August 4 Edmonton Headlines
Good morning, Edmonton. How’s about we start with scary crime again?
I want to write a little more about a new website launched Wednesday later, but suffice to say Edmonton newsrooms are still going to for easy quotes on murder and crime.
Councillor Kim Krushell is paraphrased (not directly quoted in the story) as blaming northern Alberta workers getting out of hand for some of our troubles. Why would the CBC then try and back that up with stats?
Premier candidate Gary Mar wants to be the next leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives so he can tackle our “unacceptable” murder rate. Don’t worry, the story doesn’t get into details about whether or not we have an unacceptable murder rate, or how this year fits into Edmonton’s annual crime patterns, it’s just a tough-on-crime line from a politician served up to keep the newswheel spinning.
The interesting thing about that 630CHED/iNews880 Gary Mar story this morning is that it follows a Wednesday afternoon story talking about this new push to have a better conversation about crime in Edmonton. It took all of 14 hours to run one story talking about how easy, sensational quotes and a lack of research in stories is more fearmongering than reporting, and jumping right back to the short “objective” piece that doesn’t challenge what anyone says about how scary and violent Edmonton is.
This is where objectivity is crap.
If the reporters, editors, producers, and everyone else involved in getting a story out to Edmontonians aren’t walking around absolutely terrified of being killed why do they let people talk about our city like it’s a horrible place to live? I know they aren’t doing it on purpose; there are deadlines, and the people quoted answer the phone right away. But the irony of running a story about how a new premier will clean up our streets hours after one calling for better, more researched, fair stories better not be lost on every “journalist” in Edmonton newsrooms. This isn’t about your audience misinterpreting your stories, this isn’t about one or two people that are always quoted, this is about how the stories are put together and presented. The Chief can come out and tell us we’re in a fairly safe city every day, but if newsrooms sensationalize our crime what’s the point?
It’s also interesting to note a line like this in a Sun editorial: “…Alberta’s capital city has recently become known more for its violence than anything else.” How does that happen without the newsrooms pumping out story after story about how violent it is? News coverage has about the largest role to play in how a city is viewed from the outside. I challenge Edmonton’s newsrooms to tell a more balanced Edmonton story.
Unless staff members of the newsrooms really are terrified to leave their house. Then I guess this is their story.
Sigh. I guess I’m just leaving my soapbox out all of the time now. (more…)
June 9 Edmonton Headlines
I knew I shouldn't have trusted you to watch my stereo.
It’s a nice little Thursday in Edmonton, with just enough stories to entice and engage, but not so many to be a frighteningly long list. So, let’s do this.
Canada Post is scaling back mail delivery. I hope you got all those books from Amazon already.
Contractors, the construction crews that work on roads, are among those scratching their heads at the Mayor’s idea to halt major road work in Edmonton for three or so years. This spin-off story to the Mayor’s proposal has me thinking about three years of only minor road work and pothole repairs. What if Edmonton comes out of the three-year moratorium to find a lot of big crews are booked on other projects? That could increase the cost the City pays in labour – you know, supply and demand and all that.
Edmonton rents are the fifth highest in the country, according to an annual survey of two-bedroom apartment rates.
If parents of Edmonton’s Catholic students say their schools need casino money badly, that’s a problem tied into Alberta education funding. The parents may be in a fight with the Edmonton Catholic School District (and their faith?) over the use of gambling money to support their kids’ education.
Speaking of Catholic Schools…all the fun of closing schools shouldn’t be left to the public board…
All this talk of downtown arenas, we sometimes forget there’s a major project proposed for east Jasper.
There are 18 kilmometres of new bike lanes and routes going in this summer. It’s still going to be a scary ride for some cyclists though.
*****
The Alberta New Democrats want the RCMP to look into allegations of healthcare line jumping.
The New Mexico “Amigos” were in Alberta looking at potential energy partnerships. Maybe they can teach our government a thing or two about saving royalties “…meant for the future generation.”
A massive forest fire continues to burn north of Fort McMurray. It’s one of the largest in Alberta’s history.
The headline of this story (Dancing pits Fort Sask., Alta. pastor vs. saloon led me to believe it was going to be a very “Footloose” kind of story. At least it’s got half-naked people.
*****
Once Lowe’s opens in Edmonton you can finally start building me a new deck.
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…)
Rhythm for Research
This Saturday there’s a cancer research fundraiser at Original Joe’s Varsity. Now, what sets this apart is the fact the organizer, Erin Land, has gathered together one of the most formidable Edmonton music lineups I’ve yet to see.
