- The city thanked Edmontonians for paying tribute to Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, who were remembered at a regimental funeral on March 27. With the service concluded, the city says it will now follow Edmonton Police Service protocols in taking down public signs of tribute and memorial respectfully. On March 28, the city removed blue ribbons from fleet vehicles and began the removal of flower memorials, and on March 29 crews will begin collecting blue ribbons from public property. The condolence books at city hall and police stations will be gathered and shared with the officers' families.
- Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has responded to the new federal budget, which was tabled by Liberal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on March 28 and puts billions toward green industries, health care, and affordability supports. Sohi said he welcomes investments in urban Indigenous housing, which Edmonton advocated for, as well as in mental health, addictions support, renewable energy, and the clean tech sector. However, he expressed concerns that the investments "do not go far enough to tackle the challenges that urban centres like Edmonton are facing when it comes to addressing issues like houselessness and the housing crisis."
- The city got more than twice as many complaints about graffiti in January and February of 2023 than in the same period in 2022. This year, Edmontonians made 81 complaints in January and 143 in February, up from 34 and 56 in 2022. From January to March of this year, 29 of 147 applications to the city's graffiti removal program were for hateful messages on private property. Waitin Ng, managing director at Elements Wholistic Centre in Strathcona, told CBC News about his plan to address a longstanding issue with graffiti outside the business by adding to it himself with art. Ng said he hopes to access a Community Mural Grant, which is one of the city's graffiti management efforts. City spokesperson Chrystal Coleman said a mural can be an "excellent deterrent" but doesn't necessarily prevent graffiti or the involvement of municipal enforcement.
- EPCOR has begun adding a chemical called orthophosphate into Edmonton's water system at its two local water treatment plants. The chemical creates a protective coating inside pipes to prevent lead from leaching into the drinking water, with the treatment expected to take full effect after six months. Jeff Charrois, a senior manager at EPCOR, said orthophosphate is colourless, odourless, and doesn't have a noticeable taste. The plan to reduce lead levels first arose in 2019 after Health Canada lowered the acceptable concentration of lead in drinking water and 25,000 Edmonton homes were found to be above the threshold. EPCOR says about 1.6% of homes in Edmonton have lead service lines.
- CTV News spoke to Mill Woods resident Les Deaveu who believes the city should adjust signal lights to improve safety along the Valley Line LRT tracks. Deaveu suggested the intersection of 28 Avenue and 66 Street, where two sets of tracks and multiple lanes of arterial traffic combine, is dangerous because the timing of the red lights forces drivers to either stop on the tracks or run the red. TransEd said the intersection, and all other intersections along the Valley Line, were designed to provide vehicles "sufficient time" to pass through, while deputy city manager Adam Laughlin said work is ongoing to optimize red light times.
- WILDNorth, an Edmonton non-profit that provides urgent care to injured animals, may have performed the first successful porcupine blood transfusion in North America. Two weeks ago, staff transferred blood from a large porcupine that had been stabilized following a dog attack to a smaller porcupine that arrived lethargic and close to death. WILDNorth and the Harvest Pointe Animal Hospital plan to publish an article about the rarity in a wildlife medical journal.
Headlines: March 29, 2023
By Kevin Holowack