The Pulse: Oct. 20, 2022

Since launching in 2021, Edmonton's Hungry Zine has been serving up stories that are often missing in mainstream food media.

"Everyone has a relationship with food. They're all different, and they're not always positive," said Kathryn Gwun-Yeen, co-creator and co-editor of the quarterly food publication with Kyla Pascal. They aim to give space to the "negative or messy or murky feelings people have around food."

Gwun-Yeen and Pascal will be moderating Food Matters: Have You Eaten Yet?, a conversation with Cheuk Kwan about his collection of stories from Chinese restaurants around the world, which is part of LitFest on Oct. 22. Kwan's way of finding the story behind the meal resonates with Hungry Zine's aim of "getting beyond the food review," they said.

They do so with a roster of contributors that includes both seasoned writers and people who have never before seen their work in print.

"Anyone can write about food. I think that is really important to us, like breaking through that idea that only certain people have stories that are important enough to tell, or only certain people have the status to tell their stories," said Gwun-Yeen.

The unconventional works this philosophy elicits run through the most recent issue, Restaurants, where Alexis Kienlen shares a personal piece about her Chinese grandfather, Ramneek Singh gives a review of the "Punjabi OG" restaurant Pizza 99, and Gavin Doyle reflects on Red Robin in a set of three poems. Such stories hold their value beyond the rapid turnover of the daily news cycle.

"The way that we do the issues and themes, we tried to make them as timeless as possible," said Pascal. "People aren't just going to read it and toss it. We do want people to keep it on their bookshelves and hold onto it forever."

• The first frost in Edmonton might arrive later this year than ever before. The latest "first frost" on record was set on Oct. 21, 1975. Environment and Climate Change Canada is not forecasting frost until Oct. 23. This year also saw Edmonton record its hottest August ever, its third-hottest September, and a hotter-than-average October. Meteorologist Kyle Fougere told Postmedia we should expect "persistent heat more frequently" because of climate change. This weekend's forecast is cold with possible snow south of the city.
• With winter on its way, the number of shelter spaces for people without housing is expected to fall short of the need. A report on the homelessness response strategy's supplemental shelter plan indicates that while more than 1,300 people on Homeward Trust's list are sleeping in emergency shelters or outdoors, only 1,072 spaces are expected to be funded for this winter. Coun. Anne Stevenson said she's worried that people will have no option but to take shelter in transit stations, downtown businesses, or the library, and Coun. Erin Rutherford called for a longer-term solution instead of lurching from season to season with emergency measures.
• Global News took a look at the new home of Rapid Fire Theatre in Old Strathcona, inside the former telephone exchange building and museum. Construction on the main theatre is expected to be completed by early 2023. The company is raising money to help turn the basement into a workshop and classroom space.
• Retrospectives on the first year of city council's term continue. "This council is not afraid to push boundaries on challenging the status quo. Sometimes it may come across as destructive or erratic, but we are questioning the assumptions on which some of our programs and services were built," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said in an interview with Postmedia. Meanwhile, Global News gathered commentary from various observers including political analyst John Brennan, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president Jeffrey Sundquist, and Edmonton Global CEO Malcolm Bruce.
• The regulatory wheels are about to be in motion to shift the cost of recycling to producers instead of municipalities. The new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs will come into effect on Nov. 30 and be fully in place by October 2026, says a plan released by the province earlier this month. It is meant to standardize what is recycled and make recycling available in more communities. "We're trying to make it easy for Alberta to recycle. I think that's the bottom line," St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron, who serves as president of Alberta Municipalities, told CBC. "It's going to be easier, it'll be much more understandable."

Episode 34 of Bloom features an interview with Leanne Brownoff, an entrepreneur whose winding journey has led her to co-found VR Pathways.

Brownoff started her career as a dietitian, then she shifted to interior design. You might remember her writing about community and design in the Edmonton Journal. She also became a business coach, and in the course of that work, she began to see a need for a tool to help employees take care of their own mental wellness. She and human-resources professional Danielle Bragge started VR Pathways to meet that need by combining virtual reality and cognitive behavioural therapy.

VR Pathways is in Cohort 2 of the TELUS Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator powered by Alchemist X, one of several accelerators that came to Edmonton as part of the Alberta Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program. The accelerator "has been amazing," Brownoff said.

"This is a unique opportunity because it came to Edmonton. We've always had to go everywhere else," she said. "The other great thing about this is that they're bringing 20 different companies from across the world."

Two of VR Pathways' fellow cohort members are local — Technology North and Islamic Family — but the rest are from elsewhere, which creates valuable cross-pollination and introduces entrepreneurs from places like Australia, Israel, or the UK to Edmonton. It has made a positive impression, she said.

"A lot of times, they would make phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, and never hear back from anybody. They'd (send) emails out, never hear back. This city responded. And they were like, 'This is an amazing place.' So it's pretty cool to hear that."

Learn more about Brownoff's journey and what's next for VR Pathways, as well as a roundup of what's new with the various accelerators, in the Oct. 20 episode of Taproot's podcast about innovation in Edmonton.