Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Jack Layton’s death dominated the headlines this week. Flags at City Hall were flown at half-mast on Monday, and yesterday for the funeral. Thousands of Edmontonians attended a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening at the Legislature to pay their respects. Here’s a great collection of photos from that event.
• On Thursday the City released a report outlining a possible downtown CRL. Unlike the arena CRL that had been discussed previously, this one would cover the entire downtown and could help fund other revitalization projects. Here’s my initial take on the proposed CRL.
• On the same day that the City of Edmonton apologized for massive delays on the Quesnell Bridge, Statistics Canada released the results of its commuter survey and found that on average, Edmontonians get to work faster than commuters in any other big Canadian city.
• This letter from Ben Henderson explaining his support for the proposed downtown arena was widely circulated this week. In other arena news, Gary Lamphier is “sick of the downtown arena debate.”
• The Edmonton Journal on Northlands: “If Northlands isn’t going to get a seat at the arena negotiating table, it surely deserves the right to stand on its own.”
• On Thursday, Mayor Mandel received a notice from the Government of Alberta explaining that the planned $15 fee for motor vehicle searches has been suspended. It’ll now be considered for the 2012/2013 budget.
• Summer is nearly over, yet the snow at our city’s storage facilities still hasn’t melted completely. Apparently the City is building another snow storage facility to help in the coming years.
• According to RBC Economics Research, Edmonton has one of the most affordable housing markets in Canada. A person buying a home in Edmonton would spend 33.8% of their household income on owning a home, on average. CMHC expects that prices will rise significantly next year, however. The average sale price will reach $337,000 according to CMHC estimates.
• Don’t forget: Alberta’s distracted driving law comes into effect on Thursday!
• What do you think, is Ted Morton showing Edmonton some love?
• The City of St. Albert has lost another senior administrator – CFO Dean Screpnek is leaving to join the City of Edmonton.
• Want to buy a seat from Commonwealth Stadium? As the old seats are replaced, they’ll be sold for $100 each.
• The Edmonton Oilers have hired Duane Sutter as a scout.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Here’s a great post by Andy Grabia on Edmonton buildings to be proud of.
• Interesting post from David Staples on how the Wildrose Party’s agenda would threaten LRT.
• On Wednesday, City Council will be discussing the proposed downtown CRL.
• A stakeholder conversation for EFCL and Edmonton Next Gen on the Rossdale redevelopment is being held on Wednesday evening.
• Symphony Under the Sky kicks off on Friday with Mozart, Handel & Brahms.
• Also Friday: Movies on the Square! Actually it is happening on Saturday and Sunday too.
• Josh Groban is performed at Rexall Place on Friday evening.
• FC Edmonton is hosting the NSC Minnesota Stars on Saturday.
• It’s back! Bacon Camp 2011 is happening Saturday evening at Lux.
• Also Saturday evening, Metropolis is back for the 6th year.
• SONiC BOOM 2011 is taking place all day Sunday the Edmonton Expo Centre.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The Calm Before the Storm by Braeden Petruk

It was fantastic to see so many people in Churchill Square on Thursday for the I heart yegdt BBQ!

