year’s baby was Echo Freyja Grey Adams, born two minutes into the year at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
• Be advised the winter parking ban remains in effect as crews clean up after the big dump of snow we received this week! You can always find the latest details at edmonton.ca/winterroads and you can subscribe to email notifications too.
• If you need to travel downtown after 7pm on weeknights, try to avoid 104 Avenue as it will be closed until 6am every night to allow for construction of the Wintergarden.
• Get ready to nominate your favorite Edmonton blogs, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, and more – nominations for the 2014 Yeggies are open! The deadline to nominate someone is February 28.
• Remember the Port Alberta plan to make Edmonton a transportation hub? Apparently it is being revived, with a narrower focus.
• A Calgary lawyer says there are not enough judges in Alberta and that’s causing delays.
• Remedy Cafe’s flagship location has expanded, and the local coffee chain is looking to open another new location in Terwillegar in March. Great to see the business booming!
• Here is Karen’s blog roundup from December 29.
• The Oilers traded Mark Arcobello to Nashville for Derek Roy this week. And on Friday they traded David Perron to Pittsburgh for Rob Klinkhammer and a 2015 first-round draft pick.
• According to Edmonton police chief Rod Knecht, the service will be focusing more on online crime in the future. An official cybercrime unit is slated to start this year.
• Here are 20 questions with Sarah Chan, wife of mayor Don Iveson.
• Uber rides are no longer free, and the City of Edmonton has said they will start issuing tickets of $1,400 or more to any drivers caught.
• As you know I don’t normally cover crime, but I did want to mention the horrible multiple-homicide that took place on December 29. Mayor Iveson issued a statement saying “it now seems clear that this is a devastating case of domestic violence.” And although he called the scale of the event “rare and exceptional” he did recognize that “domestic violence remains all too common in our society.” Premier Prentice also issued a statement, saying “on behalf of the Government of Alberta, I extend our deepest condolences to the people affected by this incident, and our appreciation to public servants who provided a professional response.”

Sharon and I braved the extreme cold warning and found this on the footbridge!

Upcoming Events

• Canada will play Russia in the gold medal game of the World Junior’s on Monday night! Here in Edmonton, the 52nd annual Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week gets underway on Friday. The tournament runs through Sunday, January 18.
• Head over to Startup Edmonton for a few tech events this week! On Tuesday, the Google Developer Group Meetup takes place, the Exchange.js JavaScript Meetup takes place on Wednesday, on Thursday the Physical Computing Meetup takes place, and all day Saturday is the Monthly Hackathon.
• The Oilers host the Red Wings on Tuesday, the Blackhawks on Friday, and the Panthers on Sunday.
• TEC Edmonton will be celebrating the launch of the 2015 VenturePrize business plan competition on Thursday afternoon at Enterprise Square.
• Saturday and Sunday my favorite winter festival of the year returns! Check out Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival on 118 Avenue all weekend long.
• I’ll be at Rexall Place on Saturday evening for the Edmonton Rush season home-opener against the Minnesota Swarm.
• The weather looks good for the weekend, so be sure to check out Swing ‘n Skate Sundays at City Hall!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Just a few more sleeps until Santa comes! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The rumors started swirling last weekend and they were confirmed mid-week: Danielle Smith and eight Wildrose MLAs crossed the floor to join the PCs. The unprecedented move has been called all kinds of things, including an issue of character. Will we see a snap election now?
• It finally happened: the Oilers fired head coach Dallas Eakins on Monday. He has been replaced by GM Craig MacTavish and interim head coach Todd Nelson of the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons, the team the Oilers are ending their affiliation with at the end of the season. OilersNation posted a collection of quotes from the news conference, including this incredible MacTavish quote: “There’s blood all over my hands.”
• All the best to Edmonton Rush GM and head coach Derek Keenan who is stepping away from the team for personal family reasons. Here is the official roster for the 2015 Edmonton Rush.
• In case you missed it, Uber launched in Edmonton this week. Elise has been covering the launch also. Here’s a collection of questions on the new service she put together.
• EPS has launched a new awareness campaign called “Make Your Move” that “urges the public to get involved and interrupt behaviors that may lead to sexual violence.”
• From Spacing Edmonton, here are the latest urbanism headlines.
• The 19th annual DONATE A RIDE campaign launched this week. You can contribute using envelopes on ETS buses, at City Hall, or online.
• This is pretty cool: there’s now an electric car charging station at Southgate Shopping Centre. Someone with a Tesla showed up 20 minutes after it was announced.
• The City of Leduc is seeking nominations for the 2014 Citizens of Distinction Awards. The deadline to nominate someone is January 9, 2015.
• From the National Post: Why are so many god-awful Christmas movies filmed in Edmonton?
• Ugh, the Metro LRT Line to NAIT could be delayed again.
• The City has posted a series of tips on recycling and reducing your waste during the holidays.
• Want to be a presenter at Pecha Kucha Night 21, scheduled for March 5, 2015? NextGen is now accepting submissions.
• Here’s a recap from Make Something Edmonton on the Sound, Light & Motion event.
• Here is the latest WinterCity Blizzard newsletter. The deadline to enter the 2nd annual Winter Signature Drink competition is December 31.
• In the latest episode of Mack & Cheese, we discuss bike lanes, Uber, and falling oil prices.
• For more headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

