Edmonton Election 2013: Update #3

Today’s guest on the EdmontonPolitics.com #yegvote Hangout was Councillor Don Iveson. As you know he’s running for mayor this time, and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to grill him on a number of subjects. Here’s the archived video:

We look forward to chatting with the other mayoral candidates in upcoming episodes!

Here’s my latest election news roundup:

Mayoral candidate Curtis Penner dropped out of the race yesterday. “I have decided that I can better pursue my passion and serve the Edmonton community by focusing my efforts solely on the fight to retain our rights to our parkland,” he said.
Check out Dave’s list of declared candidates, last updated today. Councillor Ed Gibbons now has a challenger in Ward 4 as Sam Hachem has declared his intention to run. Still no challengers for councillors Henderson, Anderson, and Sohi.
The first major mayoral forum took place on Tuesday night! Hosted by the Urban Development Institute and the local chapter of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, the forum had some particularly memorable moments. Kerry Diotte declared: “I don’t believe there is any real form of urban sprawl here.” Karen Leibovici took a similar stance: “I don’t believe we’re an example of urban sprawl. We’re an example of responsible urban growth.” Both candidates were roasted on Twitter for the statements, and in the blogosphere too. CBC has a Storify of all the action here.
One of the things Karen Leibovici announced during the forum was her Red Tape Elimination Commission, intended to “clean up unnecessary and costly barriers” for developers. She also talked about a Mayor’s Development Forum.
Though it’s extremely unlikely he’ll lose his seat, Amarjeet Sohi is going to be campaigning just the same. He launched @VoteSohi on Twitter this week.
Don Iveson wrote a surprisingly hopeful entry about LRT expansion, urging transit advocates “not to lose heart”.
Here is Paula’s take on the LRT decision Council made this week (to continue lobbying the feds and province for money). I don’t think there will be a lack of discussion about the LRT during this election, but Paula’s right – the problem isn’t with our municipal representatives. We need to find a way to get the other orders of government on board and contributing their share.
Kerry Diotte wrote about fixing Edmonton’s drainage systems this week. “City Hall has to better address core services such as drainage and the terrible condition of our streets,” he wrote.
See, ActivatED aren’t the only ones making endorsements! Kathleen Smith, better known as KikkiPlanet, announced on Sunday that she’ll be supporting Karen Leibovici for mayor. “I truly believe she is the only candidate that can both build AND safeguard our future,” Kathleen wrote.
ActivatED has announced they are not endorsing Bryan Anderson in Ward 9 because he does not meet the group’s definition of progressive. They did endorse Dan St. Pierre in Ward 5, however.
Could the new Council reverse course on some contentious issues? Sure, but it’s highly unlikely in my opinion. Our next mayor is almost certainly going to be one of the three current councillors who are running, which will make it difficult for a rookie councillor to steer the group in another direction.
Do you think it’s easy to make priorities? Ryan Hastman tackles that question in a recent post. He’s also got new profiles: Heather MacKenzie in Ward 6 and Ted Grand in Ward 2.
Here’s a new post from Ward 10 candidate Michael Walters on Fairness for Edmonton.
There are new candidate responses to The Local Good’s questionnaire! Here they are: Ted Grand in Ward 2, Ed Gibbons in Ward 4, Dan St. Pierre in Ward 5, Dan Johnstone in Ward 10, Bryan Anderson in Ward 9, Dexx Williams in Ward 6, and Andrew Knack in Ward 1.
Check out the Edmonton Wayfinding Project’s challenge for mayoral candidates.
I’m not really sure why she chose a Facebook event to do so, but Linda Sloan has decommissioned her public Facebook account.
Like many others, I was unhappy with the decision Council made this week on the old Molson Brewery site. Jamie captured it well. “Don’t be afraid, current and future Councillors, to say ‘no’ once and awhile, and show them that the risk they perceive, might just be a great development that a community wholeheartedly wants.”

You can follow Edmonton Election news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegvote and you can see my coverage here.

What have I missed? Let me know!

