Arena open house (and a new idea)
30,000 people have completed an online questionnaire, with hundreds of people attending these open houses.
As I’ve been mentioning, I attended the last of the downtown arena open houses, last week. It was a better time than I expected.
There was lots of information around the Robbins Health Centre at MacEwan University, and lots of Post-Its with ideas and questions going up on boards asking about things such as funding. (They kept calling them “stickies” though.)
I made it just in time for the discussion groups. (The first half of the evenings were open houses where people could check out information and ask questions of City of Edmonton staff, with the second half being the discussion groups.)
After an introduction about what we’d be talking about, and some history on the project, we were shuffled off into classrooms.
On the history of the downtown arena…it goes back to 2007. In February of that year we heard about renovating Rexall Place and the potential cost of that. Then, in 2008, we had a group look at whether downtown could handle an arena. They said it could. Soon after, Oilers owner Daryl Katz put forward his support for a downtown arena. (Initially $100-million for an arena, then it changed to $100-million for the entertainment district around the arena, then, seeing how everyone thought he was putting money into the arena in the first place, $100-million into the arena, then he said it would be $100-million for both arena and entertainment district.) The arena itself is supposed to cost more than $400-million. That leaves the City of Edmonton (you and me) on the hook for at least $300-million in the current plan.
For further reading, including how such an arena could/couldn’t fit into long-term plans, we were directed to the City’s Downtown Plan and The Way We Grow.
Here’s why the evening went better than I had expected: the discussion wasn’t split into for/against or pay for it/don’t give the billionaire a dime. There was some actual gray area amongst the group. I didn’t expect that and it was nice to know people are considering and thinking up all kinds of options for the arena (and for Edmonton, in general).
The biggest themes that kept coming up in the discussion the 14 of us had were:
- The city should get revenue of some sort if it puts money into the arena.
- The city should push ahead with its LRT plans. (Not exactly related to the arena, but it kept coming up, so it seems important.)
We were asked whether we were in favour of the Katz arena project, how to fund it, and a few items to the arena itself (design, impact on surrounding community, etc…). I think the facilitator did a good job of keeping the conversation going, making sure everyone had a chance to speak, and ensuring a few didn’t monopolize the conversation. It’s up to the recorder to make sure the important points, and feelings, are accurately captured and conveyed to city council.
I think my group leaned in favour of building a downtown arena. I don’t know if they necessarily leaned in favour of THIS arena plan though. I say that for a couple of reasons. The numerous other projects in Edmonton’s downtown (The Quarters, McCauley, Walterdale Bridge, 109 Street, 104 Street, LRT) that require city attention, and money, which could be jeopardized in some way, and the funding question. (more…)
Knife Fight Headlines
Good morning, Edmonton.
As you can see from the photo above, it appears the Iron Horse Night Club is closed forever.
I’ll let that sink in.
…
…
You OK? Good.
(This next section is updated from the original post. See the comments as to my mistake.)
The Iron Horse did not have a good 2010. Back in April there was a shooting, there were a number of other violence incidents, and after a triple stabbing in the summer the City of Edmonton’s compliance team recommended some conditions be put on the bar. The City’s Chief Licensing Officer made that happen. That brings us to now.
I guess its closing shows it’s tough to get back on the straight and narrow and/or you just can’t attract clubgoers with knife fights and shootouts like in the good old days.
In other news… (more…)
Fiery Tuesday Headlines
I looked out my window and there was a fire. (Click for more photos.)
Good morning, Edmonton. I trust we are all bundled up as we dart quickly from place to place. The less time spent outside on a day like today, the better. (Today’s Long John Index is set at 4. But we really close to 5.)
This morning was a morning of fires in Edmonton. You’ll see a lot of that on the news at 6pm tonight.
The big stories, however, are in healthcare and the Expo.
We saw Dr. Raj Sherman ejected from the Tory caucus yesterday. Even though the Premier said he was cool with Dr. Sherman lashing out at healthcare mismanagement. I guess other Tory MLAs were not so forgiving. (The Journal’s Graham Thomson says Dr. Sherman kind of brought this on himself.)
You have to wonder how badly all the opposition parties want to get Dr. Sherman to cross the floor to their party. If I was the Alberta Party I would be putting all efforts into this. That would be some way to instantly become a legitimate election choice.
So, a doctor calls out government and politicians for screwing up healthcare and he’s suspended by his party.
One of the top people in all the province when it comes to healthcare can’t be bothered to talk about how emergency room service will improve (or even offer a polite “no comment”) because he’s eating a cookie and the government decides this is the guy to keep around. (Granted, the politics of Sherman’s turfing are different than firing the head of Alberta Health Services.) hile most people would probably ask Stephen Duckett to take his cookies back to Australia, it sounds like Alberta Health Services’ bigwigs like his cookie-eating style.
