2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Goodbye, Edmonton Indy. That was the big news this week. Almost immediately an “anonymous business group” contact the media to say they were trying to save the race, but unless they’re going to pay for it, I think we need to let this one die. As Paula wrote: “That’s some $16 million in public funds to date — to subsidize an international pro sports event — with Octane holding out its hand for $10.2 million more from the city. And what exactly did we, the public, get for our money?” Here’s the official City of Edmonton statement on the issue.
ETS is proposing a new automated stop announcement system, known as “Smartbus technology.” The $3.4 million program would be tried out on 50 buses. I think this is long overdue – let’s get it done!
The City of Edmonton launched a new anti-racism campaign this week which itself has come under fire for being racist.
Edmonton was recognized at the 16th Annual Communities in Bloom Awards last weekend, winning an outstanding achievement award and five out of a possible five blooms in the Circle of Excellence category.
Merge Magazine is calling it quits after just eight issues.
Since the Best Bar None program launched in June, 63 of Edmonton’s 330 pubs, clubs, bars, and lounges have applied for accreditation, and 38 have received it.
There are more than 65 comments on the Q&A post with Bob Boutilier. Lots of great information on transit/transportation in Edmonton, don’t miss it. His team is wrapping up “the biggest year we’ve ever had in construction” – about $450 million will be spent this year on road construction.
The first C-Line buses left empty from Century Park, but service picked up after that. Officials are happy with the start.
Here is Sharon’s recap of the 20th Annual Chili Cookoff, organized by the Downtown Business Association.
More than four months have passed since the house explosion in Lago Lindo, and only now has the City been given permission to start cleaning it up.
Some good news for local development firm CrazedCoders – their games brand, Fluik Entertainment, has chalked up 841,000 downloads in the past six months.
Jerry Aulenbach is the latest celebrity chef at Delux Burger Bar, and he launched his Double Bacon Foursquare Burger on Friday evening. Looks tasty!
November is Shop Local First Month!
“We are losing one of Edmonton’s serious power couples, who happen to be wonderful people to boot.” That’s Graham Hicks writing about Norm Lipinski and Lynda Steele, who will be moving to BC next year. Global says Lynda will remain with the station until the end of August 2011.
Graham is getting a big sendoff himself!
The City’s Office of Traffic Safety and the Edmonton Police Service are reminding Edmontonians to keep their heads up to help prevent collisions.
Congrats to Edmonton-based Canadian Western Bank for being named to the 50 Best Employers in Canada for the 5th consecutive year!
Great collection of Edmonton Street Photography.
Do you know an Edmonton Police Service officer who goes above and beyond by volunteering in the community? Nominate them for the 2010 Top Cop Award by December 10.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
The Cosmopolitan Music Society is hosting a concert tonight honouring our past and present Canadian Armed Forces personnel.
Tomorrow morning is the 6th Annual Breakfast with the Guys, taking place at the Sutton Place Hotel.
Farmfair International continues this week, with Canadian Finals Rodeo starting on Wednesday.
There are walk-throughs of the Old Cycle Building on Alberta Avenue continuing through tomorrow.
Tuesday during the lunch hour is the Reimagine Tower Renewal Summit.
There are two open houses taking place this week on the proposed downtown arena – Tuesday evening, and Wednesday evening.
Thursday is Remembrance Day of course, and the big Butterdome ceremony will start at 10:30 AM. You can find additional Remembrance Day events here.
Next Saturday is an event called Literacy in a Resource Economy, benefiting the Learning Centre (I’m on the board). If you’d like to buy tickets ($25 each), let me know!
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Beautiful sunrise from last Monday!

Phenomenal photo by Darren Kirby.

