Media Monday Edmonton: Update #113

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to kick off BT Bloggers Week this morning on Breakfast Television Edmonton. This was my fourth time participating in the week-long-affair, and I’ve enjoyed it every single time. You can see the first and second segments here – we talked about What the Truck?!, downtown, and more.

I was also really happy that my friend and mentor Karen Unland could join me! Karen has recently started blogging again, using ShareEdmonton as a source to see what local bloggers are talking about. You can catch our joint segment here. And here is Karen’s latest post.

Other bloggers taking part this week include: VV Boutique Style on Tuesday, Kitchen Magpie on Wednesday, Jenna Pryor on Thursday, and the Unknown Studio on Friday.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

Could CBC kill the 6 o’clock evening news in Edmonton? Could they replace it with a province-wide show that would serve both Edmonton and Calgary? Can anyone unseat Global Edmonton? Fascinating piece on these questions and more in the Toronto Star last week.
Postmedia last week launched a redesigned Ottawa Citizen, calling it “the first step toward the reimagination of all Postmedia products.” They call their new four-platform strategy “groundbreaking”. Really? Having print, web, tablet, and smartphone versions is groundbreaking? Ok. I guess we’ll see what the execution is like, because I thought they already had those things. I want to see them find success, but that sort of fluff just turns me right off.
I also think the way they describe the four different products is horribly misguided – they seem to suggest that “Postmedia’s best journalism” is only appropriate for print, whereas the smartphone app is “designed for the skimming, sharing, mobile audience.” Apparently no one at Postmedia is paying attention to the trend toward mobile. For instance, more than half of Buzzfeed’s traffic comes from mobile devices, including to stories that are thousands of words long.
That said, I do like the look of the new Ottawa Citizen. Here is some further information on the changes. I look forward to the rollout across other Postmedia properties.
If you can believe it, Councillor Mike Nickel is trying to crowdfund a new television show that would be called “To the Point: With Mike Nickel”. So far he has raised $100 out of his $6,500 goal.
Congratulations to the Journal’s Ryan Jackson and Karen Kleiss, recognized for their work at the News Photographers Association of Canada’s Pictures of the Year contest. They placed third in the “Team Multimedia Project of the Year” category.
The Journal also won an International Newsmedia Marketing Association award for Gastropost.
Imran Gill, the Social Media Specialist at Northlands, was one of the winners at the 14th annual You’re Welcome Edmonton Awards. Is that the first time that someone in a social media role has been recognized? Thanks Steven for the heads up!
Friday, May 23 was the final day at Global Edmonton for Ross Neitz. He is moving on to the University of Alberta. “I’ll miss storytelling the most,” he said.
May 18 was the last day at Global Edmonton for Shannon Greer, who left for Global Calgary.
Here’s a fantastic feature on the What It Is Podcast.
Jay Runham did an interview with Dookie Squad, a web series created by Angela Palmer.
Did you enjoy the Edmonton Journal’s Goosecam? I enjoyed this take on the annual tradition: “It is an annual experiment by the Journal to examine the effects of round the clock anonymous surveillance on the avian brain. This year’s unlucky participant, Patience, has developed the same paranoia exhibited by mother geese in previous years.”
The next Art of Conversation takes place tomorrow night at Tavern 1903. The event starts at 4:30pm and is hosted by Rob Christie, Audie Lynds, and Graham Hicks.
Have you heard of YEGWEEKEND? Sounds interesting: “YEG Weekened, an interactive storyworld for locals and visitors, launches this Fall with 48 pages of augmented awesomeness.”
Did you miss The Yeggies? Here’s a video recap from Lincoln Ho.
The Edmonton Journal is looking to hire a Breaking News Reporter. The deadline to apply is May 31.
In case you were wondering, Steve Zimmerman resigned from Newcap Radio and his post on K-97 as of May 2. “I’m burnt out & 3:30AM just doesn’t work for me anymore,” he wrote.
The big news in Canadian media over the weekend was the death of former CBC anchor Knowlton Nash.
The stories about Jill Abramson’s abrupt firing from the New York Times keep coming. This one looks at the gap between what female and male journalists actually make.

My spot on the BT Edmonton set!

