The Pulse: Nov. 26, 2021

Downtown business and community leaders want Mayor Amarjeet Sohi to follow through on campaign promises to champion the area's recovery, urging him to boost funding for vibrancy initiatives and offer financial incentives for residential and Warehouse District projects.

"As you know, COVID-19 has created or accelerated many economic and social challenges at the heart of our city, which need to be addressed through immediate and co-ordinated responses," Nick Lilley, chairperson of the Downtown Recovery Task Force, said in a letter to the mayor.

The 15-member task force includes volunteers from the Downtown Business Association, BOMA, Edmonton City Centre, and private sector property developers and managers. There are also community representatives from the Downtown Edmonton Community League and the Reach Council for Safe Communities.

The letter to Sohi, sent in advance of budget discussions, stresses the need for improved safety measures downtown to counter reports of increased crime after the pandemic caused foot traffic to plummet.

The task force also asked Sohi to consider a boost in funding for the Downtown Vibrancy Strategy, from the currently budgeted $5 million to $28 million over the next two years. It also advocates for a continuation of Economic Recovery Construction Grants in 2022 to accelerate residential construction projects, and bring both jobs and residents downtown. The task force also supports tapping into existing capacity under the Community Revitalization Levy bylaw to spur growth in the Warehouse District.

• The City of Edmonton has released its proposed plan to reduce single-use plastics, which includes a ban on single-use plastic bags and styrofoam and a minimum 25-cent fee for disposable cups. The proposed bylaw is part of the city's broader 25-year Waste Strategy and is anticipated to come into effect in 2023, after community consultation.
• A river valley park in west Edmonton is being named after Jan Reimer, the first woman to become mayor of Edmonton. The park is near the Terwillegar Park footbridge, close to the Oleskiw neighbourhood. Reimer served as mayor from 1989 to 1995, during which time she helped establish the Edmonton Arts Council and the Aboriginal Advisory Committee, among other accomplishments.
• The first 20 tenants of Edmonton's first veterans housing project are expected to move in on Dec. 1. In addition to 20 housing units, the ATCO Veterans Village includes a community garden, counselling office, and resource centre. There are more than 5,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in Canada.
• Alberta Health announced it had received 12 reports from people who got the wrong vaccine record when they tried to get their federally recognized QR code with the information needed to travel. Health Minister Jason Copping apologized for the issues and said the new record would be ready by the federal deadline of Nov. 30.

With the Oilers off to a shockingly strong start this season, you might want to listen to a little extra hockey talk these days. Oilersnation — the "home for Edmonton Oilers coverage, news, analysis, rumours and scores" — is happy to oblige with the Real Life Podcast, hosted by hardcore fans who go by such names as Wanye Gretz, The Squire, and Baggedmilk.

The show, which comes out several times a week during the season, talks "about everything ranging from sports to booze to hair plugs," but mostly, anything and everything connected to Oilers fandom. It emanates from The Nation Network, the sports platform that grew out of the original Oilersnation blog into a 15-website network.

Earlier this month, Playmaker bought The Nation Network and Daily Faceoff in a $15-million deal. In a departure from its traditional format, Real Life broke down the monumental transaction with "business dad" Chris LaBossiere of Altitude Investments.

You can find the Real Life Podcast under the name Nation Real Life on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and the show's site.

If you need even more Oilers chatter, you can also tune into Oilersnation Radio, which bills itself as "the world's greatest Edmonton Oilers podcast." And if you like the vibe but the Oilers aren't your team, the network has a bunch of other shows.

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