Disclosure: I’m actively volunteering for Don Iveson’s mayoral campaign.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #87

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

There’s a new podcast in town! Sarah O’Donnell, Graham Thomson, Paula Simons and other Edmonton Journal reporters have launched The Press Gallery, a political podcast.
With Heather McInytre’s departure from Metro, they’re looking for a new Digital Reporter. Check out the job posting in PDF here.
Kerry Powell took to Facebook to post some thoughts about getting laid off at the Journal. “My next job, whatever it is, will have a hard act to follow. But I’m excited to figure out what it could be and, in time, to leap back in to the workplace.”
Congratulations to Elise Stolte, now on maternity leave from the Edmonton Journal after the birth of Marc Evan! He’s so cute!
Here’s a recap of How to survive a crisis, the most recent Capital Ideas panel.
Are bloggers ruining the analysis of hockey? Interesting discussion over at the Copper & Blue blog about that very topic.
Gig City took a look at the practice of assigning Fringe reviews a star rating and the impact it can have.
Global Edmonton’s Lorraine Mansbridge recently did a feature with the Toronto Sun’s Celebrity Spaces.
A reminder that the Online News Association’s Edmonton chapter launch event is coming up on September 12. Follow them on Twitter at @ONAYeg.
The Spruce Grove Examiner and Stony Plain Reporter are looking for a full-time multimedia news reporter. The deadline to apply is Friday.
Ward 11 candidate Mujahid Chak was the founder of the first Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi radio show in Edmonton and was a founding member of CKER Radio (101.7 World FM).
I saw the new Shaw store in Calgary when I was there a couple of weeks ago, and now there’s one here in Edmonton at Southgate Mall.
This is without question the best thing I’ve read about the now infamous Miley Cyrus performance at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards. You can always count on The Onion to tell it like it is. Honorable mention to the Globe and Mail for Hannah Montana’s obituary.

Today at lunch a handful of local media personalities gathered in Churchill Square for a fun ping pong doubles tournament! I was fortunate enough to be paired with Citytv’s Ryan Jespersen, though we lost to 630 CHED’s Scott Johnston and CBC’s Mark Connolly. Over on the other table, the Edmonton Journal’s Brittney Le Blanc and Metro’s Ryan Tumilty were defeated by CTV’s Graham Neil and the Edmonton Sun’s Linda Hoang. In the final game, it was Scott and Mark that took the victory. Good game guys!

Scott & Mark do a celebratory fist bump

The media tournament was just the warm-up of course – the main event was Mayor Stephen Mandel versus EEDC CEO Brad Ferguson. The mayor was playing in support of the Abbottsfield Recreational Centre Society, while Brad chose to support Junior Achievement. The audience was encouraged to wager loonies or toonies on the winner, with all the proceeds going to their respective charities. Donovan Workun emceed the event and did a fantastic job of keeping it entertaining. In the end, Brad was the winner by two points!

Mayor Mandel and Brad Ferguson discuss their match

It was a fun way to spend the lunch hour – thanks to EEDC for the opportunity to participate! You can see a few more photos and a video here.

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 8/25/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

The Fringe officially wrapped up today with another record-breaking year! More than 700,000 people attended (up from 680,000 in 2012 and 576,000 in 2011), and a total of 117,618 tickets were sold (surpassing last year’s tally of 112,006). Check out the holdovers here, and check out the news release in PDF here. You may also be interested in the Festival Review Aggregator.
For the second year in a row, amateur star Lydia Ko won the CN Canadian Women’s Open title. The tournament was held at Edmonton’s Royal Mayfair Golf Club and raised $2.7 million for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
ETS celebrated a milestone with Route 747 this month: 100,000 passengers have been transported between Century Park and the Edmonton International Airport. It’s a great service, I have used it many times.
The U of A is cutting costs to deal with budgetary pressures, but one place they’re spending more than ever is government and corporate relations. The school spends $850,000 a year!
A report on Edmonton’s post-secondary economy is now available from EEDC. Here’s the PDF.
There’s a big decision on the Southeast LRT line coming up this week. A one-year delay would add up to $70 million in inflationary costs, according to the City.
Council will also be deciding on what to do with the former Molson Brewery site this week. While the developers plans may be an improvement over Oliver Square, they don’t go far enough for critics like the Oliver Community League.
August 23 was declared Treaty 6 Day in Edmonton to honor City ties with Aboriginal communities.
The Edmonton Marathon took place bright and early this morning. CBC has a good Storify of the event.
EPS Chief Rod Knecht would support a proposal to hang out tickets for illegal possession of small amounts of marijuana. “If we’re looking for efficiencies and there’s no decriminalization or legalizing, I support it,” he said.
Tempers rose yet again this week at a community meeting about the proposed supportive housing project in Terwillegar Towne.
The City of Edmonton has created a new leadership program for youth between 13 and 17 called Community HEROs. HEROs stands for health, empowerment, responsibility and opportunity.
Are you an engineer? ERIEC is looking for mentors for their upcoming Speed Career Networking event. I have participated as a mentor in the past, and I can tell you it’s worthwhile!
Here’s a small write-up on EPL’s Makerspace.
Sportsnet announced its 2013-14 Edmonton Oilers regional broadcast schedule this week. They’ll be featuring 59 regular season games, including 9 all-Canadian matchups.
Marshalls arrived in Edmonton this week, opening new locations at South Edmonton Common and Manning Town Centre. They are the first two stores in the province.
Here’s a great story about Kevan Lyons, known as The Poet of Churchill Square. He has a book of poems available at Tix on the Square for $20, or you can buy it directly from the man himself in Churchill Square.
Get out there and meet Brittney if you haven’t!
From Emerson Csorba: Why Alberta Needs Less Complacency and More Young Entrepreneurs.
There’s much more news available in the blog post headlines and news release headlines over at ShareEdmonton.

