Just got back from the Ed Sheeran concert with Sharon. “That story wasn’t going anywhere, I just wanted to tell you I went to the big mall,” he said after sharing that he visited West Edmonton Mall today. He also remarked on how far people drive here in Canada. Yup.

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Terrible news this week as Constable Daniel Woodall was shot and killed while executing an warrant in the west end. Here’s the statement from Police Chief Rod Knecht, and here are additional statements from Premier Rachel Notley and Justice Minister and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley, from Mayor Don Iveson, and from Edmonton Fire Chief Ken Block.
• A full regimental funeral and celebration of Constable Woodall’s life will take place on Wednesday morning, with a funeral procession from the Legislature to the Shaw Conference Centre. EPS is inviting the public to share their condolences online using the hashtag #EPSstrong, or at one of the EPS Division Stations.
• The escalators at the Shaw Conference Centre are going to be modernized with a $12.3 million project underway from June 9 until the end of 2016.
• Edmonton Fire Chief Ken Block was named Fire Chief of the Year for 2015 by the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association.
• Congratulations to all the 2015 inductees into the Edmonton’s Hall of Fame. What a great group of people, including Marjorie Bencz and Sandra Woitas.
• The City has added new features to the Current Traffic Disruptions Map and has committed to updating it every 15 minutes by the City’s Traffic Management Centre. Time to build something cool and useful with that data!
• The new Mill Woods public library is open just a block away from the previous location. It is double the size of the old library, which makes sense as it was the second most-visited branch last year. You can learn more about the new branch here.
• You may have noticed the arrival information isn’t working on the LRT platform signs. The reason? Problems with the new signalling system, of course.
• Maybe the City was a bit too bold when it unveiled the latest funicular design earlier this year. It now sounds as though the project is going to cost more and come later.
• Borden Park’s beautiful Vaulted Willow was honored at the Public Art Network’s Year in Review in Chicago this week.
• If you have been meaning to visit the Royal Alberta Museum don’t delay any longer: “the next six months represent the final opportunity for the general public to visit the current building that has been part of Alberta’s landscape since 1967.” The current location will close on December 6, 2015 as the museum prepares to move to the new location downtown.
• The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year! Here’s some heritage love for the landmark from Vintage Edmonton.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Feel the Wind, photo by Jeff Wallace

Upcoming Events

• In FIFA Women’s World Cup action at Commonwealth Stadium this week, Switzerland plays Cameroon and Australia plays Sweden on Tuesday, and one of the Round of 16 games takes place on Saturday.
• On Monday at lunch, Mayor Don Iveson will proclaim World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at City Hall.
• Head over to the Edmonton Journal on Wednesday at lunch for the next Capital Ideas event, this time focused on fostering a culture of innovation.
• Wednesday is the start of the 15th annual Improvaganza theatre festival!
• Alberta Enterprise Group is hosting a networking reception with Uber on Wednesday at Yellowhead Brewery. Should be an interesting discussion on the impact that on-demand transportation is having on the way we get around.
• Vitalize 2015 takes place from Thursday through Saturday at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• The TELUS World of Science is hosting its next Dark Matters event on Thursday evening.
• The Edmonton International Jazz Festival kicks off on Friday!
• Also starting Friday is the 30th annual Works Art & Design Festival.
• Friday is going to be a busy day. Head over to Borden Park for the 2015 edition of Porkapalooza on the weekend!
• Opera al Fresco returns for 2015 at the Devonian Botanic Garden on Friday evening.
• Night Market Edmonton of course runs on Friday night at Beaver Hills park downtown. Here’s a feature on the event from The Local Good.
• The City is hosting another Big Bin Event on the weekend, this time at the Woodcroft Community Hall. This is the last one until August.
• Sunday is of course Father’s Day, but it’s also National Aboriginal Day.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Edmonton Pride, photo by Jamie Provencal

