Good morning, Edmonton.

It’s almost always funny, in a sad kind of way, that when governments announce they are going to tackle a problem or get tough on something, it’s a problem that’s had previous attempts to do just that. Edmonton’s recent worries over violent crime is just one of those issues. So, hopefully this is the time everyone follows through on plans and recommendations.

Meanwhile…Edmonton Police are teaming up with other agencies for a new kind of patrol…an action team!

On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an Edmonton firefighter who went to New York with the Red Cross is trying to remember the triumph of the human spirit he saw in the days after the Word Trade Centre towers fell.

The City of Edmonton is trying to entice filmmakers to shoot here. Though, not with a grant or tax break, or deals if they are locals or use local crews. I don’t think it’s a great idea to move $5-million from the financial stabilization fund when you’re running a deficit.

“Are people supposed to park on the next block? It’s insanity.” Really? Parking one block away is the end of the world?

It’s interesting that talk about snow removal shows what a lot of people think about our transportation network. And that the car must be the central vehicle to get people around Edmonton. Too bad people feel that way.

Let’s contrast that with capital region leaders who want to spend $10-billion on LRT and transit connections.

*****

I joked yesterday about using a Hotmail address to communicate official Alberta government business, but I guess that kind of stuff just won’t fly with the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Now, the Premier and others say they also have two email addresses for their government work. I’d be interested to know what those ones are. If it’s Premier.Stelmach@… I think Ted Morton’s run for PC leader/Premier just took a big hit. If it’s Steve Johnson@…I guess Morton’s OK.

The provincial government announced more money for affordable housing, with about $11-million coming Edmonton’s way.

There is an Amber Alert for a B.C. boy, though not issued in Alberta. Even though the disappearance happened very close to the Alberta border. Actually, when I saw the coverage of this on Twitter and in Edmonton news, I thought an Amber Alert HAD been issued in Alberta.

*****

Want to learn an old skill?

If you’ve got a poem, a sketch, a couple of artistic thoughts, you can add them to the “poem catcher” at City Hall. It’s an idea of our new Poet Laureate.

We never got to link to a story from MacEwan’s newly re-named The Griff. Good luck this year!

Thanks for all of your thoughtful takes on the news of the day the last couple of years. Let’s keep the discussion going on Twitter with hashtags like #yeg (Edmonton) #yegcc (City Council) #ableg (Alberta Legislature) #abgov (Alberta government) #yegtransit and #yegtraffic (Edmonton transit and traffic) and #yegarena (the downtown arena). I’m @journalistjeff on there.

Good Thursday morning to you, Edmonton.

It’s nice to see that taking the LRT is such a good option that you can’t get a parking spot at Century Park station. More transit please!

An Old Strathcona parking lot looks to lose just over half of its parking spots. Tie that into some transit tweaks, including bus lanes on 99 Street, and I think you’d be just fine.

Is Edmonton forgetting its fallen soldiers? Or is this weekend, the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on the U.S. just taking people to other events?

*****

Guys, I keep telling you, if we’re going to talk about important issues our government department is working on you send the e-mails to JordanFan789@hotmail.com.

*****

In the “Does not bode well for the future of the oilsands” category; Nobel Peace Prize winners are lining up in protest of the Keystone XL pipeline which would take oil from Alberta to the Texas coast.

If you want more, and stable, funding for education in Alberta, the opposition Liberals and NDP have ways for you to voice that opinion.

Meanwhile…in the crowded classrooms…more students enrolled in Edmonton schools, which means both the Public and Catholic boards can hire a few extra teachers…

Alberta is going to offer more surgeries to obese people to combat the many health problems associated with being so overweight. Also, some more food and exercise education in schools.

A judge in Calgary says the war on drugs is one that cannot be won, so our best hope is to keep casualties to a minimum.

While smoking is down across the country, more Albertans are taking up the habit, especially teens.

*****

Go Caps Go!

(And FC Edmonton is headed to the playoffs in their first year.)

Good morning, Edmonton.

Jaywalkers better (not) step right off. The Edmonton Police Service is cracking down on jaywalkers. Glad to see they are targeting drivers who could could hit pedestrians crossing legally, in the same campaign.

Oh, they’re not. Damn, dirty pedestrians! (I recognize that schools are nearby some areas in this campaign, but I’m going somewhere with my anti-car attitude.)

“But a number of councillors say it’s not fair to people who live near bus routes and usually park there.” Can we make a deal? No parking ban on bus routes during winter if bus drivers are allowed to push stopped cars out of bus stops.

Wow. I am really seeing why Edmonton’s got such an image as a car-city. Our municipal government seems to encourage it while discouraging taking the bus or walking around.

Speaking of transit…one person is believed to have cost the ETS $29,000 by selling counterfeit bus passes. I will not make a joke about how this will cause another hike in transit fares.

/rant 

*****

An Edmonton soldier’s suicide will be investigated by a military commission. This speaks to the mental illness and trauma soldiers can suffer in combat, and the man’s family has been trying to get more answers for years.

The snow boss from Calgary says Edmonton should ditch leaving a snowpack on city streets and go right down to pavement.

Fewer aggressive panhandlers are being reported. That’s being tied to campaigns to keep people from giving money to panhandlers and instead donating to charities that help the homeless.

A new tree disease is moving toward Edmonton. So, keep your eyes on your trees.

With the new UAlberta website (see, I’m already used to calling it that) comes a new 3D map of campus for students. I guess you and I could check out the map too. There are a couple 2D maps on the site, and the really cool ones are in Google Earth.

*****

Hobbema residents want action to curb violence. It’s unfortunate that a headline like that appears every few months.

Change will require the leaders of the reserve to do something, but it will also mean residents have to turn over, and disown, gang members that have long caused violence.

*****

It took a few paragraphs before I got some back-up, but I knew Gary Mar’s plan for whistleblower protection didn’t sound like all it was cracked up to be. It limits who whistleblowers can talk to, while still being protected. PC leadership candidate Alison Redford’s plan is to protect someone spilling the beans on illegal, dangerous, and wasteful government programs anywhere they talk.

*****

A couple of Edmonton authors are on the long list for the Giller Prize.

Good morning, Edmonton, and welcome back to the work week.

How do you commute to work? Is speed your choice? Cost? Convenience? (There’s also a video.)

Here are some updates on Edmonton’s transportation network.

All this commuting stuff comes with the end of the Journal’s summer series on the suburbs. Living on the Edge looked at everything from commuting, to density, shopping, churches, who’s moving to the ‘burbs, and what’s working well out there.

If you followed the series at all, or are about to dive into it, there’s a survey you can fill out. I’d suggest filling out the survey if you appreciate long-form, in-depth reporting like Living on the Edge.

*****

Wow. Could it really be?

Could the old Esso (Imperial Oil) lot at the corner of Whyte Avenue and 105 Street finally be moving toward sale? After more than a decade is the contaminated land finally going to be ready for new development? It’s a miracle!

And it’s a good reason why the City of Edmonton needs more and tougher rules for contaminated lots, or “brownfields,” and owners who would let properties sit vacant for more than a couple of years. (This one has sat empty and dirty for 13 years.)

*****

Edmonton Police are going to start using black and white cruisers.

Alberta festivals, including a couple of Edmonton big ones, are getting some federal funding.

News on new beers after the jump.

*****

Alley Kat has two new beers officially coming out this week! Let me know if you’ve had either of them yet, or get a drink by week’s end.

I’m good with calling it UAlberta.

*****

The school year is underway, and calls are on for the Alberta government to fund education with a longer-term deal, so budget cuts don’t overflow classrooms.

Edmonton’s Francophone School Division wants to use older, abandoned schools but needs some money from the Alberta government to get the buildings up to snuff.

Preschool is moving out of school.

*****

If you work at a restaurant and a “health inspector” calls and asks you for your social insurance number, don’t give it to them.

Are Ontario and Quebec’s dairy farms helping keep Alberta beef from European markets?

Somebody needs to explain the the Stelmach cabinet how our parliamentary system of democracy works. (At least the Solicitor General is going to try and restore funding he cut to a restorative justice program. It seemed like such an odd, and inexpensive, program to cut for budgetary purposes.)

Voting is on for the leader of the Alberta Liberal party! I know you’re excited.

*****

We’ve got a championship series starting Thursday night in Edmonton.

CTV Edmonton’s Natasha Staniszewski is now working the sports desk at TSN.

*****

It’s good advice for students back in post-secondary, and good advice for anyone else: get insurance.

You probably know more than a few drivers that have parked like an ass.

Speaking of animals…goodbye, sheep!

Good Friday to you, Edmonton. Ready for the long weekend?

The City released a short update on what City Council did this week. The three and four paragraph stories are great for you and me to get a glimpse at what our elected officials are talking about, and it’s bad news for newsrooms that put out the same length, or shorter stories.

That Council Roundup is an example of media and public relations skipping the middleman of newsrooms. There are a few in Edmonton (and every city) that write very little on City Hall. When they write very little they are often doing no more than what we see from the City itself in this Roundup; a few quick notes on what was on the agenda and what happened. Newsrooms are going to have to add some depth and perspective to their stories or risk people skipping them and just checking on the official Roundup.

*****

I like the gusto of outgoing Premier Ed Stelmach. He says his Conservative caucus is willing to give Edmonton money for a downtown arena, but it’s a decision that he won’t have to give final approval to. Well played.

Speaking of Stelmach…capital region municipalities want to build a better integrated transit system and he doesn’t think that’s a good idea. I take back my kudos. There’s also a consideration for an outer ring road for Calgary?! Geez. I hope Alison Redford or Doug Horner become the next premier and move on some highs-speed rail.

Calgary prosecutors will look at whether a trio of Edmonton police officers went too far during the arrest of an Edmonton shop owner. His own store’s surveillance video will be part of the evidence they can look at.

Surely the irony of attacking the Edmonton salon which produced a domestic violence ad is lost on the vandals. If you want to do something productive to show you don’t think domestic violence is a good way to sell a business, boycott the place or donate to the Bad Ad Fund.

We’ll probably be paying more for water, but it’s not clear if that will be on tax bills or EPCOR bills. Meanwhile…at EPCOR Tower…that utility is already going to try to boost fees for sewer and and drinking water. Of course, they are mulling the decision.

*****

Minimum wage went up with the new month. And it really is a minimum (even more so for those in jobs serving alcohol).

*****

Lloyd Robertson anchored his last national newscast last evening.