Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• It was a smoky week here in Edmonton, as we felt the effects of forest fires in BC. Air quality was listed as poor until Friday, when it started to improve. You can see smoke forecasts for BC and Alberta here.
• Edmonton Airports released updated briefing notes on the City Centre Airport this week. CBC found closing the airport is likely to be a financial boon. The Journal pointed out some of the inaccuracies with Envision Edmonton’s views on medevac, and found that the group’s list of donors will remain private. Over at the City, officials continued to prepare to receive the signatures. Scott McKeen wrote about how public debate should not be a mudslinging free-for-all.
• Alex has a nice roundup of the local election races.
• Some love for the Edmonton tech scene this week! Local startup Beamdog was also profiled.
• The number of commercial properties sold in Edmonton in the first half of 2010 was 161, worth $754 million. That’s up from 120 worth $547 million in the first half of 2009.
• Where is Edmonton going? Interesting column in the Examiner.
• Congrats to the Edmonton Capitals who won their third straight game last night over the Calgary Vipers.
• According to CBC, the neighbourhood crime maps that the Edmonton Police Service makes available are intentionally incorrect. Just another reason why the crime maps are not open data.
• Sadly, it seems as though Bistro Praha will not be reopening in the near future.
• More money is flowing into Edmonton for nanontechnology research from the federal government.
• Community leagues want to sell ad space inside the boards of outdoor hockey rinks.
• For completeness: there was a bit of controversy in the local theatre scene this week.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• The Fringe wraps up today! There are some holdovers, though.
• Saskatchewan is in town on Saturday night to take on the troubled Edmonton Eskimos.
• Maybe Saturday should be football day in Edmonton! Miami FC will also be in town, to take on FC Edmonton.
• The North Edge Business Community is hosting an Outdoor Nite Market on Friday.
• Don’t forget there are great activities happening for lunch all week at Churchill Square.

Here’s the smoke as it appeared downtown on Thursday afternoon.

The Treasury had its grand opening on Thursday evening. Signs for the new bar & eatery first appeared over a year ago.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• It may not be illegal, but it’s certainly unethical as far as I’m concerned: Envision Edmonton is paying “volunteers” to collect names for its petition. It shifts the reason for signing from supporting the campaign to supporting a worthy cause, like a community league. Oh, and to City Council, don’t be bullied into thinking you need to support a plebiscite in order to support democracy. That’s just ridiculous.
• Congratulations to local startup Empire Avenue on the big news: they’ve raised $200,000 in funding from a group of angel investors, including Boris Wertz, whose other local investments include Nexopia.
• Some election news this week: there’s confusion over the new provincial rules regarding the campaign contributions, and on Tuesday about 40 City employees took part in an election dry run.
• The Edmonton International Airport announced this week that a new 189-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel will open in the fall of 2012 at the northeast end of the airport.
• Groupon, the website that features a daily deal, is now available in Edmonton.
• Is an urban planning school coming to the University of Alberta? Apparently the U of A is the only major university in Canada without a planning school.
• The Communitas Group received a $481,000 federal grant this week to build an “eco-minded affordable-housing” project at 129th Avenue and Fort Road.
• Here’s a puff piece by Gary Lamphier on TEC Edmonton.
• Apparently the economy is taking a toll on local hotels, with occupancy rates dropping more than 6% since last year. The Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe was sold for $47.8 million this week.
• Fringe Theatre Festival fans can now find the best shows on their phone in seconds, thanks to a prize-winning entry in the City’s Apps4Edmonton competition.
• The Edmonton Journal’s two Capital Notebook writers are heading back to school!
• Happy 40th Birthday to Southgate Mall!
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• FC Edmonton, which handily defeated the Victoria Highlanders 7-1 on Wednesday, is hosting the Spokane Spiders on Sunday at Foote Field.
• Looking for something to do for lunch on Monday? Check out Live at Lunch at Churchill Square.
• The Fringe, which started on Thursday, runs through August 22nd. Don’t miss it!
• I’m really looking forward to artsScene’s Summer Patio Party & Behind-the-Scenes at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald on Thursday!
• The annual Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival starts on Friday at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park.
• Next Saturday marks the 81st Run for the Daisies! The Canadian Derby runs at Northlands Park all day, with coverage on TSN starting at 3pm.

