Good morning, Edmonton.

If you’re a child (or a teen) of the 80s then today has just a tinge of sadness. Surely we knew that Corey Haim had his troubles, but it doesn’t make it any easier to know he’s gone. And all we’ve got now are our VHS copies of The Lost Boys and License to Drive.

Oh, and Corey Feldman.

Man, there are a lot of mixed messages coming from the Alberta Health Services team. Thank goodness it’s not an important department.

At least when Ron Liepert was in charge we knew he was angry all of the time and we were probably going to see private health care options. Now, now I have no idea from one day to the next what’s up.

It’s time for a regime change! Just in energy royalties. We are Alberta and we don’t want to rush a government change or anything.

from the Edmonton Journal:

‘She was our little angel’ (Police are still investigating the death of a toddler in foster care, as a homicide.)

Tailings pond breaks law: federal officer (Someone tell the Premier, since he doesn’t look at the news.)

Student humour needs context (Scott McKeen on The Gateway controversy and other City Hall notes.)

Parkdale a victim of open boundaries (Finally, someone comes out and says what I’ve been thinking about the ability to choose whatever school you want, regardless of your own city neighbourhood.)

New iPhone app allows residents to report problems (You want to complain to the City of Edmonton? There’s an app for that.)

from the Edmonton Sun:

Premier in the soup over ducks (Hey, the best part about the Premier not seeing the oily ducks is that it means he ignores all TV, newspaper and Internet news and opinion. So I could call him a dumb-dummy and he’d never see it. We should probably also do some sort of Premier Ed-Photoshop thing, as he’d also never see that…)

Edmonton eyes deal for artificial turf (Goodbye real grass, at Commonwealth.)

Residents asked to help clean up city (April 28 eh…I’m busy that day.)

Street sweepers at the ready (Yes!)

from The Canadian Press:

Minority report (Though, if “minorities” aren’t really a minority anymore, would you still call them that? Yeah, I just blew your mind.)

from CBC Edmonton:

Contract offer ‘intentionally provocative’: nurses’ union (Oh great, the team that can’t figure out which health care plan they’re using is negotiating contracts with one our most important unions…)

Heaven just got a little more Corey.

Look up, way up. Not that much up. Back down. Yeah, right there.

First up today, I’ve got this song from Johnny Cash stuck in my head because of all the Rahim Jaffer news.

That would be because the former Edmonton Tory MP was in court this morning, and pleaded out his charges.

This story leads me to think that something happened in the search, or other arrest procedures to force the crown to drop the drug charges. It’s not every day a judge is telling an accused how lucky they are to catch a break.

Anyway, more news to come and more Johnny Cash too.

from the Edmonton Journal:

Stephen Mandel should run again (Should he?)

Cuts to higher education a losing strategy, U of A president says (Duh.)

No ‘duck porn’ in Stelmach’s political pond (Why would he want to see what his province’s largest industry does? Meanwhile…back at the St. Albert Hall of Justice…)

Tripling of housing starts returns builders to pre-recession levels

City announces arts awards nominees

Hiring ‘climate’ still ‘mild’ (‘OK.’)

$5M project targets heart failure

Dow owners way of proposed changes to south-side off-leash area

from the Edmonton Sun:

Cop hearings set (Two cases that have raised many questions about police behavior.)

Airport plans taking off

Ed calls foster child death ‘tragic’

Alberta NDP MP in Tory crosshairs (Because there’s nothing better to do with your time in politics than win, win, win. You can help people later.)

Free ways to file taxes

from The Canadian Press:

Magazine urges U.S. legislators to discourage oilsands development

from Metro Edmonton:

McCauley closing (Won’t closing schools in older neighbourhoods make the City’s growth plans, which call for more people in older neighbourhoods, useless? Or, what Paula Simons said.)

from 630CHED/iNews880:

”Pay for performance’ incentives” idea sparks debate

from CBC Edmonton:

Kreviazuk to debut with Edmonton Symphony (The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has unveiled its 2010-2011 season!)

from CTV Edmonton:

Edmonton apartment building goes up in flames

from The Gateway (U of A):

Now onto the controversy! First, the controversy. Then, some news coverage. Finally, the response. Racist?

Research team uses nanotechnology to deliver targeted cancer treatment

President-elect discusses campaign

I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

I really dig these arftful boxes of sand the City is putting downtown.

Yes, there’s snow in the forecast. But in some of the sagest words to ever come from science fiction; don’t panic.

This has to be good news, what with the way our provincial government basically depends on energy money. And you didn’t help by buying all the bonds. More on the bonds from the National Post.

There are going to be more stories, I’d bet, on the Alberta foster care system in the next little while. This is because a toddler just died in care. And it’s being investigated as a homicide. So, you’ve got this, and this to start the debate. Sadly, the debate only tends to happen after such a bad incident.

Then it will be shuffled off the front pages by bikini girls, Oscar winners and Daryl Katz begging for money. Alright, one of those is just the Sun, and one actually has an impact on the future of our city, though dead kids surely impact our future in some way.

Oh, and something about this Sarah Palin headline sends a chill down my spine. This story on Rebooting Alberta only moderately helps to warm that chill. The Journal’s got more on the Alberta Party too, in a story here.

Wait, that chill is back.

from the Edmonton Journal:

School key to McCauley’s fate: parents (Good luck convincing the school board of that.)

Court goes digital for first time

Mandel plays role of reluctant politician well. And so, we wait… (Will Mayor Mandel run again?)

Conservatives fall out over Morton budget (Let’s remember he came to the post of finance after the budget had been pretty much sent to the printer.)

Let’s set the record straight on tailings ponds and elections

from the Edmonton Sun:

Pool closure doesn’t wash with swimmers

MLA proposes beauty pageant to boost tourism (Good on the Sun for asking about Carl Benito’s “foundation.”)

Grieving Edmonton woman fundraising for Canadian Avalanche Centre

from Metro Edmonton:

‘I don’t know anybody who could afford it’ (A cancer patient is raising money for treatment not covered here.)

from 630CHED/iNews880:

Time to book your campsite (Go. Go now. Online.)

Pandas finish fourth place in women’s volleyball

Former Taekwondo instructor given seven years in prison

from CBC Edmonton:

Alberta man’s death sentence upheld in U.S. (This is a story we’ve heard plenty about up here.)

Avatar art director studied Alberta oilsands

from CTV Edmonton:

Fox Drive closed until next week

from Global Edmonton:

Taxi Tax (Insurance surcharges, as Metro can show you, aren’t a “tax.” Add a dictionary to the animal books, Global. And the Sun says cabbies are going to ask the City to takeover their dispatch too.)

The Oilers have won two in a row. Didn’t anybody tell them to keep gunning for the first overall draft pick?

Welcome to March 5, Edmonton.

Just waiting for the bus.

While that really means very little (unless it’s your birthday, then Happy Birthday!) it does mean it’s Friday. Boo-to-the-motherflippin’-Ya.

Before I forget to mention it, Parliament returned to “work” this week and they brought down the federal budget yesterday. Alberta Finance Minister Ted Morton likes it, so that will make up a lot of minds without even following this link to read more about it.

I caught this story via my Google Alerts, it seems those dastardly environmentalists are now paralleling the oilsands to the storyline in Avatar. Thankfully, nobody has seen Avatar and won’t know about the tale of resource plundering and destruction…wait…I’m being told at least a few people south of the border might be aware of the Avatar storyline…

And, holy crap, the city has more money than it thought! Don’t let Daryl Katz know.

from the Edmonton Journal:

Edmonton’s Eastwood parents get questions answered at round table discussion (A new format for school closure meetings, but will it mean anything different in terms of keeping schools open? Man, we talked about this a lot yesterday, and more today.)

Alcohol-fuelled sex assaults on the rise in Edmonton (Also of note here is that police say they’ll stop with the “lock your doors” mentality when there are assaults, as that tends to put the blame on victims and potential victims. This is something we’ve talked about with the Garneau Sisterhood.)

Snowfall stalled efforts to scare off birds, trial told (The Syncrude trial.)

Bland, barren Churchill Square needs a funky facelift

Alberta being hit hard by H1N1 flu again not likely, expert says (But I have all this hand sanitizer yet to be used.)

Edmonton concert to raise funds for struggling Haiti

Edmonton Transit bus crash sends driver to hospital

from the Edmonton Sun:

Big boost in LRT riders (Don’t I know it, being jammed in there every morning.)

City holding data workshop (The more government data and information available the better.)

Well-known Old Strath shop to close (Bugs ‘n berries is done.)

Edmonton’s Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe sold for $47.8M

Local pizza among world’s best

from 630CHED/iNews880:

Full-body scanners come to EIA

2010 Stollery Radiothon (They raised $1.3-million over at Corus Radio.)

Foster mom granted a new trial

from CBC Edmonton:

Size of meth seizure worries police

from Global Edmonton:

Katz group plans to rezone arena land

Grant MacEwan University to close pool (Controversy!)

from The Gateway (U of A):

Dehod newly elected SU President (Now, to not resign under unknown circumstances, like the last guy…)

PAW, U-Pass; Yes Millennium Villages No

U of A professor receives eugenics research grant

Farm workers call for better protection

Dive right in. Well, unless you’re at MacEwan.