Though, since they meet next week, if the criticism hasn’t subsided (or we have some auto-tunes of “I want to eat my coooookieee.”) I can see them asking him to leave. The Journal’s Paula Simons also thinks Duckett’s behavious is acceptable and doesn’t warrant turfing him. Over at The Gateway, John Kmech has a different recipe for the cookie affair.
Now, that’s not the only problem for the governing Alberta Progressive Conservatives (though, I checked, and a bitch is not one). Senator-in-Waiting Link Byfield is stepping down. Six years ago people in the province voted for a group of people to be “Senators.” We don’t elect the Canadian Senate, so they wait, hoping to be chosen when the Prime Minister of the day stocks up the Senate. Stephen Harper actually took one of Alberta’s Senators-in-Waiting to fill a recent vacancy.
But…the election for Senators-in-Waiting was supposed to happen last month, when we had our municipal elections. The Stelmach Tories said it would have been too expensive to run the vote and just appointed the current batch of S-i-Ws. (Which, of course, goes against the entire idea of electing Senators.) So, Link Byfield resigned. The other two S-i-Ws will stay on, in case something opens up in the Senate and we have a chance for a (somewhat) elected person to head to Ottawa.
Now, Byfield is also running as a Wildrose candidate in the next provincial election, so there’s a touch of politics to all of this. There’s going to be a lot more than touching when the next provincial election rolls around. Federal Tories (and Tory supporters) are going to have to choose between their provincial counterparts (the Stelmach Cokie Brigade) and the upstart Wildose Alliance. I’m sure the left-of-centre parties will enjoy not being the only ones seeing vote-splitting.
On to Edmonton news! (more…)
Frigid Edmonton Headlines
Alright, let’s just scrape the ice off today’s news. I’ll be with you once I sweep this snow off…
There. All ready to go.
Hope you’ve dug out all the winter gear. We’re going to need it.
Now let’s warm up with today’s news. (more…)
Real November Headlines
Now, THIS feels more like November.
Sorry if I jinxed us yesterday.
Wait. No, I’m not going to take the fall for this turn of weather. Blame the weather people on TV. Yeah!
Anyway, in actual news…
The mayor gave his first speech, since winning a third term, to the Chamber of Commerce, Monday. Stephen Mandel sees more money coming to Edmonton for LRT and transit, wants to know where the federal government is on Expo 2017 funding (Maybe they’re checking out Knoxville?), and hopes businesses continue to step up for needy causes and city-wide efforts, like homelessness and the City Centre Airport.
Speaking of that darn airport, you can actually float some of your airport ideas on the web.
The Journal’s continuing to look at emergency rooms and mental health, after a Royal Alex patient’s suicide. Another group is already working on changes, after a suicide in a Calgary hospital. It’s going to mean, among many other reasons, that health care continues to dominate the short fall session of the Alberta Legislature.
Global is also looking Inside the ER.
And there’s (more…)
Wigs
This is the bus shelter I keep my wigs in.
Until we get an Expo, and I have a Sunsphere to fill with boxes of wigs.
Headlines: Return from the Long Weekend
Welcome back to the working world, most of Edmonton.
I ended up being glad for the extra day off, since I was up until 3am reading all I could about the Lost finale.
I won’t give away any spoilers. But if you’re reading this on the Internet, good luck avoiding them. I will say that I enjoyed the end of this series. It really was one of the most interesting shows on television.
Sure, I still have questions about the island and the numbers and a bunch of other things. But there was mystery among the other themes of Lost and sometimes you don’t get everything answered. I feel bad for people who tuned in to the two-and-a-half hour series finale hoping absolutely all mysteries would be explained. It makes sense people wouldn’t be happy with the ending if that’s what they were after.
But really, after a final season where so many of the island’s mysteries were left unaswered, did you really think it would all be laid out in the last couple of hours? Like, Jacob would just sit in front of the camera and go through all the stuff we had questions about. That would have been a snooze-fest.
But enough about Lost. Seeing how I was up until the next day reading about it, I know you can find something about it elsewhere on these here Internet tubes.
It seems home ownership costs are rising across Canada, except here in Alberta. And a regional newspaper is getting in on the Expo 2017 coverage.
Now, on with the rest of the show.
from the Edmonton Journal:
A $42-million health farce (You want the provincial government to build health centres AND staff them?)
New schools to meet suburbs’ needs (Don’t forget to check out the interactive map for this story.)
Hard luck, rising prices put E4C charity in the red
Playground arsenic no health risk to kids
Gulf spill may spell trouble for Alberta
Device stirs hopes for bright future for solar heat
Former Oilers owner Pocklington inks plea deal (There will be a guilty plea in exchange for a chance at house arrest.)