Another busy day at the City Market Downtown! Sharon’s 14th market report of the season is here.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Runway 16/34 at the City Centre Airport officially closed early Tuesday morning.
• The five finalists in the City Centre Airport design competition were announced on Friday.
• The results of the Jasper Avenue survey are in – people want more activity downtown.
• Edmonton-based Investopedia, founded in 1999, was scooped up by online marketing company ValueClick for $42 million this week.
• Last weekend’s Heritage Festival was a big success, though the Edmonton Food Bank unfortunately did not reach its goal. Think about them the next time you see a donation bin!
• Online food ordering & delivery service DeliveryTown.ca is now available in Edmonton. The currently support more than 100 food delivery and takeout locations.
• Edmonton’s Eddie tourist bus is no longer running, at least not until EEDC can figure out how to make it more popular and sustainable.
• Fill the Stadium for the Stollery, an annual fundraising football game between the Edmonton Police and Edmonton Fire Rescue services, raised $11,797 for the children’s hospital.
• The Edmonton Opera announced that Mary Phillips-Rickey is stepping down as the general manager by the end of October. They are currently searching for a new CEO, part of a large restructuring.
• Edmonton Stories wants to know how you get around town! They’re running a contest from August 9 until September 3. Enter your submissions here!
• ETS will provide weekday morning and afternoon peak period service between the City of Leduc, Nisku Inn, the Edmonton International Airport, and Century Park LRT Station starting August 30.
• Election news is heating up as we get ever closer to October. Dave wrote a good piece on social media and the election.
• Speaking of the election, Don Koziak announced he’s making another run at the Mayor’s chair. By trying to stop LRT expansion.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Tomorrow at Alley Kat is Slow Food Edmonton’s Beer and Boar BBQ. Should be fun, assuming the weather holds out!
• Don’t miss lunch time in Churchill Square for the rest of the month! Live at Lunch on the Square starts on Tuesday.
• FC Edmonton plays its next exhibition game on Wednesday, against the Victoria Highlanders.
• The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival starts on Thursday and it’s bigger than ever with more than 1200 performances of 230 shows by more than 500 artists from around the world. Frequent fringer and double fringer passes sold out in less than 24 hours, the first time that has happened in the festival’s history!
• Thursday is also the final Rooftop Patio party at Latitude 53.

The annual Cariwest parade took place downtown today:

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Mosquitoes swarmed the city this week, both day and night. City pest management officials say that after two years or record low mosquito levels, we’re back to normal.
• City Council came up with 140 questions for the Katz Group, Northlands, and City Administration related to the proposed downtown arena. You can download all the questions in PDF here.
• Tons of City Centre Airport news this week: Envision Edmonton was booted from Taste of Edmonton and Capital EX after fairgoers complained. On Thursday evening they unveiled a proposal for the lands but without cost figures. A few MLAs and Enbridge joined their cause, as did Danielle Smith, which got Mayor Mandel pretty upset. It was also revealed that taxpayers could be on the hook for almost $1 million to hold a plebiscite on the issue. And don’t miss this: Economics fuel pilot’s desire to close City Centre Airport.
• The Edmonton Corn Maze is now open for 2010! This year’s design features Edmonton’s Food Bank.
• More than $72 million has been saved and more than 4 million tonnes of materials have been recycled since the City’s aggregate recycling program began 30 years ago. Great story.
• You can now surf the web for free at the Edmonton International Airport! They launched free wi-fi on Friday. EIA was also in the news for providing a sneak peek at Expansion 2012, which is on time and under budget.
• Local social media startup Empire Avenue officially launched this week. Chris has a good write-up on why EAv is a must-watch.
• Mayor Mandel was profiled in the National Post yesterday.
• New walking maps for eight north-central communities were made available this week. Get out and walk!
• Thinking of running for City Council? You might want to attend an event on August 11 to learn more about the new rules for campaign contributions and expenses.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• The Heritage Festival is trying to be 100% green this year. The annual event runs through Monday.
• The Edmonton Eskimos finally won a game last night! And then fired GM Danny Maciocia this morning. Their next home game is Friday, when the Toronto Argonauts are visiting.
• Cariwest kicks off on Friday, as does Animethon.
• The Edmonton Folk Music Festival starts on Thursday (on ShareEdmonton).

