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 […]
EXIT INTERVIEW: Outgoing EAC boss still curious
John Mahon says he’s “probably going to go back to music” after leaving his post as executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council. “That’s where I go when I empty my mind. That’s where I drift.” Makes perfect sense. He was a classically trained musician before taking the city’s most high-profile arts administration job in […]
PARKING METER FAIRY STRIKES EDMONTON!
“Am I too late to save him?!” The breathless Parking Meter Fairy runs to catch a parking enforcement officer about to ticket an illegally parked car. The officer stops writing and mutters, “You could.” Oh, thank you, Parking Patrol Officer. Clink, clink, clink, clink go four magic quarters into the expired parking meter – good […]
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION: GigCity wins arts Yeggie
GigCity is honoured to have been named “Best in Arts and Culture” at the first annual Yeggies – the Edmonton New Media Awards. The prizes were handed out on May 5 at the Shaw Conference Centre for a crowd of savvy social media enthusiasts, who enjoyed a multi-media show produced and emceed by Trent Wilke […]
LEDUC RADIO: New country station declares undeclared war on CISN
There hasn’t been a serious challenger to CISN radio’s hot country hegemony in decades of Edmonton Radio. That’s all about to change with Tuesday’s launch of “93.1 FM The One” in Leduc. This is war – and the funny thing is that neither opponent will ever declare it openly, because that’s just the way radio […]
Don’t cry for New City, Edmonton, it’s the cycle of life
If you go back about 25 years to remember Edmonton’s best live music bars, the landscape is unrecognizable: People’s Pub, the Grinder, Boiler Lounge, Sidetrack Café – all gone, their very names meaningless to younger folk perhaps more familiar with places like the Starlite Room or the Pawn Shop. Point being that the recent closing […]
King Ralph had it in for Edmonton – for our own good!
I only met Ralph Klein once, back in 1992, before he was on the verge of grabbing the Conservative leadership title away from Tory Golden Girl Nancy Betkowski. It was a wintery night at the K-97-CJCA radio studios, where I was working late as a special projects coordinator for K-97, and as I left through […]
Meet the new boss of the Edmonton Arts Council!
It’s a no-brainer that Paul Moulton has been chosen to be the new executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council – he was the volunteer chairman of the organization when it started in 1996. “There’s something circular about this,” he says. You said it, buddy. There always is in this town. Locals in the arts […]
April Fool’s prank goes awry! Dozens outraged!
Baby boomers born and raised in Edmonton still talk about an epic April Fool’s joke played by 630 CHED, which in the early ‘70s was the only station everyone listened to: Ed-Tel will blow all the dust out of the phone lines at precisely 7:30 am on April 1, so the public is warned to […]
Where will Rihanna get her Canadian weed?
When Rihanna came to Edmonton in 2011, there was said to be distinct reek of pot backstage at Rexall Place. One Edmonton police officer on duty that night described a “fog” in the hallway outside the dressing rooms. The cops held their noses and looked the other way. Busting a headliner for weed 30 minutes […]
Make Something Edmonton made in Edmonton – so far, so good
Here’s a small sign you might doing something right in your town: When the Mayor forms a task force based on your idea. So it is with local writer and neo-marketing guru Todd Babiak, whose “Make Something Edmonton” project will turn into an $800,000 campaign to help Edmontonians develop a better attitude towards Edmonton. The […]
Mike Plume performs tribute at Stompin’ Tom memorial
Last Wednesday, Canada lost the great Stompin’ Tom Connors, King of Canadiana, everyman chronicler of Canadian history and life, the Johnny Cash of his country. A nation mourns. On Thursday morning down in Nashville, former Edmontonian Mike Plume was lamenting the loss of what he called a “father” figure when he was struck by a […]
