- This winter, the city spent $57 million on snow and ice control though only 57% of its equipment was used due to a lack of money to pay for staff to operate it. City council's community and public services committee voted unanimously to request a detailed cost breakdown and a list of options to improve service. "Let's see what we can do when we activate all of the equipment we own, and that tells us what we're capable of," said Coun. Tim Cartmell, who put the motion forward. Among the options to be considered, enhancing service on roads and active pathways would cost an additional $42 million, while blading residential roads after every snowfall would cost an estimated $143 million every winter.
- Four people have died in police officer-involved shootings in Edmonton this year — more than anywhere else in Canada — reports CBC News. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Winnipeg have reported no fatal police shootings this year, and only Surrey, B.C. has reported more than one. According to CBC's Deadly Force database, Edmonton's total this year is already at a 22-year high.
- The seven youth charged with second-degree murder for the death of 16-year-old Karanveer Sahota have been granted bail and will appear in court again in May. Police said the attack outside McNally High School on April 8 that led to Sahota's death was part of an "escalation of violence" between groups of students, Postmedia reports.
- The Edmonton Historical Board has raised concerns about preserving historical structures after the city considered demolishing the High Level Bridge in a recent report. While that is unlikely, the city has approved demolishing 28 buildings in its historic property inventory between Jan. 1, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2021 while adding only eight. "We're trying our best to provide as many incentives as we can to help owners (preserve) but it's getting harder and harder," David Johnston, principal city heritage planner, told Postmedia.
- Teamsters Local Union 362 has filed an application with the Alberta Labour Relations Board to secure a vote for unionization at the Amazon warehouse in Nisku. A previous attempt at unionization last fall failed due to not reaching the necessary number of signed cards from workers.
- Greg Gorecki, drawing on decades of military and paramedic experience, is teaching Edmontonians how to survive the apocalypse with his two-day Apocalypse Preparedness and Survival school, which takes place both indoors and outdoors on site in the Cooking Lake area. Topics covered include fire-starting, shelter-building, compass-reading, and surviving a natural disaster or nuclear attack.
- HomeEd, a non-profit that provides affordable housing in Edmonton, announced in its 2021 annual report to the community that 83% of its residents considered it to be a good landlord and 80% were satisfied with the value they receive.
- Some Beaumont residents are upset that their houses have been hit by golf balls, which they suspect were launched by "a couple of young fellas" using the adjacent Coloniale Golf Club after hours. Residents said they've contacted the police, who have joined property owners on their "sting operations," but the golfing teenagers remain at large.
Headlines
By Kevin Holowack and Mack Male