And this is just to raise money on her way to running a half marathon in May. Talk about dedication to eradicating blood cancers!
“The cause is close to my heart for several reasons,” Erin writes in an e-mail.
“I’ve lost two family members, and very close friends of mine lost their daughter at the tiny age of 6. Finding a cure is important to me, and I’ll do what I can to help!”
So, Erin gathered her team from the #yegmusicclub (a local collection of music lovers) and they got to planning. In order for her to participate in the run, she needs to raise $3250 in donations for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
For a mere $15 here’s what you could be listening to on Saturday. (more…)
A Twitter Festival. A Twestival, If You Will (And You Will)
Hey gang, I know how much you like helping local charities. And I know how much you like winning/bidding on prizes from local businesses. Which is why I thought Twestival would be right up your alley.
That’s right, Twestival’s back! Twitter’s been asking tweeters in cities around the world to hold the (now) annual events for years. Last time out, Twestival was for a Twitter-chosen charity (charity: water) and was held in conjunction with Guru Digital Arts College’s Gala Guru. The time before that it was a local Twestival and we raised money for the Youth Emergency Shelter Society (YESS).
Edmonton’s Twitter King, Mack D. Male, was at the helm for those events. Now I’m in charge.
Actually, I’m one of a handful of people in charge, which means you’re actually going to like this and it’s not just going to be some last-minute pizza party in my basement.
Edmonton Twestival is a tweet-up AND fundraiser. (more…)
Wine and a Hunchback
If you’re sitting at your desk, wondering what the heck you’re going to do tonight to help get you through this week, I have a suggestion for you. In fact, I have two suggestions.
Tonight, at the Shaw Conference Centre, there’s the California Wine Fair, an annual fundraiser for the Citadel Theatre. As Mel has previewed, there are going to be plenty of great wines. Plus, you’re supporting Edmonton’s big theatre.
There are more than 300 (!) wines, and you get nibblies to go with that. (I’m going to start calling appetitzers “nibblies.” Let me know what you think.) Plus, the silent auction will be full of good stuff, with the proceeds helping out the Citadel Theatre.
Speaking of the Citadel…they’ve got Hunchback on right now. It’s a Catalyst Theatre production of the Victor Hugo novel. Now, those Catalyst folks know something about staging dark, 19th century theatre, since they’ve already done Frankenstein and Nevermore (based on Edgar Allan Poe) to great acclaim. Hunchback runs until March 27.
One week ’til shaving
Movember isn’t done yet!
There’s one week left to see gaggles of guys with terrible moustaches. Just one, more, week…
Oh, and that means one more week to donate to prostate cancer research.
Let’s check in on the The Burt Reynolds Express. That’s Gregg’s team. (more…)
Radio Donation Headlines
Good morning, radio-listening Edmontonians.
In all of the election excitement last week I forgot to talk about CKUA’s Fall Campaign
Twice each year the Alberta-wide CKUA radio network asks for listener support, in the form of money. Donations make up more than 70 percent of CKUA’s operating budget. Even without me reminding you, CKUA brought in more than $580,000 dollars in ten-days of fundraising. Nice job, Edmonton.
You should probably follow CKUA so you don’t need me to remember their spring fundraiser.
Before I do forget, CJSR’s FunDrive begins tomorrow morning.
Edmonton’s campus and community radio station does the FunDrive once each year, and it also helps make up a large chunk of their budget. CJSR is run by an army of volunteer announcers (Hey, you could even be one!) so the money helps keep the lights on, wheels on the wheely-chairs, and top-end music playing. (I guarantee if you listen to CJSR and CKUA you are going to hear music nobody else even thinks of playing.)
Even though Edmonton’s got 73 other FM and AM stations (I may be rounding up…but only slightly) CKUA and CJSR are not only worth your time they are worth your money. Plus…prizes!
Now…we talked yesterday about the return of the Alberta Legislature…after the jump we’re doing to really dive in… (more…)
Are we having fun yet?
For those of you that have tracked down the TV show “Party Down,” that headline is all sorts of funny.
For the rest of you, it certainly leads us to a list of events that could fill your fun quota for the weekend.
Dogapalooza. You couldn’t name an event much better. This is all things dog, at the Westlawn sports fields. It’s really everything you could think of, even a dog blood bank. There will also be plenty of businesses and services on site (like our friends from Tailz) so you can get all the information you need to be the best dog owner in the world.
