I am working in London, UK for the week. Nice to be here in the summer for a change! I’ll be back to Edmonton on Saturday, August 20 just in time for our next What the Truck?! event! It takes place from 4-8pm at the Edmonton Ballpark (TELUS Field) with a great lineup of trucks. Hope to see you there!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The two proposed applications from CK Design Associates for a bar on 104 Street and a nightclub on 109 Street have been rejected. “The development permit applications were reviewed independently and were refused on the grounds that both uses would ‘materially interfere with or affect the use, enjoyment or value of neighbouring properties’ (Edmonton Zoning Bylaw 12800).”
• The 2014 Economic Impact Assessment for the Late Night Entertainment Economy has been released (yes, more than halfway through 2016). It shows that “total economic output more than doubled from $686,511,073 in 2010 to $1,431,112,160 in 2014 (accounting for inflation).”
• As noted in my latest Council roundup, City Council’s new organization structure takes effect starting Monday. Elise Stolte has the details on the end of the Transportation Committee and other changes.
• Dave reports that there are now 13 candidates who have filed their intention to run in next year’s municipal election.
• The Oilers announced this week they have discontinued the Oilers Octane. “The organization is looking for a new direction related to the fan experience, both in-game and in the community, as we head to Rogers Place for our inaugural season.”
• Council will be discussing whether or not to allow voting at ages 16 and 17 (the Province needs to make the change, but Council can support it). The Journal has a look at some of the research behind the debate.
• The City is now using free-standing photo-radar equipment to catch speeders “at locations where it has been impossible to deploy enforcement vehicles safely.”
• Next year is Canada’s 150th birthday and the City is now accepting applications from non-profit organizations that want to host a special event in honour of the occasion.
• Kasie Campbell has been named artist in residence at the City of Edmonton’s Kennedale Facility.
• Here is the Summer 2016 Update from Startup Edmonton. Save the date for the next DemoCamp – September 22.
• You have until October 15 to provide input on the Heritage Interpretive Plan for the West Rossdale area. There will be a public visioning workshop on September 7.
• If you want to speak at the next Pecha Kucha Night, the deadline to apply is August 24. The event takes place on September 29.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Signs of fall already?

Upcoming Events

• The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is underway all week long!
• There is a YEGArts Mixer taking place on Monday evening at the Jasper Place Wellness Centre.
• Capital Ideas is hosting The Art of Business on Tuesday evening at the ATB Entrepreneur Centre.
• Zootopia is the next Movies on the Square film, Tuesday evening at Churchill Square.
• Feast on the Field returns on Wednesday evening to Commonwealth Stadium in support of seniors in care.
• Latitude 53’s Summer Patio Series continues on Thursday evening.
• The fourth installment of Concerts at the Conservatory takes place on Thursday at the Muttart Conservatory.
• The Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival starts on Friday at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park.
• The Edmonton Blues Festival takes place at Hawrelak Park from Friday through Sunday.
• The 25th running of the Edmonton Marathon takes place Saturday and Sunday.
• Get rid of household items that can’t be left out for regular waste collection at the City’s next Big Bin Event taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre.
• Head down to La Cite Francophone on Sunday for the French Quarter Grand Market!
• Saturday and Sunday throughout the province is Alberta Open Farm Days. “Farms and ranches across the province are opening their gates. Where will your rural ramblings take you?”
• The Babas & Borshch Ukrainian Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday in Andrew, Alberta which is northeast of Edmonton.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton Airshow, photo by Dale C