The Alley of Light got a makeover today!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Design concepts for the new Royal Alberta Museum were made available this week, with four teams making the shortlist. You can see some more images on Flickr. Initial reaction was muted at best, but you still have time to email your comments.
• I hope you got outside to enjoy the weather today – we broke 30 degrees! The rest of the week looks pretty good too, with highs in the 20s.
• Today was the last day of Fringeopolis, the 30th anniversary edition of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. And what a year it was! The previous ticket record of 92,500 was shattered this year – estimates put it at more than 102,000.
• Despite the large amount of rain we’ve had this summer, the City says that all major road projects remain on schedule to be finished this fall.
• Canada Post is spending $86 million to revamp its Edmonton-region mail operations and facilities, changes which go into effect next spring.
• The governments of Alberta and Canada agreed to a new 20-year contract that will see the RCMP continue as Alberta’s provincial police force to March 31, 2032.
• In one of his final interviews, Premier Ed Stelmach suggested that provincial money could be made available for the proposed downtown arena as part of celebrations for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.
• Congratulations to Empire Avenue! The local startup announced this week that it has raised $1.2 million in series A seed financing.
• A peer review committee on snow removal has made a number of recommendations on how to improve the City’s reaction during the winter, including an interactive map to provide real-time information about snow maintenance activities. Let’s hope they also release the data in the catalogue for that.
• Night Ride, a late night bus service the City was planning to pilot on Whyte Avenue, is being delayed to allow for more consultation.
• Our homicide rate might be unusually high this year, but the number of traffic fatalities recorded is unusually low.
• Surprise, surprise! The Hockey News has once again predicted that the Oilers will finish last.
• Here’s a nice feature on the new Fort Edmonton footbridge from David Staples. I love that he took the photo as well.
• And here’s a nice feature on Alberta Avenue and the revitalization process.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Northlands President and CEO Richard Andersen launched a new blog this week.
• City Council is back at work this week, with a Community Services Committee meeting tomorrow, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee meeting on Tuesday, and Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday.
• interVivos and the Canadian International Council are hosting an event called The Oil Sands of Our Lives on Wednesday.
• Don’t miss the free I ❤ yegdt BBQ taking place in Churchill Square on Thursday at lunch!
• DEDfest is back! The film festival gets underway Thursday evening at the Garneau Theatre.
• The Capitals are hosting the Calgary Vipers from Thursday through Sunday.
• The Edmonton Public Library is taking over Churchill Square on Friday for the first ever EPL Squared outdoor book sale and library festival.
• Edmonton Next Gen has a new event called MEAET coming up on Saturday. It was inspired by Detroit’s SOUP series of events.
• Our summer music festivals continue next weekend with Open Sky, taking place Saturday and Sunday at Hawrelak Park.
• Starting Tuesday you can catch Madame Butterfly Opera at Giovanni Caboto Park every evening this week. It’s part of the East Meets West festival, which wraps up on Sunday with Viva Italia Viva Edmonton.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton. Be sure to give the calendar view a look too!

The Edmonton Police Service launched a new video series this week called the Community Crime Update. Here’s the description:

In support of the Violence Reduction Strategy, the Edmonton Police Service is launching a series of weekly Community Crime Update videos, to provide an inside look at some of the ways police are dealing with crime issues as well as the ways that the community can become more involved. Please feel free to email us your comments at crimeupdate@edmontonpolice.ca.

And here’s the inaugural video:

Photo by Braeden Petruk

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Duncan has a good collection of links related to the recent arena news.
• To me at least, it seemed like Edmonton’s homicide rate was in the news quite a bit this week. Don’t miss David Staples’ column on the subject, or Lorne Gunter’s column from today. We should be hearing from EPS Chief Rod Knecht this week.
• Over 12 kilometers of new on-street bicycle routes are now ready for cyclists, and there’s 6 more kilometers to be completed by the end of the month.
• The Alberta Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling this week, dismissing legal action brought against the City regarding Lucy, the elephant at the Valley Zoo.
• The Heritage Festival saw more than 310,000 attendees last weekend, which was better than expected. Capital EX did not fare as well this year, with attendance at 713,546. That’s the lowest since 2006 when the festival was rebranded (see more data here).
• Permanent public washrooms are finally coming to Whyte Avenue.
• According to the City, mosquito counts are down even though this historically would have been the peak season for the little buggers in our city.
• Metro Cinema reopened in the Garneau Theatre this week. The official opening is being planned for September 16.
• EPCOR announced its quarterly results on Friday.
• Congratulations to local company Cleankeys Inc. on closing a Series-A financing round of $5 million!
• Bad news for drivers: access to northbound Anthony Henday Drive from the Whitemud will be closed until October 7. On the plus side, the new interchange at Lessard Road and Anthony Henday Drive is now open.
• Hot on the heels of the BMO ‘63 demolition, Paula has the scoop on Sylvancroft, “one of the most beautiful, most romantic, most storied heritage properties in Edmonton.” Will it too, disappear?
• ENTS held an open house today – the Journal has a recap.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Edmonton Next Gen is looking for presenters for Pecha Kucha Night 11. The deadline to apply is August 12!
• Here is Sharon’s latest City Market report.
• The Kaleido Festival is coming up in September, and you can already download the festival program.
• Words with Friends 2 is taking place on Wednesday evening.
• Our summer festival season continues with my favorite of the year – Fringeopolis begins Thursday in Old Strathcona!
• Also Thursday, Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series continues.
• The Capitals are in action at Telus Field on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday against the Yuma Scorpions.
• On Sunday afternoon the Fort Lauderdale Strikers are in town to take on FC Edmonton at Foote Field.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Pyramids in the City by RandallTT

