Edmonton Headlines: Friday, April 7, 2017

Let’s end the week talking about some good news. There’s a new type of mental health clinic opening in downtown Edmonton, which allows parents to stay involved in the well-being and care of their children as they enter adulthood. Normally, once someone turns 18, parents would be cut out of the health discussions because of privacy laws, but this clinic allows more time to help with that transition.

Edmonton parents will have around 300 daycare spots offered up at $25/day, as part of the provincial government’s first steps into subsidized child care.

Getting more dentists comfortable treating patients with disabilities seems both like something that’s very important and woefully behind the times. This weekend, dentistry students from the U of A will try to bridge the gaps.

The Alberta government is encouraging more women to run for office in this year’s municipal elections. Edmonton will be electing a new city council and trustees for two school boards.

At City Hall

The most likely re-purposing of the arena at Northlands appears to now be in partnership with Hockey Canada. There are still many hurdles to clear, but it does appear the City is working toward not just letting the site become a giant parking lot.

There’s also still a pending deal to sell drainage assets to EPCOR. A new report to City Council attempts to answer questions councillors had a couple months back when this was last on their agenda.

This week, Edmonton Journal reporter Elise Stolte has been looking at the major traffic questions down in Ward 9, specifically around the Terwillegar area. The last in her series examines the ghost bike connections, which haunt and taunt people trying to commute without a car. (Parts one and two.)

Honoring and remembering

The Indigenous art park going into Edmonton’s river valley (on the hill between Old Strathcona and the Walterdale Bridge) has its name. It will be called ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ (that’s translated to Eenu River Lot 11 in English). The park will be one of the only spots in Canada to see a curation of Indigenous art. The name, and the park, also pays homage to Edmonton’s Treaty 6 and Metis history.

See “the stories of This Place” online, while waiting for the park to open next year.

“Iskotew” by Amy Malbeuf, photo credit: Ryan Parker

This weekend, you can commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and the Edmonton soliders who died there. This is the fight from World War I that was said to be when Canada established itself as a nation.