Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Council voted on Friday to expropriate a parcel of downtown land to make way for the planned Warehouse Campus Neighbourhood Park. “The parcel is one of four that the city is buying with $28 million from the downtown community funding levy.” Only Councillor Caterina voted against expropriation.
• According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, the market in 2019 will remain stagnant and will likely see little growth. “We are expecting 2019 to be similar to 2018, with high inventory and lower sales continuing the downward pressure on average prices,” said Michael Brodrick, chair of Realtors Association of Edmonton.
• McBain Camera has been purchased by London Drugs. “Former owner and general manager Neil McBain wants to ensure loyal customers that the stores will continue to run independently with the longtime brand staying put.”
• A new pump house has opened at Enoch Cree Nation which means the end of 25 years of boil water advisories. “Built with $13.6 million from the federal government, the facility connects Enoch to the city of Edmonton’s water system.”
• A community group called Friends of our Park is asking the City to reject any proposal to extend the Royal Mayfair Golf & Country Club’s lease until he public can be more involved. The current lease expires in 2051 and the club is hoping to extend that to 2069.
• Staff continue to transfer artifacts from the old RAM to the new RAM, which means the old building is expected to be occupied until 2020. No decision about its future beyond that has been made.
• Councillor Nickel wants EEDC to be audited before it receives any more funding. EEDC says an audit will take place in 2020. “You don’t get to pick and choose when public money is on the line, and decide when the city comes and does an audit,” Nickel said.
• Cidex Group of Companies is hoping to have land around Whyte Avenue rezoned to allow for three towers up to 20 storeys high, with podiums.
• The deadline to nominate someone for Edmonton’s Hall of Fame is Thursday, February 7. “Inductees have dedicated their time and given extraordinary service to their communities in arts and culture, sports or community service.”
• Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has been voted into the upcoming NHL all-star game.
• Starting February 1, the single cash fare on ETS is going up by 25 cents to $3.50. “Prices remain the same for all other fare products, including ticket booklets and monthly and annual passes.”
• Nine civic boards are recruiting 22 new members. The deadline to apply is February 3.
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Health Innovation, Music, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups. We’re back at it this week!

Alberta Legislature, photo by Jason Woodhead

Upcoming Events

• Ice Castles Edmonton opened up in Hawrelak Park for the new year! It runs until March, weather permitting.
• Founders & Funders takes place on Monday afternoon at Startup Edmonton.
• The Oilers continue their home-stand with the Sabres on Monday evening, the Flames on Saturday, and the Hurricanes on Sunday evening.
• Edmonton Opera hosts Opera 101: Hansel & Gretel at CKUA on Wednesday evening.
• The 10th annual Edmonton Whisky Festival takes place on Wednesday evening at the Delta by Marriott Edmonton South.
• The Alberta Industrial Heartland Association is hosting its annual stakeholder event on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Chinatown Dining Week kicks off on Thursday! The event runs until January 27 at eight restaurants in Chinatown. Here are the menus.
• The Cold Snap Cheer and Dance Championships take place Friday to Sunday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.
• The Lunar New Year Night Market & Tết Concert takes place on Saturday at the Edmonton Convention Centre.
• The 2019 Official Women’s Anniversary March: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop starts at Churchill Square on Saturday at 1pm.
• Michael Janz is curating the Reel Revolution film series at Metro Cinema. The first film screens on Saturday evening.
• The Pride Centre of Edmonton Gala takes place Saturday evening at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
• Bridal Fantasy takes place Sunday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.
• The Edmonton Arts Council is hosting Swingin’ City Sundays at City Hall every Sunday in January and February.
• TEDxMacEwanU is coming up on January 23 at the Betty Andrews Recital Hall.
• Plan your winter calendar with Taproot’s guide to festivals and events taking place in the Edmonton area this 2018/2019 winter season!

Heaviest load ever to travel on Alberta’s highways, photo by Premier of Alberta

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Happy New Year! It was nice to have a break, but now I’m ready to get back down to business.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Former Edmonton-Mill Creek MLA and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Gene Zwozdesky has died of cancer at the age of 70.
• The City has mailed 2019 property assessment notices. “Overall, the residential market experienced a 1.7 per cent decrease in assessed value.” Call 311 if you have any concerns with your assessment. March 11 is the deadline to file formal complaints with the Assessment Review Board. Property tax bills will be delivered in May.
• A report issued by the Civic Service Union 52 before Christmas says the City could cut management positions to save $100 million over a four-year budget cycle. “Micro-management in an organization this complex can cause gridlock,” wrote Elise Stolte.
• China stopped accepting 24 kinds of waste at the beginning of 2018, including paper and plastics. Now Edmonton-area municipalities are struggling to manage the increased recycling costs. “It has increased the competition across the board,” said Mike Robertson, contract manager for Edmonton’s Materials Recovery Facility.
• Could this be the year of the bike in Edmonton? Elise Stolte argues that a “cheap, easy, bike share can make the millions Edmonton invested in bikes lanes a benefit to the masses.”
• According to Statistics Canada, Alberta lost nearly 17,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate in Edmonton was 6.3%.
• Councillors Cartmell, Hamilton, and Paquette spoke about their concerns with the Valley Line West LRT in year-end interviews. All three “voted in favour of the route and design for the 14-kilometre stretch of the Valley Line between downtown and Lewis Farms in the west end.”
• The City of Edmonton’s urban hen program is capped at 50 sites and there are currently 12 applicants on the waiting list.
• SkyriseEdmonton has a look at the proposed Stadium LRt Station redesign. “Stadium Station, according to 2017 passenger counts, has the third-lowest utilization of any station on the LRT system, still only being primarily used for a handful of stadium events every year.”
• Edmonton’s first baby of 2019 arrived 21 days ahead of schedule, weighing in at five pounds, seven ounces. She was born just eight minutes into the new year.
• Put your Christmas tree out next to your garbage bags by 7am on Wednesday and the City will collect it for recycling. “For Christmas trees to be acceptable for composting, all ornaments, tinsel, garlands, nails, screws and tree stands must be removed.” You can also take natural Christmas trees to an Eco Station for free until January 31.
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Health Innovation, Music, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups. We’re back at it this week!

Edmonton 2019, photo by IQRemix

Upcoming Events

• Ice Castles Edmonton opened up in Hawrelak Park for the new year! It runs until March, weather permitting.
• The Indigenous Health Initiatives Program in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is hosting the Indigenous Health Lunch & Learn Series on Wednesday at the University of Alberta.
• EEDC’s 2019 Impact Luncheon takes place on Tuesday at the Edmonton Convention Centre.
• Tony Robbins is speaking at the Edmonton Convention Centre all day Thursday.
• IDEA is hosting its 2019 Winter Bash on Thursday at The Pint downtown.
• The Oilers host the Panthers on Thursday and the Coyotes on Saturday.
• The Edmonton Motorcycle Show runs Friday to Sunday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.
• SYC Brewing is holding its grand opening on Saturday in the west end.
• Deep Freeze: Byzantine Winter Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday along Alberta Avenue.
• West Edmonton Mall’s Lunar New Year Extravaganza takes place on Saturday and Sunday at the Ice Palace.
• The Oilers Skills Competition takes place on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place.
• The Edmonton Arts Council is hosting Swingin’ City Sundays at City Hall every Sunday in January and February.
• Plan your winter calendar with Taproot’s guide to festivals and events taking place in the Edmonton area this 2018/2019 winter season!

NextGen City Jam 2018, photo by Edmonton’s NextGen

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Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• City Council finalized the 2019-2022 Capital, Operating, and Utilities budgets on Friday. The expected property tax increase is 2.6% per year (or about $65 for the average household). The latest Council Roundup has all the details and remarks from Councillors.
• Edmonton Transit is adjusting bus schedules over the holiday period. Regular service will resume on Saturday, January 5.
• The shortlist for the 2018 Edmonton Music Prize has been announced. The winner of the $10,000 award will be announced on February 5.
• Edmonton’s Alphonso Davies has become the youngest winner of the Canadian Men’s Soccer Player of the Year Award. “He has been a standout performer for club and country and that is just a consistent reality now for Alphonso Davies,” Canada coach John Herdman said in a statement.
• Changes will be made to 26 playground zones across the city over the holiday school break. “The remaining zones aren’t set in stone: administration said it’s possible more playground zones could be identified and added, and several councillors still have problem zones they’d like to see revisited by staff.”
• The minimum separation distance for liquor stores was officially dropped for Ice District this week. “I’m not saying they should get away with anything, or we should throw our hand up and say yes to anything, but I don’t see how this is a wild ask for them to have a liquor store for their residents and for the people who stay in the hotel,” said Councillor Scott McKeen.
• According to a new report by Altus Group, “large-scale transaction in Edmonton’s office market bolstered year-to-date investment sales 38 per cent over the first three quarters of 2017.” Office sales accounted for 40% of all investment activity in the city, led by the $400 million sale of Edmonton Tower to AIMCo.
• A proposed land swap involving park space in Oliver is being met with resistance in the community. Abbey Lane Homes wants to put a 24-storey residential high-rise at the corner of 104 Avenue and 118 Street in Oliver Park.
• Edmonton’s NextGen is accepting speaker proposals for the next Pecha Kucha Night taking place on February 8 at the Royal Alberta Museum.
• In the latest episode of Speaking Municipally, Troy and I wrap-up the budget discussions and talk about Mayor Iveson’s end-of-2018 media availability.
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Health Innovation, Music, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups.

Premier seeking industry interest in oil refining, photo by Premier of Alberta

Upcoming Events

• Candy Cane Lane is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! The lights are on and sleigh rides are available until December 23.
• The lights are now on at the Alberta Legislature grounds! Until December 23 you can enjoy musical performances in addition to the lights.
• Christmas Glow Edmonton is on at The Enjoy Centre in St. Albert every day until mid-January.
• Learn about machine learning at Amii’s Machine Learning 101 on Monday at lunch at Startup Edmonton.
• The 37th annual Christmas Bureau Breakfast takes place on Tuesday morning at The Westin Edmonton.
• The Oilers host the Blues on Tuesday and the Lightning on Saturday at Rogers Place.
• Jason Lee Norman is speaking about his 40 Below anthologies at the McLuhan House Book Club on Thursday evening.
• Paths for People and Coffee Outside are hosting an outdoor coffee meetup at Constable Ezio Faraone Park pn Friday morning.
• Shumka’s Nutcracker takes place at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Saturday and Sunday.
• Heads up: EEDC’s 2019 Impact Luncheon will take place on January 8.

Between Christmas Trains, photo by Jeff Wallace

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Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• According to the City’s chief economist John Rose, Edmonton’s GDP per capita peaked in 2014 and won’t reach similar levels again until the 2030s. “It’s going to be a long hard grind, and for a lot of people it’s going to be a real adjustment to get used to the fact that we’re not going back into another boom,” Rose said, speaking to reporters at the Economic Society of Northern Alberta conference in Edmonton. That aside, Edmonton’s economy won’t be as impacted by cuts to oil production as Calgary’s will.
• The Edmonton Police Service will get an extra $75 million over four years, which is $12 million less than they asked for. Council also voted to keep the police request for a new helicopter on the table, funded with debt instead of taxes, perhaps.
• In other budget news, Council voted to take on $112 million in debt to pay for the Terwillegar Drive expressway, approved $16 million for the Coronation Community Recreation Centre, approved $27.5 million for the Stadium LRT Station upgrade and $3 million for design and planning for the 40 Avenue LRT Station using the Alberta Community Transit Fund and debt financing. The Lewis Farms Recreation Centre has received tentative approval but funding won’t be confirmed until next year.
• “Taxes should be higher in St. Albert and Strathcona County and Leduc and Beaumont, because the free ride is over,” Mayor Don Iveson said on Friday, referring to the idea that neighbouring municipalities should pitch in to cover attractions within the City of Edmonton.
• Thales handed over its Metro Line signalling system work on December 4, and the City will now spend several months evaluating the system. “Most of the field testing will take place outside of service hours in order to minimize impacts to Edmonton Transit Service customers, motorists and pedestrians.”
• The Province is adding 28 new paramedics and 5 ambulances to Edmonton to help provide faster emergency care.
• Edmonton and Red Deer will co-host the 2021 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. “This marks the third time Edmonton will host the annual under-20 international and the second time for Red Deer.”
• Stantec is looking to light up Ice District with LEDs and digital signs that could display advertising.
• Four Edmontonians were recognized this weekend at the 12th annual Human Rights Awards, including Greg Lopez, Ahmed Knowmadic, and Mahamad Accord.
• If Edmonton hosted the JUNO Awards in 2022, it could bring in about $3.5 million for the local economy. Our city hosted the awards in 2004.
• In the latest episode of Speaking Municipally, Troy and I discuss the latest budget news, the Metro Line LRT, and our transit stations.
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Health Innovation, Music, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups.

Holiday Light-up at the Legislature, photo by Premier of Alberta

Upcoming Events

• Candy Cane Lane is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! The lights are on and sleigh rides are available until December 23.
• The lights are now on at the Alberta Legislature grounds! Until December 23 you can enjoy musical performances in addition to the lights.
• The Stollery Children’s Hospital is hosting the 22nd annual Snowflake Gala at the Shaw Conference Centre on Monday evening.
• MADE is hosting In Situ: The New RAM Building with Donna Clare on Wednesday evening.
• The Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree runs Thursday to Sunday at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
• The Oilers host the Flyers on Friday night at Rogers Place.
• The 124 Grand Market presents Holiday Bazaar from Friday to Sunday behind MacEwan University.
• Linda Hoang and Sharon Yeo are hosting an Instagrammable Walls of Downtown Photo Walk on Saturday afternoon from 1-4pm. Meet at Churchill Square!
• Saturday is your final opportunity to participate in the Gingerbread House Workshop at the City Market inside City Hall.
• A Very Ritchie Christmas takes place at the Ritchie Community Hall on Saturday evening.
• Yule Ave: A Merry Christmas takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Alberta Avenue.