You can see more photos of the new Capitol Theatre here.

I’m off to Norwalk, Connecticut early tomorrow morning for work, then to Toronto on Friday to meet up with Sharon for the weekend. That means I’m missing some good stuff here at home, but it’ll be nice to have a change of scene!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• The weekend turned out to be lovely, but we’ve definitely had our share of rain lately. The weather has apparently had an impact on housing starts, has hampered road construction, and has helped the mosquito population soar. It also affected the Street Performers festival, but not everyone was scared away! It sounds like the trees are happy about all the rain however, given that last decade’s drought wiped out a variety of species at four times the normal rate.
• The Walterdale bridge has been in the news lately. Could it be a pedestrian walkway lined with cafes and shops? Could it exist alongside the new bridge?
• The discussion of keeping the old bridge seemed appropriate given the old Bank of Montreal building will now certainly be demolished.
• I’m in favor of some development in the downtown area of the river valley, so I was quite pleased to hear there is a new café in Louise McKinney Riverfront Park.
• Edmonton has been selected to host Country Music Week and the Canadian Country Music Awards again in both 2013 and 2014.
• Speed-on-green enforcement resumed in Edmonton this week, so watch your speed!
• According to a Colliers International study, parking rates in Edmonton have jumped by 28.6% over the last year.
• The City is looking for the best designs in Edmonton to be featured at the four biennial urban design awards.
• Here’s an article by urban planner Tom Young on the need for vision when it comes to our city’s urban planning.
• The Oilers traded Andrew Cogliano to the Ducks this week for a second round pick in the 2013 entry draft.
• The City of Edmonton launched a new open data catalogue this week, and a few new data sets too such as mosquito counts!
• Land developer Irv Kipnes caused a stir this week when he said that The Way We Green could cause “bedlam” and could “stop Edmonton in its tracks”.
• Northlands wants to replace 8000 seats in Rexall Place at a cost of $770,000, one of the four additions to its capital budget that City Council must approve.
• This piece on the Scona Road construction basically boils down to unacceptable public consultation.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• This is a cool timelapse video of the setup for Shakespeare in The Park.
• Heads up: starting tomorrow there are speed limit and lane reductions on the northbound lanes of the QE2 between Leduc and Edmonton. The work will take place during non-peak daylight hours until July 26.
• The Mayor will officially proclaim this week Race Week in Edmonton tomorrow at City Hall. The street festival starts Wednesday, and there are all kinds of activities throughout the week.
• The Edmonton Indy runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the City Centre Airport. Miss Edmonton was crowned this weekend. The Grand Marshall for the race is Boston Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk.
• City Council’s final meeting before the summer break takes place on Wednesday.
• A Taste of Edmonton starts on Thursday and runs until the 30th.
• Edmonton The Musical starts on Thursday evening at Avenue Theatre.
• This year’s Capital Ex Parade takes place Thursday morning downtown. Capital Ex itself gets underway on Friday.
• New Music West takes place on Saturday at the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel.
• The Capitals are back in action at Telus Field on Saturday and Sunday against the Chico Outlaws.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Lightning over Edmonton by Nelson Webb

Last week’s SOS Fest crowd by Brittney

Captain Capital!

