QUEST FOR COUNCIL: Scott McKeen aims to serve
Former journalist Scott McKeen knows exactly what he’s facing in his run for the hotly contested Ward 6 seat on City Council – he spent at least 12 years reporting on it for the Edmonton Journal. Watching paint dry is on the list of things most people would rather do than attend a council meeting. […]
A COMIC IN ALL SERIOUSNESS: Kenny V in High River
Hack comics making jokes – too soon! – about it being “no wonder they call it High River” would not go over well with Edmonton stand-up comic Ken Valgardson. He’s in High River, living in a tent by the same river that flooded the town on June 20. He’s helping his cousin dispose of almost […]
FLOOD RELIEF: Albertans band together in adversity
The Calgary-Edmonton rivalry seems awfully silly – sillier than it already is, that is – in light of the devastating floods that swamped our sister city to the South. Sure, she may be a bit more of a looker, a bit more successful, better dressed and have a better head for business, and frankly we […]
COMMENT: How about an author on City Council?
You know what might be interesting to see on the next Edmonton City Council? Someone who can get to the heart of the story – who’s not a former newspaper reporter. Candas Jane Dorsey has been creating and collecting stories for decades. The award-winning novelist has thrown her hat into the ring for the upcoming […]
Jr. Gone Wild embroiled in emblem imbroglio
Once a rebel, always a rebel. One of Alberta’s favourite rock bands is in trouble from the Province of Alberta for unauthorized use of Alberta’s official coat of arms. Jr. Gone Wild altered the Alberta shield for use as a logo for its recent reunion, unknowingly contravening the Emblems of Alberta act. Special permission is […]
FESTIVAL GUY: Crowds not a problem at Works
If Toronto put on a street festival that referenced Henry David Thoreau’s dictum “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” – the theme of this year’s Works Art & Design Festival – you’d have people clamouring to try to catch a glimpse of Rob Ford smoking crack. But this is […]
Promoters work to salvage flooded out Sled Island Festival
CALGARY – I woke up Friday morning to see downtown Calgary covered in brown water no more than a block from my vantage point at Hotel Arts, which was on evacuation order after power and water had been shut off. I’d spent the previous two nights getting soaked walking from venue to venue, trying to […]
Things that begin with the letter K in K-Days
Putting the “Klondike” back into K-Days – the festival formerly known as Capital Ex that was formerly known as Klondike Days that was formerly known as the Edmonton Agricultural Society Manure Fair in a story too dumb to go into here – has left the gates wide open for other fun things that begin with […]
COMMENT: Stephen Mandel’s big dreams had high price
The decision by Mayor Stephen Mandel not to run for a fourth term is probably sensible on a personal basis. For all his shortcomings, he’s one of the hardest working civic leaders Edmonton has ever had. And now he’s 67 years old. The timing still strikes me as cowardly. The two showpieces of his administration […]
Record Store Reunion to celebrate coolest job ever
Like steam locomotive repairmen, harpsichord tuners and silent movie title card calligraphers, record store clerks are nearly extinct. People of the future will look back upon four decades, the 1960s to the 1990s, and no doubt have a few questions: What were “albums?” What’s a record store? Why was being a record store clerk such […]
COMMENT: Why Mayor Kerry Diotte would be good for Edmonton
That Kerry Diotte is running for mayor of Edmonton is exceedingly good news. He threw his hat into the ring for the Oct. 21 civic election at hastily assembled press conference Thursday. Full disclosure: I know the guy. I worked with him for more than 15 years at the Edmonton Sun, where he was one […]
