River City Writer

Update: I have found out where you can buy beer from Amber’s Brewery. I have edited this entry accordingly.

Edmonton is a beer drinking city. For evidence of this, one need look no further than, well, pretty much any restaurant in town.

Nearly every self-respecting restaurateur has a couple of brews on tap. The average bar, of course, has a wide variety on tap or in the cooler.

The range of beer that can be found in Edmonton drinking establishments is quite impressive. As well as the standard domestics—Molson Canadian, Kokanee, and Coors Light—you’ll usually find a number of imported suds. Heineken, Carlsburg, and Guinness are among the most common imports found in River City.

You’ll also find Big Rock beers, brewed in Calgary, in a number of fine establishments. Big Rock makes damn fine beer—I’m quite fond of their new XO Lager—and the fact that it’s brewed in Alberta makes it that much sweeter.

However, it’s not brewed in Edmonton.

Thankfully, Edmonton does have a beer brewing industry. It’s small, and there have been some unfortunate setbacks (the Maverick Brewing Company went under in 2006), but it’s starting to grow.

The main player (and, for a while, the only player) in the Edmonton beer industry is the Alley Kat Brewing Company.

I’m a huge fan of Alley Kat Beer. If you’re a beer drinker, and you haven’t tried any of Alley Kat’s microbrews, you’re missing out.

My personal favourite is Charlie Flint’s Original Lager, named after one of the founder’s of the Alberta brewing industry. It a crisp, refreshing blond lager made from Alberta barley and Czech hops.

The Amber is an excellent, slightly sweet ale, that I’m also quite fond of. It’s a reddish-brown ale with a fairly malty flavour. It’s best enjoyed with rich foods, but I find that it goes down quite well on it’s own, too.

The newest player in the Edmonton brewing industry is Amber’s Brewing Company, which is currently available at Sherbrooke Liquor Store (11819 St. Albert Trail). I haven’t tried their beer yet, but I’ve heard some good things about it. I’ll probably pick up a 6-pack of at least one of the 4 brews they make and try it over the holidays.

The one unfortunate thing about Edmonton’s two breweries is that their beer is not being served in a particularly large number of establishments in the city. In fact, I can think of only one place that serves either brand.

Hulbert’s is the only local eatery I can think of where Alley Kat is available.

In a beer drinking city like Edmonton, why aren’t our locally brewed beers being served everywhere? Excepting those places who have exclusive deals with Molson-Labatt’s, Edmonton-brewed beers should be available in just about every licensed place in River City.

It’s a shame that our local drinking holes don’t support our local beer. There is a way to fix this, though.

The next time you’re in your favourite bar or restaurant, ask the server if they serve Alley Kat or Amber’s. If they don’t, ask them to start. If enough people ask for it, the management will recognize the demand, and start providing the supply.

So, take action, Edmonton! Demand local beer in local establishments today!

I was originally going to write about Edmonton-based breweries but, in the spirit of the season, I’m going to write about Santas Anonymous.

To me, Santas Anonymous is a great charity. Basically, people donate toys to them, and then they distribute the toys to needy children around Edmonton. What could be better than bringing a smile to the face of a child on Christmas morning?

Yes, there are needy children all around the world, and we need to help them. But, we also need to address the problems in our own backyard.

There is poverty in Edmonton. Ironically, in these boom times, it’s worse than it’s been in a long time. Giving a toy to a kid on Christmas is just one way of helping.

If you’re going to donate a toy, you’ve got to do it now. Volunteers will begin delivering the gifts this weekend, so today is pretty much the last day to donate toys.

Like most years, what is needed most are toys for kids 9-12.

People tend to forget about kids in the older age ranges, for some reason. Maybe the idea of a 5-year-old going without a toy is more heartbreaking than a 12-year-old?

Whatever the case, they need toys and books for older kids. Go buy a G.I. Joe, or a Ninja Turtle, or whatever it is that the kids are playing with these days, and drop it in one of the donation boxes.

If you’re unable to spend the money, you can also give the gift of time. Santas Anonymous needs volunteers to help wrap and deliver gifts: effective immediately. If you’ve got time that you can give, it’s needed just as much as the actual toys.

