July 27 Edmontin Hedlines
We are in the dog days of summer, Edmonton.
Not that it’s the hottest period, yet. Or that we’re expecting fall soon. No, the newsrooms have been quieter the last few weeks (except when Katz and Co. were at City Hall, or Maddox Flynn was off to New York), and today’s a good example of that.
Yes, it’s a slow news day.
But at least that means you can get through all of the stories pretty quickly, and get right back to not doing work in other ways.
*Jeff opens up YouTube in new Firefox tab*
from the Edmonton Journal:
Derby Girls’ racy website gallops into questionable territory (Northlands is trying to sell horse racing with T&A. And horses. It’s the fact I don’t know how your betting system works that’s kept me away, Northlands, not your lack of bikini girls.)
Northlands not key arena focus (Basically, if Northlands wants to pitch a revamp of Rexall or a new arena, Katz doesn’t have to play nice with them.)
Choosing creativity over self-harm (More on prison art, from Elizabeth Withey.)
Breakfast club taking new members (Edmonton is getting more Cora’s. I think it’s time to pitch them on a new breakfast sandwich.)
from the Edmonton Sun:
Edmonton makes new roads from old stuff
from The Canadian Press:
Something fishy at Capital Ex (Catching and re-catching the same fish. At some point this week they’ll look up and say “Please just kill me.”)
from 630CHED/iNews880:
City councillors wants financing questions answered for downtown arena (If you think Don Iveson’s got questions, check the 140 that all of the councillors want answered.)
from CBC Edmonton:
Rexall Place has 24 health violations (ESPN also found it to be Canada’s worst pro-sports venue for food violations. Check that story for some really gross food misconduct.)
Dog owners irked by park’s storm pond
Big Valley Jamboree bolsters stage after death (Last year’s storm has left a legacy of improved stage set-up.)
from Global Edmonton:
New rules for veteran plates (Currently serving members of the military can get special license plates now.)
seinfeil – tossed out
If you’re looking to start a restaurant named Flavours, I know an alley where you can get a sign for free.
Seinsess: Queen Donair
(Just like seinfail is signs that fail, seinsess will be signs that rock.)
See, it’s not all making fun of spelling errors, unintentional humour and disastrous design around here. (Well, most of the time it is. But come on, it’s soooo easy.)
No, sometimes a sign is just right. And the neon chef, cutting donair meat, is gold. Pure gold.
In fact, it’s so good, you have to watch video of it in action. (above)
The best neon sign in Edmonton.
Nuclear Power: Not green but not that scary
By Gregg Beever
It’s winter, isn’t it? Kind of tough to tell these days.
Winter brings shorter days and shorter days mean the lights stay on longer. Our winter heating bills double as we jack the thermostat in an effort to combat hypothermia. It’s the time of year our already rabid consumption of energy becomes insanely intense.
Edmonton, like many other city around the globe, is growing along with its insatiable energy needs. So how is Edmonton and the rest of Alberta going to fuel the future?
Before you answer, remember, we have to do it cleanly and greenly. You know, that whole global warming thing.
A few months back I was at the Greyhound Bus Station on a delivery errand. As my package was being processed a young woman cycled up to the door carrying several large, bound stacks of paper. Dressed in earthy tones she had natural, mid-length hair, wore no obvious make-up and was equipped with the kind of proper cycling gear that suggested her bike was her main mode of transport. In short, she was the type of girl that makes my hippy heart flutter.
It came as no surprise, then, that the stacks she placed on the conveyor belt beside me were posters for an environmental advocacy group. The poster read “A Truly Green Future…Does Not Include Nuclear Power,” a slogan belonging to the Coalition for a Nuclear Free Alberta (CNFA).
It occurred to me, as I was driving home, that I should have picked her brain about it. Why should Alberta be nuclear free? What makes nuclear power not “truly green?” Would that girl have given me her phone number?