Summer is for eating outside!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz spoke to City Council on Wednesday in what was surely one of the most anticipated meetings of the year. While he committed another $100 million to his proposed downtown arena project, the Katz Group also made it clear that the Oilers will not play in a renovated Rexall Place. Shortly after the meeting wrapped up, the Why Downtown? website launched opposing the project. Also, don’t miss Don Iveson’s post on the meeting.
• Scott Dixon won the Honda Indy Edmonton today!
• As soon as the Indy has cleared out, Edmonton Airports plans to close one of the two runways at the City Centre Airport. Also ECCA-related this week, National Post reporter Kevin Libin suggested that there was a backroom plot to close the airport, before the issue ever got to Council. Take that with a grain of salt – Libin references just three emails out of who knows how many were sent in the months leading up to the final decision. It’s easy to jump to conclusions without any context.
• Edmonton International Airport is now ranked as the most efficient small airport in Canada, fifth in North America.
• The City launched its Have a Heart-Give Smart campaign this week, aimed at encouraging Edmontonians to donate spare change to service agencies rather than to panhandlers.
• Edmonton is joining the fight against the elimination of the long-form federal census. This report, which recommended that Mayor Mandel send a letter expressing the City’s concerns, was discussed and approved by Council this week.
• The temporary parking lot at Century Park LRT station is saving the City millions of dollars per year, which can now be spent on infrastructure projects. Shouldn’t it be placed into a “future LRT projects” fund instead?
• The Association of Edmonton Convention Hotels issued a letter supporting the Edmonton Indy this week, calling it an “investment in the future of the city”. You can read the letter in PDF here.
• What was once an old gravel pit in Hermitage Park has been transformed into the City’s first wetland built exclusively for stormwater treatment and river protection.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Both Taste of Edmonton and Capital EX are in full-swing now, of course. Get out and enjoy!
• The 5th annual Edmonton Chess Festival starts on Wednesday.
• Don’t forget about Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series! It happens every Thursday at 5pm.
• The BC Lions are in town to play the Eskimos on Friday night. It has been a very painful start to the season, but this have to get better right?
• The 35th annual Heritage Festival starts Saturday in Hawrelak Park!

FC Edmonton played Portsmouth FC on Wednesday in the second annual Edmonton Cup game. I was at the game, along with 8792 other Edmontonians. Unfortunately, FC Edmonton lost in penalty kicks.

The annual Capital EX Parade took place on Thursday morning. The list of winning entries is available here. My favorite was the WestJet float:

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• The number of passengers riding ETS increased by 6.9% from January to May compared to the same period in 2009. The increase from 2008 to 2009 was just 2%.
• The City received 33 responses to the request for potential bidders for the City Centre Airport lands redevelopment project. About 25 of them were led by a local firm or include a local partner.
• Enjoy making videos? You might be interested in entering the Be Idle Free Video Contest, which is accepting submissions until September 30.
• Even though I don’t like them, I can understand why Council decided against doing anything about the sports figures along 118th Avenue.
• Council discussed a proposal this week to raise sewer and garbage rates by 6% next year.
• Here’s the Edmonton Startup Index for July.
• The City of Edmonton is reminding drivers to keep their eyes peeled for motorcycles this summer.
• Northlands launched the Monster Burger this week. The 1kg burger feeds six and will be available at Capital EX for $39.50. If you can finish it by yourself, it’s free!
• Sharon visited the Valley Zoo recently, and wrote a great post about it.
• Local social media startup Empire Avenue was featured in The Journal today.
• Production of eight one-hour episodes of the TV drama Blackstone began this week here in Edmonton. The series will premiere on APTN and Showcase early next year.
• Here are the winners of the Edmonton Stories Indy contest!
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• There are more than 30 ideas posted in the Apps4Edmonton contest!
• Next Friday is Red Friday. Wear red to show your support for troops based in the Capital Region.
• The July meeting for Emerging Business Leaders is on Monday evening.
• Portsmouth is in town to take on FC Edmonton on Wednesday evening at Commonwealth Stadium!
• The annual Capital EX Parade takes place late in the morning on Thursday (on ShareEdmonton).
• SkeptiCamp Alberta is happening next Saturday at ETLC (on ShareEdmonton).
• Friday is going to be a busy day. It’s the start of the Honda Indy Edmonton, Taste of Edmonton, and Capital EX!