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Lots more Northlands news this week. Chris LaBossiere resurfaced the suggestion that Northlands and EEDC merge. Then Northlands CEO Tim Reid threatened that this year’s K-Days could be the last, if Northlands doesn’t find a way to generate new revenue. Extortion doesn’t seem like a good strategy to get what you want from City Council, but the truth is Northlands has no leverage. Both Paula Simons and Graham Hicks wrote about the threat.
• Watching the 2016 Rio Olympics? Here are 10 northern Albertan athletes competing at the games and here’s a feature on three Edmonton competitors.
• The Edmonton Police Service has laid its first charge under Quanto’s Law. Also known as the Justice for Animals in Service Act, Quanto’s Law took effect last summer, named after the Edmonton police dog who was stabbed to death a few years ago.
• Mel Hurtig passed away this week at the age of 84. “He didn’t just prove that Canadian writing mattered,” Paula Simons wrote. “He proved you didn’t have to be from Toronto or Ottawa or Montreal to be a real Canadian, that Edmonton was as Canadian as anywhere else.”
• Five life-size human sculptures made of tape appeared on the new suicide barriers on the High Level Bridge. The City took them down immediately and considers it an act of vandalism.
• Folk Fest had a great weekend. Here’s a feature on festival founder Terry Wickham.
• Flying a drone? “Edmonton Police Service Air 1 pilots are asking users of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to be mindful of flight regulations and potential risk to the police helicopter, after a recent near-miss.”
• The Local Good has published a new feature on co-working for makers in Edmonton.
• From the Edmonton City as Museum Project: The Cowboys in the Sky: The Story of Edmonton’s Ironworkers.
• The Edmonton Oilers have hired Gretzky as the club’s new Assistant General Manager. No, not that Gretzky, his brother Keith.
• Speaking of Wayne Gretzky, his statue was removed from Rexall Place this week. It will now be refurbished before finding a new home at Rogers Place in the fall.
• New payday loan legislation took effect in Alberta on August 1. The lowest maximum borrowing rate was reduced from $23 for every $100 borrowed to $15 per $100, among other changes.
• Construction has begun on the new 66-storey Stantec tower in ICE District! “This is a massive gesture of confidence on the part of Edmontonians to have the audacity to build a building like this,” said Mayor Don Iveson.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Summer Sunset

Upcoming Events

• The Edmonton Community Foundation and Skills Society Action Lab are launching the Edmonton Shift Lab on Tuesday at McCauley School.
• Reconciliation in Solidarity Edmonton is holding its first AGM on Tuesday at the Stanley Milner Library.
• ATB Financial’s Chief Economist Todd Hirsch is speaking at the Mosaic Centre on Tuesday evening about the Future of Alberta.
• Movies on the Square is back on Tuesday evening with a screening of Angry Birds.
• The next event in the #YEGparity Speaker Series takes place on Wednesday evening.
• The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival gets underway on Thursday! The festival runs through August 21 at venues throughout the city. For previews, check out After the House Lights.
• On Thursday evening the Latitude 53 Summer Patio Series continues!
• Also Thursday evening, the Eskimos host the Montreal Alouettes at Commonwealth Stadium.
• Workshop Eatery is hosting A Garden Party on Thursday evening to raise money for the Canadian Culinary Fund. We saw their garden a few nights ago and it certainly looks impressive.
• The Edmonton Rock Music Festival gets underway on Friday at Hawrelak Park.
• On Saturday morning you can help with the 3rd annual river valley food forest planting over at MacKinnon Ravine Park.
• This year’s Edmonton Latin Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday at Churchill Square.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Animethon 23, photo by ceasol

Happy Long Weekend! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• So can we talk about the weather for moment? We’ve had some epic summer storms recently which have led to flooding and all kinds of craziness like a geyser shooting up from a parking lot. Then today, on the 29th anniversary of the Black Friday Tornado, Environment Canada issued a weather advisory for funnel clouds (fortunately nothing came of it). Oh yeah, we’ve also had our hottest year days of the year according to Edmonton Weather Nerdery and it’s all downhill from here. On the other hand, when it has been nice over the last week, it has been really nice.
• The City says that the drainage pipes beneath Whitemud Drive were built to handle a one-in-five-year storm, which is why we saw it flood this week for the third and fourth times since 2000. Improving the drainage could cost millions of dollars.
• A membership survey conducted by the Edmonton Police Association suggests 80% of EPS officers agreed they work in “a toxic culture of blame and fear.” They have called for an independent, third-party assessment of the force’s culture as well as Chief Rod Knect’s leadership.
• Employment in the Edmonton region decreased by 9,500 jobs in June 2016. Employment has grown by 2.4% in Edmonton year-to-date, four times the national average.
• Perhaps another sign of the trouble economy at the moment: Edmonton’s Food Bank has collected less tha half its donation goal at the Heritage Festival with just one day to go.
• Here’s a Transforming Edmonton feature on the new High Level Bridge suicide barriers. “The barriers mark the beginning of something much bigger – a city that has taken an epidemic very seriously and is dedicated to drastically reducing the number of suicide attempts and deaths in our community.”
• There’s still no timeline to fix the LRT arrival signs. They have been broken since April.
• Total attendance for K-Days this year was 803,087, the second highest ever after 2005.
• ETS is adding solar panels to 40 new bus shelters across the city. The new panels include high efficiency LED bulbs that turn on at night.
• NewLeaf Travel‘s first flight from EIA departed for Hamilton on Friday.
• Congratulations to the Golden Bears tennis team on capturing their second national title in three seasons.
• A new Bicycle Repair Station sponsored by Steam Whistle and the Old Strathcona Business Association was installed on Friday next to the bicycle corral at 8224 104 Street. It’s the third station in Edmonton.
• Did you know that Edmonton has an accessory truck? Find Accessory Insanity at an upcoming event to buy jewelry, purses, hats, wallets, and more.
• The Oilers did not have a single captain last season but that won’t be the case on opening night in October as head coach Todd McLellan confirmed “we will have a captain.”
• If you’d like to learn a little more about zoning, check out this new PDF from the City. It’s an accessible yet informative introduction to the topic.
• Pecha Kucha Night 26 is scheduled for September 29. If you’d like to speak, you have until August 24 to submit your presentation.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton River Valley