Matt Gibbs came up with the idea of the Edmonton Freezeway for his master’s degree thesis, and it recently won the top prize in the Coldscapes international design competition. The idea is to build a year round greenway and winter skating lane. Pretty neat idea! Here’s a video explaining the concept:

Here are some upcoming events:

Head down to Churchill Square tomorrow (Monday) at lunch for an epic ping pong battle! Mayor Mandel and EEDC’s Brad Ferguson will go head-to-head following a demo by the Edmonton Table Tennis Club and a series of local personality doubles matches featuring Brittney Le Blanc, Mark Connolly, Ryan Jespersen, Ryan Tumilty, Scott Johnston, yours truly, Graham Neil, and Linda Hoang. The event will be emceed by Donovan Workun and attendees are encouraged to wager loonie/toonie bets for charity. The mayor has chosen to support the Abbottsfield Recreational Centre Society, Brad has chosen to support Junior Achievement. See you there!
The U of A’s Office of Sustainability is hosting another Campus Sustainability Tour on Wednesday at lunch.
Symphony Under the Sky kicks off on Friday evening at Hawrelak Park!
Movies on the Square returns this weekend, with epic on the 30th and Goonies on the 31st.
We hope you’ll come out to our Parkade Party on Saturday evening! We’ve got lots of fun things lined up for the Vinci 103 Parkade between 103 Street and 104 Street just south of Jasper Avenue.
The New York Cosmos are in town on Sunday to take on FC Edmonton.
The Tour of Alberta takes place in Edmonton on Tuesday, September 3. The City is encouraging you to plan ahead because several streets in and around the downtown core will be closed to traffic that day. Expect major delays!
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.ca. Enjoy your long weekend!

Thanks to everyone who came out to What the Truck?! at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park on Saturday evening!

Photo by Dave Feltham

Edmonton Election 2013: Update #2

Here’s my latest election news roundup:

Pretty shocking news last Friday when Councillor Linda Sloan changed her mind and decided not to seek re-election in Ward 1. She has been on Council since 2007. Her departure leaves Andrew Knack as the frontrunner. Barely an hour after the news broke, Sharon Maclise switched her candidacy from Ward 6 to Ward 1. Let’s hope no other candidates try to top that opportunistic and self-serving move. Here is Paul Simons’ column on Linda Sloan.
Dave’s list of declared candidates was updated yesterday. Still no challengers in Wards 4, 8, 9, or 12. Arif Khan has dropped out of the race in Ward 5, while Nathan Ip is a new candidate in Ward H for Public School Board Trustee.
This is really great news for vulnerable Edmontonians: the City is adding a polling station to the Boyle Street Community Centre, allowing staff to vouch for individuals who don’t have ID but who still want to vote.
While Mayor Mandel’s busy schedule hasn’t changed much (he’s still very much the mayor, active around town at dozens of events) he has become a little more openly critical of City Administration. On Wednesday, he called the transportation department a “dictator”.
Here’s a profile of Ward 11 candidate Harvey Panesar. Asked about what Edmonton should look like in a decade, he said Calgary: “we have to have that vibrancy that Calgary has.”
ActivatED has decided against endorsing a candidate in Ward 10. They have endorsed Heather MacKenzie in Ward 6, and Max Merrett in Ward 11.
Here are some additional candidate profiles from Ryan Hastman: Mike Nickel in Ward 11, Hafis Devji in Ward 10, David Dodge in Ward 3, and Mimi Williams in Ward 7.
The Local Good has received more questionnaire responses! Read answers from Jason Millar in Ward 2, David Dodge in Ward 3, Rob Hennigar in Ward 5, Michael Oshry in Ward 5, and Derrick Forsythe in Ward 6.
Terence Harding says “civic politics in Edmonton aren’t transparent” and encourages you to tweet questions to candidates.
Will everyone on Council continue working until October 21? It’s business as usual, they say.
Thinking about hosting an election forum in your ward? EFCL wants to help.
Ward 6 candidate Scott McKeen doesn’t have a campaign office, he has a campaign gallery.
Ward 5 candidate Dan St. Pierre has posted about why he’s running for Council.
Ward 7 candidate Dave Colburn is running a survey on campaign finances.
From Ward 10 candidate Zack Siezmagraff: I Don’t Have All The Answers (and neither does anyone else).
Head over to City Hall on Tuesday for a spin class with Councillors Don Iveson and Amarjeet Sohi!
Kerry Diotte is hosting a tweetup tonight at O’Byrne’s Pub on Whute Avenue.
Don Iveson was recently at the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Shapers conference, sharing Edmonton’s story. He’s also got a public event tonight with an open house at Duchess.
Karen Leibovici says Edmonton is a national leader in reducing light pollution.
Both Karen and Don have written about the Rossdale Power Plant recently.
I’m currently building an “election command centre” in my home office, but I’m not the only one redecorating before October 21!