These were all questions that demanded answers. Since I’ll never get the answer for that last one, I’ll have settle for answering the first two. (more…)
seinfeil – Can I park here?
I know I need athorization but can I just park for like 5 minutes?
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Do spelling errors ever stop being funny?
Remembrance Day 2009: Remember Harder
Before I get into the meat of this Internet sandwich, let me use the bread to say that Remembrance Day is important and I value the sacrifice of those who would lay their lives on the line for others. (Let me also note I’m terrible at sandwich metaphors.)
That said, I wonder if having a day off each November 11th really lets people think about what the day means.
Yes, there are plenty of events around the city where people can pay their respects to veterans of Canada’s wars. Having covered a few as a reporter I know they will all be well attended.
But what of those who just sleep in today? How about if your parents aren’t dragging you off to such a ceremony; what are you learning about Canada’s military and peacekeeping role (other than it earned you a day off in the middle of the week)?
Lifelong Albertans always give me a look of shock when I tell them I didn’t grow up with Remembrance Day being a stat holiday. I was in school (in Ontario), always in assemblies and ceremonies for November 11. You lucky buggers also landed the first February holiday.
Now, I’m not saying I know any more about Canada’s military or peacekeeping missions than the next guy. I wouldn’t put my respect of the day up against anyone else’s. But I think about whether, growing up in a province with a stat, I would have paid as much attention not being forced to in school.
Of course, my point about being exposed to Remembrance Day, through school, loses its effectiveness when you look at adults in a province that treats today like a normal day. They’re at work, also not participating in any Remembrance Day events.
Though, I would argue, they may pay more attention, or pay some smaller respect, because school made today something to note.
If you didn’t work today, what, if anything, did you do to recognize the day? Did/does your family all head to a ceremony?
Am I right to wonder if a full day off is the way to go? Could a half-day be the answer that allows the ceremonies to co-exist with our love of not working?
seinfeil – The Oilers are good, on paper
This one actually made me laugh out loud.
Thanks to Kristi Shmyr’s eagle eye for catching this.
It's not even a sign where you could argue they ran out of the proper letters.
seinfeil – That’s one hot tan
Continuing our Hallowe’en theme today, here’s a place that will really set your soul on fire. Or tan you.
What Janine didn't know, was that the price of her tanning session was eternal damnation.
Why I’m going to ChangeCamp
A change will do you good.
We were going to do a story about this weekend’s ChangeCamp, but it’s been pretty well covered by outlets such as Vue Weekly and the Journal.
Instead, I decided, I will write about my own reasons for wanting to go. Perhaps it will convince someone who didn’t know about it, or know what it was about, to come out Saturday and talk about change.
First of all, I like the idea of a bunch of people who don’t really know each other getting together to try and figure out ways of engaging citizens.
Voter turnout at all three levels of government is terrible, people don’t tend to remember a lot from high school politics and civics classes, and the news can become a series of stories about boys in balloons instead of what your governments are up to. So, there’s clearly room to improve the level of debate.
Second, unlike most conferences and symposiums, you (yes, YOU) can show up Saturday morning and pitch an idea you want to talk about. You could be leading a discussion on that very topic within minutes.
There’s also lots of talk about data. The City (and provincial and federal governments) has lots of information. Everything from where buses are coming and going to where police officers are responding to calls. Data junkies, and people far better at computers than I, would love to have this made widely and freely available so they could build phone apps, wikis, maps, and all kinds of other helpful tools for you and me. Government just has to be willing to hand it over.
I suspect there will be talk about small pilot projects involving such data, what could be done if some other information was just made available and the best way to ask nicely to get it.
I’m also looking to meet people who are really excited to be a part of something here in Edmonton. They are going to be at ChangeCamp to try and engage with the wider community and I look forward to talking with them.
Maybe I’ll see you there.
Save Local TV. No, Save Local Cable. Or the CRTC?
This really has nothing to do with the story.