Edmonton Notes for 10/31/2010

Happy Halloween! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Edmonton’s new City Council was officially sworn into office on Tuesday. New photos and contact information are now online.
Congratulations to the 2010 Avenue Edmonton Top 40 Under 40!
Mayor Stephen Mandel filed a $500,000 lawsuit this week against Nathan Black, the Envision Edmonton volunteer that pretended to be a journalist.
Transit service between the City of Leduc, Leduc County Office, Edmonton International Airport, and Century Park Transit Centre starts on Monday! Edmonton Transit has been contracted to provide the service.
The City of Edmonton released an online questionnaire on the proposed downtown arena this week, and thousands of Edmontonians have already submitted their thoughts. It only takes a few minutes! You can learn more here.
A new whitepaper is available for The Way We Green, and the City is looking for your feedback. There are two public forums being held – one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday.
Local entrepreneur-investor Kevin Swan has joined venture capital firm iNovia Capital as a principal. He’ll be working in the Edmonton & Calgary offices.
The ATCO/Edmonton Sun Christmas Charity Auction raised $202,000 this week!
On Wednesday, the City’s new $13.2 million Animal Care and Control Centre opened in the west end at 13550 163 Street.
Looking for a fun volunteer opportunity? Check out the Deep Freeze Festival!
The City of Edmonton is now online in Second Life.
Sarah O’Donnell has another good story on the “demographic quake” that has hit Edmonton classrooms, and it is accompanied by a couple of map visualizations.
A new set of awards for Edmonton-area musicians is about to launch. The Edmonton Music Awards will happen online, but there might be an actual awards show next year.
You can get tickets for Launch Party 2 (on ShareEdmonton), coming up on November 17th, here.
Winter is fast approaching, and that means the waste collection schedule is switching to every eight working days. You can find your schedule here, or you can use one of the open data apps from the Apps4Edmonton competition.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
November is Family Violence Prevention Month, and the City is hosting a launch event tomorrow at West Edmonton Mall.
ICE: The Tech Conference runs from Monday through Wednesday this week at the Shaw Conference Centre.
The City is hosting an open house on the Capital City Downtown Plan on Monday evening.
On Tuesday you can attend an open house on the Downtown LRT Connector.
The Be Idle Free video contest winners will be announced at City Hall on Wednesday evening.
Farmfair International starts on Thursday.
Leave your lunch at home on Friday: it’s the Downtown Business Association’s Annual Chili Cook Off at Scotia Place!
The Oilers are in action at home twice this week: Tuesday against the Canucks, and Friday against the Red Wings.
RebootAlberta 3.0 is taking place in Edmonton next weekend.
Next Saturday is The Handmade Mafia!
Also next Saturday – the second year of FITC Edmonton!

Mayor Mandel and new Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi met with Premier Ed Stelmach on Thursday.

Local fashion blog The Edmonton Vestiary has posters!

Edmonton Notes for 10/24/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Monday was election day, and more than 34% of Edmontonians took the time to cast a ballot this time. Mandel was re-elected, but the big news was down in Calgary, where Naheed Nenshi was elected. Mandel is looking forward to working with Nenshi. I don’t think social media played as large a role as it could have in the election, but Todd is right when he says that there is huge potential.
Re-elected Councillor Kim Krushell wasted no time in calling for election finance rules to be revisited in light of the Envision Edmonton campaign.
Now that the election is over, it seems the proposed downtown arena is going to be back in the spotlight. The Katz Group issued an RFQ this week for architectural and engineering services, while the City is launching an online questionnaire on Thursday, and will be hosting open houses and discussion groups in November.
The Edmonton Humane Society was recognized recently for its value-added services offered with each pet adoption at the Summit for Urban Animal Strategies.
Did you know there is a growing community of fashion bloggers here in Edmonton? Jen Fong introduces us to some of the bloggers here.
The fate of Molson House is looking grim – if a new owner can’t be found it could be demolished.
Edmonton’s BioWare was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for the fifth time since 2004.
The Edmonton Oilers are the first Canadian NHL team to launch a Cheer Team.
Over 4000 hours were pledged at the second Edmonton Timeraiser!
You can now watch CBC Edmonton on Bell Satellite TV.
The Beyond 2010 conference was a big success here in Edmonton this last week, as was the Hackathon put on by Edmonton Geek Girl Dinners. They worked to create an emergency preparedness app.
We’re about a week away from Movember, and there are lots of teams getting started in Edmonton!
The old Cycle Building on Alberta Avenue is being revitalized, and Arts on the Ave has all the details here.
Vote for Miss dEdmonton 2010 here! Check out the dEdmonton site for everything Halloween in Edmonton. The organization’s co-chair, Darryl Plunkie, was interviewed on the latest episode of The Unknown Studio.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
Coming up on Wednesday is Cantoo, a screening of the 57th Annual Cannes International Advertising Reel of Winners.
The Oil Kings are in action at home on Wednesday against the Chilliwack Bruins, and again on Saturday against the Vancouver Giants.
Thursday is the 70th anniversary gala for the Edmonton Social Planning Council, featuring guest speaker Michael Phair.
There’s another Edmonton Police Service town hall meeting on Thursday, located at the Woodvale Community Hall.
Spooktacular 2010 takes place on Friday night at Fort Edmonton Park!
The Eskimos are in action again on Saturday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Edmonton Journal has teamed up with Transcend Coffee for the i ❤ #yeg contest!