How does a #yegvote geek decorate her home? Well, maybe like this. New addition to the photo wall. pic.twitter.com/lDiS5P62GW

— Julie Rohr (@JulieRohrYEG) August 20, 2013

You can follow Edmonton Election news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegvote and you can see my coverage here.

What have I missed? Let me know!

Disclosure: I’m actively volunteering for Don Iveson’s mayoral campaign.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #86

Here is my latest update on local media stuff:

Ok this isn’t local, but it’s scary stuff so I’m starting with it. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger’s latest column shows just how far UK officials are willing to go to stop further reporting on the Snowden leaks. There’s an absolute ton of coverage of this story at Mediagazer.
You’ll recall from a couple weeks ago that today was the start of big changes on 630 CHED. Tencer and Grose began today, as did the afternoon show with J’lyn Nye and Mark Scholz.

The gangs all here! @TencerandGrose @markscholz4 looking forward to Monday on @630ched #yegmedia #yeg pic.twitter.com/1QfllpDMcR

— J’lyn Nye (@JlynNye) August 16, 2013

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Speaking of Scholz, he’s finally on Twitter: welcome Mark!
Here’s an interview J’lyn and Mark did with CTV Morning Live about the new show.
Heather McIntyre will be leaving Metro Edmonton at the end of next week. After three years, she has decided to accept a role in communications and marketing at EPL. Congrats Heather!
Here’s a Gig City feature on former journalist Scott McKeen, currently running for council in ward 6.
The Journal launched its slimmer, shorter format today. They’re in transition over the next two weeks, after which the changes will be permanent across the city. The paper will then be solely printed by Great West Newspapers in St. Albert.
Interesting approach from the Edmonton Journal this weekend:

Here are a couple of media-related entries from Vintage Edmonton: 630 CHED Launch (1993) (new format anyway), and CJCA Shuts Down (1993).
Linda Hoang in the Edmonton Sun last week: “We have a YouTube star in our midst, Edmonton.” Great story about Daniela Andrade.
Grant Ainsley is providing media relations training on September 24 at the AGA.
Undercover Boss has come to Edmonton! Northlands CEO Richard Andersen filmed an episode in March. It will air September 26 on W Network.
Here’s a new publication I recently came across: Marker. Anyone know anything about it?
Jake Ryan is back on the radiowaves in the evenings on HOT 107.
Just a few days left to apply for the editor-in-chief position at the Edmonton Journal. It’ll be very interesting to see who fills the role.
Twitter is now displaying headlines underneath tweets on permalink pages. The headlines are basically reciprocal links for sites that embed the tweet (though it’s not clear if all sites embedding a tweet will be included). Another step closer to becoming a news organization?
It’s a bit long, but I enjoyed this video: Print Is Not Dead.

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 8/18/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Big election-related news this week! Councillor Linda Sloan announced on Friday that she will not seek re-election in Ward 1. No word on her plans yet. Within hours of the news, Ward 6 candidate Sharon Maclise decided to switch her candidacy to Ward 1. The frontrunner is Andrew Knack.