Securities violation draws $40,000 for Edmonton firm
New direction for Edmonton’s NeWest (The small Edmonton press was just named best in Alberta.)
‘New beginning’ for Edmonton’s Planet Organic as chief creditor takes over
Tireless advocate couldn’t slow down
Dream comes true for former Edmonton police car mechanic (He’s now a police officer.)
One time Edmonton Capitals pitcher Jose Lima dead at 37 (This one just caught me by surprise.)
From the Calgary Herald: Alberta’s first female senator, Bielish, dies at 94
from the Edmonton Sun:
Lights much brighter downtown (Looking at the next decade of planning.)
Alberta campers may get drinking rights back
Alberta floating idea of privately-run campgrounds
Lake Wabamun oil advisory (Five years later people are still on the lookout for oil.)
Fire crews on top of wildfires
Brain cancer victim a study in perseverance (And paying out of pocket for the treatments.)
from 630CHED/iNews880:
Whyte Avenue elms on chopping block (This story is so good they posted it twice.)
from CBC Edmonton:
Raises for Alberta teachers in jeopardy (Unless some more oil money can come in. Speaking of which…)
Knife crackdown on 118 Ave. working, police say
from CTV Edmonton:
Family holds emotional vigil for murder victim (Edmonton had its third homicide of the week, Friday night. This morning, 630 CHED is reporting an arrest.)
U2 Edmonton show rescheduled to 2011 (Thanks to Bono’s back surgery.)
Surgeons schedule Maddox’s next surgery (It’s going to be earlier than expected.)
Alberta student wins Manning Innovation Award (Old tires turned into electricity? Wow.)
Driver allegedly plows through crowd outside bar
from Global Edmonton:
World Class? Expo 2017 and growing Edmonton smarter
(Editor’s note: This post was sparked by debate about smart growth, infrastructure investment and whether a World’s Fair is needed to convince the population to spend the money.)
We’ve seen our economic growth in the West spawn climate change, resource depletion, social unrest, terrorism and global poverty via our consumption over the last century. It’s now clear that if we are to survive the next 100 years, we need major course correction by 2020, as the East is following our fossil fuel footsteps.
With over half the world’s population now booming in urban areas, the solutions to our global problems will be found and forged locally through smarter land-use and mass transit. The free market cannot address our problems alone, as the answers lay beyond the bottom lines of businesses who profit from the plights they’ve provided us. Broader, bolder leadership from governments is needed worldwide to reduce footprints and conserve energy, which is to say, doing more with less.
It’s in this context that Edmonton’s proposed EXPO 2017 theme, Harmony of Energy and Our Future Planet, while well intentioned, seems vague and slightly off the mark.
By sharpening the focus on sharing solutions, we could issue a five-year challenge in 2012 to nearly five hundred cities with populations of more than one-million, inviting them to bring delegations of engineers, bureaucrats and politicians to showcase their greenest projects and proposals.
Edmonton would then become an energetic nexus of cutting edge urban planning in the summer of 2017, when we would again be a logical host for the ICLEI World Congress, as well as other events like the World Social Forum. It’s against this backdrop that broader discussions of renewable energy, scientific research, technological innovation, as well as progressive provincial and national policy-making should take place. (more…)
Expo Yourself
Yes, I’ve crapped all over the idea of Expo 2017 (spread the word and grow the dream) but in the effort of balance I’m telling you where you can find out more about the bold dream.
It’s at a city open house Tuesday night.
You’re invited to “view highlights, imagine the possibilities and share” ideas for Edmonton’s bid to host EXPO 2017.
Date: Tuesday December 8, 2009
Time: 3 to 8pm
Location: University of Alberta Foote Field, 11601-68 Avenue
Bid committee members and staff will be on hand to discuss the bid and answer questions.
No parties while we’re away
Every time you look at this photo, Edmonton's tax rate goes up $80. (Photo: George Watts)
You know, I was trying to think of a new or different angle on the Rexall Edmonton Indy when everyone was on about that money-loser last week.
Then, today we’ve got the City of Edmonton announcing its $500,000 bid for the 2017 Expo. That half-a-million dollars covers the next phase of the bid only. This puppy will come with a $2-billion dollar pricetag.
So I think I’ll tie the two together for a rant.
I’m really starting to feel like a parent who figures their child is responsible enough to be left home alone for the weekend.
I’ve left emergency contacts, money for groceries and have a neighbour ready to check in.
But then my kid, let’s call them “City of Edmonton,” goes and blows the wad of cash on pizza and a kegger. Pizza being the Indy and the kegger being Expo 2017. Since I support the kid I’m left paying to clean up the party mess. By party mess I mean my taxes will go up. (more…)
