Edmonton on April 12
Good morning, Edmonton. Another fine spring morning, eh?
Parking tickets will cost you an extra $15. Moving violations (speeding, no signal on turning, etc…) may also go up $15. This is all because of new provincial fees charged to municipalities and police for looking up license information.
I wonder if the Journal’s Gary Lamphier will get his interview with the Katz Group on his long list of questions, after publishing a column where he points out he’s been waiting more than a month for an interview. I’m still waiting to hear from the developers who want to build in the proposed arena’s entertainment district too. Some of those guys step up and I might start to feel good about all the tax money to go to the Oilers.
An Edmonton man who went after a police officer with a knife won’t be going to jail. Partly because he was shot a couple of times during the “acute psychotic episode.”
Edmonton Police are dealing with a lot more industrial thefts. I’m not sure what you do with all those stolen Bobcats and copper wire.
Let’s see what else we’ve got going on. Ooh, looks like quite a bit. (more…)
March Lamb Headlines
I guess we should be happy that March decided to come in and go out like a lamb. I still don’t trust Mother Nature thought…
The Katz Group, and Oilers, are trying to jack up support for a new downtown arena with videos played in Rexall Place. Remember when the Katz Group brought that video with Morgan Freeman narration to City Council? They sure love videos. I’m not sure about that giant yellow font though.
I wonder if anyone will create a response video…
Speaking of the arena…we hear more from City administration on how to make it happen what documentation and information will be going to city councillors next week. You know, April 6, when the mayor says make a decision, regardless of whether questions are answered or we have a clear idea of how to pay for Katz’s new arena.
Oh, and here’s two really rich guys talking about hockey.
Alright, enough of that arena for today. (more…)
Monday Headlines
Hmm…let’s see…was there anything news worthy between our Friday Headlines and today.
Anything at all?
Oh!
Radio station The Sound flipped formats to Lite 95.7 – because nobody else ever plays Michael Buble. Stupid Sound, breaking my heart like that. Sonic started up just before I moved here, so The Sound was the first station that launched in Edmonton, in the six years I’ve been here, that I actually tuned into for more than a couple of songs. I get the impression from tweets that I wasn’t alone.
Makes me glad I donated to CJSR. I think I shall remember to donate to CKUA this year.
Don’t worry, we won’t be turning into the same old kind of media outlet anytime soon. Mostly because we’re not in it for the money. We’re in it for the community. And the pizza parties.
Oh…this just in…there was also a federal election call on Friday afternoon.
The Conservative government was found in contempt of Parliament and brought down in a confidence vote. Prime Minister Stephen Harper then went to the Governor General to ask that parliament be dissolved and an election called. We go to the polls May 2. This is actually quite a big deal since a country in the commonwealth has never found a government in contempt. Ever.
While Alberta is usually painted Conservative blue on election night maps there may be a few ridings to watch. We have New Democrat MP Linda Duncan in Edmonton-Strathcona. This will be her first election as the incumbent after beating, now-surrounded by controversy, Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer.
The NDP must feel this has opened up possibilities in our city, since leader Jack Layton was here on the weekend to kick off the national campaign (Stephen Harper will be near here Monday). Watch Edmonton-East, with Ray Martin up against long-time Conservative Peter Goldring, and Edmonton-Centre, where Lewis Cardinal will carry the orange banner against Conservative Laurie Hawn (and the Liberals may still have strength here).
There’s also an interesting race out in Edmonton-Sherwood Park, where the conservative vote (note the small c) will be split again between the party’s man, Tim Uppal, and the not-quite party’s man so he’ll run as an independent, James Ford.
The election is always a good time to take a look at riding inequality. It’s a problem we hear about provincially, with fewer voters in the rural ridings and more power coming with those votes, but there could be a few changes federally to balance things out.
Remember to read up and vote!
The City of Edmonton got into Earth Hour by darkening City Hall, the library, and Churchill Square.
*****
Wow. The City’s 311 phoneline is getting 100 calls each week about the downtown arena.
It’s going to be a long pothole season for the guys fixing the roads.
I actually didn’t think there were full-service gas stations anymore. Good for those guys.
Did you remember to turn down the lights on Saturday night, Edmonton? (That sounds much sexier than I meant it to.) Or were did you need the lights on, and computer powered-up to file an appeal of the City’s assessment of your home?
Rabbit Hill’s downhill bike park is done.
A couple of Edmontonians picked up Junos last night. The Edmonton Music Awards continue in our city at the Haven Social Club this evening.
*****
The question for Morinville parents is: Who wants public education?
The RCMP isn’t going anywhere. The federal police agency has another 20-year contract with the provincial government. That should just about do it for talk about an Alberta police force (at least for the next decade or so).
A bunch of U.S. mayors are speaking out against the oilsands.
Families should be notified of someone dying. They should be notified in fewer than 11 days.
Dandelions are getting a reprieve in Alberta this summer. More weeds and plants are now on the hit list though.