It was a wet, cold day in Edmonton today. Better than snow though!

UPDATE (9 hours later): Guess I spoke too soon on the snow! And really, it isn’t so bad!

Edmonton Notes for 10/17/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Nearly 6200 people voted in the first week of advance voting, up from 2843 during the same time period in 2007. In total, 17,658 people voted in advance voting, up from 8948 in 2007.
On Thursday, the Province of Alberta approved the C-Line bus route that had been put on hold due to an appeal by Greyhound Canada. Edmonton Transit expects to start operating the service, which will run from Century Park to the Edmonton International Airport, within a month.
The University of Alberta is looking to start awarding certificates as a way to make earning a degree more manageable.
CKUA kicked off its fall fundraising campaign this week. They are looking to raise $625,000.
Here is the PEER 1 Edmonton Startup Index for October.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo is finally saying goodbye to the storyland characters that have welcomed Edmontonians since the facility opened 51 years ago.
Hard hitting journalism at the Edmonton Sun: Psychic sees close mayoral race.
Three Alberta-based companies made the Canada’s Top 10 lists in Technology, Cleantech, and Life Science, and all three are from Edmonton! Congrats to DataGardens, Optessa, and Biolithic.
Homeward Trust is hiring a Communications & Events Coordinator. The posting closes on Thursday, October 21.
The Edmonton Journal has a nice feature on subsidized housing, including an interactive map and searchable database.
The 28-hectare Larch Park development in Magrath is being built to protect its natural surroundings, and will feature a number of eco-friendly features.
Edmonton Rush fans will be happy to know that the team inked a new five-year contract with Northlands to play at Rexall Place.
Very nice feature from Vue Weekly on what the future will bring.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
Tomorrow is election day! Get out and vote!
The next YEGRB meetup for local Ruby developers is on Tuesday evening.
LitFest continues this week, as does Edmonton Design Exposed.
The Beyond 2010 conference takes place on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
YEG Girl Geek Dinners & Microsoft have teamed up to present the Beyond 2010 Hackathon, starting on Wednesday morning! And later that evening, YEG Girl Geek Dinners is hosting The Mixer.
Interesting event coming up on Thursday from IABC – The Changing Nature of Journalism in the Social Media Age.
Also Thursday is the next CPRS luncheon on Communications Measurement.
Minnesota is in town on Thursday evening to take on the Oilers, while the San Jose Sharks visit on Saturday.
The Oil Kings are in action on Friday evening, playing host to the Kamloops Blazers.
Just three games left this season for the Edmonton Eskimos. The Roughriders are here on Saturday.

Edmonton’s fifth Homeless Connect took place today the Shaw Conference Centre. The most popular service among guests, dentistry, was back this time. More volunteers showed up this morning than there were jobs for, which is great news considering the line-up for guests to enter was solid right through 1pm. Congrats to the Homeward Trust organizers and all the volunteers for making this important event happen again!

Edmonton Notes for 10/9/2010

Here are my weekly notes:

