St. Albert news

• Convention centre merger to save Northlands still puts debt on Edmonton taxpayers

  27-06-2017 23:53 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  City council is finalizing details of a merger between Edmonton’s two conference centres — the Expo and the Shaw — that could save Northlands from collapse but won’t shelter taxpayers from its $47-million outstanding debt.
  “Eyes wide open, we know there is going to continue to be a cost to the community,” said Mayor Don Iveson, promising to release details about the deal before the election, as soon as negotiations are finalized.
  Council debated its next
  
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• Hail, hail, the gang's all here as Edmonton Oilers extend Eric Gryba for two years

  27-06-2017 21:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Breaking news from the Edmonton Oilers camp:With this signing along with last week’s extension of Kris Russell, the Oilers will see the return of their entire seven-man unit that finished last season. Last time that happened was, what, 1984-85?
  Gryba is not everyone’s cup of tea (this is Oil Country after all) but he brings some important attributes at a reasonable price. At 29 he’s got over 250 games of NHL experience, he’s big (6’4, 225), brings a consistent physi
  
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• Break free from cookie-cutter rentals with Tisbury Crossing

  27-06-2017 21:05 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Once Josh Maraboli and his girlfriend began apartment-hunting earlier this year, it didn’t take long for the young Edmonton couple to feel uninspired. Place after place seemed the same: dated interiors, cookie-cutter floorplans and cramped quarters. 
  “Just browsing for apartments, we saw that most aren’t modernized,” Maraboli says. “Even in ones that are pretty nice, it feels like everything is shoved to one side: you’ve got the dining room and living ro
  
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• Activists call for province-wide ban on street checks, justice minister promises guidelines

  27-06-2017 21:02 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Activists who dug up data showing a disproportionate number of indigenous women and black people among those “carded” by Edmonton police say it’s time for the province of Alberta to ban the controversial practice.
  Outside Edmonton police headquarters Tuesday, 9620 103A Ave., representatives of Black Lives Matter and the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW) said carding — where an officer stops a person without having the grounds to arrest or detain him
  
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• Edmonton Oilers re-sign Eric Gryba to two-year deal

  27-06-2017 20:50 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Defenceman Eric Gryba has re-signed with the Edmonton Oilers.
  The 29-year-old, was due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, signed a two-year deal worth $900,000 per season. The Saskatoon native had played with the Oilers the past two seasons. He was acquired during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft from the Ottawa Senators and, a season later, was signed to a one-year deal after attending 2016 training camp on a tryout.
  
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• Ahmed 'Knowmadic' Ali is Edmonton's newest poet laureate

  27-06-2017 20:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Edmonton’s newest poet laureate hopes to make the position an international hub. Announced Tuesday as the city’s seventh poet laureate, Ahmed ‘Knowmadic’ Ali has already met with organizers around the world in hope of setting up international poet exchanges — and says he’ll put in a bid to bring a national spoken-word festival to the city.
  “Becoming Edmonton’s Poet Laureate is beyond an honour and accomplishment,” said Ali. “It is a tes
  
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• World's smallest maple leaf created in Edmonton for Canada 150

  27-06-2017 19:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  One of this summer’s most unique Canada 150 items is a maple leaf so tiny that it’s not even visible to the naked eye.
  At ten nanometres in width, the leaf is 10,000 times smaller than a human hair and 53 million times smaller than the world’s largest maple leaf. It consists of just 32 atoms. A single human cell is estimated to have 100 trillion.
  The maple leaf was created by University of Alberta doctoral student Roshan Achal. He said in a press release that his team wanted to
  
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• Citizens urge Edmonton to step away from mega event bids

  27-06-2017 19:14 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  The Commonwealth Games can cost $1 billion, but they leave a legacy of pride, new sports venues and expose a host city to the world. 
  On Tuesday morning, councillors heard from a citizens’ panel convened to help the city be more strategic in these major event bids, including the possibility of a Commonwealth Games bid for 2026.
  Panel chair Reg Milley told council to focus efforts on single-sport signature and major events, such as the FIFA Womens’ World Cup, the ITU World Triath
  
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• Council to vote on whether to debate in private Northland's future

  27-06-2017 19:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Northlands will present council with a business plan to reinvent itself and create a new future Tuesday, but that plan may be debated behind closed doors.
  The 137-year-old agricultural society still has control of the Coliseum, the Expo Centre and the race tracks on its 160-acre site. But the city-backed facilities are losing money without the Edmonton Oilers and council has allowed the society to defer loan payments on a $47-million debt since last summer to give it room to breath.
  If it can&rs
  
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• Three-year-old boy dies after being struck by truck in Swan Hills

  27-06-2017 18:52 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  A three-year-old boy is dead after being hit by a pickup truck in a Swan Hills parking lot Monday night. 
  Swan Hills RCMP received a report that a pickup truck had driven over the boy around 7 p.m. Monday in the parking lot at the ball diamonds, said police in a Tuesday news release.
  The boy was transported to local hospital where he died of his injuries.
  The driver of the pickup truck did not immediately recognize what happened but did return to the scene, said RCMP.
  “This incident i
  
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• Council to vote on debating Northland's future in private

  27-06-2017 18:33 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Northlands will present council with a business plan to reinvent itself and create a new future Tuesday, but that plan may be debated behind closed doors.
  The 137-year-old agricultural society still has control of the Coliseum, the Expo Centre and the race tracks on its 160-acre site. But the city-backed facilities are losing money without the Edmonton Oilers and council has allowed the society to defer loan payments on a $47-million debt since last summer to give it room to breath.
  If it can&rs
  
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• