I was reading the CBC news this morning and came across what may be the most ridiculous idea ever proposed in the Edmonton city council. Councilor Kim Krushell wants to put a giant, temporary dome over Churchill Square in the winter months, so that we can have an outdoor winter festival in Edmonton.
The idea was so absurd that I couldn’t help but leave a comment on the CBC website in response to the article. I’ve republished my comments here, and they can be seen below the excerpt.
Edmonton could extend its popular summer festival season by placing a transparent dome on Churchill Square, a city councillor suggested Monday.
At a cost of $200,000, the 15-metre high, 30-metre wide geodesic dome would allow the city’s main downtown square to be used even in Edmonton’s bone-chilling winters, Coun. Kim Krushell said.
“It would be a way to make Churchill Square, which we did spend a lot of money developing, to actually work for us,” Krushell said.
The dome is designed to be removed, but meant to remain up most of the winter.
The square, which received a $12.3 million makeover in 2004, is home to a succession of summer festivals, including the Works Art and Design Festival and Edmonton International Street Performers Festival.
The dome would allow natural light to enter and could be heated, providing room for up to 1,200 people, Krushell said. (More…)
What a ridiculous idea. I’m in favour of Edmonton having a winter festival (or several), and I think Churchill Square should be the focal point of any such festival. But, a giant temporary dome? How absurd.
Sure, having one or two smaller “warming tents” for people to go inside and warm up if it’s cold out during the festival would be good (and likely necessary), but to cover the entire Square in one big plastic dome? Please, let’s get serious.
The point of a winter festival is largely to embrace the outdoors, despite the cold temperatures. Hiding away inside of a dome is no different than hanging out in the mall during the winter.
If Edmonton is going to have a winter festival, it should be held outdoors, in the cold.
I’ve been talking to a number of friends about the upcoming Alberta election, and one thing that seems to always come up in discussion of Canadian politics—at both the provincial and federal levels—is whether to vote for the party, or for the candidate.
I believe that most people vote for the party. If you want the Liberals to form the government, for example, you’re probably going to vote for the Liberal candidate in your riding, even if you think that the PC candidate will actually be better at representing his or her constituents.
I will admit that I usually vote for the party I want to see win the election, rather than the individual candidate. Based on the way that our first past the post political system works, it seems to make more sense to vote for a party, rather than an individual.
However, this year, I think I will be voting for a specific candidate in my riding. While I don’t necessarily want his party to win the election, I think that he will do a great job representing Edmonton-Centre. Evidently, so do a few high-profile Edmonton political figures. Their testimonials hold a lot of sway for me, so I think I’ll probably vote for this individual (who I’m not naming, because I’m trying to avoid endorsing any one candidate or party).
My question to you is, do you vote for the candidate, or for the party? Bonus points if you share the reasoning behind your voting method.
As you hopefully know by now, if you’re a resident of Edmonton, we’re having an election in this province on March 03, 2008. You probably also know the major parties in the province: the Progressive Conservatives, the Liberals, the New Democrats (NDP), the Green Party, and the Wildrose Alliance.
What you may not know is who the candidates in your riding are. Do all of the major parties have candidates in your riding?
If you’re searching for the answers to these questions, Daveberta has a complete list of the candidates in each of the provincial ridings, as well as links to the candidates’ web pages (when available).
Check out Dave’s list, and then follow the links to learn about the people you’re going to be voting for. Remember: an uninformed voter is worse than someone who stays home. If you’re going to vote, do your research.
As the provincial election campaign starts to get into full swing, the campaign ads are starting to hit the TV and radio waves. This morning, I heard an ad from Ed Stelmach espousing change on the radio.
Does this strike anyone else as a bit odd: the Conservative Party campaigning on a platform of change?
Ignoring the somewhat paradoxical nature of such a thing (i.e.: conservative change), the Tories are the governing party at the moment, and have been for 37 years. They are, by definition, the status quo.
Campaigning on a platform of change doesn’t really make sense when you’re already in power, especially if you think you’ve been doing a good job for the last 4 decades.
It seems to me that the PCs are trying to tap into the psyche of Albertans—48% of whom feel that we need a change of government (though, most of those 48% don’t see any of the other parties as a viable alternative to the Tories)—and claim that they are the party of change.
I can imagine the ad, “Do you want change? Well, don’t change the government. We’ve heard what you want, and we’re ready to change. Re-elect the Conservatives for change!”
Sorry Steady Eddie, if Albertans really want change, they aren’t going to vote for you. You’re just lucky that most Albertans seem to trust the Liberals and NDP even less than they trust you.
Todd Babiak’s latest blog post has made me a little bit depressed, mainly because it’s absolutely true. I haven’t really noticed any substantial quality of life improvements since this latest oil boom began. If anything, I’ve noticed a dip in my quality of life.
I recently had to move into a smaller apartment, because my rent was increased by 50%. At $975 a month, it was still below the average price for a 2-bedroom apartment in a central neighbourhood, but it’s more than I’m reasonably able to afford on my own.