On Monday, Envision Edmonton filed court documents in yet another attempt to force a plebiscite on the City Centre Airport closure. The next day, Yes For Edmonton was unveiled as a progressive network of Edmontonians that hope to balance the Envision Edmonton push. You can learn more at their website, and on Twitter. Full disclosure: I have been helping with the Yes For Edmonton website.
Yesterday, Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) finally issued a statement announcing its support for the redevelopment of the City Centre Airport lands.
A new Edmonton-based magazine called Eighteen Bridges launched on Thursday evening. You can follow them on Twitter here. You can read more about the new magazine here.
On Tuesday, the City of Edmonton issued a request for proposals to develop kiosks at Central, Bay/Enterprise, and Corona LRT stations. So far, 18 vendors have expressed interest, including Elm Cafe and Good Earth.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in town on Friday, talking technology, oil sands, and about the Liberals.
Fish Griwkowsky reports in SEE that New City (Likwid Lounge and Suburbs) will be closing at the end of the month. Latitude 53 announced this week that Fish is their newest Writer in Residence.
Here’s a good article in Avenue Magazine talking about DemoCamp/BarCamp, Startup Edmonton, InterVivos, artsScene Edmonton, and Edmonton Next Gen.
After the first five days of advance voting, 1190 residents had cast their ballots.
EEDC and the Edmonton Police Commission are still looking for new board members. The deadline to apply is October 19.
Edmonton director Ron Jenkins has been named to the short list for the Siminovitch Prize, the richest theatre prize in Canada.
Speaking of film, here’s a great piece arguing for more support for the Edmonton International Film Festival.
Last Saturday, STARS celebrated 25 years of care in the air.
Edmonton is the third city in Canada to get Cineplex Odeon’s new UltraAVX theatres, at South and North Common.
The Edmonton Oilers won their season opener against the Calgary Flames by a score of 4-0. If you find yourself at a lot of Oiler games, check out the Rexall Place Food Finder.
According to new NADbank figures, Metro Edmonton’s daily readership grew 39% to 81,100, the highest increase of any daily newspaper in Canada.
Construction on the final interchange on Anthony Henday Drive is officially underway.
EPCOR has one of Western Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures for 2010.
The Bistro Praha has found a new home in the Empire Building! Renovations get underway next month. Adam has a preview of the new Urban Diner location here.
Election day is just over a week away! You can find the remaining forums, plus a bunch of other election-related information at ShareEdmonton.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
Olde Time Fair on the Square takes place next Saturday in Churchill Square! Also next Saturday: The Handmade Mafia.
The Florida Panthers are in town tomorrow night to play the Oilers.
Forums for Ward 5 and Ward 10 take place on Tuesday evening. Forums for Ward 8 and Ward 2 take place on Wednesday evening. The final mayoral forum takes place Thursday evening.
LitFest 2010 kicks off on Thursday evening (on ShareEdmonton).
Edmonton Timeraiser 2 takes place next Saturday evening! Tell me what you’re doing to make Edmonton a better place by Wednesday, and you could win two tickets from WestJet!
Edmonton’s fifth Homeless Connect takes place next Sunday.

Today was the final day for the City Market on 104 Street, at least for this season. The market will be back at Olde Time Fair on the Square, as well as for a few winter dates in Churchill Square.

It’s definitely fall in Edmonton.

Edmonton Notes for 10/2/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Edmonton Next Gen hosted the first of its two election forums at the University of Alberta. The forums are unique because they utilize a speed-dating format. Unfortunately the first event was not as well attended as was hoped. I think the second one will do much better, now that more people know about it.
Interesting freelance piece from Ken Cantor on the height restrictions that have been placed on Edmonton as a result of the City Centre Airport.
Envision Edmonton was in the news again early in the week, vowing to spend $200,000 during the election to support pro-airport candidates and confirming that the group is launching court action against the City over the failed petition.
Epcor and AltaLink submitted their application this week to the Alberta Utilities Commission for the Heartland Transmission Project.
Timeraiser is back in Edmonton this month, and the national presenting partner is WestJet. They’ve offered a couple of tickets to one lucky winner as a promotion! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment here telling me what you’re doing to help make Edmonton a better place.
A new veterinary hospital at the Edmonton Valley Zoo is now open, and will provide enhanced care to the more than 350 animals that live at the zoo.
This is extremely cool – election results will be in the data catalogue on election day! It says: the real time 2010 election results will be updated every 5-10 minutes on the evening of the election date.
Thanks to a $2.5 million investment by the City and the Province through the Cornerstones Affordable Housing Program, fifty Edmontonians will enjoy bright new energy-efficient homes.
Though he apparently didn’t say it to the audience, Deloitte Canada’s Duncan Stewart thinks we’ll see more digital media companies coming out of Edmonton.
Just a reminder that you can find your wards, candidates, related tweets, upcoming events, and much more at the ShareEdmonton 2010 Election site.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
Coming up on Wednesday evening at MacEwan downtown – the second Candi{date} forum.
The CIBC Run for the Cure is tomorrow!
In sports tomorrow, Hamilton is in town to take on the Eskimos, and the Moose Jaw Warriors are here to play the Oil Kings.
The first ever CloudCamp Edmonton is happening on Monday evening.
The annual Fashion with Compassion fundraiser takes place on Thursday.
Also Thursday evening is a neat fundraiser called Creative Cause, taking place the Art Gallery of Alberta.
The Oilers kick off their regular season at home against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Next Saturday is the final City Market Downtown. Don’t miss it!