The Kaleido Family Arts Festival is celebrating five years on the ave (the 118 Ave). This is an all-weekend explosion of arts, with every type of art represented. Should be no need to ask if you’re having fun yet.
The Marketplace at Callingwood has Cornfest and Family Fun Day. Saturday.
There’s free yoga at the The Yoga Loft (10309 82 Avenue) Saturday and Sunday.
The Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon is this weekend. The non-stop improvising begins tonight at 7pm and runs until Sunday at 9pm.
Corn Maze. There’s the corn maze.
Sally already told you about the CD release and show with The Provincial Archive at the Roxy Theatre. This is a band you need to start liking now, before they’re huge.
The ARTery has a neat new idea. They’re holding Friday Fundraising Happy Hours from 4-7 PM. Finally, your end-of-the-week drinking can help a good cause. In September it’s Room to Read.
Donations also get free popcorn!
The Bohemia Cafe is hosting a bandapalooza of sorts, Saturday. They’ve got Jason Myatt, Nick Watt, Micelli, The Party Martyrs, The Mystery Ponies, Brash Tax, and Animal Men of the Northwest. Whew.
Paul James is at the Blue Chair Cafe tonight. He’s a little more electric tomorrow at the Bonnie Doon Hall. Sally keeps thinking he’s Colin James’ brother or something.
It’s been Canadian Country Music Week in Edmonton this week. The big finale is at Rexall Place, Sunday.
Starlite Room has Capital City Burlesque Friday night.
There’s a Handmade Mafia, Saturday at the Orange Hall.
Oh, one more thing, the YWCA is holding its first “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” next Tuesday. That’s when men are going to walk around Churchill Square in high heel shoes. There’s still time to donate and be a part of this event, which is all about helping victims of domestic violence. Can you believe this is still such a problem in 2010?
Failure is the only option
Sometimes there’s nothing funnier than unintentional humour. Take, The Room, or other B-movies, for example.
The people involved in the movie are really trying. They just happen to stink. The resulting humour is glorious.
Now, how about watching some of the worst possible writing and acting, on purpose?
That’s what tonight’s “FAILURE!” is all about.
FAILURE! – a kind of fundraiser (in which Edmonton’s best do their worst) is taking place at The Next Act pub (my favourite pub) at 8pm. Thanks to one of the participants, Morgan Smith, for tipping me off to the groan-inducing night of hilarity.
It really is some of Edmonton’s best (Stewart Lemoine, Chris Craddock, Human Loser, Jill Pollack, the Mostly Water Theatre guys) reading selections from terrible plays they’ll never actually produce. Some of the great (awful) play names include “LARRY ALWAYS WINS!” and “Brown Chowder! Sing It Louder!”
There’s a suggested donation of $15, and a silent auction. Money raised helps pay for Mostly Water Theatre’s “15 Minutes” and Human Loser/Allspice Theatre’s “Game Face” at this summer’s Fringe Festival.
Go ahead, they want you to laugh at their pitiful efforts.
Help out CKUA already
As I write this, the CKUA Radio Network has raised more than $313,000 in its fall campaign. Their goal for the ten-day fundraiser if $525,000.
If you’re not familiar with CKUA, let General Manager Ken Regan explain to you what it is they do and why that’s important.
“CKUA is Alberta’s listener-supported radio network. It’s also Canada’s largest and most successful community broadcaster.”
Tell us more, Ken.
“It should be considered a heritage broadcaster for it’s milestones over 82 years,” he continues.
“It’s one of the best places for genuine lovers of music in the country. North America. Maybe the world. It’s one of Alberta’s best inventions.”
The station is Alberta-wide, with its Edmonton studios on Jasper Avenue between 106 and 105 Streets. When stations tell you they’ve got something for you, they don’t always. CKUA really does. That’s one way it differs from all those Hot and Bouncy and rock stations on your dial (or your Internet).
“Yeah, we ask for money,” says Regan. “But the difference between CKUA and private radio is they make money. That’s the end, they make money for shareholders. For CKUA money is not the end, it’s the means to the end. We ask listeners to help us run the station.”
The fundraising campaigns are usually 17 days, but they’ve changed things over there at CKUA. They’ve gone to a 10-day event.
“You constantly have to change things up,” says Regan. “We can’t afford complacency.”
Recently, campus-based community station CJSR fell short of its annual FunDrive goal of $150,000. Could the recession be out to get small stations that don’t have large sales departments?
“We could worry about that. We did worry about that in the spring campaign,” Regan says. “But (then) we had the second-best campaign in our history. I believe people will continue to support the things that matter to them.”