Happy Canada Day long weekend! Here are my weekly notes:

• It was revealed this week that the federal government appears to have yanked its support for our Expo 2017 bid because of fears the event “could lead to a request for a large-scale expenditure in Eastern Canada.”
• Congratulations to Anna Marie Sewell, Edmonton’s newest Poet Laureate!
• On Monday, the City unveiled the names of 23,000 citizens who have made a commitment to help build a racism-free Edmonton.
• This press release from the City strikes me as pretty disingenuous considering the cost overruns the 23rd Avenue interchange experienced. Bob Boutilier, GM of Transportation Services, was quoted: “Thanks to excellent project management work by the Roads Design and Construction team, we saved a considerable amount of money on the 23 Avenue/Gateway Boulevard Interchange project which will go towards priority roads and intersections that otherwise would not have been repaired until next season.”
• The Edmonton Eskimos won their regular season opener tonight against the Roughriders in Regina, 42-28. Then they tweeted this: The Edmonton Eskimos just checked into the #2K11Season on @FourSquare & ousted @CharlieSheen as the Mayor of #WINNING! #YEG #ESKS. Love it!
• The Edmonton Energy weren’t so successful today, losing 124-116 to the Vancouver Volcanoes in the IBL championship final. Great run though!
• The Oilers acquired six new players on Friday, and have agreed to terms with Nugent-Hopkins.
• According to a new report, Edmonton will need twenty-two new overpasses over the next thirty years.
• Cliff Higuchi is the new VP and GM of the Shaw Conference Centre, taking over for the retiring Mike Fitzpatrick.
• The Journal calls for an expansion of bus service to the airport.
• The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation announced this week that over $1.7 million will be gifted to charitable organizations as a result of fundraising efforts during the 2010-2011 season.
• In case you missed it: Paula Simons wrote about the Bank of Montreal building, scheduled to be demolished as part of GE Capital’s redevelopment of the old EPCOR tower.
• Energy-related leasing this year caused Edmonton’s industrial real estate vacancy rate to drop to 4.8%.
• Everyone is still looking for answers for Edmonton’s high homicide rate.
• ArtsHab Alberta Avenue is a new $3.7 million affordable housing cooperative building for artists.
• Did you remember to pay your taxes on Thursday? The City will collect a total of $1.3 billion in property taxes this year.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• At least eight Edmonton acts have been nominated for the 2011 edition of the Western Canadian Music Awards. The awards ceremony takes place in October in Whitehorse. Check it out here.
• The 24th annual edition of the Sterling Awards took place this week. Check out the winners here.
• There are some great Edmontonians on Alberta Venture’s 2011 list of the 50 Most Influential People in Alberta. Congrats all!
• Here’s a blog post about the City of Edmonton and IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge.
• The Brick’s annual Super Novice Invitational hockey tournament starts tomorrow morning and runs all week at West Edmonton Mall.
• The Works Art & Design Festival wraps up on Tuesday!
• Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series continues on Thursday, hosted this week by interVivos!
• The Edmonton International Street Performs Festival kicks off on Friday in Churchill Square. It runs through the 17th.
• Also Friday is the start of the Edmonton & Northern Alberta Historic Festival.
• The Eskimos are home to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday evening.
• Old Strathcona will be alive with the sound of music on Sunday as SOSFest returns.
• Also Sunday, the Avenue Goes to the Dogs festival takes place in Eastwood Park.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The fireworks in Mill Woods, photo by Brittney.

