- Edmonton police smashed in windows, broke tiles, and destroyed the outdoor speaker system of Tzin Wine and Tapas during an arrest made by a SWAT team last summer. Owners Kelsey Danyluk and Glenn Quinn said that the city is refusing to pay the $3,000 in damages after a claims adjuster found no negligence on the part of the city or EPS. The expense comes as the restaurant is seeing 67% fewer reservations during the fifth wave of the pandemic. "So we can keep going but what do you do? Do you use your savings to keep going? When do you decide you don't want to do that anymore?" Quinn told CTV Edmonton. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told Global News that the city will review how it responds to similar incidents in the future, noting that restaurants "need our compassion and they need our empathy as they deal with these kinds of situations."
- The city will create 48 safe crossings across streets as a part of its 2022 Vision Zero Safe Crossings Program. The creation of safe crossings can involve various tactics, such as temporary curb extensions and new signalization options.
- Starting this Friday, the city will trial a windrow pickup program in Griesbach to help it assess the cost get a better sense of the process.
- Alyaa Ibrahim says her central Edmonton pharmacy has become a refuge for homeless people as they line up to get into nearby shelters. Between the recent bitter cold, the pandemic, and many shelters hitting capacity, the city's homeless population is struggling. "Not a human, not an animal should be in the cold in the street," Ibrahim said.
- Ice on Whyte will return to Edmonton from Jan. 27 to Feb. 6. This year, the festival will feature 11 prominent Canadian snow and ice carvers.
- Edmontonian Jeff Nash built a mini hockey rink in his backyard to keep his sons occupied. It is a scale model of the Northlands rink.
- Stony Plain's Stephanie Labbé, whose safe hands helped Canada to Olympic gold in Tokyo last summer, said that she is retiring. She made the shocking announcement just days after being named the runner-up for The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper award.
- Suspended Justice Minister Kaycee Madu said that the call he made to Edmonton police chief Dale McFee was to ensure he wasn't being racially profiled. Madu received a ticket for texting and driving in a school zone, and was forced to step back from his ministerial role after criticisms surrounded his call to McFee, with some suspecting he was trying to get out of the ticket. Michael Elliot, president of the Edmonton Police Association, said that he is frustrated with Madu for making the allegations.
Headlines
By Doug Johnson