- Edmonton's greenest neighbourhoods, as determined by the number of city-owned trees, are mostly recent southwest developments but also include communities near the river, ring road communities like The Hamptons, and older areas like Westmount. The Summerside neighbourhood has the highest number of trees, with 6,527 within its boundaries, which is almost 1,200 more than the next-highest neighbourhood of Chappelle. The most common types of city-owned trees are green ash (21% of all trees) and American elm (20%). The city's open data portal contains details on the roughly 423,000 city-owned trees across Edmonton's 378 neighbourhoods. Taproot reported on the city's plans to plant two million new trees by 2030 in support of its goal to reach total canopy coverage of 20% by 2071.
- The city is seeking public feedback on a draft of its new digital sign policy, which will help guide future digital sign regulations. The city says the policy will aim to achieve a balance between the positive and negative impacts of digital signs and explore opportunities that may come from digital media. An online survey is available beginning April 4. The city is also seeking feedback until April 23 on the possibility of expanding the Vision Zero Street Lab in Silver Berry.
- The city made changes to the Economic Action Plan Grant (EAPG) that will increase eligibility for more private-sector projects. The EAPG is designed to support projects from local businesses and business associations that contribute to 13 actions in the city's Economic Action Plan. The changes to the EAPG include increasing available matching funding per project from a maximum of $25,000 to $50,000, allowing applications for expanding existing business lines or buying new buildings, and supporting events that contribute to Action 24 of the plan.
- The Edmonton Oilers, which secured their spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth season in a row over the weekend, are expected to make an announcement about playoff tickets later this week. The playoffs run April 17 to June 18. The Oilers plan to continue watch parties in Rogers Place during away games and expand outdoor festivities in the ICE District.
- The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) concluded that there is no evidence Edmonton police acted improperly while responding to a Feb. 28 incident at West Edmonton Village where a man fell from a high-rise tower and suffered "life-altering injuries." ASIRT reviews all cases where a police investigation leads to serious injury or death.
- TELUS World of Science - Edmonton announced that Constance Scarlett will take on the roles of president and CEO effective July 1. Scarlett is currently the director of government and community relations. According to a release, she was key in securing more than $41 million in capital funding for the centre's recent expansion and is an advocate for policies that improve accessibility for Indigenous people and other groups. Retiring president and CEO Alan Nursall served for the past decade.
- The province announced a series of investments in Alberta's health care system, which it says will "build a stronger, more flexible and innovative system for emergency medical services (EMS) with better access to care and shorter wait times." The investments include staffing more ambulances during peak hours this year, including 10 in Edmonton; funding the priorities of the Health Care Action Plan, which aims to reduce EMS response times and surgery wait times; implementing recommendations from the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee to improve scheduling practices; and boosting mental health supports for EMS staff. NDP health critic David Shepherd called it a "hasty pre-election announcement" and suggested Albertans continue to wait "longer than ever for ambulances to arrive" after four years under a UCP government. The NDP says it will connect one million Albertans with a family doctor using a primary care model called Family Health Teams.
- CBC data journalist Robson Fletcher examined the province's "stunning turnaround" in parks policy since three years ago, when the UCP government was defending its plan to close 184 parks and recreation areas. The province recently promoted its plan to upgrade and expand parks infrastructure for a cost of $211.3 million over three years.
- Premier Danielle Smith has responded to CBC reporting from March 29 about a phone call she had with controversial Calgary street preacher Artur Pawlowski a few weeks before his Feb. 2 trial for pandemic-related charges. Smith denied allegations that she or her staff have contacted any Alberta Crown prosecutors, stated that the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has "confirmed this to be true," and declined to comment further because the matter is "likely to be subject of legal defamation proceedings." CTV News acquired a letter from Smith's law firm notifying the CBC of the premier's intention to take legal action unless the broadcaster retracts its reporting and publishes an apology.
Headlines: April 4, 2023
By Kevin Holowack