- City council has postponed a public hearing on the proposed bylaw to ban single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam cups until next month. If approved, the bylaw would take effect on July 1, 2023, ahead of the federal ban on the sale of single-use plastics which starts December 2023.
- Sept. 18 will mark the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Walterdale Bridge, which has quickly become a defining feature of the city since replacing the original bridge constructed in 1913. Jim Montgomery, the bridge's lead engineer and designer, said he likes the way it "announces the downtown" and draws people to the river valley. The bridge was originally supposed to be open in 2015 but was delayed due to weather and logistics.
- Manar Rahall, owner of the Alberta Barber Academy in Central McDougall, said the business has had 46 break-ins since it opened in 2015 and that crime has worsened over the past eight years. The latest break-in resulted in $150,000 in damages and a week of cleaning and repairs. When asked about crime in the area on Sept. 12, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi pointed to the city's ongoing work on its Healthy Streets initiative and its approval of funding for the Healthy Streets Operations Centre in Chinatown, which will increase the presence of police and community services in the area.
- The River Valley Outdoor Activity Centre, which is scheduled to open by winter 2023, will rely on heavy-timber construction to help it achieve zero-carbon certification, according to the builder. Funding was provided by the Canadian government's Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program. The centre will be run by the Edmonton Ski Club to offer sports and cultural programming.
- Alberta is considering declaring Sept. 19 a public holiday to mourn Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her state funeral at Buckingham Palace. The Canadian government announced that many federal employees will get the day off but left it up to individual provinces to follow suit. The City of Edmonton and local school boards said they are waiting on the province's decision.
- Albertans will be able to access a bivalent COVID-19 booster shot as early as next week, sources told CTV News. The province is expected to make an announcement later this week. Meanwhile, Dr. Deena Hinshaw is encouraging Albertans to update their other vaccinations, such as for polio and measles, which are seeing higher numbers in other parts of the world due to pandemic-related gaps in childhood immunization schedules.
Headlines: Sept. 14, 2022
By Kevin Holowack and Mack Male