Who killed the friendly neighbourhood mall?
Capilano area blades remain dull because no one at the local mall sharpens knives anymore. The coffee shop is long gone, so is the hobby store, plus the shoe store. The funky little curio shoppe run by the guy with the messed up face is a distant memory. Capilano Mall is the saddest mall in […]
Race to digitize past going strong in Edmonton
The campaign is well underway to digitize Edmonton history – music, films, photos, news-paper clippings, you name it. As you read this, someone, somewhere in town is busy scanning, burning or posting area lore on the Internet, and at this rate the sum of human knowledge in the entirety of recorded history will be catalogued […]
ART: Medium inspires message in Giuseppe Albi abstracts
As soon as you come through the door of the Peter Robertson Gallery, a big, lustrous, luminous abstract painting jumps off the canvas as though backlit. Broad strokes of blue and green glide across the surface adjacent to a vertical bar that first appears to be a deep rose – but then, it magically changes […]
YEAR OF THE SNAKE: ‘Good year for business’
Are you thoughtful, wise, rational, clever and good with money, sometimes stingy and conceited, but insightful and intuitive, or born in the years 2001, 1989 or 1977 (or 1965, 1953 or 1941)? Then you may just be a snake – and this is your year. The Year of the Snake starts today, Feb. 10, 2013. […]
MARIJUANA: Canada unlikely to react to U.S. legalized states, say experts
If you’re hoping to fire one up at a marijuana café near you any time soon, don’t get your hopes up: experts in Canada’s marijuana trade say legalizing the drug in a pair of U.S. states won’t lead to significant policy changes in Canada this year. They expect the federal government will stick with its […]
In Alberta, a government-approved disaster monthly
If you just looked at the numbers, you might think Alberta is one of the most dangerous places on the planet: after all, the number of natural disasters declared here has increased seventeen-fold in the last 12 years. Floods, fires, hail storms, acts of God that crippled entire industries. We’ve got it all. But critics […]
POLL: Canadians want PM’s powers limited
Canadians believe the law should place greater restrictions on the powers of the Prime Minister and other legislative leaders, a new national survey suggests. The Harris/Decima Research poll was conducted on behalf of the pro-Democracy lobby group Your Canada, Your Constitution (YCYC). The survey asked 2,013 Canadians ages 18 or older whether they agreed or […]
Listeners react to CKUA changes: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
CKUA’s decision to axe its local news programming is troubling enough – but the cancellation of Folk Routes has caused a storm of outrage. Tom Coxworth, host of the popular weekly roots program and fixture of Alberta’s folk music scene, is in limbo. Social media erupted with protests following Monday’s announcement. Some listeners have even […]
GOV’T: Unregistered Alberta burial sites remain unprotected
It may shock you to know that if a farmer has an undiscovered native burial site on his land, he can legally plow it under, five years after Alberta promised to protect unincorporated cemeteries. But the issue isn’t going away. Critics note the upcoming renovation or replacement of the Walterdale Bridge in downtown Edmonton will […]
ETHICS: Tobacco probe blowing smoke, says expert
Multiple loopholes in Alberta ethics law guarantee Premier Alison Redford can’t be punished by the province’s ethics commissioner for awarding a contract to her ex-husband while she was still justice minister, says a legal expert. The multi-million-dollar contract Redford awarded to her ex-husband’s legal firm Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes gave it the responsibility of […]
ECOLOGY: Butterflies in Edmonton, explained
University of Alberta entomologist John Acorn knows a whole lot about butterflies. “Their numbers fluctuate a great deal and that can be pretty confusing, but in general the common species are always common, but the rarer species are still here,” he says. Acorn’s specialty means he realized the potential for last summer’s butterfly explosion in Edmonton. […]
CRIME: Review faces tough choices on money laundering
If anyone ever needed proof that money laundering goes on in Canada, they’d only have to look at the scrutiny Quebec’s corrupt construction industry is facing: task forces, hearings, trials, shady payoffs to bureaucrats. It’s like the Sopranos moved to La Belle Province. And our national record for fighting money laundering over the last decade? […]