For Edmonton-related stuff throughout the week, check out Edmonton Etc. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Vancouver-based Perkins + Will was named the winner of the City Centre Redevelopment competition this week. After the final contracts are signed, a 15-month Master Plan process will get underway. Construction could begin as early as the summer of 2014.
• Unsurprisingly, the Edmonton Oilers used their first overall pick to select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the NHL entry draft. It was the news that Ryan Smyth is returning to the Oilers that everyone was talking about, however.
• Telus announced this week that it plans to spend more than $20 million on upgrades in and around Telus Plaza downtown. No word on when construction will begin, but the project is slated to include new green space.
• ATB Financial confirmed this week that it will move to Telus House, the larger of the two towers at Telus Plaza, starting in late 2013.
• City Council approved the Community Revitalization Levy for The Quarters Downtown this week, a $56 million project to improve infrastructure in the area.
• On Wednesday, the City said that it would not be able to limit next year’s tax hike to 4.5% without making $50 million worth of spending cuts.
• According to the Office of Traffic Safety, traffic injuries, fatalities, property damage, and overall collisions on City streets all decreased last year.
• Edmonton was one of four Canadian cities granted membership into the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age-friendly Cities.
• Rain has been the story of our weather lately, something the City of Edmonton has been dealing with. On the plus side, it looks like just a day or two of rain this week.
• A new report from Edmonton Transit calls for the typical fine for almost three dozen offences to quintuple, from $50 to $250.
• You know that empty lot on Whyte Avenue at 105 Street? It won’t be empty much longer.
• City Council took Administration to task this week over poor planning of road projects, something the City Auditor recently highlighted.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• The deadline to nominate a front yard in bloom is June 30!
• Zoe Todd wrote an excellent guest piece at The Charrette, Exploring Aboriginal Marks on Edmonton. Also, The Charrette is looking to hear about your commute.
• Happy belated 4th birthday to The Carrot Coffeehouse!
• The Edmonton Capitals start a home stand against Maui Na Koa Ikaika on Tuesday evening.
• Also Tuesday evening is the next edition of Green Drinks.
• The Freewill Shakespeare Festival starts this week. Othello opens on Thursday, and Twelfth Night opens Friday.
• Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series continues on Thursday evening.
• Friday is Canada Day!
• Bikeology, The Works, and the Jazz Festival are among the festivals still taking place this week.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Photo by brentus69

Opening Night at The Works!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Dr. Philip Baker finally resigned from his post as Dean of Medicine, though he is currently scheduled to stay on as a professor. Isn’t that kind of like a cheating student withdrawing from a class but staying on as a student?
• Standard & Poor’s has reaffirmed its AA+ credit rating for the City of Edmonton. Apparently they missed that report on consultant spending! But seriously, this is a good thing for Edmonton, just one level below the highest possible rating that S&P awards.
• The City was one of many Edmonton winners at the 20th annual Emerald Awards this week.
• The Edmonton Public School Board eliminated 345 jobs this week as it approved next year’s budget. Of the cuts, 229 are teaching positions and 116 are non-teaching jobs. The proposed budget for the Edmonton Catholic School Board calls for 97 teaching positions to be eliminated.
• I hope to be writing more about this soon, but the City and IBM released the Smarter Cities report on Friday. The IBM team says that the City should empower citizens by sharing more traffic safety information through social media, among other recommendations.
• We need to get city planners and school boards working together, says Deborah McKoy from the Centre for Cities and Schools at the University of California in Berkeley. She was invited to Edmonton by the Mayor’s Task Force on Sustainable Communities.
• Apparently sewer fees may be going up next year, by roughly $85 to cover a proposed rate hike.
• Starting Monday, the City will be rehabilitating 97 Street from Yellowhead Trail to 135 Avenue, so expect major delays in that area.
• Edmonton’s new police chief Rod Knecht says Edmonton is a safe place to live, despite our shockingly high murder rate. Though he did assign 16 more officers to the homicide section.
• First let me say that I think the Africa Connect event that took place this weekend at the Edmonton Expo Centre is a great idea. But to find out that only 3000 people attended, and that that was double the number of attendees the City expected? I think the City needs to aim higher.
• There have been a number of “hacks” at technology companies lately, and Edmonton’s own BioWare has not escaped unscathed.
• Nine Edmontonians were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 60th Annual Salute to Excellence Awards this week, including Gene Dub, the architect behind the iconic City Hall.
• I’d love to see some coffee shops, newspaper stands, and other businesses in our LRT stations!
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Here’s the latest edition of The Unknown Studio.
• I hope you’ll come to #yegimprov on Monday night, a special social media edition of Improvaganza!
• The co-founder of the Creative Cities Summit, Peter Kageyama, will be at Latitude 53 on Tuesday evening.
• On Wednesday evening at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Spacing Magazine is hosting a panel discussion to help celebrate its first national issue.
• The Works Art & Design Festival gets underway on Thursday.
• The next edition of Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series takes place Thursday evening.
• The Edmonton Jazz Festival kicks off on Friday afternoon!
• Friday night is going to be a busy one! I hope you’ll stop by to check out What The Truck?! from 4pm to 8pm at Beaver Hills House Park. YEG Girl Geek Dinners is also hosting Season 2 Episode 1 that night. And the Eskimos are playing their first game at home, against the Calgary Stampeders.
• M.A.D.E. in Edmonton is hosting the 10th annual street furniture competition on Saturday!
• The John Janzen Nature Centre is celebrating its grand reopening on Saturday from 11am to 4pm.
• Also coming up on Saturday is Can’t Stop the Serenity 2011 at Zeidler Hall.
• The Montreal Impact are in town on Sunday night to take on FC Edmonton at Foote Field.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

