The Pulse: Aug. 13, 2021

A $69.2 million upgrade at Edmonton's Labatt Breweries plant is being cited as evidence of the city's ability to aggressively pursue investment and rapidly approve projects.

"We've worked closely with the team at Labatt over the last 18 months to make this investment a reality," said Edmonton Global CEO Malcolm Bruce. "We recognize the tremendous value the company brings in terms of jobs, growth, and spirit. We raise a glass to Labatt for consistently choosing the region to be a center for its business."

Mayor Don Iveson pointed to the 40-day turnaround of development and building permits as a boost for the city's reputation for getting projects underway. "Which if you know anything about how challenging that sort of thing is historically with the City of Edmonton, that is meteoric progress which shows we, too, are open for business," he told CTV Edmonton News.

The project includes upgrades to the brewhouse and control room, more warehouse space, and a 30,000 square-foot ready-to-drink building. The plant's product line will expand to include brands like Mike's Hard Lemonade, Palm Bay, Okanagan Cider, American Vintage, and Nütrl Vodka Soda.

Parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, which brought in US$47 billion in revenues in 2020 and tops the chart of global brewers, reported Canadian operations grew in volume by low single digits in the first half of 2021 after a year when it posted the best overall market share growth in a decade.

• Several city councillors are in favour of requiring masks on public transit, in taxis, and in rideshare vehicles, but administration doesn't plan to keep them mandatory if the province removes the health measure on Aug. 16. City council will continue the discussion on Monday. Mayor Don Iveson said he thinks "the votes will be there to maintain a masking requirement for back to school."
• Multiple news outlets are reporting that the provincial government may keep current COVID-19 health measures in place for an additional six weeks. Dr. Deena Hinshaw is scheduled to speak to Albertans this morning about back-to-school health protocols.
• The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce is urging the provincial government to implement vaccine passports for domestic use. CEO Jeffrey Sundquist said businesses are looking for anything to help them open confidently and safely. A spokesperson for the premier's office said Alberta won't be introducing a vaccine passport domestically and doesn't plan to support the federal government's vaccine passport either.
• Two controversial Ukrainian monuments were vandalized with messages calling them racist. A memorial to the 14th Waffen SS Division at St. Michael's Cemetery in northeast Edmonton and a statue of Roman Shukhevych were targeted. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies is calling for the monuments to be removed, but some local organizations are pushing back. The fight to remove the statue of Shukhevych has been going on for decades, reports Postmedia.
• Long-serving Edmonton defence lawyer Peter Royal has been cited for contempt of court for refusing to wear a mask in the courtroom, as ordered by a judge. A contempt of court citation hearing is set for Sept. 9.
• The provincial government is considering making codes of conduct for municipal councils optional, reports CBC News. Edmonton councillor Mike Nickel and Red Deer councillor Buck Buchanan have both been found in breach of codes of conduct.

Whovians everywhere are preparing to bid farewell to the first female Doctor. Jodie Whittaker, who has played Dr. Who since 2017, is officially leaving behind the fez and TARDIS in 2022. Of course, it only makes sense to process her departure with the highly acclaimed Dr. Who podcast, Radio Free Skaro.

The three who rule, as they have dubbed themselves — hosts Warren Frey, Chris Burgess, and Steven Schapansky — have covered the historic sci-fi series since 2006. Their devotion has led them to land on top fan lists, interview BBC archivist and Dr. Who producer Paul Vanezis, and even inspired a real-life romance between co-host Steven Schapansky and super fan Erika Ensign.

The podcast's popularity among Whovians scored it the spot of official podcast for Gallifrey One, the "world's largest and longest-running fan-run Doctor Who convention." Radio Free Skaro is also recommended by Doctor Who Magazine and was voted most popular Doctor Who podcast by members of the fan forum Gallifrey Base.

Radio Free Skaro's success has led to a number of other podcast ventures that Schapansky is involved in as co-host, producer or editor, including Lazy Doctor Who, where he and Ensign "watch every Doctor Who story ever made, from start to finish." Schapansky and Ensign are also the brains behind Castria, a local company providing podcast production and media solutions.

The three who rule ride the doctor's coattails every Sunday. You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.

You can listen to podcast picks from Taproot on Listen Notes or Spotify.