While I am getting paid a bit better than I likely would be if I were doing the same job in, say, Saskatchewan or Newfoundland, my money doesn’t go as far, because most things cost substantially more. Every time we’re at the pub paying for our $7 pints, my girlfriend points out that beers are only a deuce and a half at most bars in her native Newfoundland.
This, of course, comes as the government tries to claim that the average Albertan enjoys an improved quality of life as a result of the oil money that’s flowing through the upper echelons of the population. From my point of view, it really hasn’t. For many people, in fact, it’s gotten worse.
On top of that, it kind of annoys me that the Tories seem to act as if they are somehow responsible for the existence of oil in the sand.
Yes, their policies are somewhat responsible for the money coming into the provincial coffers, but without that oil, would they be able to claim responsibility for the province’s successes in the same way? Given that Alberta would probably still be a have-not province if it weren’t for our oil, I suspect that the answer is no.
But, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Todd is wrong. Maybe the average Albertan really is enjoying untold prosperity as a result of the so-called Alberta Advantage. Am I wrong?
As you surely know by now, Ed Stelmach’s Tories called an election yesterday afternoon. Alberta will be going to the polls on March 3, 2008.
Because provincial politics obviously effect Edmonton—the capital of Alberta—I will likely be running a lot of political commentary over the coming weeks. If you have any opinions you’d like to get out to the public, let me know, and I’ll be more than happy to let you have a guest post.
In fact, I really hope that some of you will write guest posts for me. I obviously have my own political slant, and I’d like to try and keep the discussion from becoming biased toward my own personal views.
I’m sure that Daveberta will have a tonne of commentary about the election, so I highly recommend that you check his blog out (keeping in mind that he is an unabashed Liberal, and his blog is hardly politically-neutral).
If you know of any other Alberta political blogs that are perhaps less biased, or at least biased in the other direction, please send me the links, and I’ll make sure to mention them in a future post.
Edmonton is in the grip of a cold snap. For a while, between the actual temperatures and the wind chill, it felt like -48C. The wind has mostly died down over the past couple of days, but the weather is still absolutely frigid. The roads are mostly ice (and bumpy as hell on the side roads). Cars don’t warm up until they’ve already arrived at their destination. Those braves souls who ride transit stand stoically at unsheltered bus stops, waiting for steel chariots that are running as close to schedule as possible (up to 30 minutes late, earlier in the week).
For many people, this weather is resulting is a mad case of the winter blahs. At first, I felt this way too, but no longer. Would it be nice if it were warmer? Sure, but I can’t do anything about the weather, so I figure that I might as well just roll with it.
The biggest cure for the winter blahs, I think, is to get out of the house.
It’s tempting, in this kind of weather, to stay home and hibernate. And, if you’re with the right company, that might not be a bad idea. But, personally, I think that getting out of the house helps a lot. Even if all you do is drive 10 minutes to visit a friend, getting out of the house will help you break the rut of the winter blahs.
So, don’t stay home this weekend. Get out there and see what’s happening in River City. Go to a movie, take in a play, check out a concert, or even just go for lunch with your best friend. Just don’t stay home this weekend, Edmonton.
After last week’s series about Reasons to Leave Edmonton, I figured providing some reasons to stay might be a good idea. I’ll be writing my own series about some of my personal favourite reasons to stay in Edmonton—or to move here if you don’t live here already—in the near future (probably next week). In the meantime, MasterMaq wrote an article back in July 2007 called “Why not move to Edmonton?” that’s worth checking out.
I’ve updated the Edmonton Date Ideas article a bit. Not much has changed, but there are a couple of new ideas added.
Of course, I’m always open to suggestions from my readers, so please feel free to add any ideas you have about how to have a good date in Edmonton. Your ideas don’t have to be things that are exclusive to Edmonton but, if they are, that’s even better.
For more information, check out the Edmonton Date Ideas article.
If this is your first time here, I suggest you read the rest of this series Reason to Leave Edmonton - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
While I’m not normally one to suggest that people move away from Edmonton, the people who do often have good reasons for doing so. This week, I’ll be talking about some of these reasons, as well as ways to solve the issues in question without leaving the city.
So far, I’ve talked about Edmonton’s lengthy winters, our supposed lack of a cultural scene, our problems with urban sprawl, and the fact that we have the one of the highest murder rates in Canada.
Edmonton is full of terrible drivers
There are terrible drivers everywhere, but I’ve heard that Edmonton drivers are among the worst in Canada. This, I suspect, is true.
I can’t argue this one. I don’t know how many times I’ve nearly been killed on the way home from work. It’s like a war zone on the roads in this city, sometimes. People drive too fast. People drive too slow. People cut each other off in rush hour traffic. People tailgate. Basically, Edmonton is full of terrible drivers.
What can be done to solve this?
Force everyone in the city to take driver training
OK, so this obviously isn’t realistic, but sometimes, I’d really like to see it happen. I mean, come on people! Learn to drive!
That’s it for the “Reasons to Leave Edmonton” series. I figured I’d leave you with a bit of humour for the end of the week. Have a good weekend, and try to play safe on the roads.
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