Maybe it’s just the time of year, but I really do think this is one of the best local charity’s that there is.

My parents struggled financially when I was younger, but they always managed to put toys under the tree.

We were the kind of poor where the kids don’t know that they’re poor. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky.

I never had to go without gifts on Christmas morning, but a lot of kids do, and it’s up to the more prosperous in our society to look after those in need.

Again, you might not be able to afford to buy a toy. But, if you’ve got some spare time, you can help wrap and deliver gifts. And, let’s be honest, we all give to charity because it makes us feel good.

What would make you feel better, putting a toy in a box at the mall, or physically handing it to a needy family?

A lot of people come to this site looking for date ideas. I have written a lot of things on this site that could be considering date ideas. Every time I review a restaurant or a bar, that let’s potential daters know if that place might be a good choice or not.

But, I think I can do a better job of providing you with Edmonton date ideas. So, I’m compiling a list of ideas and putting them here. Feel free to add your own ideas to the comments section.

In addition to the ideas below, don’t forget to check out the Edmonton Restaurant Guide and the Edmonton Nightlife Guide for more ideas. I’ve also written about free fun in Edmonton—dates don’t always have to be expensive, as long as they’re fun and memorable.

Edmonton Date Ideas

• Grab a coffee at an independent cafe (Three Bananas, Axis Cafe, Remedy, etc.).
• Take a long walk through the river valley; this can be done in any season, though the winter might not be ideal, if you’re date doesn’t like the cold.
• West Edmonton Mall is a great choice for the consumerists in the crowd: food, drink, gambling, shopping. Hell, there’s even a hotel if you need quick access to a bed (but, please, avoid the theme rooms, they’re tacky).
• Festivals!
• Go for dinner at any of the River City’s great local restaurants. Some of my personal favourites are: Doan’s, Two Rooms Cafe, and Padmanadi (review).
• Drive. This city is designed for automobiles. Go for a drive around the city, without a destination in mind. Grab some food from a drive-through. The inclusion of fast food means that this is probably not ideal for a first date.
• Smoke shisha together at Co Co Di Restaurant (10160 100A Street).
• Go to a movie. This sounds boring and unoriginal, I know, but Edmontonians are notorious for their love of film (probably because our winters are so damn long). To keep it interesting, avoid the big multiplexes and go see an independent film at the Garneau or the Princess.
• Go for drinks. It’s not particularly unique to Edmonton, but going out for drinks is a great way to get to know one another. Alcohol is a wonderful social lubricant, and can help ease the awkwardness that can accompany those first few dates with a new partner—just make sure not to get drunk and embarrass yourself. Presumably, you’re on a date because you actually want to get to know the other person, not just because you’re hoping to get laid, so choose a pub or a lounge instead of a dance club (this way you’ll actually be able to hold a conversation without shouting). I’d personally recommend Sherlock Holmes or Red Star. Suede Lounge is a nice place too, if you feel like being a bit more trendy.

I don’t normally paste press releases directly onto the blog, but in this case, I think the release summarizes the news more effectively than I can.

I will point out that the deadline for applications is today. If this is something that you’re interested in, you’ll need to send in your application immediately.

***

The City of Edmonton / Next Gen Board Recruiting 2007
Information & online application: www.edmontonnextgen.ca
Note: Closing Date for Applications - November 15, 2007.

Next Gen, a project of The City of Edmonton, is looking for new members. If you are you between the ages of 18-40 & passionate about making Edmonton a city of choice for young people, get in touch!

What is the Next Gen? Next Gen’s mission is to create a city that attracts young people between 18-40 years old and gives voice to the Next Generation in the life/growth of our community. Next Gen is committee that involves a cross-sector of civic-community collaboration, and brings together diverse volunteer Next Gen Edmontonians and staff from City departments. The Committee as a hub for networking and learning events, and fosters leadership opportunities.

Who are we looking for? 8 Community members between the ages of 18-40 who live in Edmonton and have a demonstrated passion for Edmonton. Individuals who are willing to assume a leadership role on projects, initiatives/events and are able to work with volunteers with various backgrounds. Individuals who have Board/Committee experience and/or experience working with volunteers.