WEM Pedestrian Bridge by Kris Bauschardt

Upcoming Events

• Did you share something for #yeglongnight?
• You’ve still got a few days left to Celebrate the Season at the Alberta Legislature! You can also check out Candy Cane Lane.
• The final performance of A Christmas Carol will take place on Tuesday.
• The Oilers host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday evening.
• The Oil Kings host the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday.
• Be advised both the City Market Downtown and the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market are closed on Saturday and will return on January 3.
• You can check out Frostival in McCauley on Saturday however!
• The Edmonton Resilience Festival is coming up in February, and they’ve just announced the workshop lineup!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The newly redeveloped pocket park on 104 Street

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• In case you missed it, City Council approved the 2015 budgets on Thursday. The average tax increase is 5.7%. Here’s a look at what’s coming up at Council this week.
• Lorna Rosen, the City of Edmonton’s CFO, is quitting to become Alberta’s deputy minister of education. She’ll leave her position in January. She has been CFO at the City since May 2010.
• The Edmonton Community Foundation is celebrating 25 years with 25 grants of $25,000. Those grants are over and above other funding for 2014, bringing the total discretionary granting this year to more than $2.4 million.
• More good news for downtown this week: Enbridge announced it will be moving its offices to both Manulife Place and the new Kelly Ramsey Tower. It would have been really disappointing had they moved out of the downtown. The decision enables Enbridge to consolidate 2,500 staff from six different buildings into two across the street from one another.
• According to CMHC, the number of housing starts in Edmonton in November was up year-over-year, and the six month moving average trended at 15,181 units. Both single-detached and multi-family housing starts increased. Despite dropping oil prices, local realtors expect the bullish housing market to continue into 2015.
• The first holiday Checkstops took place last weekend and EPS charged 17 motorists with impaired driving and issued 22 roadside suspensions. The program will continue running throughout December.
• Automated Passport Control kiosks are now in operation at the Edmonton International Airport to make travelling to the US faster and easier. I used one of the kiosks on Sunday when I flew to the US, and it worked really well!
• I missed the #yegsnowfight last weekend as I was travelling, but here’s a recap from co-organizer Jeff Chase and here’s a recap from co-organizer Robin Mazumder.
• The University of Alberta’s board of governors has approved a 2.2% tuition increase for September 2015.
• Students admitted in January 2015 to the University of Lethbridge’s Edmonton campus will be the final group after that school’s board of governors voted to shut the campus down.
• Karen MacKenzie has been appointed to the Edmonton Police Commission for the term January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016.
• Here’s a great bit of history from Spacing Edmonton: Why are Jasper and Whyte Ave 7 Lanes Wide?
• Premier Jim Prentice has appointed six Canadian leaders to a new advisory committee focused on achieving public service excellence, known as The Premier’s Advisory Committee on the Alberta Public Service.
• Sharon and I both attended The Local Good’s first annual fundraiser on Saturday at Boyle Street Plaza. Here’s a good recap from Elise Stolte. If you want to give to their fundraising campaign, you can do so here.
• I was really sad to hear that Tavern 1903 has closed, apparently due to a disagreement with their sublandlord.
• I haven’t tried it, but Omar makes the new Edmonton Transit app sound like a waste of time.
• The search is on for Edmonton’s next Winter Signature Drink! The final judging event will take place on January 14, 2015.
• I’m excited to go check out the new winter chalet along the trails at Victoria Golf Course. Sponsored by EPCOR, the winter chalet will be open on weekends until March 15 and is stocked with hot chocolate!
• From Sarah Jackson: City of Champions. Edmonton is filled with champions!