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 5/25/2014

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

90 Ways to 90%

The City of Edmonton has launched a new campaign called 90 Ways to 90%. It aims to encourage Edmontonians to participate in the effort to divert 90% of Edmonton’s waste from landfill (a figure that currently stands at around 60%). Here’s a short video I made about the campaign:

Headlines

Congratulations to the Edmonton Oil Kings on winning the Memorial Cup! They defeated the Guelph Storm by a final score of 6-3. What a great way to end a great season.
The Freedom of the City is the highest honour a municipality can grant a military unit, and that’s exactly what the City of Edmonton granted the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in recognition of the regiment’s 100th anniversary.
Keep an eye on your mailbox this week: property owners will start receiving their 2014 property tax notices in the next few days.
To better leverage its substantial land holdings, the University of Alberta is proposing the creation of a land trust. The plan will go before the board of governors in June.
The City posted a year-in-review for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services this week. In 2013, they responded to more than 39,000 calls for service, including 3,278 fires and 25,510 medical calls.
It’s going to take some investment, but Mayor Iveson still feels the City should move ahead with the ambitious plans for the Blatchford redevelopment.
The Edmonton Police Service’s latest Citizen Satisfaction Survey shows that 93% of Edmontonians have confidence in EPS.
Speaking of the police, they say they are going to crack down on noisy motorcycles this summer. I’m fine with people riding motorcycles, but the noise does get really annoying.
The Safer Parking Initiative has come to Edmonton. The first two parking lots to be recognized are Main on Whyte and the University Hospital’s East Parkade.
Congratulations to all of the Edmontonians and organizations recognized at the annual Mayor’s Awards.
Thomas Lukaszuk is the latest to throw his hat into the ring as a PC leadership candidate.
Check out Karen’s latest post to see what Edmonton bloggers have been up to.
Here are Spacing Edmonton’s latest Urbanism Headlines.
If you can afford the $250 ticket price, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be speaking in Edmonton on June 18.
I absolutely love this tweet:

Mayor @doniveson & @EEDC you’ll love this student’s reflection! #yegdt pic.twitter.com/N6YondvBUe

— City Hall School (@CityHallSchool)

May 24, 2014

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Upcoming Events

The International Children’s Festival starts this week!
Jenny Smith is speaking at the Art Gallery of Alberta on Wednesday night for the Ad Club of Edmonton’s next Cultivate event.
On Wednesday evening the 2014 RISE Awards take place at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
The following evening, IABC’s Capital Awards Gala takes place at the Old Timers’ Cabin.
I’ll be at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday evening, where I’m hosting a poverty simulation with Omar Mouallem.
Did you miss this season’s grand opening of the 124 Street Grand Market? Check it out every Thursday from 4pm to 8pm.
The Good Hundred Experiment is back! The event takes place at Rundle Park on Saturday and Sunday. Sharon and I are looking forward to participating this year.
Environment Week kicks off this weekend!
Heads up: NextGen Month will kick off at Latitude 53 on June 4.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our first What the Truck?! of the season. It was a busy, fun evening! Save the date for our next event: June 13 in Old Strathcona.

Edmonton Notes for 5/18/2014

I am in Toronto until Thursday, on a mini break with Sharon and her sister. Having fun so far, but the weather is colder here than it is back home! Happy Victoria Day!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

City Council has established its first women’s advisory group called WAVE. The group’s first fifteen members will focus on engagement through networking, leadership through mentorship, and learning from best practices.
Is Edmonton the next great Canadian city? Jim Beyers highlights some of the cool things happening in our city in the Toronto Star. Some found the article condescending, others were thrilled that Edmonton is getting some attention out east. I think we need to stop making such a big deal out of attention like this.
Another ring road around Edmonton? I don’t even know how that’s a possible consideration at this point. Mayor Iveson says we should spend that money on transit instead. Agreed!
Lots of Fire Rescue Services news this week! The service welcomed its 140th recruit class this week, welcomed “Grover” to the K9 unit, and announced that its inaugural Fire Cadet class will start training school this fall.
This is a great story on the Transforming Edmonton blog. Neil Ganske, who works for ETS, is an inventor who created a tractor-like sweeping vehicle that has saved the City more than $700,000 per winter!
For the third year in a row, EPCOR has been named one of Canada’s Top Employers Young People.
We’ll have to see if people in the industry like this change, but the City claims it has streamlined the process for acquiring major development permits by setting up pre-application meetings.
You may or may not enjoy this video of a crazy fight on Edmonton’s LRT.
A second open source street art free wall has been opened in Edmonton. It is located on Whyte Avenue at the Tirecraft building just west of 99 Street.
Here are the latest urbanism headlines from Spacing Edmonton.
When you go to cut your lawn this summer, go bagless!
For those of you wanting to see the speed limit on Whitemud Drive raised, it’s not looking good. A city report recommended against the higher limit, and it seems much of Council agrees.
Wait, so are we a track city or a basketball city? Edmonton will host Brazil in the the first annual Edmonton Grads International Classic this June. The news release says Edmonton “is well on its way to establishing itself as the Centre of Excellence for basketball in Canada.”