Upcoming Events

• There’s still one more day of the Heritage Festival to go!
• Movies on the Square returns to Churchill Square on Tuesday evening with a screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
• Rock’n August kicks off on Tuesday in St. Albert.
• This year’s edition of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival gets underway on Thursday.
• Animethon 23 starts on Friday at MacEwan!
• Also starting Friday is Cariwest. The parade takes place Saturday starting at noon.
• Head out to the Villeneuve Airport on Saturday and Sunday for the Edmonton Airshow.
• Save the date: Alberta’s Open Farm Days is taking place on August 20 and 21.
• Also, our next What the Truck?! event takes place on August 20 at the Edmonton Ballpark (TELUS Field). Here’s the lineup!
• July might be over, but Edmonton’s summer festival season is not! Check out my full listing here.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton K-Days Exhibition 2016, photo by IQRemix

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Big piece on Edmonton’s lack of cycling infrastructure in the Globe and Mail this weekend. “While Vancouver is rolling out a bike-share program and Calgary finished a downtown network of bike paths last summer, the car is still king in Edmonton. The city’s first downtown bike path will not be finished before 2020, based on current plans.”
• And in Spacing Edmonton, a call for rethinking parking in Edmonton.
• Dave reports that ten candidates have already filed to run in next year’s municipal elections. Incumbents Bev Esslinger, Dave Loken, Scott McKeen, Michael Walters, and Mike Nickel have all filed their papers already.
• Are you playing Pokémon Go? Or avoiding those who are? The Edmonton Police Service is reminding everyone to abide by laws and stay safe. “The message is simple – have fun but stay safe,” says Const. Hunter Robinz. “Remember, you can’t catch ‘em all if we catch you breaking the law.”
• Speaking of Pokémon Go, here are the best places to take the kids to play from Raising Edmonton.
• When Rogers Place opens in a couple of months you might enter the building through Ford Hall, the new name for the Wintergarden. The Oilers announced the renaming as part of an expanded partnership with Ford of Canada.
• The Edmonton Public Library has started loaning Wi-Fi hotspots with unlimited data to adult library cardholders as part of a two-year pilot program. They have 40 such hotspots and hope the service will help the more than 116,000 Edmontonians who are without home Internet access.
• The Warehouse District downtown was the first in North America to be accredited with the Purple Flag designation. “The Purple Flag designation means that Edmonton has set the bar for North American safety standards in hospitality destinations.”
• Bus shelter vandalism is a bigger problem than you might think. “The rule of thumb is three days. That’s how long Edmonton Transit System can go before someone smashes a glass pane in one of their 2,300 bus shelters throughout the city.”
• Here’s a feature on three University of Alberta spin-off companies led by Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researchers: MagnetTX Oncology Solutions, Tevosol, and Metabolomic Technologies Inc.
• It was announced this week that the next Council of the Federation summer meeting of Premiers will take place in Edmonton next summer, July 17-19, 2017.
• The City is reminding residents to help look after the North Saskatchewan River “by eliminating common household sources of chemical pollutants.”
• Vue Weekly’s annual Best of Edmonton poll is open and accepting votes until August 22.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Rainbow over downtown this evening

