- The City of Edmonton is seeing a high demand for free sand as residents try to mitigate icy sidewalk conditions after several bouts of freezing rain and 0°C temperatures. Residents can typically pick up free sand from community sandboxes, but the city is struggling to keep up with demand.
- City council's utility committee has endorsed a freeze on garbage pickup fees for single-family and multi-unit homes at $43.32 a month for a 120-litre garbage cart and $48.32 for a 240-litre one. The cart-based system that rolled out this year is part of a 25-year Waste Strategy approved in 2019.
- An Edmonton police officer has been charged with sexual assault, breach of trust, and unauthorized computer use after a two-year investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) revealed "a pattern of behaviour" toward women. Const. Hunter Robinz was relieved from duty without pay in March after being charged with assault and unsafe storage of a firearm by Parkland RCMP in a separate incident.
- EPCOR has launched its Community League Safe Rink grant program, which provides grants to eligible community leagues to create safe ice surfaces for recreation. The grant program is part of the company's broader Annual Winter Stormwater Safety campaign, which aims to educate the public unsafe ice conditions on stormwater ponds.
- The former Sands Inn & Suites on Fort Road is being renovated to serve as supportive housing for Indigenous people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. Non-profit charity Niginan Housing Ventures will own and operate the facility's 53 self-contained apartments once renovations are complete in June 2022. The renovation is part of a broader city-led, federally funded initiative to repurpose underused hotels as long-term housing.
Headlines
By Madeleine Stout