Elms and The Pearl by Jeff Wallace

Upcoming Events

The International Responsible Hospitality Conference takes place in Edmonton this week on Wednesday and Thursday.
The next Capital Ideas Edmonton event is on mentorship and it takes place at the Edmonton Journal on Wednesday.
On Wednesday evening, the Ad Club of Edmonton is having its AGM at the Mercer Warehouse.
It’s outdoor market time! The 124 Street Grand Market returns on Thursday.
Also Thursday night, the interesting fundraiser known as Everything Edmonton takes place at the Yellowhead Brewery.
The big food/hospitality conference Host Edmonton takes place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
On Friday evening, WinterCity is hosting an appreciation event at Latitude 53.
Interested in open data? Don’t miss the hackYEG hackathon at the Stanley Milner library on Saturday.
Our first big What the Truck?! event of the season takes place on 104 Street on Saturday evening!
Also Saturday evening is the AGA’s Road Trip Refinery.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton LRT by iqremix

Land of the Midnight Food Truck?

Think food trucks are a big city thing? Think again! Even the small town of Inuvik, NT is grappling with the trend, even though they have just one truck (actually it’s a trailer) called Ready Red’s, not to mention a climate that makes street vending realistic for just a few short months each year. Brick-and-mortar businesses have complained as have taxi drivers and even some residents. A similar situation has played out in dozens of towns and cities over the last six years or so, ever since the “modern” food truck boom began.¹

With my passion for food trucks and the fact that I lived in Inuvik for eight years when I was a kid, I’m quite interested in the outcome of Ready Red’s fight. It’s fascinating to me that the same arguments are made again and again in different towns and cities. At the opposite end of the scale from Inuvik there’s New York, which has been dealing with complaints about food trucks for years. Some places clamp down on food trucks, others work hard to support them. Even locations that are relatively close together can have very different approaches; for instance, San Diego heavily regulates food trucks whereas Los Angeles is quite open to them.

Welcome to Inuvik, photo by Chris Harrison

In today’s Inuvik Drum, the news brief read:

“Following complaints about the Ready Red’s mobile food trailer parked near the Mad Trapper, the town’s bylaw review committee has recommended banning street venders from parking along Mackenzie Road in the core area.

Instead of using existing roadside parking spaces, the town’s bylaw amendment would move street venders on to private property, similar to how Bill Rutherford operates his grocery business.”

Bill Rutherford is affectionately known to locals as “Bill the Fruit Man”. He brings fresh produce from Whitehorse to Inuvik every three weeks in a large semi-trailer. I remember going to buy groceries with my parents from his truck, parked in an empty lot on the main street². I guess you could say that was my first exposure to a “food truck”.

Josh Tyler is the owner of Ready Red’s and he was at Inuvik’s Town Council meeting last night to make his case. He also started an online petition that currently has over 270 signatures. Josh promised to have “a mob of people and supporters” with him at the meeting, and it sounds like he delivered. Mayor Floyd Roland said he had never seen such a turnout for a council meeting!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good for Ready Red’s. The proposed bylaw that would ban food trucks on town roads passed first and second reading. It still has to pass third reading before it would become an official town bylaw. If that happens, Ready Red’s would only be able to operate on private property³.

That’s a photo of Inuvik’s main street, Mackenzie Road, in the winter, which is pretty much how I remember it. You’d think this would be a big enough barrier for food trucks in the north! Ready Red’s parks just to the left of where this photo was taken.

Should towns and cities embrace food trucks? I’m inclined to say yes, because I think food trucks bring more than just good food to the table – they also promote street activity. At least one study makes a strong economic case for food trucks too (PDF):

“Street sellers can create jobs, help keep streets safe, give consumers the goods and services they want and add to the vitality of cities. But for that to happen, cities must get rid of the convoluted and protectionist laws that stand in vendors’ ways.”