“Every campaign is a crapshoot. We never know if we’ll meet our goal. The people with the capacity to support us will continue to support us.”
Now you know. And maybe you want to donate.
Give CKUA all of your money
Well, not ALL of your money. But giving them some of your money sounds much better, now, doesn’t it? (See what I did there?)
After going hard on the CJSR Fundrive it’s only fair to make you think about putting some money into the Alberta-wide non-profit radio powerhouse that is the CKUA Radio Network.
If you’re familar with CKUA’s campaigns you’ll notice they’ve shortened the donation time this fall. Calling it a “good things come in small packages” kind of idea, CKUA is looking to raise $525,000 in just 10 days (October 15 – October 25) instead of the usual two-and-a-half weeks. In one way it’s a good idea; it saves them money, meaning your money goes a little further.
This is right from CKUA’s media release, but it still caught my attention:
Among other campaign highlights, listeners can tune in to the October 17 edition of Natch’l Blues, as host Holger Petersen, (who marks 40 years of broadcasting this year), presents the legendary Big Dave McLean his West Coast Music Award for Blues Recording of the Year. Big Dave and Doc McLean will also celebrate Fall Fundraiser with a special in-studio performance.
So…if you dig an eclectic mix of music (their music library has 1.5-million selections!) and/or the idea of listener-supported radio, you’ll want to donate.
The phone lines open today at 5pm – 1-800-494-2582. And there’s also the option of donating online at CKUA.com.
CJSR is 25! Now give it some money.
We’ve briefly mentioned the CJSR FunDrive in the previous weeks, but now we’re getting all up in your grill about it.
Yes, CJSR is 25 years old and the only way it’s going to keep on living to see more birthdays is with a little help from its friends. You, and everyone in Edmonton, would be the friends. And you know that you can host a show on CJSR, right? Well, you do now.
We swung through community radio HQ Wednesday, as the FunDrive and fun were kicking off. There were cupcakes then, but they are probably all eaten by now.
Check the video for more info about the whole shebang, including good times at the big closing party at The Artery.
By the way, CJSR isn’t the only Edmonton radio station that looks to listeners for support. CKUA is Alberta-wide and listener-supported. They have their own donation drives through the year. It’s amazing that so much local and indie-radio can exist.
Oh, and here’s something not in the story, CJSR is hosting a record swap this weekend. I’ll admit to being enough of a music nerd to own records and an actual record player.
Make those phones ring for radio!
Fundraising I can Get Behind, that is, Fundraising where someone feeds me.
As we established here, Jeff and I are taking next week off to take care of less glamorous blogging business (which makes it sound like I’ll be out back digging a blogging ditch (?) or something, but I think you all know what I mean).
Nevertheless, the whole world won’t be busy! Busy digging blogging ditches! There will still be plenty going on. One industrious gal, let’s call her Jackie Pearce, as that is her name, will be hosting a vegan dinner party on August 28 as well as a garage sale (not a vegan garage sale though, because that’s not a thing), August 27-29. Funds raised will benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
Fundraising for charities and cooking are both hobbies for Jackie, and she says this isn’t the first dinner party she’s hosted. We exchanged e-mails yesterday, and I got the lo-down on her upcoming vegan feast.
SALLY: Why are you fundraising for the MS Society?
JACKIE: I have several friends and clients who have people …in their lives who suffer with MS every day, so I have seen and heard first hand just how debilitating it can be. (more…)
E-ville Roller Derby: Putting the “fun” in fundraising.
As I mentioned previously, the purpose of my harrowing adventure in north Edmonton was to attend last night’s E-ville Roller Derby exhibition game.
We’ve already told you about the E-ville girls’ fundraising efforts to send three players to the upcoming Rollercon roller derby conference in Las Vegas. They’re at it again this Saturday, this time with a Garage Sale (at 12512 130 Ave., from 9:00am – 5:00pm) and Car Wash (at the Calder Domo – 12920 – 127th Street ).
I hung out and watched the game – and let me tell you guys, it was a seriously good time. I also got a chance to chat with some of the ladies (Ann Halen, Trailer Trish and CeeCee Sickness) during the intermission. They told me a bit more about Rollercon, their fundraising efforts and their respective cleavage – but that last part didn’t make the cut (sorry, boys).
SAYYY, by the way, the first person to leave a comment with the street address of the arena featured in this story wins a shiny new E-ville Roller Derby t-shirt (green, men’s, size large). Winner will be contacted by email. If you’ve won in the last 30 days, you can’t play again (sorry Derjis.)