Individuals who have unique ideas, perspectives/strategies for implementing the 9 recommendations which focus on the areas of marketing/communications, sports/recreation, business, arts and culture, mentorship, architecture and urban design, transportation, and urban living.

Responsibilities: A time commitment of approximately 10 hours a month which includes preparation time, meetings, attending events, working on projects and initiatives; Attend 10 regularly scheduled meetings of Edmonton’s Next Gen Committee during the year. Meetings are held on a monthly basis at a downtown location every second Monday from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. Additional meetings may be held at the call of the Co-Chairs.

Attend/participate on at least one working group of the Next Gen Initiative; working groups meet once a month; these meetings are held on a monthly basis either during the day or evenings; work with committee members/volunteers on various projects/initiatives; participate/represent Next Gen in consultations, focus groups/stakeholder meetings, public events & media.

For more information contact:
Christine.Causing@edmonton.ca
Telephone: (780) 496-4889

# # #

Until recently, I was looking at purchasing a condo. Unfortunately, due to a number of circumstances, this isn’t a realistic possibility at the moment.

Despite the high cost of rent in the city, it is still more affordable for me to rent than it is to buy, even after my rent increases to $975 come January.

However, I’d rather not pay that high of a rental rate. Admittedly, as I live in a 2-bedroom apartment, that’s actually a fairly decent rate in the current market. It’s a 50% increase over what I currently pay, but it’s not outside the typical market price.

But, I live alone, and I would like to keep it that way if possible.

I tend not to do well with roommates. And, having got used to living alone over the last 7 months or so, I don’t like the idea of coming home to find someone else sitting on the couch.

If I were living with a girlfriend, or one of my brothers, that would be different. But, excepting those 2 situations, I’m not fond on the idea of living with a roommate. Besides, I’ve done it before, and it nearly destroyed the friendship I had with my roommate at the time.

Because of this, I’m looking for a place with cheaper rent. If I could find a 2-bedroom unit for less than what I’ll be paying here, that would be ideal. That’s not likely to happen, though, so I’m looking at 1-bedroom units.

I’ve called a few places so far, and it seems that they’re all in the $800+ range. At that price, it almost seems better just to stay put. Sure, it will cost more than moving to a 1-bedroom unit, but by fewer than $200 in most cases.

This has got me to wondering if there is anywhere in this city that is still affordable for the average single, middle-class person.

For the average working couple, the rent for a 1 or 2-bedroom apartment isn’t unreasonable. It’s not cheap, but with a double income, it’s not too bad. What about single income households, though?

While I can afford to pay $975 a month, it’s a bit of a stretch. I imagine the same is true for a lot of other people, as well.

There is low income housing the in city (though, not nearly enough of it), but I make too much money to qualify for it. I feel like I’m in the weird position of feeling as if I’m living on a low income, ironically due to the fact that I’m not. It’s very strange.

Ideally, I’d like a place that has a balcony. In fact, unless I get really desperate, I won’t even consider a place that doesn’t have a balcony. It must also have a powered parking stall.

It would be nice if I could find a place in a pet-friendly building. I don’t have pets, but I wouldn’t mind getting a cat or similar small animal if I was renting a place that allowed it. That’s not a requirement, though.

If anyone happens to know of a place that might suit my needs, I’d appreciate if you could give me a shout about it. I think I’d prefer to wait until January to start seriously looking, since I’d rather not be moving over the holidays (which, given that it’s already halfway through November, and I am required to give 30 days notice to end my lease, would basically be inevitable if I were to find a place in the near future). But, if the price is right, I’d be willing to move over the holidays.

The real question I want to ask though, isn’t about my situation specifically. It’s a much more general question.

Is there anywhere in Edmonton that still charges a reasonable price for rent?

I was looking at the keywords that bring search traffic to River City Writer this morning.

While most of the keywords are related to Edmonton, I was surprised by one of the long-tail terms that brought in someone from Winnipeg: winnipeg prostitute throw facebook group.