The authors of that report recommend eliminating or revising obsolete restrictions, repealing bans on street vending, repealing proximity restrictions, streamlining the permit process, and providing clear, simple, and modern rules that are narrowly tailor to address health and safety issues. “Then they should get out of the way and let vendors work.”

We’ll have to wait and see if Inuvik decides to put up barriers or instead decides to let food trucks flourish. Inuvik Town Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday and Wednesday of each month, so their next meeting will take place May 26. Minutes from last night’s meeting will eventually be posted on their website.

If you’re in Edmonton, don’t miss our first What the Truck?! of the season, taking place on 104 Street on May 24. RSVP on Facebook!

Richard J. S. Gutman, author of “American Diner: Then & Now”, estimates the food truck industry can be traced back to Walter Scott who back in 1872 parked a wagon in front of a local newspaper office in Providence, R.I. and sold sandwiches and pies. The beginning of the modern food truck era is generally believed to coincide with the popular Kogi Korean BBQ truck, which burst on to the scene using social media about six years ago. See: Who Made That Food Truck? ↩
Has Inuvik changed much since I lived there? Some things change, some stay the same. The fruit man still sells his produce, but my elementary school was demolished a few weeks ago. ↩
I’m not 100% certain, but it looks like Ready Red’s began life on the sidewalk, as a hot dog and burger stand, back in 2011. ↩

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #112

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2013 Yeggies which took place on Friday evening! The Local Good took home “Best in Edmonton” and Baconhound took home “Best Twitter Persona”. It was a fun night!

Yeggies co-founder Adam Rozenhart and food blogger Sharon Yeo before the show

Here’s a roundup of some Yeggies coverage: Gig City, Inglorious Hipsters, The Local Good, Finster Finds, VV Boutique Style, #yegfilm, and OilersNation.
With the exception of perhaps Mayor Iveson, I have to say I think the media personalities bested the politicians when it comes to dance moves! Pretty cool and popular video by CTV Edmonton called #yeghappy!
TELUS announced today that it will invest $2.6 billion in new infrastructure and facilities across Alberta through 2016. They’re broadening the reach of Optik TV and are deploying 700 MHz spectrum.
Well that didn’t take long: Meet the Media Tweetup 5 is taking place on June 13 and it’s already sold out. Add yourself to the waitlist I guess!
Don’t miss this fun interview with Brittney Le Blanc by Phil Wilson (aka Baconhound).
And Brittney, this link is for you: one third of the roughly 400 reporters at the New York Times are women.
Edmonton Journal reporter Otiena Ellwand is training to run in the Edmonton Marathon on August 24, and she’s planning to blog about her progress along the way. It’s called Reporter on the Run, and the fun video at that link was produced by Ryan Jackson.
Many local media personalities participated in McHappy Day:

.@GordSteinke and @CADevaney getting ready to serve the busy lunch rush for #McHappyDay pic.twitter.com/JZI7YImwvH

— GlobalEDM Community (@GlobalEdm_plus)

May 7, 2014

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The next Capital Ideas Edmonton event takes place on Wednesday, May 21 at the Edmonton Journal. The topic this time is mentorship.
For all the latest news in the world of social media, check out Linda’s latest roundup!
Looks like ATB Financial has found itself the target of a negative fake Twitter account. The account appears to be run by a disgruntled employee.
I have been enjoying all of the #metro228 links that Karen Unland has been posting on Twitter. Follow her if you don’t already!
Obsessed with screens? You might like the latest new media experiment, Glass.