I want to thank @LSloan_w1 for her years of public service in #ableg and #yegcc. I wish her all the best in her retirement. #yegvote #yeg

— Andrew Knack (@AndrewKnack) August 16, 2013

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The Fringe is on! Sharon and I will finally be taking in some performances this week. Do you think the Fringe Festival is Edmonton’s Stampede?
Have you met Brittney Le Blanc? If not, make sure you do in the next 28 days!
From the what-a-waste-of-money department: a report requested by Councillor Ed Gibbons says a pedway connecting the Coliseum LRT Station with the Edmonton Expo Centre could cost $30 million.
An EPS news release says the number of calls for police originating from Capital Towers has decreased 98%. They credit the community partnership with organizations in McCauley for the reduction. Is there a difference between calls to police and actual crime though? Because the news release says nothing about actual crime numbers.
Mayor Mandel thinks the speed limit on the Whitemud should be increased, despite a report recommending that the current limit of 80 km/h be kept.
There’s a lot of good news coming out of TEC Edmonton lately. Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk attended the press conference on Thursday and said, “TEC Edmonton’s success is really a glimpse of what can happen across the province.”
The City reported it is midway through bike route installation for 2013.
The Boyle Street Community Services outreach team reports there are more people living in the river valley this year than last.
Congratulations to all the winners in the 2013 Edmonton in Bloom Awards!
Bad news for the arts faculty at the U of A: the dean has recommended suspending admission into 20 programs to deal with budget cuts.
Are the downtown pedways too hard to navigate? We know the answer is yes, but still CBC sent out a new reporter to see if she could make her way across downtown.
EPS has charged three people in connection with the BASE jumping that took place a couple weeks ago.
There’s a new addition in the Alberta Aviation Museum’s collection of airplanes! They now have a CF-104 Starfighter.
Bob Green has joined the Oilers as Director of Amateur Free Agent Scouting. He has been the GM of the Edmonton Oil Kings for the past six seasons.
Want to be featured in the Journal? Tell Capital Ideas how you launch a new venture.
This pretty much made my week:

Just a dude walking his turtle. Another Sunday afternoon in #yeg pic.twitter.com/E9hHQ1wZMg

— Adam Rozenhart (@bingofuel) August 18, 2013

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Here are some upcoming events:

From Fringe with Love continues all week!
The CN Canadian Women’s Open runs all week at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club.
Dragonette, Tyler Shaw, and The Oducado Twins are performing on Thursday at WemFest.
Head over to the Capitol Theatre in Fort Edmonton Park on Thursday for Singing in the Rain.
The Mercer Collective is back on Saturday!
Ready for a picnic? The next Social Media Breakfast is an IRL Potluck Picnic.
The Eskimos host the Roughriders on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
I hope to see you down at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park on Saturday from 5-9pm for What the Truck?!.
Check out the French Quarter Farmers’ Market on Sunday at La Cite Francophone.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The 97 Street Night Market went really well yesterday! The freak afternoon hailstorm was a bit concerning, but as you can see in the photo below, it turned out to be a lovely evening. Congrats to all involved but especially to Sharon, who put in a ton of work to make it happen!

Edmonton Election 2013: Update #1

The format seems to work well for my weekly Edmonton and Media notes, so I’m starting a weekly series for the election. Thursday evenings will be the day, mainly because that’s when you can expect to have a #yegvote Hangout at EdmontonPolitics.com.

Tonight was our third Hangout and our first with a special guest! We spent some time talking with Aliza Dadani, founder of ActivatED, a self-described group of “concerned, young forward-thinking Edmontonians.” Here’s some coverage they got recently from Metro. You can watch the video at YouTube:

Here are this week’s notes:

Here is the list of declared candidates as captured by Dave as of today. Notably there are two new candidates for mayor: Fang Hu and Kristine Acielo.
The City of Edmonton held an information session for all candidates on Wednesday. According to the Journal, about 70 people attended. Here is Global’s coverage. Here’s the Running for Office information site. You can keep up with Edmonton Elections on Twitter. Oh and remember to keep signs off public property!
ActivatED has made a series of endorsements over the last week. They have endorsed Dave Colburn in Ward 7, Ben Henderson in Ward 8, Amarjeet Sohi in Ward 12, David Dodge in Ward 3, and Linda Sloan in Ward 1. Further endorsements will be posted over the next two weeks.
In case you missed it, The Local Good has added an Election 2013 section to their website. They have been posting responses to a questionnaire they sent to candidates. Here are the responses they have posted thus far: Kyle Brown in Ward 6, Scott McKeen in Ward 6, Nita Jalkanen in Ward 2, Bryan Kapitza in Ward 6, Mujahid Chak in Ward 11, Heather MacKenzie in Ward 6, Melinda Hollis in Ward 6, and Mimi Williams in Ward 7.
The Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton has also been posting survey responses to their Facebook group.
Here are some questions for candidates from Action to End Poverty in Alberta.
And yet more questions! Zombie Wall Edmonton has five for candidates.
Ryan Hastman has posted a series of candidate profiles to his blog with many more on the way. Here’s the first batch: Jim Gibbon in Ward 5, Max Merrett in Ward 11, Harvey Panesar in Ward 11, and Dexx Williams in Ward 6. He has also been blogging about St. Albert races!
From David Staples: You don’t have to live in a ward to represent city well and Mayoral candidates want regional cooperation, not warfare.
File this one under stating the obvious: U of A political scientist Jim Lightbody says “there’s no clear frontrunner yet” in the mayoral race.
Also in the Journal: “Non-partisan municipal elections in Canada are seemingly dictated by an incumbent-take-all rule, with research showing these councillors win 86 per cent of races in major cities.”
Good question from Terence Harding: When your candidate comes to the door, what will you say?
Todd, or @merlin67 on Twitter, has created a Twitter list of candidates. He’s currently got 59 people on it.
How’s this for a strange series of tweets?

