The Latest
Here's the latest from Taproot Edmonton.
Friday, Jan. 21
In this edition: Sprout Fund II nears $10M target to put into seed-stage tech companies; Coun. Anne Stevenson wants to cancel a plan to spend $26.5M on the 103 Avenue Pedway; Premier Jason Kenney said that Omicron infections in Alberta may have peaked.
Thursday, Jan. 20
In this edition: a retired lawyer turned playwright has won a screenplay competition; the city won't pay for damage caused by Edmonton police during an arrest at Tzin last summer; our moment in history goes back to 1951.
Wednesday, Jan. 19
In this edition: AltaML partners with venture capital firm to combine AI and life sciences expertise; the city has launched a new dashboard to share the status of public services in relation to COVID-19; the new grand chief of Treaty 6 wants to get everyone aligned.
Sprout Fund II nears $10M target to put into seed-stage tech companies
Sprout Fund is quickly approaching the goal for its second fund, which will eventually provide momentum to a new group of seed-stage tech companies in Western Canada.
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Retired lawyer turned playwright wins screenplay competition
A program to turn an emerging screenwriter's work into a short film has awarded its top prize to David Haas, a retired lawyer who owes his writing career to anger in the courtroom and a penchant for winning competitions.
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AltaML partners with venture capital firm to combine AI and life sciences expertise
AltaML has formed a strategic alliance with Amplitude Venture Capital, a top Canadian firm focused on life sciences and building precision medicine companies. The partnership will look to leverage the possibility of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the biotechnology sector.
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Downtown daycares in danger of succumbing to pandemic
As Edmontonians weather a fifth wave of the pandemic, the prolonged closure of many downtown offices has left daycares in the heart of the city struggling to stay open.
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How public washrooms help make a city work well
Most candidates for mayor and city council agree that Edmonton needs more permanent public washrooms, a move that is vital for a city to work for everyone, says consultant Lezlie Lowe.
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City aims for Edmontonians to 'live more locally' with 15-minute districts
The 15-minute city is an urban design strategy that the current city council adopted as part of the City Plan at the end of 2020. The next city council, and its successors, will make the decisions that either help bring this plan to life or leave it to languish. As the municipal election approaches, this is a good time to examine what this concept means for Edmonton.
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Weekend agenda: Jan. 21-23, 2022
This weekend's events include a mix of outdoor and indoor fun, with a few virtual events if you're not ready to venture out.
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A moment in history: Jan. 20, 1951
On this day 71 years ago, On this day in 1951, Alberta's first newspaper was going to press for its final few issues. The Edmonton Bulletin was established in 1880 by businessmen Frank Oliver and Alex Taylor.
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On-demand transit seems to be catching on
An interim review of the bus network redesign shows growing use of on-demand transit since it was introduced last April to mitigate a decrease in regular service to parts of the city.
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Business Roundup: Jan. 21, 2022
The latest headlines & happenings in local business. Sprout Fund is quickly approaching the goal for its second fund, which will eventually provide momentum to a new group of seed-stage tech companies in Western Canada. Fund II, the only one of its kind headquartered in Edmonton, is aiming for a minimum first close target of $10 million before moving into the investment phase. Its deal flow will consist of software-as-a-service companies in Western Canada in the business-to-business space, said Kristina Milke, one of the four managing partners of Sprout Fund.
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Arts Roundup: Jan. 20, 2022
The latest on local arts from Taproot Edmonton. A program to turn an emerging screenwriter's work into a short film has awarded its top prize to David Haas, a retired lawyer who owes his writing career to anger in the courtroom and a penchant for winning competitions.
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Regional Roundup: Jan. 19, 2022
The latest headlines & happenings from across the Edmonton region. Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) has been granted $30 million through the province's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund to help foster growth in carbon capture tech. The Carbon Capture Kickstart program focuses on site-specific carbon capture, direct air capture, and carbon transportation infrastructure.
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Health Innovation Roundup: Jan. 19, 2022
The latest headlines & happenings in health innovation in Edmonton. AltaML has formed a strategic alliance with Amplitude Venture Capital, a top Canadian firm focused on life sciences and building precision medicine companies. The partnership will look to leverage the possibility of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the biotechnology sector.
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Food Roundup: Jan. 18, 2022
The latest headlines & happenings in Edmonton food. Every time a U.S. chain opens its first location in Edmonton, it seems like the city buzzes at the prospect of trying its menu. P.F. Chang's, an Asian-themed casual dining restaurant, got tons of attention for announcing it would be opening a 6,000-square-foot location in Edmonton's Currents of Windermere market in early 2022.
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Tech Roundup: Jan. 18, 2022
The latest headlines & happenings in Edmonton's tech community. Edmonton-based space company Wyvern has been accepted into the Y Combinator technology accelerator, and has closed an oversubscribed seed round for US$2.25 million, led by MaC Venture Capital, in addition to US$2.25 million in pre-seed funding and support from the federal government.
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Qualico was making headway and now we're taking away their pedway
Council's back and wasted no time packing our schedule with stuff to talk about. We’ve got pedway memos and police flashbangs - both the physical kind and on Twitter too.
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Troy lost a bet
Due to the outcome of a game of Rocket League, Andrew Knack will be "guest hosting" this episode along with Keren Tang. You can listen to them outline their plans for 2022 and beyond, or you can skip this episode and our download stats will conclusively prove a fact.
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Twas the week after budget
This episode is about the budget. Happy holidays and may your break be not filled with nightmares of watching city council debate the budget. Ours will be.
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Look at what you helped us accomplish this year
As we look back at 2021, we are filled with gratitude for the support that has enabled us to accomplish so much this year. See what our members, sponsors, and clients have made possible.
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That’s a wrap on our People’s Agenda project
The votes are counted, the new city council is about to get to work, and we're putting a bow on our People's Agenda project.
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A cascade of interest greets Taproot’s election matching engine
We are buoyed and blown away by the response to the Taproot Survey, our matching engine to help Edmonton voters discover how well they align with the candidates running for mayor and city council.
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