I had a rough week due to illness. Better now than the middle of summer I guess! Fortunately I was well enough today for What the Truck?! at Capital Boulevard. The rain held off and we had a solid event. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• What a fantastic start to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015, with 53,058 fans packing Commonwealth Stadium to cheer on Team Canada! That’s a record-breaking crowd for soccer in Canada. As you probably know, our women struggled against China but came away with a 1-0 victory after Christine Sinclair scored on a penalty kick in the 92nd minute. Makes Cathal Kelly’s piece in the Globe and Mail look even worse than it did when sparked some controversy online and the end of the week.
• I saw a few complaints about the LRT on Twitter, but given the large number of people moving in and out of the area, it sounds like everything went smoothly. What was your experience?
• It was a thrilling evening on Friday night as the Edmonton Rush won their first ever National Lacrosse League title right here at home. I’ve been going to games with my brother since the inaugural season so we really felt like we’d been on the journey along with the team. There were a lot of low points, but now the Rush are on top. Mark Matthews was named MVP as he put on a stellar performance in front of 12,275 fans. Let’s hope they stay in Edmonton.
• They say it’s not because of delays to the Metro LRT Line, but ETS General Manager Charles Stolte was let go from the City on Monday. Given he was in charge of transit operations, not capital projects, the rumor that he was let go for philosophical differences seems to make sense to me. Stolte always supported having transit far and wide even though lots of research and experience elsewhere suggests that focusing on high frequency service along busy routes is best.
• On the topic of transit, here’s a very thoughtful post from Mark Holmgren, CEO of the Bissell Centre and member of the endPoverty Edmonton task force. He argues for free public transit and says he’s hoping to generate more interest and discussion in the idea before we write it off as being too expensive.
• ICYMI: Here’s a great piece by Omar on the idea of a park in Old Strathcona. “Nobody comes for the parking,” he says.
• The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) held their conference in Edmonton this week. Unsurprisingly our country’s big city mayors are calling on the federal government to do more for urban issues, especially transit funding.
• Charlotte Cranston has been named the City of Edmonton’s first youth Poet Laureate. The 21-year-old will serve a one year-term starting June 1, 2015.
• From Zoe Todd, here’s a manifesto for the Edmonton arts scene. “I’ve written elsewhere about the highly neocolonial and eurocentric operations of the arts scene here. But it doesn’t seem to really have made a difference. So I’m getting shoutier.”
• Apparently contracts haven’t even been signed yet for the E-Parking meters, so their roll out is being delayed. The new target is the end of June.
• Here are the five most popular items in a variety of categories at the Edmonton Public Library. The top e-book? Fifty Shades of Grey.
• Did you miss the Edmonton International Cat Festival last week? Here’s a recap from organizer Linda.
• The Edmonton Eskimos and TELUS have announced the installation of a free Wi-Fi network at Commonwealth Stadium. The $2.1 million project is expected to be finished in August with an official launch slated to take place on August 21 when the Eskimos host the Tiger-Cats. This is so great! I know Rogers Place will have this as well when it opens.
• The latest Community Justice Awards were presented to Albertans for leading local safety and crime prevention initiatives this week. Edmontonian Kari Thomason, long-time EPS officer Terry Grant Jordan, and Edmonton’s Alliance Jeunesse-Famille de l’Alberta Society (AJFAS) were among those recognized.
• It’s still hot out there, but the fire ban was downgraded to a fire restriction on June 2.
• This is neat: here’s what an ETS ticket looked like in 1950.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

53,058 fans attended the first game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 here in Edmonton! Photo by IQRemix

Upcoming Events

• Both Nextfest and the Pride Festival continue all week!
• The NextGen Month Kickoff Event takes place Monday night at Iconoclast Koffiehuis.
• Also Monday evening is Indulgence 2015, taking place at the Delta Edmonton South.
• The next Citizen Edmonton event from interVivos takes place on Wednesday at The Pint on Whyte Avenue. It’s a great opportunity to learn about how to get more involved in the community.
• There are FIFA Women’s World Cup games all week on TV, but the next live action here in Edmonton is Thursday when China PR takes on the Netherlands followed by the Canada vs. New Zealand game at 7pm.
• Pecha Kucha Night 22 is taking place on Thursday, outside at Louise McKinney Park. You can see the lineup here.
• Also Thursday evening is the Latitude 53 summer patio series!
• The Yards is hosting a launch party for its third issue on Friday night at Latitude 53.
• Saturday is the June Hack Day at Startup Edmonton – go build something cool!
• We hope to see you on Capital Boulevard for brunch on Sunday at our next What the Truck?! event!
• On Sunday evening the Edmonton Music Awards will take place at the Royal Alberta Museum.
• Heads up: here’s the lineup for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival!
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