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 5/11/2014

Happy Mother’s Day! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

Good news for Remedy Cafe, The Hat, and other businesses affected by the looming demolition of the old Paramount Theatre: plans are now on hold. There’s no specific timetable, but ProCura promised tenants will be the first to know.
We found out on Friday that another historic theatre will be closed soon: Avenue Theatre will be closing its doors in mid-June. Hopefully this doesn’t affect the ongoing revitalization of Alberta Avenue too much.
I’m a little surprised at just how divisive the proposed renovation of the Stanley Milner library has been. Everyone has an opinion, but they’re strong opinions!
Historian Tony Cashman and philanthropist Reinhard Muhlenfeld are the two Edmontonians named to the Alberta Order of Excellence for 2014. The ceremony will take place in Edmonton on October 15.
Omar questions why four Councillors haven’t gotten involved with Opening the Potential, a six-month program that will mentor women interested in municipal politics. Pretty shocking comments from Councillor Loken.
Alberta’s annual Arbor Day took place this week and to celebrate the City launched yegTreeMap, an online map to register the trees you plant. Looks like it includes all the trees planted by the City too.
The Oil Kings and Winterhawks will need game seven to decide their series after Edmonton squandered a three goal lead to lose in OT in game six.
I still haven’t seen one except for on television, but the Edmonton Police Service is “cautioning the public regarding a new trend involving the use of electronic cigarettes for marijuana use by youth.” Crafty young-uns.
Unless you filled out the online census, you can expect a census worker to visit your home anytime now as door-to-door collection began Saturday.
Here’s an interview with Kendall Barber, co-founder of Poppy Barley, on “good business”.
Rosanna Saccomani, Q.C., has been appointed to Edmonton Region Provincial Court, effective May 7.
Looks like the war on graffiti didn’t have much success last year – the audit showed a 26.6% increase in incidents over 2012.
Cool new series from NextGen: Get to Know a NextGen-er. The first entry features urban planner Jeff Chase.
Construction livecams are all the rage right now in Edmonton! Here’s the official feed for the Walterdale Bridge Replacement Project. (At first I thought EPL had something to do with – the “Inspiring sustainable thinking” logo is so similar!)
Have you got a big idea to make your neighbourhood more environmentally friendly? The City is launching a new program called You’re Gonna Love Green to inspire Edmontonians to take action to green their communities.
Here are the latest urbanism headlines from Spacing Edmonton.
This isn’t surprising, but ugh is all I can say. “As Alberta’s two largest cities breach the million-resident mark, Calgary is taking a tentative first step towards metropolises like Toronto and Vancouver while Edmonton’s approach to growth remains fundamentally unchanged since the 1950s, according to a new research paper.”
Congratulations to Localize on taking the top prize at the 2014 TEC VenturePrize awards!
Congratulations to all the winners at Friday night’s Yeggies! Gig City, which won the new Judge’s Choice award, has a roundup.

Looks like this was taken from the EPCOR tower looking north, photo by Ted Drake. So many empty lots.

Upcoming Events

There are still a few days left to take in the Global Visions Film Festival!
Head over to Startup Edmonton on Monday night for the Edmonton Python Meetup. Aaron Fay will be giving a talk that all kinds of programmers should find interesting.
Much Ado About Nothing is on now at the Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site.
I’m excited to be a mentor at the interVivos Sprint 2014 Mentorship Pairing event! I have hosted the last couple of events, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate myself.
On Friday evening the Edmonton Rush will play their first ever home playoff game against Calgary. They were upset by the Roughnecks in game one last night.
Also Friday evening is Carnaval, a fun event organized by Creative Edmonton taking place at the Edmonton Petroleum Club.
Grab your camera on Sunday and head below the surface for International Underground Meet Day.
Save the date for the first What the Truck?! event of the season, taking place on 104 Street on Saturday, May 24. We’re excited about all the new trucks hitting the streets this year!
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Purple Phase by Jeff Wallace

In Edmonton, make it iconic

The Edmonton Public Library released a drawing today of the planned facelift for downtown’s Stanley A. Milner library. Pending funding from City Council this fall, Toronto’s Teeple Architects and Edmonton’s Architecture ATB would tackle the project. The total cost of the renovation is estimated to be $56 million.

new stanley milner library design

That figure includes asbestos removal and mechanical and electrical system upgrades, but it also means an attractive building, better suited to living alongside the other modern-looking buildings around Churchill Square.

“We really want it to be iconic,” said EPL CEO Linda Cook.

That word is what many people fixated on today. Iconic.

So that rendering of the new library in Edmonton is nice and all but have you people looked up “iconic” in a dictionary lately?

— Mike Otto (@yegmotto)

May 9, 2014

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56 million to make the downtown library “iconic”. Sure, why not. We’ve got so much extra money for everything.

— Brice Davidson (@BriceDavidson)

May 8, 2014

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I support libraries but this is ridiculous. Building is in still fine shape. Enough with “iconic” moniker. #yegcc http://t.co/SfPEogilza

— Marsha (@marshaboyd)

May 8, 2014

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That got me thinking, are we overusing the word iconic in Edmonton?

