Edmonton Headlines: Wednesday, November 8, 2017

For the rest of this week we’ll be leading off with the latest from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.  

The Inquiry is receiving its official testimony from Treaty 6, Edmontonians and others where this makes the most sense to deliver their stories, and the stories of women who are no longer with us. 

The community hearings continue today and tomorrow, and they are open to the public (although some testimony will be in private), taking place at the Edmonton Inn and Conference Centre (the former Ramada on Kingsway).

APTN continues to have extensive coverage of the Inquiry, and will also be live-streaming the hearings from Edmonton.

We’ve been including the local stories on the Inquiry in our Headlines all week. See what was in the news yesterday.

Blatchford pipes

The first homes are expected to start construction next year, but what’s underneath them is already quite the issue in the new Blatchford neighbourhood. “One pipe or two?” may be a question that Edmonton deals with for years to come. 

Diphtheria in Edmonton

It’s not 100% clear how a case of diphtheria arrived at a north Edmonton school, but Alberta Health Services is quarantining a few families after one child came down with the disease. 

It sounds like things are well in hand and there’s no risk to the larger community. It is also, of course, a good reminder to get your kids vaccinated. Get yourself vaccinated too, if you don’t think you’ve had all your shots. 

I’m not sure why the Postmedia story felt the need to mention this: “…Evansdale, which is in north-central Edmonton and has a large population of newcomers to Canada.” Seems like a needless mention of immigration in order to… well, I’m not sure why it’s mentioned. To blame newcomers on the disease?

While it may be a fact that Evansdale has a lot of people new to the city, and country, it sure doesn’t feel like a fact that needs to be included here. Much like with a crime story we talked about earlier this year, this kind of stuff needlessly whips up anti-immigration and anti-refugee hate (and other kinds of hate too.)

Construction Updates

The mayor asked if roads could be completely closed when work needed to be done and, for the most part, that is not likely to happen in Edmonton. 

The City is also working to improve how it handles construction damage, and which companies are allowed to win bids on contracts for the City’s work. 

Both of those stories actually include both of those stories, as both came out of the Executive Committee meeting Tuesday. I’m not sure if these kinds of meeting “roundups” will be the norm going forward. If they are, newsrooms may need to start getting people used to that, in case they aren’t reading through to the end of the top story. 

Ghost Bike

A ghost bike now sits where a cyclist was killed on the weekend. The man was killed while biking through the intersection of 111 Avenue and 96 Street, and police are looking for the killer since this was a hit and run.

Ghost bike on 111Ave and 96St.
No matter how they get there, everyone deserves to get home safely. #yegbike pic.twitter.com/xFzbjabz16

— Edmtn Bike Commuters (@edmontonbicycle) November 6, 2017

Gang Life Not Great

A new study from the University of Alberta, and Alberta Justice, finds that almost all gang members would have preferred to have chosen a different life, and that more needs to be done to keep young men from feeling like they should start a life of organized crime.

A lot of the former gang members talk about lacking family structure, and lure of an exciting, glamorous life, that lead them to join gangs.

The Last Rodeo?

The goodbyes will be at the ready this week as Edmonton hosts the Canadian Finals Rodeo, potentially for the last time. It’s definitely going to to be the last rodeo at Northlands Coliseum. 

This is actually the second time in the last few years we’ve said “goodbye” to the rodeo. 

Public engagement

The Urban Planning Committee meets today, at 9:30 a.m. You can see the agenda online. The meeting will stream live from the River Valley Room.

You can help shape what happens with the Rollie Miles Athletic Field District Park at a hands-on workshop taking place 4:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. at Strathcona Composite High School. 

There’s an open house for a fairly large rezoning application in the Belgravia neighbourhood. The meeting is 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Belgravia Community League.