Upcoming Events

• K-Days and Taste of Edmonton continue all week!
• If you’re planning to head down to Northlands, be sure to consider taking ETS. The additional trains on the weekend were very much appreciated and made our trip to and from the grounds very quick.
• And make sure you head to K-Days prepared! Here’s a preview from Linda and here’s a quick recap from Emil.
• London Drugs is sponsoring a photowalk on Wednesday evening at the Legislature grounds. There will be plenty of Pokémon Go players to photograph, I’m sure!
• On Thursday evening the Eskimos host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Commonwealth Stadium.
• Taking place on 104 Street (I think…call it a hunch) on Thursday evening is Diner en Blanc. The after party is set for Central Social Hall later that evening.
• There’s always lots to do on Thursday evenings! There’s also the Latitude 53 Patio and the 124 Street Grand Market.
• The 2016 Servus Heritage Festival takes place at Hawrelak Park from Saturday through Monday for the long weekend.
• It feels like summer is zooming by, but there’s still lots of great festivals and events to come. Check out my guide for 2016 for a full listing!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Slide the City, photo by IQRemix

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Have you been frustrated by the barriers on the High Level Bridge? Mayor Iveson has heard you, and blogged about it this weekend. “What I should have done was to ask for compassion for the emotionally difficult position Council has been in with respect to the barriers, and to ask for patience as we examine options to mitigate the conditions we’ve created.”
• The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society, frustrated with the poor implementation of the barriers, suggested exploring the use of the top deck for a new pathway to ease congestion.
• There was a lot of frustration at Council this week. “I think that’s what Edmontonians expect of their councillors is rigorous agreement or disagreement on the issues but not that any member of council be disagreeable with one another or city staff or the public,” the mayor said. Sounds like the summer break couldn’t have come at a better time.
• Council did unanimously approve a review “that will look at Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy requests, closed-door council debates, and contracts kept secret for the benefit of third parties.” Councillor Mike Nickel made the motion and I really like his suggestion of sunset clauses so that information can be released after it is no longer sensitive. The report should come back in October.
• On Friday, the Province of Alberta and Government of Canada announced funding to construction the southwest portion of the Calgary Ring Road. Mayor Don Iveson made a statement in response: “We are pleased that Calgary received the funding they needed for their ring road today and we’re hopeful Edmonton will soon see similar funding for top priority projects like upgrades to the Yellowhead Trail.”
• Also Friday, the 102 Avenue Bridge over Groat Road finally reopened! There’s still some work to be done that will result in lane reductions during off-peak hours and on the weekends, but it should be all finished by the end of September. “The City of Edmonton thanks the local businesses on 102 Avenue and 124 Street, residents, motorists and trail users for their patience during bridge construction.”
• The City has released a series of nine “Guiding Perspectives” reports as part of the new Transit Strategy development. They cover topics like “why people do or don’t take transit”, “how Edmonton’s transit system is performing”, and “how Bus Rapid Transit can be included in Edmonton’s transit system”.
• Paula Simons wrote about the Edmonton Public Library’s temporary relocation to Enterprise Square while the Stanley Milner renovations take place. They’re leasing about 17,200 square feet of space. The Stanley Milner is slated to close in late December for three years. Here’s more on the move from EPL.
• Startup Edmonton has released its Summer 2016 Update. They now have more than 120 members working in the space and more than 440 currently enrolled in programs.
• The Edmonton Oilers signed winger Jesse Puljujarvi to a three-year entry level contract this week.
• Dave Mulcair has some suggestions for improving the ePark app. “If you live in Edmonton and have used this app then you understand how painful it is to park a car with this app.”
• The City of Edmonton will host the Canadian Open Data Summit in May 2017. The event will bring ” approximately 500 national leaders representing the public sector, non-profit, and private sector” to our city to discuss best practices and learnings around open data.
• July’s big ticket event saw 3,449 violations handed out, including 3,030 for speeding.
• Here’s a look at some of Edmonton’s power history from the Edmonton Power Historical Foundation.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

The Rainbow, photo by Jeff Wallace

Upcoming Events

• Commedia Burlesco takes place on Tuesday evening at The Chvrch of John.
• Capital Ideas is hosting its next panel on Wednesday at the Edmonton Journal on building a socially responsible business.
• The next Family Nature Nights event takes place on Wednesday evening at Big Bear Park.
• Taste of Edmonton starts on Thursday at Churchill Square.
• Dark Matters returns on Thursday at the TELUS World of Science.
• The Made Local Society is hosting Marketing for Creatives 101 on Thursday evening at their new location in Oliver.
• K-Days starts on Friday at Northlands! The parade takes place downtown starting at 10am.
• Interstellar Rodeo kicks off on Friday evening at Hawrelak Park.
• As mentioned Council is on summer break, so that means City Hall tours are starting up! Check it out every Friday until August 26.
• The Eskimos host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
• Head over to La Cite Francophone on Sunday for the French Quarter Grand Market.
• For more summer festivals and events, check out my guide for 2016!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Bridging, photo by Dave Sutherland