The first ever Edmonton Heritage Council symposium was held this weekend at the Sutton Place Hotel.

Edmonton Notes for 9/25/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

The first mayoral debate took place on Thursday evening. Here’s a great write-up on the evening by David Berry. The second mayoral debate takes place on October 14.
Dave has a good update on the election here, and if you haven’t already seen it, check out CTV’s election site.
STARS and the City of Edmonton reached a tentative deal this week that will allow STARS to operate at the City Centre Airport while plans to relocate are developed.
Envision Edmonton wrote to northern rural municipalities asking for money, but didn’t find much support.
The Edmonton Public Library launched its first library vending machine this week at the Century Park LRT Station. The machine has capacity for about 400 items and is the first of its kind in Western Canada.
Happy 15th Birthday to Vue Weekly (Sept 21)! Here’s what their first cover looked like.
The Hope Mission launched a new website this week.
A new 90,000 square foot building is being developed at the Edmonton International Airport. It is expected to open in the fall of 2011.
Congratulations to the Edmonton Journal for being a finalist in five categories in the Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
The Save-On-Foods on Kingsway Avenue is closing down, but a Superstore is slated to take its place in June 2011.
Notebook Magazine, a quarterly art publication, is going online only.
This is pretty awesome: the Edmonton Journal made FAILBlog!
The new brand for 104 Street Downtown was unveiled this week: 4th Street Promenade. You can follow them on Twitter.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
Tomorrow is Free Admission Day at City of Edmonton attractions and recreation centres!
Coming up on Tuesday evening – DemoCamp Edmonton 12!
Wednesday evening is the latest installment of Green Drinks Edmonton.
The Edmonton International Film Festival is on now at Empire City Centre theatres!
Three more pre-season home games for the Edmonton Oilers this week: Vancouver tomorrow, Phoenix on Wednesday, and Calgary on Friday.
Friday night is the start of the Heritage, Innovation & the Livable City conference.
For election-related events, check out ShareEdmonton.ca.

The new 4th Street Promenade brand was officially unveiled at the City Market today.

It was a great day today for the Edmonton Corn Maze!

Edmonton Notes for 9/18/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Envision Edmonton’s petition was found to be insufficient this week. Council debated putting a question on the fall ballot anyway, but stood firm on its decision to close the City Centre Airport in phases. Charles Allard was busy after the decision, making all kinds of accusations, asking for the province to step in, and even calling for a public inquiry into the Share The Facts ad campaign. You can check out Share The Facts here.
In other fall election news, Scott McKeen has joined the race in Ward 7, while Don Koziak dropped out of the mayor race in favor of running in Ward 2. Perry Chahal and Jennifer Chahal are both campaigning in the school board election, one for the public board, one for the Catholic board. Oh and Envision Edmonton is starting to support candidates, such as David Dorward for mayor.
Paula Simons and David Staples of the Edmonton Journal launched The Edmonton Commons this week, a new blog focusing on urban affairs.
The City of Edmonton is looking at how to get more women involved in politics. The report is due back in January.
Congratulations to the Edmonton Public Library on the launch of a new website.
Sportsnet One is coming to Shaw and Telus television subscribers in Edmonton, just in time for the hockey season.
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park has expanded by about 4 square kilometres.
The Edmonton Police Service is warning about an increase in the number of counterfeit $20 bills circulating throughout the city. Here’s how to spot a fake.
DinerInspect won first place in the Apps4Edmonton competition. Brittney, one of the judges, wrote about the competition here.
Also from Brittney, a nice recap of ENTS’ first year.
Remember the giant dodge ball tournament that took place at the University of Alberta earlier this year? Guinness World Records has recognized it as a record breaker!
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
We’re exactly one month away from the municipal election! Stay tuned to the Election 2010 page on ShareEdmonton for updates. You can see a full list of Council Candidate Forums here.
We’re right in the middle of Alberta Arts Days! There’s lots happening, all around the province.
Western Canada Fashion Week is also on right now at the TransAlta Arts Barns. The event runs through Thursday.
Latitude 53’s Visualeyez 2010 runs until Tuesday, with a focus this year on food!
The annual Terry Fox Run is happening tomorrow at Hawrelak Park.
Also tomorrow, Mayor Mandel is celebrating the opening of his campaign office.
Tomorrow evening, prepare for screams around Rexall Place – Justin Bieber is in town.
Emerging Business Leaders is holding its next meeting on Monday evening with Larry Pollock, with the CEO of Canadian Western Bank.
Wednesday is International Car Free Day and the City of Edmonton is celebrating with a little help from the Stony Plain BRZ.
The next Pecha Kucha Night is happening on Thursday, at the new Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Alberta.
Next Saturday, the TransAlta Arts Barns will host A Taste of Old Strathcona.
An early heads up – next Sunday is Free Admission Day!
Today is Community League Day in Edmonton! EFCL actually kicked off the celebration earlier this week with a giant 23 metre by 40 metre quilt, representing the city’s 153 community leagues.