Not quite sure what exactly this searcher could possibly have been looking for, aside from a Facebook group involving Winnipeg prostitutes…and throwing (throwing what?), I plugged the query into Google. The results were surprising.

It turns out, there is a Facebook group dedicated to discussing throwing things at hookers in Winnipeg.

According to the CBC:

Gloria Enns, an outreach worker who counsels sex-trade workers at Sage House in Winnipeg, said the ugly pranks being discussed online are real.

“They are not just talking about it and internet e-mailing about it, but they’re actually doing it. We’ve had women who were assaulted with thrown bricks in their face. One had a full bottle of beer thrown in her face,” she said.

“I know that those people on the site represent a tip of an iceberg of hatred out there, and of people who are willing to be violent against women.”

Winnipeg police said they are looking into the site’s content and its members. Throwing an object at someone could be considered assault, they said, and charges could be laid.

While this is pretty fucked up, the sad truth of the matter is that this sort of thing doesn’t just occur in Winnipeg.

It happens in Edmonton, too.

When I was in high school, an acquaintance started telling me about a game that he and his friends had played on the weekend, called Spoons.

The game involves driving down streets known to be frequented by prostitutes, and throwing spoons at hookers from a moving vehicle. If you hit the woman, you get a point.

If you miss, you have to get out of the car and retrieve the spoon. This, you don’t want to do, because it means potentially getting your ass kicked by the prostitute.

It also means having to confront the fact that you’re playing a game that is essentially about degrading a fellow human being.

I’m not sure that I need to say more about this. I’d like to think that it’s universally accepted that this sort of thing isn’t cool.

But, people are obviously still doing it, so there are still people who think it’s acceptable to treat another person like an animal, simply because they aren’t as privileged as they are.

I honestly don’t even know what else to say about this, other than that I find it pretty abhorrent.

What’s your take on it?

Alberta Avenue (118 Ave) has a bad reputation in this city. When I tell people that I’m seriously considering buying a condo just off of the Avenue, they look at me like I’m crazy. They tell me that I’ll have to deal with all kinds of problems: hookers, drug dealers, etc.

While prostitution and drugs are a pretty big problem on Alberta Avenue, I’m starting to wonder if some of those problems haven’t been exaggerated by people who don’t live in the community.

I was looking at the quality of life statistics (PDF) for the community, as part of the research I’ve been doing before deciding whether or not to make an offer on the condo I looked at.

Despite the fact that it isn’t located in Sierra Leone, Alberta Avenue was given a quality of life rating of zero by the City of Edmonton. This, I actually find kind of hilarious, especially since, despite it’s problems, many of the people who live in the Alberta Avenue community are incredibly fond of their neighbourhood.

Out of curiosity, I decided to also look up the stats for the downtown core (PDF). Despite having a slightly smaller population, the crime stats for downtown are significantly higher than they are for Alberta Avenue.

The number of property crimes in the downtown area (where I have lived in the past) was slightly more than triple the number in Alberta Avenue. The number of violent crimes was 2.6 times higher.

Even in Oliver, where I currently live, the number of property crimes is higher than in Alberta Avenue. Violent crimes are lower, but not by much.

Prostitution is likely much higher in the Alberta Avenue area. Drug use is likely quite high as well, but these are things that I can deal with. Besides, the area is being revitalized. The community has been very active in the process of cleaning up their neighbourhood, and the City has stepped in with cash to help the effort.

I genuinely believe that within 5-10 years, Alberta Avenue will be a dramatically different place than it is today. I can see it becoming a real destination location in the city. I can picture Alberta Avenue looking very much like how Little Italy or 124 Street look today.

As it is now, it seems that the problems along Alberta Avenue have more to do with urban blight and “visible” crime, than with they do with the actual instance of crime (though, admittedly, the instance of crime in the area is much higher than average for the city). Poverty is a large part of the problem, as well.

Poverty is a complex problem, and the other issues are closely related to it. I’m not entirely sure how to solve these problems, but I know that progress is being made, and I’m interested in seeing what I can do.

It’s official, Stephen Mandel is the mayor of Edmonton for another term. This result comes as a shock to absolutely no one. The one thing that did strike me about this election was the utter lack of participation by most Edmontonians. The turn out was dismal. I don’t have the exact numbers right now, but I know that it was low.