City Market Downtown

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• The new Capital City Downtown Plan was approved by City Council this week. It forecasts the number of people who live downtown will double from about 11,000 presently to 24,000 over the next 20 years.
• Also approved this week was the city’s first long-term people plan, known as The Way We Live. It’s a 10-year, strategic plan that sets directions, establishes priorities, and guides decisions about services that contribute to the health, safety and well-being of Edmontonians.
• ETS officially launched its new Trip Planner, Bus Stop Schedule Search, and Route Schedule Search tools this week.
• Olympic champion Kevin Martin is Northlands Grand Marshal for the Capital EX Parade and the Honda Indy Edmonton.
• The City is considering a proposal from Montreal-based Octane Racing Group to run the money-losing Indy race here in Edmonton.
• The first installment in a new Journal series called The Sweet Spot talks about Churchill Square.
• Jeff has another great election roundup at EdmontonPolitics.com.
• Great post from Chris on the debate that just won’t go away. I like his use of the word nostalgia when discussing the City Centre Airport.
• The city could mark the 100th anniversary of the Edmonton Public Library system by renovating the exterior of the Stanley Milner branch downtown.
• Planning a birthday party for your kids? Here are ten reasons to choose the Art Gallery of Alberta.
• Edmontonians will be able to pay for guaranteed parking at four LRT lots starting in September.
• Congratulations to I Heart Edmonton, one of my favorite local blogs, on a great first year!
• I have never liked the giant bat at 97 Street and 118 Avenue. It seems resident don’t either, and there’s a push to get rid of it and the rest of the sports streetscape features.
• Good article in Vue Weekly: Time is ripe for urban farms.
• Have some cool pictures of Edmonton? Send them to Brittney!
• Both Megatunes locations will close at the end of the summer. Stock is on sale for 25% off until then.
• The ongoing downtown arena saga was written up in the National Post today.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• If you’re looking for something to do on Thursday evening, consider Latitude 53’s Summer Rooftop Patio Series!
• SOSFest is this weekend, and the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival started yesterday as well. You can see all festival dates and times here.

This Breyer’s truck was handing out free ice cream yesterday afternoon at Jasper Avenue and 103 Street!

The cooler, damp weather couldn’t keep people away from the City Market today!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Edmontonians are being asked to take the five minute Jasper Avenue Nightlife Survey online. The survey runs July 2-16.
• Fewer people are driving downtown and more are taking buses and the LRT.
• The deadline for nominations for the Front Yards in Bloom program is July 8. The goal is to have at least one nomination from each neighbourhood in the city.
• It’s not quite a Civic Smart Card, but the Find Your Fun pass is still a pretty good option if you’re going to check out a number of City of Edmonton attractions this summer.
• The final reason in Jennifer Fong’s 52 Reasons to Love Edmonton? You.
• Edmonton Streetcar #33 has been restored back to its original 1912 condition and is now available for rides, thanks to the Edmonton Radial Railway Society.
• Three Edmontonians have been appointed to the Order of Canada: Georges Ares, Herbert Belcourt, and Adriana Davies.
• A garlic mustard plant was spotted in Mill Creek Ravine recently. It has the potential to cause a lot of damage apparently.
• There are some good thoughts in this article on embracing winter in Edmonton.
• About 200 people marched downtown today to protest the arrest of more than 1000 people during the recent G20 summit in Toronto.
• City Cemetery tours are back at the three heritage cemeteries this summer.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• The BC Lions are in town to play the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday.
• On Tuesday the Ottawa Fury are in town to play FC Edmonton.
• The next Green Drinks Edmonton is happening on Wednesday at The Common.
• The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival kicks off on Friday, as does the new SOSFest. You can see more festival dates and times here.

