I guess, more accurately, that headline should “Hang up, put down the sandwich, don’t do your hair and makeup, shave before you get into the car, stop tweeting on your iPad and drive.”

Alberta is not the first province to have this kind of law.

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Edmonton councillors will talk about the community revitalization levy (CRL) in October. This is the tax zone that’s supposed to help fund the downtown arena downtown revitalization projects. I hope it goes through and we finally see something productive happen on 104 Street, at 109 Street, at the old Canada Post property, with LRT expansion, and…what? That stuff is already happening?

Are you sure? I mean, how can it happen without an arena?

Speaking of LRT…Engineering design is to begin on Edmonton’s expanding LRT system.

Edmonton’s deficit for the year is improving.

One community in each of Edmonton’s five police divisions is going to get a little more policing. This is part of a new crime reduction strategy from the Edmonton Police Service. The EPS, by the way, is stretched thin trying to solve this year’s extra homicides.

I’m a little boggled on this one. Three Edmonton newsrooms (the Sun, CTV, and CHED/iNews) have a story today on a fatality report being released. Yet, CBC had it two weeks ago. Just a strange delay.

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This school year will be the first for public education in Morinville. Which sounds really weird when I read that back. (Today is the first day of school for most students.)

A new way to move patients through the University Hospital faster will likely be applied at other hospitals after successful wait time reductions. We’re also performing more surgeries in Alberta.

Being the start of a new month all the monthly magazines are out with new issues. Alberta Venture’s got a look at the Slave Lake fire.

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The photocopiers were flying, more textbooks are likely to be required, and more online links will be provides, because the University of Alberta’s getting out of its copyright agreement with Access Copyright. (Also, check out that new Gateway website! They’ve also got a refresher on top U of A summer stories.)

U of A students are depressed, not getting exercise, and not eating enough fruits and vegetables. But they’re not doing as many drugs as you may think.

The U of A’s Faculty of Arts is cutting some language classes to save money.

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Libraries are not just “warehouses for books” anymore.

And that library story probably has a tie-in to this one about Blockbuster closing their remaining Canadian stories. (Locally, you can still find movies at Videodrome and The Movie Studio.)

Look at the difference in road top. Smooth!

Welcome to the end of the week, Edmonton.

Since the daily news media loves talking about crime, building it up to levels not actually seen here (or in most cities, for that matter) the Edmonton Police Service is hitting YouTube with new videos to talk about crime officers are seeing on a regular basis. This is great. Not that it won’t come with a little bias from the EPS, but that it helps force the crime debate to get real.

The City of Edmonton is changing things up for snow removal this winter. Neighbourhoods will continue to be bladed with 5cm of snowpack (down from 10cm in previous winters), there will be parking bans on bus route (and elsewhere if it really snows), and you’ll be able to see when your neighbourhood will be cleared on a new website.

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Now, this could just be like the last provincial election when news media were predicting a breakthrough for the Alberta Liberals, but I’m getting the sense from coverage of the Progressive Conservative leadership race that Gary Mar and Alison Redford are the frontrunners. Ted Morton didn’t even get a mention in this story from Medicine Hat’s debate. Sounds like the Mothership really is down.

While some may say Mar’s idea of private healthcare gets shot down on principle alone and won’t get a fair discussion, I say talk about how many more doctors and medical staff you’ll hire before you create two levels of care. If you don’t hire more staff, buy more diagnostic machines, and open more clinics, you aren’t creating more healthcare space, you’re simply splitting it in two.

If you can’t make it out to the leadership debates, you can hit up videos on the Edmonton Journal’s website which will answer some frequently asked questions.

Meanwhile…outgoing PC leader and premier Ed Stelmach seems determined to find a way to throw in $100-million for Edmonton’s downtown arena. This, after PC leadership candidates asked him to stop announcing projects that are going to cost them money, or have to be pulled back off the table by them.

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The Alberta government is worried about environmentalists. Oh, did I say Alberta government? I mean oil and energy executives.

Do any of these designs for the new Royal Alberta Museum (to be built behind City Hall, beside the CN Tower) float your boat? I don’t mind the first one from EllisDon, but none are blowing me away.

