- Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he is "really, really concerned about the escalation of violence" in Edmonton, even with several investments in safety approved by city council in recent years. "Despite all those investments we are making … we are not seeing significant improvement that we need to see," Sohi said, again suggesting the federal and provincial governments need to increase funding to address root causes.
- Criminologist Temitope Oriola of the University of Alberta said recent messaging from the Edmonton Police Service is contributing to fear and paranoia about safety in Edmonton, especially downtown. "It felt like Edmontonians were being told to be afraid," Oriola said.
- The Drive Happiness Seniors Association will receive $563,537 in federal funding to expand volunteer-assisted transportation for seniors and increase access to in-home supports. "We are tremendously excited to see the impact our work will have on the lives of seniors and their ability to age in place," said Drive Happiness executive director Liza Bouchard. The funding is part of $1.68 million announced for Alberta through the Age Well at Home initiative.
- Coun. Andrew Knack would like to see privately owned e-scooters allowed on city streets alongside commercial options like those from Bird and Lime. "We can pretend it's not happening or, you know, we can recognize that these options are becoming more popular and people are already doing it," he said. Calgary city council plans to propose a resolution at the upcoming Alberta Municipalities convention to ask the province for amendments to the Traffic Safety Act to regulate private scooter use. Knack said Edmonton city council would support the resolution.
- The intersection at 127 Street and 126 Avenue in north Edmonton has accounted for more than 11% of all automated traffic enforcement tickets issued since January 2019, according to city data. Speeding violations made up the majority of the 156,565 tickets issued. Automated enforcement sites in Edmonton recorded 1.28 million violations between 2019 and the end of 2022.
- The University of Alberta has launched a new interdisciplinary research centre focused on water-related topics thanks to $1.4 million in seed funding from EPCOR. The new Water Research Centre will be led by director Mohamed Gamal El-Din, a professor in the Faculty of Engineering. "It's not just about engineering and science. It also includes sociology, rural economy, Indigenous communities, and anything related to water across the entire university to cover a wide variety of water-related problems," Gamal El-Din said.
- Alberta NDP MLA Janis Irwin spoke with The Tyee about being visible at a time of rising hate and violence toward the LGBTQ2S+ community. "There are queer and trans people everywhere. We're not going away," Irwin said. "We're your neighbours, your friends, your community members. Until all of us are safe, none of us are safe."
- Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning on July 17, saying more than 50 mm of rain could fall before tapering off in the afternoon on July 18.