THIS I find strange. #yegvote #yegcc pic.twitter.com/89dok1rNNU

— Chris LaBossiere (@ChrisLaBossiere) August 15, 2013

Karen Leibovici today posted a new video introducing herself to voters.
Slowly but surely, platform pieces are starting to emerge! Don Iveson posted a thoughtful entry on Street-Oriented Brownstones. That followed his post last week on Edmonton’s Vibrant Arts Landscape. And just tonight, he announced he has been asked by the World Economic Forum to represent Edmonton in a program called Global Shapers.
From Ward 10 candidate Michael Walters: A commitment to well managed and modern transportation. He also blogged about mature neighbourhoods.
Ward 6 candidate Scott McKeen blogged about Police Training on Mental Health Issues and also Urban Sprawl.

I decided to put Dave’s declared candidate data into a spreadsheet. There are currently 6 mayoral candidates, 47 ward candidates, 16 public school board candidates, and 11 Catholic school board candidates. That compares to 7, 62, 24, and 20 on nomination day in 2010. Here’s the mayoral and ward races broken down by gender:

Some forum and other event dates to note:

September 27: Capital Club Mayoral Candidates Forum for the LGBTQ Community
September 30 – October 9: Candidate Forums for all Wards
October 1: First Mayoral Candidate Forum
October 6: Politweetup
October 7: Second Mayoral Candidate Forum
October 10: Third Mayoral Candidate Forum

You can follow Edmonton Election news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegvote and you can see my coverage here.

What have I missed? Let me know!

Disclosure: I’m actively volunteering for Don Iveson’s mayoral campaign.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #85

Here is my latest update on local media stuff:

Kerry Powell was let go by the Edmonton Journal on Thursday. She was the Director of Digital Products. Appropriately she hasn’t been shy about sharing the experience online, expressing sadness and even tweeting photos of her exit. It certainly sounds like the decision was a surprise. No word on where Kerry will go next, but I have no doubt she’ll have her pick of opportunities. Here’s her TEDxEdmonton talk on The Future of News.

It’s been a hell of a ride, @edmontonjournal. Thanks for being my mentor, my voice and something like home.

— Kerry Powell (@KerryPowell) August 9, 2013

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It’s an odd decision. Assuming the Journal and Postmedia understand the importance of digital to their future, then the only logical reason to let Kerry go would be if they felt someone else was a better fit. If that’s the case, then I’d expect them to bring someone on board who lacks a traditional media background (Kerry was a journalist & editor for more than a decade at the Journal before taking on digital). Another possibility is that Postmedia is planning to centralize digital, which I’m not sure is wise. Of course, there could be some sort of internal politicking going on too, but that seems unlikely given that the Journal is currently without a publisher or editor-in-chief.
Rick Harp’s last day as host of Edmonton AM on CBC was today. He’s returning to Winnipeg to reunite with his family. Best of luck Rick, can’t wait to see what you’re up to next!

Today is my last day as host of "Edmonton AM" > pic.twitter.com/5i7OpX72DZ

— Rick Harp (@RickHarpCBC) August 12, 2013

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Are you a fan of Edmonton expat Mike Winters? Well only for Edmontonians, Andy has a bunch of Cartoon Machine comics and magnets to sell.
Breakfast Television recently got rid of the comfy living room feel resulting in a bit of backlash on Facebook! But if you enjoyed the couch, fear not – BT Edmonton will be unveiling a new set on September 9.
After 24 years, Edmonton Journal editor and reporter Rick McConnell is retiring.
Global Edmonton is the second local news organization to crack the 70,000 likes barrier on Facebook. Here are the stats as of mid-June.
From Vintage Edmonton: CFRN News for Saturday, March 7, 1992.
Thomasean Vernon has joined Global Edmonton as a reporter. His debut was Friday. He was most recently with Global Regina.
Here’s a feature on Dave Rutherford from The Calgary Journal.
Life after journalism: Jennifer Parks left the Edmonton Sun in 2007 to focus on yoga. She now teaches regularly at Lotus Soul Gym and Yoga Within.
Are you sick of all the stories about the 25th anniversary of the Gretzky trade? Well here’s a media related one from NHL.com. “Had it happened today, it probably would have played out online in a matter of minutes. Instead, it took a lot longer.”
Last week the CRTC rejected an application from Sun News to be forced onto basic digital television subscriptions in Canada. The channel currently loses about $17 million per year. But, a proposal from the CRTC to force distributors to offer all news channels could change the equation.

