The Pulse: April 5, 2022

High Dough, the Detroit-style pizza pivot from Three Boars, celebrated two milestones this past week: it commemorated its second birthday amidst opening up a second restaurant.

Pizza was never meant to be a long-term solution when High Dough was born in March 2020, said chef and co-owner Brayden Kozak.

"Transitioning to High Dough in the moment was a temporary plan while we weathered the storm of COVID, but that just never ended. Any chance of opening back up for dine-in just seemed so far that we kept rolling with High Dough. But we were happy with how quickly it took off, and we eventually wanted to look for a more suitable permanent location."

Although the Three Boars space in Garneau has housed High Dough for two years, it hasn't been ideal. The ovens at the restaurant weren't meant for pizza, and as a result, the cook times were lengthy, and they often had to cap orders as a result. "We just couldn't maximize our outputs at the Garneau location," said Kozak.

After some shopping around, they settled on a space across from Strathcona High School, which in a previous life had been a commissary for local chain Royal Pizza. They installed high output ovens, and they have access to a larger garage door to easily receive sizable supply orders.

"It was necessary that this location could absorb the business from Garneau," said Kozak. "We were really focused on this location being designed for high-volume delivery more than dine-in and pickup."

As was the case with Garneau, the Strathcona branch offers counter service only, but the larger space made it possible to install four booths for seating. It will also sell pizza by the slice, but likely just at lunch. If all goes well, Kozak said, High Dough will open additional locations in the future, taking a page out of the playbook for Farrow, which he also co-owns.

• The city's plan to build an overpass over the CP rail crossing on 50th Street and to widen sections of 50th Street to six lanes will cost $34 million more than expected, city council learned on Monday before approving the increase. Deputy city manager Adam Laughlin said trains block the crossing up to 64 times each day, amounting to five and half hours of delays. The city will lobby the federal government for a $30.8 million grant to help cover the increase, but Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the now $179.6-million project will proceed either way.
• Many downtown workers have returned to the office as of Monday, with about 70% of the City of Edmonton's 12,000-person workforce and about 1,000 Stantec staff returning to their desks. Alberta public service staff have been returning in stages. Tom Mansfield, the city's acting branch manager for urban planning and economy, expects the office workers to add vibrancy, support businesses, and reignite "that sense of presence that has been missing."
• City council has voted against reinstating the $507,000 aerial mosquito program, choosing instead to divert the money into biological pest control like dragonflies and bats. "This allows us to spend money, I think, more responsibly going forward," said Coun. Michael Janz.
• City council has approved a plan to reduce single-use items and has requested a related bylaw be drafted. Once in effect, the bylaw would ban single-use plastic shopping bags and foam cups, and would require restaurants to only give napkins, straws, and packaged condiments to people who ask for them. The city also approved a business case for making food scrap and recycling collection mandatory for multi-unit properties like apartments. A public hearing is expected later this year.
• Less than half of sworn Edmonton Police Service officers live within city limits with the rest living mostly in St. Albert, Spruce Grove, and Sherwood Park, according to data acquired by Postmedia through a FOIP request. EPS spokesperson Daniel Tames said in an email that Edmonton, like most Canadian cities, does not have officer residency requirements. Local criminologist Temitope Oriola explained that academics have "contradictory" views about whether a residency requirement is beneficial, but he believes the revealed data could surprise many Edmontonians and notes that perceptions "are powerful, particularly for an institution going through a very difficult time."
• Alberta Health Services president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu is leaving her position less than one year after signing a two-year contract extension. In a statement, AHS board chair Gregory Turnbull thanked Yiu for her service and "tireless leadership through the worst days of the pandemic." Health Minister Jason Copping said the province is moving forward with "an ambitious agenda to improve and modernize the health system, and renewed leadership at Alberta Health Services will support delivering those changes."
• The arrival of 20 wood bison from Elk Island National Park into the Métis Crossing Wildlife Park is "a milestone in reconciliation," said Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta. The animals, which will join a 48-bison herd already living in the park, are vital to sharing the Métis story. "Bison are absolutely foundational to who we are as Métis people," said Juanita Marois, CEO of Métis Crossing.

When the Edmonton Queer History Project launched in March, it released not only a map, a timeline, and other resources, but also a podcast.

From Here to Queer "explores the people, places, and moments that have helped to define Edmonton's queer history." Hosted by playwright and historian Darrin Hagen and produced by sound artist Dave Clarke, it aims to be a "cruise down memory lane where we explore the forbidden and forgotten."

Episode 1 features a warm, funny, and occasionally heartbreaking interview with Michael Phair, tracing the path from his arrest in the Pisces Health Spa raid in 1981 to his election to Edmonton city council and his ongoing public service since then.

The podcast is supported by the Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity at MacEwan University and sponsored by the Stollery Charitable Foundation. You can now find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

It makes an excellent companion to the Edmonton City as Museum Project (ECAMP) Podcast, on which Hagen also appears, as well as other local history podcasts such as A Little Bit Ritchie, Let's Find Out, and the Edmonton-focused episodes of Canadian History Ehx.

You can find this and the rest of Taproot's podcast picks in our Listen Notes list.