There were some nice fireworks in the River Valley on Thursday for Canada Day!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• While everyone argues about what will put Edmonton on the map, we can celebrate being on the board – the Monopoly board, that is!
• Turns out it was Taylor! The Oilers selected Taylor Hall with their first ever number one draft pick.
• The Province is finally handing out some GreenTRIP funding. Edmonton and Calgary will receive $800 million each.
• Edmonton will receive one additional MLA the next time Albertans go to the polls. Dave has the scoop on the new Electoral Boundaries here.
• Here’s a really great column from Paula Simons on Travel Alberta and it’s apparent neglect of Edmonton.
• Greenery and more food vendors are among the suggestions in a new City report that looks at ways to enliven Churchill Square.
• Wondering what happened to the whale at West Edmonton Mall? Brittney has the scoop.
• The City of Edmonton officially launched the Apps4Edmonton competition this week!
• Congratulations to REACH Edmonton, which announced its new board of directors on Tuesday evening.
• Unfortunately, City Council voted against a pilot project of public transit service from Century Park to the Edmonton International Airport.
• Local radio station The Bounce was sold to Rogers Broadcasting this week.
• On Monday, Council approved a downtown LRT route that will one day make it possible to travel from Mill Woods to Lewis Estates in a single train.
• Karen Kleiss has the story behind the massive house explosion that happened in Edmonton last wee.
• The City’s Master Composter Recycler Program marked its 20th anniversary this year. The program has recognized 661 volunteers who have given a total of 35,000 hours of their time to educate fellow Edmontonians. You can do your part by getting involved in The Way We Green.
• Another interesting column from Scott McKeen. Density is key! Chris has some great thoughts on walkability.
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• Happening tomorrow (Sunday) at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park – Pets in the Park!
• Also tomorrow is Star Wars: In Concert.
• The Works Art & Design Festival kicked off yesterday, and runs until July 7.
• Monday night is the big Canada Celebrates event at Commonwealth Stadium, celebrating our Olympic athletes and armed forces.
• The Freewill Shakespeare Festival kicks off on Tuesday!
• Thursday is of course Canada Day, and there will be lots of cool stuff happening around the city, like the Silly Summer Parade in Old Strathcona.

I had my first waffle from Eva Sweet today at the City Market:

Also today was Safe Streets, a community fair in Central McDougall:

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

• Trial bus service from Century Park LRT Station to the Edmonton International Airport could start as early as this fall. Let’s get it done!
• Epcor Tower was topped off at 490 feet this week, Edmonton’s first new downtown office tower in 20 years. With flagpoles it’ll edge out Manulife Place to be the tallest building in Edmonton.
• A new group calling itself Envision Edmonton announced it has proposal for the City Centre Airport lands this week. They want to keep it open. Their website will be up next week apparently (who launches without a website) but you can follow them on Twitter here.
• Scott McKeen wrote a great article on the airport this week, calling it a dead issue and imploring everyone to move on. I couldn’t agree more. One more ECCA link, this time from CTV – Everybody wants a piece of Mark Rosentraub.
• Edmontonians magazine announced this week that the June issue will be its last.
• Mobile users can now interact with the Edmonton Journal in a new way – they launched 2D barcodes throughout the newspaper this week.
• Tuesday was proclaimed World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
• The Edmonton Police Service is looking to increase the number of female officers it employs, and has launched a new website to support the initiative.
• Also from EPS: the 2009 Annual Report to the Community.
• Former City Councillor and local architect Gene Dub had a freelance piece on the proposed downtown arena published in the Edmonton Journal today.
• Here’s the Edmonton Startup Index for June 2010.
• The inflation of Canada’s largest energy-efficient dome at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre brings “closed-loop recycling” to Edmonton.
• We’re up over 8000 active monthly Twitter users in Edmonton! My latest stats post is here.
• The dome of the Alberta Legislature will undergo a $6.1 million facelift starting this summer.
• Check out The Way We Green, and then complete the project’s second survey!
• For more headlines from the past week, check out theedmontonian.com.
• FC Edmonton has another game tomorrow, this time against Colo Colo.
• There’s an important public hearing taking place on Monday! Council will be discussing the final draft of the Capital City Downtown Plan, and groups like Edmonton Next Gen will be presenting.
• On Wednesday the Aerotropolis Symposium is taking place out in Nisku.
• Head over to Enterprise Square on Thursday for Be Her or Support Her, an event promoting and helping female candidates in the upcoming municipal election.
• Every Thursday evening this summer, Latitude 53 is hosting its Rooftop Patio Series.
• The Edmonton International Jazz Festival kicks off on Thursday evening (on ShareEdmonton).
• The Works Art & Design Festival starts Friday (on ShareEdmonton).
• Will it be Taylor or Tyler? Find out at Rexall Place at the Edmonton Oilers Draft Central Party on Friday!
• Next weekend is Startup Weekend in Edmonton (on ShareEdmonton)!

It was another beautiful & busy day at the City Market today!

Also downtown today was the first ever Park(ed) – Car Free Day: