- After more than 10 years of work, the Boyle Street community now has an inclusive neighbourhood playspace, which incorporates the seven sacred teachings of Indigenous knowledge into its design. "I'm grateful that we have reclamation of the land through these Indigenous parks, and I challenge all municipalities in Canada to adopt an Indigenous playspace in their communities," playground committee member Nicole Morin told CBC.
- While public-private partnerships are "fundamentally flawed" when it comes to public transportation, the P3 model is not the reason for the latest delay of the Valley Line Southeast LRT, Coun. Tim Cartmell told CBC. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi called for a comprehensive review of how the city pursues P3 projects after TransEd announced the discovery of cracks in several piers that will further delay the opening of the line, which is already two years late. Cartmell, who is a structural engineer by trade, said the delay is the result of a design mistake, not the form of the contract, and he disagreed with Sohi that a P3 restricts the city's oversight.
- Negotiations are slated to resume on Aug. 25 between GardaWorld and the union representing airport security screening officers, thus averting a possible strike at the Edmonton International Airport for now. The main issues are wages, pensions, and working conditions; if a deal can't be reached, the security screeners would be in a legal strike position starting Sept. 19.
- The Edmonton Police Service has launched a new campaign to hire 100 recruits in 2022. The new campaign is meant to emphasize that there is no ideal recruit, said Staff Sgt. Rocky Druar of the recruit selection unit, which reached out to stakeholders such as the University of Alberta, the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, the Africa Centre, and others for feedback.
- EPCOR will start adding orthophosphate to Edmonton's water in early 2023 to prevent lead from leaching into the supply. The addition of the odourless, colourless chemical was delayed for two years, in part because of the pandemic. About 1.6% of Edmonton homes have lead pipes, EPCOR says.
- The Edmonton Urban Farm celebrated its ninth Alberta Open Farm Days on the weekend, allowing Edmontonians to watch weed-eating goats in action, admire the honeybees, and see about 120 different food-producing plants. "It's really important that we rebuild that connection, so that people have an understanding of where their food comes from, how it gets to their plate and what we grow and make here," Jessie Radies, Explore Edmonton's director of strategic programs and initiatives, told Postmedia. The farm remains open to visitors on Saturdays until Oct. 8.
Headlines: Aug. 15, 2022
By Karen Unland