*****
Always nice to see people come together to help each other out.
Make your move!
This is probably the only time anyone will ever mention David Swann, Brian Mason AND Carson Daly in the same breath. And I’m going somewhere with it. (Probably.)
It’s their time to make a move.
Don't stare directly into his eyes! Or you'll fall in love.
With all the chatter about Jay and Conan (I’m with Coco, by the way), and the renewed interest in all late night talk shows, Carson Daly is getting zinged left and right. I bet he’s being talked about as much, or more, than in his TRL days. Make your move Carson. It’s time to capitalize on your current name-recoginition before NBC just dumps your show (or puts you on at 2am), and secure your retirement with a sweet deal somewhere else.
Now, for our Alberta politicians I’d also say it’s time to make a big move. Though, they don’t have near the current name-recognition of doe-eyed Carson.
With the governing Tories taking a beating from all sides, the Wildrose Alliance is striding up the right-side of the policical spectrum to one elected member and two crossover MLAs. Plus, they’re all over the news and sinking into the consciousness of Albertans.
Why isn't Rick Mercer hanging out with this guy at WEM?
So…it’s time for the centre-left guys to do something big. I know people have told you to join forces, I know people have told you to work together, or start a new party for progressives, and those who are socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I’m telling you this is your one real chance.
Hey, would you look at that. Someone has already gone out and started a party which is looking for enough signatures to become the real deal. If the NDP and Liberals could just suck up their egos for about a minute they might see that they aren’t being talked about at all these days.
At all.
Never surrender! Never win many seats!
And since they haven’t been able to do much with their current parties, and since Alberta feels like a two-party kind of parliamentary democracy, I think the only chance real centre-left, post-partisans have is something new.
Now is also the time because you’ve got a few years until the next election so you’ve got time for the Tories and Wildrose to split the partisan, socially conservative side of things even more, leaving a nice big swath of voters looking elsewhere. And maybe all this new action will get even more people out to vote.
Come on Carson, David and Brian, make a big move.
p.s. If you make a move to a new party, be sure to pay off your current party debts first.
Who cares about health care?
If you haven’t been paying attention, you might not have noticed that there’s a lot of stuff going down in Alberta health care.
Well, fear not (?) as the Alberta NDP is “on your side.”
The little party that could is zipping around Alberta over the next six weeks, talking to people in seven cities about health care. Rather, talking about what should or should not be cut by the governing Conservatives.
They’ve got details on Facebook.
The tour coincides with the next sitting of the Alberta Legislature, which begins October 26.
As the NDP states: “The goals of the public hearings are to gather information and provide solutions to some key questions by calling on stakeholders from various fields such health and wellness, seniors and family supports, business and municipalities and other groups. Some of these questions are:
- What difficulties has your family had accessing the health care that you need?
- How have growing wait lists impacted your health?
- How important is a fully-funded public health system to you?
- What are your highest priorities for health care in the future?
Edmonton is the site of today’s meeting. It’s at the Stanley Milner Library (the big one downtown), 3-5:30pm.
Go. Be heard. I don’t think the Alberta government is going to be holding any such meetings asking for input on where to make cuts to balance the budget. (Man, that would be inclusive governing…)
What to Do: July 24 – 26
Maybe just head out to one of Alberta's great beaches this weekend.
Alright, it’s the weekend!
The scorching hot, middle of summer, good times weekend.
Yes, it’s the final weekend of Capital Ex (and Taste of Edmonton and Walking with Dinosaurs if you’re looking for a super-busy weekend of stuff to do). And there are all those race cars and assorted Indy parties.
But what if that’s not for you?
Try these on for size:
The Hurt Locker opens this weekend and looks really, really good.
The Famines play The Hydeaway with The Wicked Awesomes and The Mitts.
Speaking of music, Social Distortion is playing at Edmonton Event Centre.
River Cree Casino’s Live (cover band bar) has The Almost Hip.
Brian Mason’s pancake breakfast; because free food knows no political ideology (And the NDP has a syrup quota to fulfill).
You can get your dance on at Flamenco for Life, while helping a good cause.
On Sunday, Eskimos great Warren Moon is signing copies of his book “Never Give Up on Your Dream” at the North Town Indigo.
If you’re hungry for local food and new restaurants, check out Fork Fest.
Oh, and remember to Slip, Slop, Slap if you’re heading out into the sun.
Pancake Park
Pancakes is serious business.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I live in Old Strathcona. That why I keep stumbling into events in Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park. It’s also neat to see how a park can transform itself event to event.
(People frequently call this “Gazebo Park” though the city’s website says it’s been named for the good doctor since 1989. What’s up with that?)
This Saturday it was New Democrat MLA Rachel Notley‘s pancake breakfast.
Yum.
Pancakes, lots of syrup and sausages. That’s how politics works.
First one to eat 50 wins.
The NDP spends 80% of their legislative office budget on syrup.