Sharon and I joined the Downtown Edmonton Community League today. Consider joining your community league!

DECL celebrated Community League Day with Corn Fest. Free corn!

Edmonton Notes for 9/4/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Take a few minutes and complete the City Market Downtown’s survey on a potential winter market!
The Toronto Star is reporting that Postmedia has cut a number of jobs across its daily newspapers, including up to 20 positions at the Edmonton Journal. In other local media news, longtime 630 CHED personality Gord Whitehead is retiring and did his last show this week.
Upcoming exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Alberta feature Burtynsky, Matisse, Gaugin, Münch, and Picasso, as well as new works by Albertan artist Laura St. Pierre. You can learn more about the fall lineup here.
Here’s a good catch-up post on the upcoming election.
ETS is gearing up for a busy fall season on the LRT – there could be over 100,000 riders per day. It also announced the completion of the Meadows Transit Centre on 17 Street at 40 Avenue. And a reminder: the LRT is not operating between Churchill and Clareview stations until Tuesday while ETS completes upgrades and maintenance.
The Edmonton Waste-to-Biofuels project is the world’s first industrial scale municipal waste-to-biofuels facility. Along with partner Enerkem, the City of Edmonton broke ground on the $80 million facility this week.
I really like the idea of more licensed buskers for Jasper Avenue, but the recommendation to extend the hours for bars to 4 a.m. seems misguided.
Ulf Ranhagen of Sweco, one of the finalists in the competition to redevelop the City Centre Airport lands, is excited about the project which he says will have a green focus.
The City is introducing a solar-electric pilot program with a total budget of $200,000 to issue rebates to home and business owners that install solar panels.
If you know someone between the ages of 7 and 18 which a love for film, encourage them to check out the Be Idle Free Video Contest! Here’s a great preview.
Interesting post in the ongoing debate over whether or not Oilers bloggers should be credentialed just like the mainstream media.
The University of Alberta has named Sangita Sharma to the new Chair of Aboriginal Health position. Also on the topic of the U of A, here’s a great profile of President Indira Samarasekera.
Doors open to 18 new schools in Calgary and Edmonton – news release and backgrounder is here.
Techvibes has launched localized news streams. You can see Edmonton’s here.
The Edmonton Police Service has successfully maintained its CALEA certification, something it has done ever since 1988. The program measures EPS against more than 450 international standards
A million dollar skateboard park is in the works for the Fulton Ravine near Capilano Mall.
For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
Symphony Under the Sky started last night and runs through Monday.
Tonight in Churchill Square – Toy Story 3!
The 22nd annual T.A.L.E.S Storytelling Festival starts tomorrow at Fort Edmonton Park.
I think we should make next Sunday “walk day” here in Edmonton! There are at least four taking place that day.
ETS is hosting an open house on the West LRT extension on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Country Music Week Edmonton kicks off on Thursday with the big awards show taking place on Sunday.
The Calgary Stampeders are in Edmonton next Friday for the second half of the Labour Day Classic.
On Saturday, The Handmade Mafia returns to Orange Hall!
The Kaleido Family Arts Festival starts on Friday evening and runs all weekend on Alberta Avenue. Don’t miss it!

Edmonton’s bid for Expo 2017 was on display in Shanghai this week. Here’s the new video:

The City Market featured a petting zoo today!

I’ve started noticing more and more signs and billboards around town for the election, like this one for Mayor Mandel who is hoping to win a third term.