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 8/11/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

The Local Good has launched a new Election 2013 portal. They’ve also sent out a questionnaire to candidates.
Next year The Buchanan Centre will open, a state-of-the-art centre devoted to taking care of people with Parkinson’s disease, the first of its kind in Canada.
Here is David Staples on the rural ripoff. “This tax grab is damaging to the vast majority of the Alberta’s villages, towns and cities. It also threatens the prosperity and competitiveness of the Edmonton region.”
Councillor Iveson spoke out about the risks of going with a P3 for the Southeast LRT. If you’re interested in learning more, check out this article I wrote back in March.
Boyle Street Community Services has bought its building on 105 Avenue, which means it’s pretty unlikely now that the organization will be forced to move when the new arena is completed.
The week started with reports that three men BASE jumped off the Pearl Tower in Oliver.
EPS opened its new southwest division station this weekend at 1351 Windermere Way. “We’ve got to catch up as a police service and we’re lagging a little bit behind,” said police chief Rod Knecht. Well maybe if we stopped expanding our borders…
Two months ahead of schedule, the last of 56,000 new green and gold seats were installed at Commonwealth Stadium today.
Edmonton’s Criminal Court has a new judge: Raymond Bodnarek was appointed this week.
Have you submitted your nominations for Vue Weekly’s 18th annual Best of Edmonton?
The Edmonton Public School Board could have high school student trustees next year if a motion made by chair Sarah Hoffman passes.
Edmonton will host seven games during next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada.
Here are the latest Edmonton urbanism headlines.
From Omar Mouallem: Edmonton had to lose Gretzky in order to find itself.
The Province did a bit of promotion this week for twin bridges under construction as part of the northeast leg of Anthony Henday Drive. The northeast section has 46 bridge structures, but just these two cross the river.

Twin bridges under construction (May 2013)

Rendering of what they’ll look like

Here are some upcoming events:

The City is hosting an information session for candidates on Wednesday during lunch.
My favorite festival of the year gets underway this week. The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival celebrates 50 years of James Bond on screen this year!
FAVA is having its Summer Party on Friday evening.
The Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival takes place this weekend!
There are only a few weeks left of Park After Dark Fridays at Northlands Park.
Head on down to Churchill Square this weekend for the 4th annual Edmonton Latin Festival.
Don’t miss the 97 Street Night Market on Saturday evening in new Chinatown! Here is Sharon’s post about it.
Have you had your full of music festivals yet? The Edmonton Blues Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Hawrelak Park.
Selena Gomez is in town for a concert at Rexall Place on Saturday.
Atlanta is in town on Sunday to take on FC Edmonton.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Love the “awesome” photo bomb! Check out more cosplay from Animethon here.

Mover is making cloud storage solutions in Edmonton

mover Can you build a successful, scalable technology company in Edmonton? Local startup Mover thinks so, and yesterday they received validation of that goal in the form of $1 million in seed financing from an impressive list of American and Canadian investors.

“Absolutely” was Mover CEO Eric Warnke‘s response when I asked if he thought he could find the necessary talent and other resources to grow the company here in Edmonton. The tech landscape is a lot different today than it was five or six years ago when Eric was at Nexopia, the hot local startup at the time. “Realistically we’d have to double salaries if we relocated to the valley,” he told me. Not that Mover isn’t paying a fair wage, it’s just that the cost of living there is much higher and the competition for talent is much fiercer. “A lot of people ask us if we’re going to move, but there are good incentives to stay here.” The footer of Mover’s website carries the message “proudly made in Edmonton.”

Mover is barely a year old, but it certainly doesn’t lack history. Walk around the office on the second floor of the revitalized Mercer Warehouse building and little reminders of the past consistently pop-up. A Free Wi-Fi magnet on a metal divider, a Firenest coffee tumbler on top of the fridge, a Mesh Canada brochure hanging on one of the beautiful wooden beams. Even the Launch Party sign front-and-centre as you walk across the creaky floors offers insight into how the growing local tech scene made it possible for Mover to go from idea to reality.