Linda Duncan and Rachel Notley wave in the Edmonton Pride Parade, photo by Richard Le Sueur

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• The cost to remove contaminants from the west side of the Blatchford redevelopment came in at $292,738 which is significantly less than the $1 million that was budgeted. “In the area remediated, crews removed 3,253 tonnes of petrochemical hydrocarbons (e.g. fuel, oil, grease, solvents) from a 6.53 hectare area.”
• The new park planned for The Quarters will be named Kinistinâw Park which means “us three” in Plains Cree. The park will connect the Armature (96 Street) to Louise McKinney and the river valley.
• I’m so thrilled for the Edmonton Rush! They won the first game of the NLL Champion’s Cup in Toronto on Saturday night 15-9.
• The Edmonton Catholic School Board has approved a $459 million budget which will be adjusted in the fall if the NDP’s budget makes unexpected changes. In an encouraging sign, the Notley government announced it will restore $103 million in education funding that was axed by Prentice.
• Congratulations to the 52 nominees and 8 winners of the 33rd annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.
• Congratulations to Edmontonians Dennis Erker, Fil Fraser, and Jacob Masliyah, three of the eight Albertans becoming members of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2015.
• A proposed new park north of Whyte Avenue would mean the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market loses a bunch of parking space, which they’re obviously not happy about. Still, more green space is always a good thing for our city.
• Interested in joining the Environment Advisory Committee? The deadline to apply is June 10.
• A pilot project of 200 solar panels is now in operation at Queen Elizabeth pool. The panels will generated about 40% of the electricity the pool uses annually.
• Metro has obtained a copy of Edmonton’s Commonwealth Games bid booklet and has published a list of four things that remain secret about the now withdrawn bid.
• Congrats to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services on receiving international accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). Congrats also to the City of Edmonton Fleet Services Branch on winning first prize for excellence in safety from the NAFA Fleet Management Association.
• Long-time City Clerk Alayne Sinclair’s last day at the City was May 22 as she has switched jobs to work in Premier Notley’s office. Congrats Alayne!
• We finally got a little rain here in Edmonton this weekend, but the wildfire outlook in Alberta continues to be severe.
• From YegBall: the first professional baseball game in Edmonton was played on May 30, 1907.
• And from Vintage Edmonton, some Edmonton Ephemera, from Trading Post to Metropolis.
• It sounds like the Freezeway could actually happen!
• Know an Edmontonian who has gone above and beyond to make our city a better place to live, work, and play? Nominate them for the K-Days Local Hero Contest and they could become one of six honorary parade marshals in the 2015 K-Days Parade.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Found this while looking through Flickr for recent Edmonton photos. It’s not every day you see Edmonton on the side of a ship! I’m not sure why it was named “Edmonton” but I know it was built in 2011 (in South Korea as most of these ships are), navigates the Panama Canal, and is one of the 100 largest container ships in the world. Photo by Kees Torn.