Love the lights on the cranes!

Upcoming Events

• Get into the holiday spirit with Celebrate the Season at the Legislature or Candy Cane Lane! Both are great options given the warm weather.
• The next Meaet event from NextGen takes place on Monday evening.
• The Oil Kings host the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday evening.
• The next Open Edmonton Meetup takes place on Wednesday evening at Startup Edmonton.
• Thursday is Customer Appreciation Day on 4th Street Promenade! It’s also the grand opening of the newly renovated pocket park.
• The Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree runs Thursday through Sunday at the Jubilee.
• Friday night is Unsilent Night on Alberta Avenue.
• Check out Frostival in McCauley or It’s a Wonderful Whyte on Saturday depending on whether you’re north or south of the river!
• The Oilers host the Dallas Stars on Sunday evening.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Check out more photos from The Local Good’s fundraiser here

I’m in Miami for most of the week for work. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• It was pretty hard to miss all the news this week related to Bill 10. Here’s a solid overview and timeline from Dave. Also don’t miss Alberta Diary’s coverage, and also this post from I Dig Your Girlfriend.
• The City’s newest recreation centre and library is officially open! The Meadows is a beautiful building from the outside – I plan to go visit the inside soon.
• I am chairing the Engagement Subcommittee for the Northlands Arena Strategy Committee, and our activities got underway this week with the launch of an online survey. Please take a few minutes and let us know what you think should happen to Rexall Place!
• A team of students at the University of Alberta has run a successful crowdfunding campaign to build and launch Alberta’s first satellite.
• It was another busy budget week for Council! Among other things, they made a tentative commitment to park-and-ride at Heritage Valley.
• In St. Albert, their City Council has approved the alignment for future LRT through the city.
• Congratulations to The Provincial Archive, winners of the second Edmonton Music Prize.
• In case you missed it, I wrote about the City’s budgets and the Edmonton Police Service.
• EPS and the Police Commission released their 2nd and 3rd quarter reports to the community this week.
• From OilersNation: So you want to be a Flames fan?
• Greg Lepp, Q.C., was appointed to Edmonton Provincial Court, Criminal Division, effective December 4.
• A new AHS report says that both the Royal Alexandra and Misericordia hospitals need major upgrades.
• I’m certain the term “Yeddies” will not stick, but this is still an interesting piece from David Staples on City Council and “downtown dwellers”.
• You can now use your camera phone to report problematic taxi cabs. You can also use the 311 app to report winter cycling obstacles.
• Want to have your say or ask questions about the City’s proposed annexations? You can fill out the Sturgeon County survey until December 16.
• For the latest on neighbourhood blading and to see when your neighbourhood is scheduled to be done, check out this page. After the first big snowfall of the season, the City issued 1,825 fines for parking ban violations, which is more than the first snowfall last year.
• I was sad to miss it, but it sounds like today’s #yegsnowfight was a success!
• Here are the latest urbanism headlines from Spacing Edmonton.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Amazing pano from Jeff Wallace!

Upcoming Events

• Make Something Edmonton’s latest event takes place on Monday night at the Winspear Centre! Sound, Light, and Motion sounds like it’ll be unique and entertaining evening.
• Take a festive walk one evening this week and check out Celebrate the Season at the Alberta Legislature! The lights look beautiful and you can get a sneak peek at the Federal Building improvements too.
• Festival of Light continues this week at the Valley Zoo!
• Get ready for more provincial politics on Tuesday when the Edmonton Chamber hosts the Premier’s State of the Province luncheon.
• The Oil Kings host Kamloops on Wednesday at Rexall Place.
• This year’s shared Christmas event at the Expo Centre takes place on Thursday and Friday, called Fire & Ice.
• Don’t miss the Culture Collective’s Holiday Market on Thursday evening at Yellowhead Brewery.
• The 2014 edition of Candy Cane Lane officially starts on Friday!
• The Oilers host the Ducks at Rexall Place on Friday evening and the Rangers on Sunday.
• Hope to see you on Saturday for the Local Good’s first annual fundraiser.
• In case you missed it, here’s my guide to 2014/2015 winter festivals and events in Edmonton! And if you’re looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve, check out Linda’s event listing!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Alberta First Nations Opportunities Forum