By Gregg Beever
Fall is upon Edmonton and with it the onset of a brand new season of television. What a great time of year to plunk yourself down in front of your TV! The days are getting short, it’s cold outside, your couch is warm and inviting, it’s the perfect occasion for a little escapism.
Every time I turn to bask in TV’s warming glow, however, I get caught in a shouting match between Canadian broadcasters and the cable and satellite TV providers. You’ve probably witnessed yourself the Local TV Matters spots where a little wormy guy talks to people (read: actors) on the street about the state of local television programming.
The conversation goes something like this:
“Did you know that cable and satellite providers hate local television and want to drive it out of business?”
“No, that’s horseshit!”
“They also said they slept with your Grandmother.”
“Gram gram?”
You get more of the same when the cable providers step up to the soap box, wailing about an unforgivable tax on TV.
I decided that neither ad campaign was helping me, in any way, understand the issue. If the Canadian broadcasters and cable providers ran dueling campaigns comprised entirely of wet fart noises I would be just as informed. That being the case, I thought I’d try and figure it out with the best investigative journalism Google could provide. (more…)
seinfeil – CityTV screenfail
It seems that a couple of our regular contributors/friends/enemies were watching CityTV this morning and saw the same mistake.
Thanks to Janine and Derjis for sending this on over. Spelling errors are always fun.
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Bonus points to Janine for the second error.
seinfeil – one of these things is not like the other
Walking in the fantastic Mill Creek Ravine area, my eye was caught by something green.
ENHANCE!
Oops. (Or is this dastardly vandalism?)
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…)
The Great Unknown
I don’t want to make this seem like the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I think there’s an Edmonton podcast you should check out.
It’s called The Unknown Studio and it’s good.
Hosted by Edmontonians Adam Rozenhart and Scott C. Bourgeois, it’s an informative and entertaining hour. (The boys are also on Facebook.)
The podcast comes out every two weeks and has already amassed an array of topics.
On the Edmonton side, they’ve talked about bugs and insects in the city (this podcast is definitely worth listening to), the Fringe, the Oilers, the growing city and planning issues, and the latest installment hits up the Pure Speculation Science Fiction Festival, happening this weekend.
They’ve also touched upon topics that have little to do with Edmonton, aside from the hosts and guests residing in our fair city. But that still makes it a good percentage local.
Plus, it’s funny. Have I mentioned that? It is.
The Unknown Studio is a great example of how topics that might not seem interesting (say, bugs) can end up being a compelling hour of listening because the hosts ask questions you would ask, the guests are real people and you can actually learn stuff while being entertained. It’s actual infotainment. Without water-skiing squirrels.
And you can be lazy like me and just subscribe to the podcast in iTunes so you get it automatically. Hilarious and informative podcast every two weeks? Yes, please!
(Bias note: We have been invited on the show. But I was listening to the podcast before they asked to go steady.)
seinfeil – those darn kids
You think you’re so funny, changing around letters on signs to spell out funny things, don’t you?
We do too.
Hey, we never claimed to be classy.
seinfeil: You must remenber this
Is this extra disappointing because it’s at a school? Maybe just a little.
Saturday’s seinfeil
We are grammar nerds, sometimes.
It was only a matter of time before poor use of an apostrophe made its way into a seinfeil.
This would lead me to believe it's Saturday's only...something...
What exactly is a Byelection?
This is Paul Hinman's new house. Or something.
We know that not everyone has time to pay attention to politics.
We know that a lot of political information is forgotten after high school.
We know.
And we want to break things down so everybody can be an engaged citizen.
Part 1 of “Muddling Through: The Strange World of Provincial Politics”
By Dustin McNichol
Yesterday, Albertans got a chance to vote. But not all of us. Only those in the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore, where Wildrose Alliance candidate Paul Hinman won the provincial byelection.