Upcoming Events

• The City of Edmonton is conducting tours of the Waste Management Centre all week long for Environment Week! The 2 hour tours run twice daily at 2pm and 5:30pm.
• You can check out the Sacred Fire at City Hall until June 3. On the morning of June 2, the Truth & Reconciliation Commission will release its final report. There will be a number of viewing locations around Edmonton.
• Oliver is looking to kickoff the renewal process for the other end of Jasper Avenue with a public session on Monday evening.
• The final concept designs for the 102 Avenue and 83 Avenue bike routes will be shared at information sessions this week on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
• The brand new Miller Crossing Farmers’ Market kicks off on Tuesday at 14339 50 Street.
• Wednesday is Clean Air Day in Edmonton so consider biking to work!
• This year’s Creative Age Festival kicks off on Thursday.
• CKUA’s 3rd annual Party in the Park takes place from 11am to 2pm on Friday.
• I’ll be at Rexall Place on Friday night to cheer on the Edmonton Rush as they host the Toronto Rock for game 2 of the NLL Champion’s Cup. How awesome would it be if we could win it at home?
• Also Friday night is the Mercer Summer Super Party! Check it out from 5pm to 10pm.
• The Edmonton Craft Beer Festival takes place at the Edmonton Expo Centre on Friday and Saturday.
• The Edmonton Pride Festival starts Friday. The parade takes place on Saturday in Old Strathcona, finishing at Strathcona Park.
• Nextfest also starts on Friday.
• Saturday is for soccer! The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 kicks off at 4pm with the opening match between Canada and China PR.
• This year’s Heart of the City Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday at Giovanni Caboto Park.
• This is just a fraction of the events taking place over the next week or so! Be sure to check out ShareEdmonton for even more.

There are only a couple weeks left for asparagus at the market, so don’t delay!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Rachel Notley was sworn in as Alberta’s 17th Premier today in front of thousands of people on the steps of the Alberta Legislature. Eleven other MLAs were named to cabinet positions and were sworn in today as well. On Thursday, Brian Mason was appointed the new Government House Leader.
• The lovely weather we’ve been having may be great for food trucks but it’s not so great for firefighters. Fire bans were issued in Edmonton, Strathcona County, and Fork Saskatchewan this week. You can see full details for the province here.
• Congratulations to the Edmonton Rush on winning the West Division and advancing to the Champion’s Cup Finals! They’ll face off against the Toronto Rock, with game 1 taking place in Toronto on May 30 and game 2 here at home on June 5.
• The Rush were in the news earlier this week after owner Bruce Urban criticized Council and the City for their apparent lack of support. Mayor Iveson fired back and said that Urban walked away from a potential sponsorship arrangement.
• The first KLM flight from Amsterdam landed at the Edmonton International Airport on Wednesday. The service is now offered Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays year-round, with a Friday flight slated to being June 22 for the summer. “Today, we are proud to add Edmonton as our 5th Canadian gateway bringing our offer this Summer to 39 weekly flights between Canada and The Netherlands,” said Erik Swelheim, KLM CFO.
• It’s property tax time! Expect to see your notice in the mail in the next few days. The City will collect about $1.7 billion in property taxes this year.
• Another big change for the Edmonton Oilers this week as Todd McLellan was named Head Coach.
• Dave reports that former councillor and mayoral candidate Karen Leibovici is rumored to be preparing to seek the federal Liberal Party nomination in Edmonton-West.
• Congratulations to Carley-Jane Stanton, Cory Rakowski, Heather Shewchuk, Jimmy Shewchuk, Philip Yu, Shirzad Chunara, Simone Demers Collins and Thomas Lynch-Staunton, who are the newest members of the Edmonton Food Council.
• Here’s a feature on urban farming in Edmonton from The Local Good.
• The University of Alberta is set to welcome Canada’s ice-core archive, a collection of samples that offer a peek into the past 12,000+ years of history.
• Congratulations to the recipients of the 2015 Mayor’s Awards, which recognize citizens who are working to remove barriers to make Edmonton an inclusive city.
• It hasn’t been said publicly, but I’m hearing that the City is hoping to open the Metro Line by the end of the month. Doesn’t seem likely, but field training is underway.
• And on the subject of transit, here’s a look back at 70 years of trolleys in Edmonton.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Swearing In, by Premier of Alberta

Upcoming Events

• The International Children’s Festival kicks off on Tuesday at the Arden Theatre in St. Albert.
• The Edmonton Public Library is hosting a series of conversations on the future of the Stanley Milner library over the next few weeks. The next session is Wednesday at the downtown library itself.
• On Wednesday evening, Edmonton’s NextGen hosts its next DARK MEÆT event at the EPCOR Tower.
• Edmonton’s newest co-working space celebrates its grand opening on Thursday at TRTech.
• The 4th Good Hundred Experiment kicks off on Friday evening and runs all weekend at Rundle Park.
• Have some large waste to get rid of? The City is hosting another Big Bin event on Saturday and Sunday at Rexall Place.
• Head over to Servus Place in St. Albert for the second annual eek! Comic & Pop Culture Fest, taking place Saturday and Sunday.
• If felines are your thing you won’t want to miss the Edmonton International Cat Festival, which happens Saturday at NAIT.
• Also Saturday is the return of On the Spot with a popup market at Latitude 53.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

We had a great kickoff to our 2015 What the Truck?! season yesterday in Churchill Square! Couldn’t have asked for better weather. We’ll have a recap up tomorrow but in the meantime, here’s one from Cindy. Thank you to the thousands of Edmontonians who came! Our next event will take place on June 14 on Capital Boulevard.

What the Truck?! at Churchill Square, more here

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Premier Designate Rachel Notley has started making some announcements, including that she will retain Richard Dicerni as head of the Alberta public service. She also announced that school boards can have a month long extension to get their financial documents for next year in order.
• As of Wednesday, the danger rating for fire in Edmonton moved to the “extreme” category which means that open burning is restricted until further notice. You can find out more about all fire advisories, restrictions, and bans in Alberta here.
• It was another tough week for the PCs. The party fired most of its staff and closed its Edmonton and Calgary offices. Dave wrote about their impressive patronage machine grinding to a halt.
• I agree with Mike Nickel on this one: I’ve never understood why the Galleria was so high on the downtown CRL project list. I’d be surprised if the NDP were more supportive of the project than the PCs were.
• That other big downtown project, the arena, continues to face a $32 million gap in funding. The City always expected the Province to fill that hole, but asking the new government for it would be a waste of political capital says Mayor Iveson.
• The damaged girders from the 102 Avenue bridge replacement project have been repaired and are being installed now. Groat Road may need to close in a couple weeks to finish the installation.
• Here’s an interview with Carol Belanger, Edmonton’s head architect. He talks about some past projects as well as some upcoming ones, like the new rec centre and library in Lewis Estates.
• The boardroom on the mezzanine level of the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald has been renamed The Cavanagh Room in honor of former mayor Terry Cavanagh, who was instrumental in saving the hotel from the wrecking ball.
• ETS is now conducting training exercises on the new Metro Line and they’re reminding everyone to be patient, stay alert, and stay safe. No opening date for the new line has been announced.
• Congratulations to the Edmonton Police Service on launching a new responsive website. Looks pretty good!
• This is cool – Linda is reviewing Edmonton restaurants from A to Z. Can’t wait to see what Q and X are!
• As you may have heard or seen today, Edmonton made it onto another National Geographic list, this time as one of the Best Summer Trips 2015.
• In case you missed it, here is Karen’s latest roundup of local blog posts.
• The theme for this year’s Fringe festival has been unveiled: SupercaliFRINGEilistic.
• Congratulations to the winners of the 15th annual You’re Welcome Edmonton awards which recognize great customer service in the tourism industry.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Marbleopolis, photo by Grempz

Upcoming Events

• Tomorrow is Victoria Day so enjoy the long weekend!
• Mayor Don Iveson will join St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse for a luncheon and workshop on Tuesday celebrating inclusive hiring.
• Capital Ideas is hosting its next lunchtime event on Wednesday, where the topic will be cultivating productivity.
• The next public meeting of the Edmonton Police Commission takes place on Thursday at City Hall.
• It’s week #2 for the 124 Street Grand Market! Check it out on Thursday evening.
• Friday is the kickoff for the 2015 Night Market Edmonton located at Beaver Hills House Park downtown.
• The kickoff to the outdoor season of the City Market wasn’t great yesterday thanks to the cool, windy weather, but week #2 looks like it’ll be much nicer.
• Our first What the Truck?! event of the season takes place at Churchill Square on Saturday evening! You can check out the menus here.
• The first urban farm tour from Northlands took place on Friday. Upcoming tours start on June 6.
• For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

The new City Hall Express van