It has been wet here lately! For the City Market that meant a big drop in the number of visitors, to about 4500.

Some of the art that was on display at Africa Connect.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Mayor Mandel suggested this past week that major road projects might be postponed so that the funds could be reallocated to public transit. I like the idea, but we have to recognize that buses use the roads too. Many Councillors were surprised by the suggestion.
• Rod Knecht was sworn in as the 22nd chief of police this past week at City Hall.
• The City of Edmonton’s newest transit centre, Lewis Farms, officially opened this week at 1021 Webber Greens Drive.
• Expansion 2012 is under budget and ahead of schedule at the Edmonton International Airport.
• According to a new national survey, The Apple Store is the highest-rated retailer in Edmonton while Canadian Tire is the most shopped.
• Congratulations to the City employees honored this week for their environmental dedication in the Charles Labatiuk Environmental Excellence Awards.
• Congratulations also to the 2011 Salute to Excellence Hall of Fame inductees! The ceremony takes place Tuesday at the Winspear Centre.
• In a new report, the City auditor has criticized the roads design and construction branch for a lack of clarity in budgeting, poor cost-estimating practices and “overly optimistic” completion timelines.
• Another City report recommends that more traffic lights be removed from the Yellowhead Trail to ease traffic congestion.
• Edmonton’s retail lease rates are among the cheapest in the world, according to a new report.
• The Alberta Government handed out some environmental awards this week. Two City branches were recognized as EnviroVista Leaders. Epcor was also honored and is the first water treatment facilities operator to achieve “Champion” status.
• The Capital Region Board’s economic roadmap was unveiled this week, a 300-page document that hopes to guide our economic development over the long-term.
• The province put out a call to companies interested in designing the new Royal Alberta Museum this week. Companies have until June 22 to submit their qualifications.
• A judge dismissed a request to remove wi-fi from Edmonton schools this week. Thank goodness.
• Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi thinks there’s a window of opportunity right now for Edmonton and Calgary to work together to further the bug cities’ agenda in Alberta.
• The number of building permits issued in April 2011 was down 39% from the number issued a year earlier.
• Long-time trainer Ken Lowe is back with the Oilers!
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Here are the Operation 24-Hours statistics for June.
• Here’s a great post by Kevin Kossowan at The Charrette called Growing in Edmonton.
• Indulgence, a Canadian Epic of Food and Wine, takes place Monday evening at the Delta Edmonton South.
• The Vitalize Provincial Voluntary Sector Conference takes place Tuesday and Wednesday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• FC Edmonton hosts the Puerto Rico Islanders on Wednesday evening at Foote Field.
• Wednesday evening is also the opening night gala for Improvaganza.
• The Experience Junior Chamber International event is happening on Thursday evening.
• Pecha Kucha is back! PKNX takes place on Friday night at the Alberta Aviation Museum.
• Saturday is going to be another very busy day in Edmonton. Among the many events taking place: Africa Connect Edmonton, Rock The Square, park(ed), and Bikeology’s Festival Day.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
• On Friday, Sharon and I announced What the Truck?! and so far the response has been great! Here’s an article that Todd Babiak wrote about the event. We hope to see you there on the 24th!

Colleen Brown performed at TEDxEdmonton on Saturday.