Admittedly, this campaign was fairly uneventful, and I didn’t really see a lot of information about it that didn’t require some degree of digging, but that’s not a very good excuse. People need to be politically engaged. People need to vote!

I don’t know what needs to be done to get people to care about politics in this city, but something needs to be done. The problem, of course, isn’t just in Edmonton. It’s a widespread problem, that extends across the country, and throughout most democratic nations.

The problem is basic voter apathy. People feel that all of the candidates are essentially the same. People feel that their vote doesn’t matter, that they can’t change the system. Perhaps more problematic than those issues is that people don’t think voting matters at all. They take their freedom for granted.

Most of us have never had to live through a situation that genuinely threatened out freedom. Most of us can’t comprehend living in a dictatorship. The idea of an oppressive regime isn’t a real fear for the average person. Hell, to be honest, most people probably wouldn’t even notice if an oppressive regime took power, so long as they did it quietly.

If the government simply decided that they weren’t going to call an election, I bet they could carry on for at least 7 or 8 years before most people noticed that, “Hey, we haven’t had an election in quite a long time.” That, to me, is more frightening than the idea of a dictator taking control of the government by force.

Still, I don’t know what is necessary to encourage people to taking voting seriously. Since I don’t have the answers, I’ll put it to you: what can be done to increase citizen engagement in the democratic process both in Edmonton, and around the world?

It’s election day in Edmonton, today. If you haven’t already decided who you’re going to vote for, you should probably stay home from the polling station. However, if it’s still early in the day when you’re reading this, you might be able to do the necessary research to decide who are the candidates for you.

To help you out with that last minute information, here are a few links:

• Official Edmonton Municipal Election Website
• Daveberta - Edmonton-based political blogger
• CBC: Edmonton Votes

The polling stations are open until 8pm, so if you’re reading this earlier than 5pm, you should have time to research all of the candidates in your area, and make a relatively informed decision.

Today, I went to view some condos. I didn’t really see any that I liked, but there are plenty more units in this city. In fact, if you’re looking to buy your first place, a condo is probably the best way to go right now. The market seems to be saturated, so the prices are low (compared to houses, at least).

One place where the prices are especially low is along the Avenue of Nations (107 Avenue). I know this because the realtor I’m working with told me so. He admitted that it’s a rough neighbourhood, and that he wouldn’t want to live there himself. He also acknowledged that I probably wouldn’t want to live there right now, either.

What he did tell me is that the city is going to be putting a lot of money into that area in the next few years. It’s being predicted that prices in that area are going to see a huge increase in a few years. It’s not somewhere that I’d want to live right now (though, I might look at some condos down there that he mentioned, just out of curiosity), but if I had enough money to purchase an investment property, in addition to a place for myself, I would totally be willing to invest in a place down there.

It’s right near Grant MacEwan College, so it would probably be easy to find a student to rent the place out to. And, once the property values in the area increase, you could either sell the place for a profit, or move in yourself (since the neighbourhood will have been cleaned up by that time, presumably).

That said, I certainly wouldn’t want to live in that area right now. I live on 107 Avenue (106, technically, but my parking lot backs onto 107)  right now, and I feel perfectly safe on my block. However, I wouldn’t want to walk more than a block to the east of my building at night. Perhaps I’m just being paranoid, but I’d be worried about getting mugged. There are very few areas in Edmonton that I feel unsafe walking at night, and the Avenue of Nations is one of them.

I also don’t like having my tires slashed. During a recent drive through the area surrounding 107 Avenue (between about 110 Street and 97 Street), I noticed that there were several apartment blocks where nearly every vehicle in the parking lot had its tires slashed. It looked they had been slashed quite a long time ago, and that the owners hadn’t bothered replacing them, because they knew that the new tires would be slashed the very next day.

Despite all of that, I am curious about the property in the area. As I said, it’s highly unlikely that I would actually live in the area. Since I don’t have the money to buy a home for myself, in addition to an investment property, I will not be investing in the area.

If, however, you are a forward thinking property investor, 107 Avenue just might be worth a look.