To find out, I decided to look at the frequency of the word iconic in Edmonton Journal articles over the last couple of decades. As a comparison, I looked up the same data for The Globe and Mail. Hardly scientific, but good enough. Here’s what it looks like:

As you can see, the word wasn’t used very frequently before the turn of the millennium, after which it trends up. But what’s interesting is that it went up for both articles in the Journal and articles in Globe. So that suggests to me it’s not Edmonton-specific.

What about “iconic design” or “iconic building”? Here’s what that data looks like:

Again, an increase after 2000, but more in the Globe actually. For kicks, I also tried “world class”, that other favorite phrase for describing new projects in Edmonton!

I was surprised to see that usage of that phrase is much more consistent and while it has gone up, it hasn’t gone up dramatically.

Finally, here’s a look at the Google Trend data for “iconic” and “world class” in Canada:

//www.google.com/trends/embed.js?hl=en-US&q=iconic,+world+class&geo=CA&cmpt=q&content=1&cid=TIMESERIES_GRAPH_AVERAGES_CHART&export=5&w=640&h=330

A pretty similar story.

I like the idea of a refresh for the Stanley Milner library. Should we pay $56 million to make sure it’s “iconic”? I’m not sure. But it’s worth debating alongside all of the other capital requests.

For another take on the whole Big-Shiny-Thing-itis, check out this post from David Staples.

Recap: TEC VenturePrize 2014

Local entrepreneurs were celebrated tonight at the 12th annual TEC VenturePrize awards celebration in Hall D at the Shaw Conference Centre. More than $200,000 in prizes were handed out to the nine finalists across three competitions!

Here’s what VenturePrize is all about:

“You have a business idea, but don’t necessarily have the business training to launch your company. The more you brainstorm about transforming your vision into a venture, the more questions you have. What are the legal issues with creating a company? Where is the financing going to come from? Am I targeting the right market? Find out by participating in the TEC VenturePrize business plan competition.”

It’s a great opportunity for participants to make connections with investors and other entrepreneurs, to learn more about what it takes to run a business, and to gain valuable insight from experienced mentors.

Our host for the evening was Ryan Jespersen from BT Edmonton. Premier Dave Hancock opened the event bringing greetings on behalf of the Province, followed by TEC Edmonton CEO Chris Lumb who brought opening remarks and also presented the Recognition Award to Bob Teskey. His acceptance speech was about twelve seconds long, which helped to contribute to a timely program that finished slightly ahead of schedule.

“Bob envisioned and designed the TEC Edmonton structure: an unincorporated Joint Venture to create strong commitment among Joint Venture partners, enable the University and City ti work together in unique ways, and build linkages between university and community.

This award is presented in recognition of Bob’s role in growing a strong Edmonton, through his outstanding ability to forge institutional partnerships.”

Mayor Iveson was the next speaker. He talked about the changing energy in Edmonton, and said “it’s getting easier to make an idea reality in this city.” Mayor Iveson stayed on stage to help interview the three student competition finalists: AlieoGames, Livi Design, and Smart Count Health. All three were from the University of Alberta!

This year TELUS came on board to sponsor the first ever ICT Competition at VenturePrize. We heard pitches from the three finalists: It’s Date Night, MyMenu, and Zayfti. You can learn more about each one at TEC Edmonton. Given the ridiculous state of online restaurant menus, I really hope that Edmonton-based MyMenu is successful in its quest to help diners with dietary restrictions. It’ll be tough to get restaurants to upload menus though when so many don’t even keep their own sites up-to-date!

Since 2002, the Fast Growth competition has awarded more than $1.5 million to Alberta-based entrepreneurs to help them grow their companies, an impressive number of which are still operating! The finalists in this year’s competition were:

Belgravia Tech Inc.

“BTI has created a safe, reliable, and cost effective alternative to a nuclear reactor-generated medical isotope vital for timely diagnosis and management of patient treatment for many major health issues, including cancer and heart problems. BTI’s unique technology is well positioned to fill this critical need and provide healthcare organizations with the means to offer quality care for heart and cancer patients worldwide.”

Localize Services Inc.