Alberta won’t be getting its own police force for at least 20 years. The RCMP’s getting a contract renewal.

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Excellent commentary from Vue Weekly on suicide. Too often mental illness is hushed up, but we need more mental health and mental illness awareness, not less. It gets extra points for going after the news media and police policies of not reporting openly on suicides. If there’s a fear of others copying that, why do murders and violent crimes not get the same silence?

Spinning off that, PC leadership candidate Rick Orman wants to have more treatment of mental illness and addiction in our jail system.

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A dentist is offering free treatments to people without dental insurance.

We are falling very much in love with our smartphones and tablets. I wonder if the CRTC can stay relevant in the digital age.

Well, that might be going a bit too far.

Hello Monday! And hello Edmonton.

Just to check: the Edmonton Oilers still play in Edmonton.

And the Katz Group wants to help with your PR, you know, if you need it or anything.

Forget the murder hype, we’re all safe. While that headline may be an oversimplification, it’s great to see at least one newsroom trying to challenge the scary, headline-grabbing homicide count. Now, if the same sentiment could seep off the editorial page and onto the front page – where we usually see the homicide and violent crime stories themselves – we’d really be onto a more balanced view of Edmonton.

The columns have come after Everybody in this city is armed?! was launched. So, keep up the pressure on newsrooms to dump the “If it bleeds, it leads” approach and talk to you like you know your own city. Which, we’re about to see in the next couple of stories, is still very much needed.

Stuff like saying “…rash of violent crimes in the city.” without including any stats or information on whether that’s true is what unnecessarily hurts the city’s image and leads to an ill-informed view of what’s going on and what may lead us to some solutions.

Or blaming crime on families with working parents and immigrants. That’s probably not helping any discussion on crime. Or football. Or whatever this iNews880 blog is about.

Balance those crime statements!

We should hear more on crime from the police chief today. (Update: He’s working on things.)

It’s Monday and we’re just getting this week going. More Edmonton news after the jump. (Which makes less sense if you’re reading this as a result of a direct link.)

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Rice Howard Way should totally be a pedestrian-only zone.

Keeping up with the Living on the Edge series? It’s all about the ‘burbs. The latest is about the massive recreation centres being built in newer Edmonton neighbourhoods.

An interesting case from police recently, when they released the name and photo of an HIV-positive 17-year-old girl, alleged to have had unprotected sex with a couple of people. Not disclosing your HIV status can result in a charge of aggravated assault in Canada. It’s interesting because, as HIV Edmonton notes, it may not help reduce the stigma attached to being HIV-positive, but there’s also a public health risk involved if people are not disclosing their status to sexual partners.

It’s troubling to hear about what appears to be a suicidal fire at a senior’s residence which also took the life of another tenant. It’s troubling, also, to think that this, again, ties into a need for much larger, more detailed and thorough mental health services here, and across the country.

There may be a slightly better chance for you to get Folk Fest tickets next year. The number of tickets likely won’t be increased, but people won’t be allowed to buy as many at once, and there won’t be a phone system to crash.

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Is the Slave Lake wildfire a “one-off” event, or will the Alberta government be paying out more and more for extreme weather?

Speaking of weather…the Journal had a big feature on storm watchers and weather predictors…which seems all the more timely by the pending job cuts at Environment Canada.

I know plenty of Edmontonians will be happy to have Langano Skies back.

Can you feel that, Edmonton? It feels like the end of a week with a long weekend looming. Sorry if you’re the only guy in the office today.

Recent missing Alberta Hospital patients – one of whom has not been found – have sparked a review of safety and security at mental health facilities across the province. Let’s hope this begins a look at our entire mental health system, including interactions with police and the courts.

A new downtown development (yes, we have those without the arena even being built) is looking at a slightly later completion date, but it should spruce up the crap out of 109 Street and Jasper Avenue.

The City of Edmonton’s power bill will be going down as it replaces street lights with more efficient LED light bulbs.

You car insurance rates aren’t going up. Well, your basic rates, anyway.

An Amber Alert issued Thursday ended with a little boy being found safe with a family member. Police didn’t have a report of a missing child, but still felt there was enough information to warrant the city-wide search.

