April 4 Edmonton Headlines
It appears Daryl Katz isn’t keen on a ticket tax to help pay for his new downtown arena. That would mean, on an arena pricetag of $450-million, the city could be on the hook for $350-million in up-front construction costs and also finding ways to pay off that debt. Even the mayor, who wanted a decision on the arena this week, is kind of caught off-guard.
Come on Katz Group, you’re breakin’ our balls.
Perhaps Mr. Katz is just waiting for the Conservatives to lose the federal election and snag some cash from a Liberal or New Democrat MP.
Alright…gotta clear my head of all this arena funding (or, non-funding, I guess)… Maybe I’ll switch gears and ask the Edmonton Police Service some questions.
Edmonton’s downtown is trying to position itself as the place to be for business.
Don’t be surprised if your EPCOR bill jumps. I mean, be surprised that it jumped, but just know that you’re not alone.
It really does feel like they’ve been working on the Quesnell Bridge forever. And work starts on Scona Road today. Enjoy.
In the federal election campaign… (more…)
Alberta Hospital Town Hall
I haven’t noticed a lot of action on the blogosphere about last night’s Alberta Hospital Town Hall, but did see one video. (above) If you see any blogs talking about it, point them our way in the comments.
That’s from Brent Welch, and gives you some flavour of how many people came out (500 estimated) and some of the speakers.
If you’re not familiar with the story, basically the provincial government was going to put some money into redevelopment, but with a ballooning deficit the decision has been made not to do that. Without that money, the plan is to move 100+ patients to community care (though, what that means is still being debated) so the hospital doesn’t require all that money. Critics of the plan say the patients will end up in shelters, jail or the streets.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) sponsored last night’s town hall, and also has a Twitter account about this issue. The Alberta NDP is also asking for people to sign a petition to keep the beds open.
You can also keep track of future events (AUPE-sponsored and otherwise) at this Facebook group.