“Localize in an Edmonton-based company that helps tell the stories behind the foods we all love. Their unique grocery-shelf labeling service rapidly collects and conveys product information to consumers, making it easy for grocers anywhere to launch local, regional, and domestic food campaigns in their stores. These smartphone-enabled tags and unique “Localize scores” empower shoppers to quickly learn the who, what, where, and how behind thousands of products on grocery shelves across Canada.”

Tactalis

“Tactalis develops amazing tactile tablet computer systems that help people who are blind or visually impaired to explore, create and share images and digital media that they cannot see. Each of their award winning products has a unique touch sensitive interface and embedded tactile display that lets users touch and feel physical representations of features, symbols and graphics on an LCD screen.”

All very interesting companies with great elevator pitches! I think the work that Localize is doing is really important and they delivered a really clear message to the audience this evening. Tactalis has such an interesting product – think of it like braille for the digital era. I can see a huge market for what they’re doing!

Up next was the keynote speaker, Dianne Buckner. She spoke about the art of the pitch, giving the judges an opportunity to leave the room to make their final deliberations. As the host of CBC’s Dragon’s Den and as a member of the Business Team at CBC News, Dianne knows a thing or two about pitching. Her advice tonight? Do tell a story, don’t let a “dragon” discourage you, do align your goals with those of the person you’re pitching, and don’t be afraid to talk about your weaknesses. She also said to keep in mind that the first thing you’re pitching is always yourself – if they aren’t interested in you or don’t think you’re competent, why would they be interested in your product or service?

Finally, it was time to find out the winners!

Edmonton Journal People’s Choice Award
Localize Services Inc., with 59.5% of the vote

TEC VenturePrize Student Business Plan Award
AlieoGames

VenturePrize TELUS Information & Communication Technology Award
MyMenu

TEC VenturePrize Fast Growth Grand Prize Award
Localize Services Inc.

It was a big night for Startup Edmonton, as all of the winners and many of the finalists had a connection in some form or another to the organization. It’s great to see the continued positive momentum behind entrepreneurship in Edmonton!

Congratulations to Localize and to all of the participants, finalists, and winners! Thanks to TEC Edmonton for providing me with a seat tonight to capture the action. You can see more photos from the evening here.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #111

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

After ten years on the job, Global Edmonton’s Trouble Shooter Julie Matthews is moving on to become a senior investigator with Service Alberta. Her last day was Friday, May 2.
Also leaving Global Edmonton is Shane Jones, who will be joining PCL as their new Media Relations Specialist in two weeks.
The Yeggies are coming up on Friday evening! Get your tickets here.
Graham Thomson on the return of Alison Redford to the legislature: “This was Redford’s first appearance in the assembly since she resigned as premier March 23 and the media were after her like seagulls chasing a fishing trawler. And all we got were scraps.”
The nominees for the 37th annual National Magazine Awards were announced recently. Alberta Views and Eighteen Bridges both picked up a number of nominations. The winners will be revealed in Toronto on June 6.
I was sad to miss the NOW 102.3 FM Tweetup on Friday night! Looks like it was a fun time.

Great #nowtweetup @1023nowradio! @McIntyreMary1 had a blast with @DMcIntyreCTV, @adammckale, @TazlyTaz, @crashandmars pic.twitter.com/WL9ziulWXX

— Mary McIntyre (@McIntyreMary1)

May 3, 2014

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Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Global Edmonton with Lorraine Mansbridge.
“It took JR Shaw four years to get a cable license from the CRTC.” He connected his first customer in 1971 and today has more than 3 million customers! Here’s 6 pieces of advice from the telecommunications pioneer.
Brett Barrett is a newly graduated News Assistant at Global Edmonton, and he’s pretty excited about filing his first story. I love that social media enables stuff like this!
NAIT’s student newspaper, the Nugget, was first published on January 1, 1964. Here’s a look at 50 years of history for the publication. Color printing began in 1999!
I was disappointed to see the comments on this piece by Gray Lamphier. In response to a suggestion from a reader, Lamphier responded: “And I wish I had 10 more inches of column space to answer such questions. If you can wangle that from my editor, let me know.” I feel like that excuse should no longer be valid in 2014.
Is life really more fun on two wheels? There’s a Facebook group for Edmonton Media Motorcyclists.
Here’s a roundup of some recent blog posts from Edmontonians. What do you think – is that interesting and/or useful?
Edmonton-born filmmaker Dave Walker was found dead in Cambodia last week. He went missing back in February.
Saturday, May 3 was World Press Freedom Day as designated by the United Nations. Twitter encouraged users to tweet their observations and thoughts using the hashtag #PressFreedom.
As you know, Rob Ford was back in the news over the last week or so. And this time, media outlets are ponying up some cash in exchange for photos. From the Globe and Mail: Why we published the Rob Ford photos and The case for paying for Rob Ford photographs. Gawker was also approach and wrote about their interactions with the seller.