A byelection occurs when an elected member of the provincial legislature vacates his or her seat at the legislature. Remember, every electoral constituency in the province gets one seat, and one member in each seat represents one constituency. Still with me? Good. (more…)
Most important item of the day*
This is Lucy, on the way to art class.
The City of Edmonton (rather, the Valley Zoo) is providing an update on the health of Lucy the elephant.
Not because Bob Barker is coming to town or anything…
Does it feel, to anyone else, that the two sides of this debate aren’t connecting?
It’s like the Bob Barker/Zoocheck side is arguing that elephants get lonely and need to be in warmer climates, while the City side is arguing that Lucy is loved and people should stay out of our business.
Sigh…at least there’s not a recession to deal with right now.
Health update on Lucy, the Asian elephant living at the Edmonton Valley Zoo Edmonton, September 14, 2009 - Community Services General Manager Linda Cochrane and Valley Zoo veterinarian Dr. Milton Ness will provide an update on Lucy's health, including the results of a recent examination of Lucy and the opinions of a third-party specialist. Date: Monday, September 14, 2009 Time: Noon Location: Valley Zoo, 13315 Buena Vista Road Media representatives should sign-in at the Zoo's administration building.
* It’s not really the most important thing happening today.
Opinion: Why is there no money for healthcare in Alberta?
By A. Sumaru, C.F. Crozier and L. Richards
“In the analysis of social and political issues it is sufficient to face the facts and to be willing to follow a rational line of argument. Only [sic] common sense, which is quite evenly distributed, is needed… if by that you understand the willingness to look at the facts with an open mind, to put simple assumptions to the test, and to pursue an argument to its conclusion.”
- Noam Chomsky (1978) Language and Responsibility
We are going to preface our comments with Chomsky’s remarks because everything being written about is based on information that is easily accessible to any citizen who pays attention and/or has access to the Internet.
With the government of Alberta delisting services to cut costs, in order to eliminate the deficit in the health care budget, our analysis of this problem will focus on a simple line of reasoning that asks; “Why is there no money for health care in Alberta?” (more…)
Gimme (a reason for) Sympathy
Letter to the editor: By Janine Edwards
Where's the strike?
Alright Edmonton, I’ll admit it. I went to get groceries yesterday. And do you know where I went? Safeway.
Why Safeway? Because they don’t need me to buy cloth hipster grocery bags. They don’t charge me for the plastic ones either. And it’s about 2 blocks from my house. (See? I’m eating local.)
When I trudged home with my arms laden with groceries, a thought came into my head. Sure, there are a bunch of distribution centre workers on strike. (I think some make ice cream?) But how are they going to rally my support?
All of them are picketing in front of some warehouse I didn’t even know existed until this strike. Sure, if they were blocking the Yellowhead I’d notice. But where are they? I don’t see them, therefore they don’t want me to care.
However, I heard this morning that Safeway hired up some Scabs. Great! Now, you can picket those Scabs… OR you can rally the city by picketing rotating Safeway locations.
If I rolled up to a Safeway and there were tons of people standing with signs, perhaps chanting… my instincts to avoid conflict would kick in, and I’d immediately consider my options for other grocery stores. I don’t want to risk walking up and getting pummeled with produce, which is what I hear usually happens when distribution workers go on strike.
Even better – they could hand out hand-drawn maps to locations of other grocery stores! That would sure show Safeway! And, because they’re out where the people are, we could see them.
Who knows? Maybe that would make us start to care about the fate of these workers.
seinfeil: Advertising mistakes
I had to snap this photo because it reminded me how tumultuous a life in radio, dependent on ratings, can be. So many people get fired so many times.
Interior: Edmonton’s EZ Rock 104.9. Early morning. The office of the boss. A nervous looking promotions staffer enters.
Promotions guy: Hey boss. You remember those bus ads we ordered for fall ratings?
Boss: Yup.
Promo: They’re on Edmonton Transit buses today… (a look of dread is on his face)
Boss: Great!
Two of those three people have been fired.