2021 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships Announcement, photo by Government of Alberta

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Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• On Thursday, the Government of Alberta introduced the City Charters Fiscal Framework Act which if passed would “provide Edmonton and Calgary with infrastructure funding tied to provincial revenues, meaning they would share in Alberta’s future revenue growth.” The proposed $500 million would be split between Edmonton & Calgary as a replacement for MSI which completes in 2022. “The deal includes a baseline of funding that can grow (and may contract) based on the Province’s actual revenues, which makes Edmonton a genuine benefitting partner in our combined efforts to grow employment, grow investment and help drive prosperity for Edmontonians and Albertans,” Mayor Iveson wrote about the funding deal.
• Premier Rachel Notley announced today a short-term reduction in oil production aimed at protecting jobs. “Under the action announced, production of raw crude oil and bitumen will be reduced by 325,000 barrels per day to address the storage glut, representing an 8.7 per cent reduction.” The reduction will start in January and last until December 31, 2019.
• Starting January 1, 2019 the City of Edmonton’s boundaries will officially expand to include 8,267 hectares of land from Leduc County and a portion of 50 Street in the Town of Beaumont. “We are looking forward to welcoming these new residents to Edmonton,” says Mayor Don Iveson.
• Inflation in the Edmonton region moved down 0.3% in October to 3.0%. Despite declining gas prices, “gasoline was still up by approximately 21% on a year-over-year basis in October 2018.”
• Despite just 6 cannabis-related charges in the first month of legalization, Edmonton Police want an $87 million budget increase, in part to hire 24 officers to deal with cannabis. Councillor Andrew Knack has quite rightly wondered how sensible that is and is actually suggesting a reduction in the increase EPS would receive this budget cycle.
• According to a poll funded by Prosperity Edmonton, 73% of respondents want Council to hold off on tax increases. “Eighty-two per cent of respondents also said taxes will be an important factor in their voting decisions for the next municipal election, the poll suggests.”
• Parking revenue downtown is less than projected which is a problem as it was supposed to help pay off the arena debt. So Council has decided to use funding from the CRL to cover the difference, which means less money for other projects.
• Winter schedule adjustments took effect on ETS today. “Bus routes 2, 8, 9, 10, 15, 90, 100, 106, 112 and 143 have undergone significant and permanent schedule adjustments.”
• This year 11 individuals were recognized at the 2018 Salute to Excellence Citation & Performance Awards. Congrats to all!
• Councillor McKeen has asked the City for a report on ways to help homeless people in Edmonton while new supportive housing is developed. “[People] are leading desperate lives out there, and we continue to pay a high price for chasing our tail on this, whether it’s policing, bylaw, the folks who clean up these camps, (or) the business zones,” McKeen said Tuesday during a city council meeting.
• This week Council officially nixed the need for a development permit for minor home-based businesses. They have also passed changes to the Zoning Bylaw that make it easier for residents to hold short-term special events.
• The deadline for the Metro Line LRT signalling system is Tuesday and Thales insists the system is ready to go.
• In the latest episode of Speaking Municipally, Troy is joined by Kirsten Goa to discuss parking revenue, budget, and child-friendliness.
• Get the latest on Media, Tech, Health Innovation, Music, and Council with Taproot Edmonton’s latest roundups.

New era for provincial, cities partnership, photo by Premier of Alberta

Upcoming Events

• We’re into the time of year when it seems everyone is hosting a holiday party. Enjoy safely!
• Zoominescence 2018 started on the weekend at the Edmonton Valley Zoo and runs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to Christmas.
• Holiday Magic starts at City Hall on Monday and runs all week.
• The Alberta Legislature’s annual Light Up takes place on Tuesday.
• Green Drinks: YEG Makers takes place on Wednesday evening at Yellowhead Brewery.
• The Economics Society of Northern Alberta is hosting its Annual Outlook Conference on Thursday at the Quarter Note Hotel (formerly Hyatt Place in The Quarters).
• The City is hosting a drop-in engagement session on Thursday night at the Stantec Tower lobby about the proposal for digital signs atop the tower.
• Pitchfest takes place on Friday at the Shaw Conference Centre. It’s “an opportunity for technology startup founders to pitch their businesses and needs to a select audience of other entrepreneurs, private investors, public funders, service providers, business leaders, and community members.”
• Royal Bison‘s second weekend takes place Friday to Sunday at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre.
• The sold out Luminaria 2018 runs Friday to Sunday at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden.
• The Oilers host the Wild on Friday and the Flames on Sunday.
• URBANYEG is hosting its first Panel Discussion on Saturday at CCIS at the University of Alberta. Three panelists will share their experience with photography.
• The Inspire Cheer & Dance Championship takes place at the Edmonton EXPO Centre on Saturday.

Cloud Factories, photo by Dave Sutherland

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