Thousands of people lined 102 Avenue on Saturday afternoon for the Pride Parade.

4th Street Promenade was packed all day Saturday, with the DECL Pancake Breakfast, City Market and Al Fresco Block Party all taking place. I’ve got more photos of the Block Party here.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• I generally don’t post about crime, but I feel compelled to mention Edmonton’s growing murder count, now at 25. In all of last year, there were just 27 murders in our city. It’s bad enough that EPS held a media conference this week.
• The arena is still in the news, mostly because of the questions that remain unanswered. As expected, the City and the Katz Group are looking to the province for funding.
• Edmonton has been named a TripAdvisor top ten family vacation destination in Canada for 2011.
• One of the biggest concerts to hit Edmonton in years took place this week – U2 rocked Commonwealth Stadium on Wednesday night!
• According to the City, Edmontonians’ taxes and utility fees are in the “middle of the pack” in a comparison of charges across the country.
• Proposals have been put forward to overhaul the aging Kinsmen Sports Centre. You can learn more about the design concepts here.
• Local chef Shane Chartrand is going to be representing Alberta the upcoming National Chef’s Challenge.
• The Alberta Association of Police Chiefs would like to see customers pre-pay for gas, and some gas station owners in Edmonton are supporting the idea.
• Local fashion designer Sid Neigum was honored with an Emerging Artist Award at this year’s edition of Nextfest.
• St. Albert is going to be streaming council meetings online as early as this fall.
• More than 25 individuals and organizations were honored at the 2011 IABC Edmonton Capital Awards this week.
• The Oilers haven’t been in the news much lately (aside from in relation to the arena) but they did sign Ryan Jones to a two-year deal this week.
• Strathcona Composite High School recently won its 40th consecutive track-and-field city championship, and they want the Guinness World Records to recognize the achievement.
• The City will be installing 18 km of on-street bicycle routes this summer. You can learn more here.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Congratulations to local podcast The Unknown Studio on achieving a milestone 50 episodes!
• Are you Edmonton’s worst golfer?
• In case you missed it: here’s my list of summer festivals in Edmonton!
• The Creative Age Festival kicks off on Tuesday morning at City Hall.
• There’s an interesting food event with Michael Schmidt taking place on Wednesday evening.
• The YWCA’s Women of Distinction of Awards gala takes place on Thursday evening at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
• The Edmonton Capitals host the Lake County Fielders a few times this week, beginning on Thursday evening.
• The Edmonton Pride Festival starts on Friday.
• On Friday evening, FC Edmonton hosts the Carolina Railhawks.
• Saturday is another really busy day in Edmonton. Al Fresco is taking place on 104 Street downtown. TEDxEdmonton is taking place at the Citadel. Across the river, the Handmade Mafia is once again at the Strathcona Baptist Church. The Pride Parade starts at noon at NorQuest College downtown. The Sprouts New Play Festival for Kids takes place at the Stanley Milner library. And the Bikeology Festival’s 24 Hour Repair-a-Thon takes place at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

4th Street Promenade put up new banners this week!

The weather didn’t cooperate, but the Slut Walk went ahead anyway. Bill has some more photos here.

Hope you’re all enjoying the long weekend! There are so many headlines and events this week that I’ve broken my list into two. First, the news:

• The situation in Slave Lake dominated the headlines this week, and rightly so. Check out the Edmonton Journal’s page for a good selection of articles and interactive features. The City issued a partial fire ban on Tuesday, but apparently the air quality here in Edmonton is still fine. Later that day the Alberta government issued a province-wide fire ban. The City has been supporting Slave Lake evacuees all week.
• It was a big week for the arena. Late Wednesday evening, Council voted behind closed doors to move ahead with an agreement framework, paving the way for the project to continue. You can see video of the announcement here. Reaction seems mixed. Some are happy that progress is being made, while others feel that the process is not transparent at all. Councillor Sloan and Lorne Gunter have both weighed in against the decision recently. No one really knows what is going to happen to Rexall Place and Northlands, but Daryl Katz thinks they won’t be an issue.
• It was also a relatively big week for the City Centre Airport redevelopment project. The winner of the competition was supposed to be announced on Wednesday, but instead the five finalists were reduced to three on Thursday. The winning team is expected to be announced on June 22.
• Facing a $31 million deficit, the City is considering one-time spending cuts.
• Council narrowly defeated the gravel pit proposal from Kanata Métis Cultural Enterprises on Tuesday. They voted 7-6 against rezoning a 34-hectare parcel of farmland in the river valley.
• The southeast corner of 101 Street and Jasper Avenue is getting a major, long-overdue makeover. The new project has been dubbed First & Jasper (archive) and is slated to be finished by early 2013.
• The City mailed out more than 300,000 property tax notices this week.
• You’ll be paying more for events at Commonwealth Stadium starting next year. Ticket prices are going up 5% to help pay for new seats.
• Edmonton’s Federation of Community Leagues launched a new project this week aimed at increasing participation from different cultural groups.
• The Edmonton Public School Board voted this week to move its Tuesday evening meetings to afternoons, starting with the 2011-12 school year.
• Apparently there are a few community groups unhappy about the LRT expansion. It’s important for them to be heard, but we shouldn’t let it hold things up. Council is discussing the issue on Wednesday.
• The City Market returned to 104 Street yesterday! Sharon has a great recap here.
• EEDC’s latest quarterly report was released Friday.
• It sounds like there won’t be a Canadian pavilion at this year’s Heritage Festival.
• Gig City broke the news Monday that local weeklies VUE and SEE are merging.
• The provincial government pledged $3 million to the new Jerry Forbes Centre for Community Spirit this week. Brittney covered the news here.
• A new series of maps will help Edmontonians and visitors navigate more than 160 kilometers of river valley trails. The maps were developed by the City of Edmonton, Alberta Health Services, and the River Valley Alliance.
• A redevelopment plan for the City of Edmonton’s golf courses would cost around $30 million and would result in Rundle and Victoria being shut down for a year.
• Have you been attacked by mosquitoes yet? They’re back in full force.
• The Edmonton Police Service is reminding residents that you can sign up for newsletters and crime alerts.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.

Overhead shot of the City Market on 104 Street.

Here are some events coming up this week:

• Jimmy Eat World is at the Edmonton Event Centre tomorrow night, Death Cab for Cutie is at the Shaw Conference Centre on Tuesday.
• The latest edition of TED Talks @ Lunch takes place on Wednesday at Enterprise Square.
• Edmonton’s newest farmers’ market – the Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market – takes place on Wednesday evening in the Lillian Osborne School parking lot.
• There’s another Transit Oriented Development open house this week, Thursday evening at Queen Elizabeth School.
• Also Thursday evening is the May edition of artsScene Nights, a casual gathering for Edmonton’s next gen crowd.
• M.A.D.E. is hosting Ken Lum at the Art Gallery of Alberta on Thursday evening. He’ll be talking about the Walterdale Bridge replacement, among other things.
• Social Media Breakfast Edmonton #6 takes place Friday morning at CBC Centre Stage in City Centre.
• NextGen’s Edmonton Community Challenge is back, with the Photo Scavenger Hunt starting at noon on Friday.
• Friday evening at the Shaw Conference Centre is the Alberta Party’s Big Idea Night.
• Also Friday evening is Merge Magazine’s re-launch party, out at Sherwood Park Toyota.
• Saturday is going to be a busy day! There is the City Market and the Old Strathcona Farmers Market of course.
• Also Saturday is Royal Bison, one of Edmonton’s favorite art and craft fairs. It runs Sunday too, at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre.
• The ETS Community Fair is taking place at West Edmonton Mall on Saturday.
• Edmonton’s Food and Agriculture Policy Project is officially launching on Saturday morning at Dr. Wilbur McIntyre Park, right next to the market.
• Century Hospitality’s Top Chef Finale takes place on Saturday evening at Lux downtown. I’m really looking forward to the sold-out event!
• Edmonton’s seventh Zombeers takes place on Sunday evening at Original Joes Varsity.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

I took this from the Walterdale Bridge, looking at the High Level Bridge.