That story I linked to, from the Sun, gives a nice explanation of what police did and why. It’s exactly the kind of follow-up people need after an Amber Alert – especially one that didn’t result in criminal charges because of a kidnapping or other crimes – and other newsrooms should follow the example. We can’t have people walking away from an Amber Alert without stories clearly explaining what happened, or folks might be left to think we’re living in a city of kidnappers.

Edmonton Police are hailing the actions of a delivery man who helped run down a man after a boy reported a sexual assault.

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RCMP in Strathcona County will not face charges after shooting a man last winter.

The company behind the second-largest oil spill in Alberta history is ready to get pumping again.

Oil and gas companies are being warned about a fake environmental registry which is trying to scam them. Don’t worry, there is yet to be a company to pay any such fees.

The lack of public education in Morinville is now looking at the potential of being a civil liberties case.

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Riding the streetcar across the High Level Bridge is always fun. But riding an original 1912 Edmonton streetcar would be even more fun.

The dragonfly population is rising, and they’re eating all of our mosquitoes. I think I saw two dragonflies mating yesterday.

Once you see robins you know spring is here.

Good morning, Edmonton.

The Edmonton Public School Board is trying to pressure the provincial government into more funding, by prioritizing older schools. The province has recently been building new schools, so this shift of priorities increases the line in the sand the new school board trustees have been drawing after years of school closures.

Sticking with education…Could a slim education budget be to blame for cuts to a special needs program at Avonmore School? Could it be due to enrollment (which is a similar reason so many schools have recently closed in Edmonton)? Either way, it means special needs cuts.

Before you click through to this story on University of Alberta students borrowing money to go to school I want you to guess how much money, in total, the students at the U of A borrowed in 2010-2011. Alright, now that you’ve got a number in mind, head on through… (when you come back let me know if you were close to the actual figure)

It’s going to cost the City $15 to run your name when you get a parking ticket. But the fines will likely go up more than $15 very soon.

Alright, now let’s head downtown!

Edmonton’s downtown continues to change and grow. When does the old stuff really get its makeover?

Edmonton police are moving back onto the street in the Calder neighbourhood.

The Edmonton Public Library is getting some provincial money to hire outreach workers for the Stanley A. Milner branch. The same provincial fund is going to help out the iHuman Society, which works with troubled youth.

An idling bylaw is, again, put off over at City Hall. Who knew something that appeared fairly simple (either you let people idle or you don’t) could take so many tries and so many reports.

Little Warriors, an Edmonton anti-child abuse group, wants to build a healing centre.

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Students up in Little Buffalo are expected back in class today. That’s the school where people complained of feeling ill after the largest oil spill in the last 40 years.

Speaking of oil…that big spill in northwest Alberta is being investigated…there’s also been a spill across the border in the Northwest Territories (connected to the line that spilled in Alberta) and one south of the border (which is part of a pipeline that is planned to expand Alberta’s oil connections)…hearings will be held to discuss a new pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast…

Raise taxes?! Phase-in development of oilsands projects?? Geez former Conservative premier Peter Lougheed is such a socialist.

Wearing a helmet + not drinking + better training = fewer ATV deaths – seems like a pretty obvious equation, but it’s not like the Alberta government has been sitting around since 2008 to make changes to ATV rules in the province. Oh…it has? Well, umm…er…where’s the proof that, uh…quick! look at all this oil money!!

There won’t be any workplace inspections after a court heard a man, who killed his wife, was suffering from heavy metal poisoning.

All firefighters in Alberta, whether or not they work full-time, will be getting health benefits for cancer.

A Grande Prairie man say his daughter received a death threat via text message. The school and RCMP don’t appear to be doing a whole lot on that, and I think the interesting point is at the end of the story about how it could be tough (without repeated messages, I presume) to prove who sent a text message.

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Mama bear, papa bear, I see a bear I’m not waiting around to see which it is.

The Examiner’s 3-part series on “The Way In” mental health program concludes with a look at trying to make it acceptable to ask for help. (You can read part 2, on mentors, here, and part 1 here.)

An Edmontonian’s photo of the North Saskatchewan River has claimed top prize in a Canadian Geographic contest.

Why, those airline so-and-sos…