In 2004, Eric was employee number four at Nexopia and wore a number of hats there over the years, everything from customer service to ad management. A few years later, while working full-time at the social networking site and also going to school, Eric found time to start and run an Internet café on Whyte Avenue. It was the Internet café that sparked an interest in wireless networks and led to the creation of the Free Wi-Fi Project. Through that initiative Eric met Mark Fossen, a former partner at ThinkTel Communications. The two decided to join forces and launched Mesh Canada in 2009. They sold it to a Calgary company last year.

In January 2012, Eric & Mark decided to participate in Startup Edmonton’s Startup Hackathon. They built a utility called Backup Box that helped users move files from one place to another (such as an FTP server to Dropbox), and eventually showed it off at DemoCamp in March. A few months later, they were part of GrowLab‘s spring 2012 cohort in Vancouver. Renamed as Mover, they refined the product and when they got back to Edmonton, realized they needed to grow. That’s when Ben Zittlau joined as a partner and the VP of Technology. He had previously worked on Firenest, a web-based tool for non-profits, and for a short time worked at Yardstick Software too.

In the space of a year the team has grown from four to ten. They’ve mostly hired people they know, and that was a deliberate decision. “Slowly but surely we’re putting Nexopia back together,” Eric half-joked. He stressed how important it is to hire strong people. “They had a lot of great people working at Nexopia.” Mover plans to stay in the Mercer Warehouse as long as possible, and already have their eye on some additional space on the second floor. “It’s walkable for almost everyone on the team,” Eric said. “There are great amenities here, and being downtown and close to Startup Edmonton is really great.”

I asked Eric to describe the culture at Mover. “Pretty awesome” was his response. The fridge is stocked with groceries in addition to beer, so that everyone on the team can have a healthy lunch at the office if they choose to (today the team had a craving for Oodle Noodle). The company is flexible on working hours and vacation, and employees get ownership options. Eric cited Box, Dropbox, and Singly as companies he admires with Jobber and Granify as local examples. “One day we’ll be the example others mention,” he added.

Mover has a strong technical team. Greg Bell, Graham Batty, and Sean Healy are all former Nexopia employees. Derek Dowling was a programmer for The Gateway. Jacob Straszynski worked at Mediashaker. Eric thinks they’ll add a few more technology folks, but where the new funding will really help Mover is with marketing and business development. Aside from Eric and Mark, there’s just marketing intern Aidan McColl at the moment.

Mover has quickly become a leader in the growing world of cloud storage migration and backup. With support for about a dozen popular services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive, Mover is carving out a unique middleware position for itself in a rapidly growing market. Steve Jobs famously said Dropbox was just a feature, not a product, but today the company has more than 100 million users who collectively save more than 1 billion files each and every day. And they’re just one of many options available to consumers and enterprises. Back in 2010 a series of Microsoft commercials featured the refrain “to the cloud!” Today more than ever, that’s exactly what’s happening, and Mover is hoping to play a key role in the space.

The plan was always to raise money. But like many technology startups, Mover was probably too ambitious last year in trying to build an impressive technical solution to a problem that not enough people have yet. The lesson was to focus on the areas in which they already had traction, Eric told me. “We’ve got this really interesting thing here, and we need some money to figure that out so that we can get to the next stage.” That approach, combined with a realization that it’s okay to say “I don’t know” to certain questions, led to the new investment.

Mover currently thinks about two primary categories of customers. There are individuals who are mostly self-service but have a wide range of needs. Then there’s enterprises, with lots of users and fairly well-defined problems. Both offer lots of opportunities and are expected grow significantly in the years ahead. Balancing the feature set between them is one of the challenges Mover will face. “We’ve got a fantastic backend,” Eric said, “but we need to make some improvements to the user experience.”

The team is well aware there is lots of work to be done. Every Friday afternoon they meet in the “conference room” for a retrospective led by Ben. Each person has the opportunity to share something positive from the past week as well as something that needs to be improved. The admin dashboard they’ve built is displayed on a large television and allows the team to monitor performance, identify potential bugs, and highlight areas of improvement.

Eric and Mark took part today and used the opportunity to talk about the new investment, thanking everyone for their hard work. “It was a team effort,” Eric said. “Each of you have played an important role in getting us to this point.” Mark added some thoughts about what the investment means for the company, and there were smiles all around. But that was the extent of the celebration. Minutes later they were back to discussing some workloads that had been flagged on the display. The message was clear: the investment helps a great deal, but it’s not the endgame. Mover has lofty goals and there’s a lot of work to be done to achieve them.

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