A zombie is interviewed by CTV Edmonton during the 2014 RCZC Spring Zombie Walk

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 5/4/2014

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

Brian Mason announced plans on Wednesday to step down as leader of the NDP after the party leadership vote in October. Here’s a statement on the announcement from Premier Dave Hancock. Here are some stats on how the Alberta NDP have fared under Mason.
City Council has had just three motions pass or fail by one vote so far this term. The most recent was also the most significant: a proposal to increase the speed limit on Scona Road failed.
The final 2014 property tax rate of 4.92% was approved by Council this week. Tax notices go our May 23 and the deadline to pay taxes is June 30.
Edmonton did well in the 2014 Startup Canada Awards, winning 7 of 20 possible awards for the Prairie Region.
The Edmonton Police Service released both its 2013 Annual Policing Plan Report Card and its 2014 First Quarter Report to the Community. Property crimes decreased by 6.9% and violent crimes decreased by 2.1% in the first quarter of 2014.
More single family homes were sold in April than any time since May 2007, according to the Edmonton Real Estate Blog. Average sale prices are up too.
Be prepared for delays if you’re used to taking Walterdale Hill into the downtown! Starting tomorrow, that street will be closed until August to facilitate construction on the Walterdale Bridge project. ETS routes 9 and 197 will detour via Saskatchewan Drive and Queen Elizabeth Park Road.
Works has begun on the Molson Brewery site, and the City has announced that the north, south, and portions of the easy walls will be rebuilt. While that’s good news, it still doesn’t change the car-centered nature of the overall development.
The historic Paramount Theatre will be demolished to make way for a residential tower if ProCura’s plans go ahead. The development would also impact Edmonton’s oldest restaurant, The Hat, and one of downtown’s hottest new spots, Remedy Cafe.
Edmonton’s Transit System Advisory Board is advocating for a monthly low-income transit pass. I think it’s long overdue!
The Old Strathcona Foundation is the first Edmonton community to be accepted into the Alberta Main Street Program.
It wasn’t a great weekend for the Edmonton Oil Kings as they fell to the Winterhawks twice.
Mayor Iveson called on the federal government to do more on sustainable housing, and said a national housing plan is needed. “Without the support of the federal government and a national housing plan, we cannot keep pace with the housing needs of our rapidly growing population…”
Football season is right around the corner! The Eskimos held their AGM on Thursday.
Can both Rexall Place and Rogers Place succeed in Edmonton? Northlands of course thinks they can, but the Katz Group disagrees.
Here’s another update on the Northeast Anthony Henday project. It’s still slated to be completed in 2016.
Next Monday, forty lots in Oxford Phase II will be sold by the City. Registration takes place on May 8.
Have you made it over to Notables yet? Their going-out-of-business-sale runs through the end of the month. Carbon will be relocating from 104 Street downtown to the vacated space.

A look at the downtown arena construction from Jason Woodhead

Upcoming Events

Cheer on the Edmonton Oil Kings at home this week! Games three and four in their series against the Portland Winterhawks take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Today marked the return of the Callingwood Farmers’ Market! You can catch it on Wednesday evenings as well as Sundays.
Wednesday is the next Green Drinks event at Yellowhead Brewery. The theme this time is “Good Business”. Here’s the preview.
The Edmonton Real Estate Forum takes place at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday.
The 2014 edition of the Global Visions Film Festival kicks off on Thursday evening and runs through May 15.
I hope to see you on Friday night at Avenue Theatre for The Yeggies! You can get your tickets here. Want to volunteer instead? Let me know!
Royal Bison returns this weekend! Here’s the vendor list.
Saturday is the City’s annual Get Ready in the Park event. Fun for families, the event is a great opportunity to learn about emergency preparedness.
Make Mine Love begins its run at the Citadel Theatre on Saturday evening.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Premier Dave Hancock speaking at AccelerateAB

May the fourth be with you!

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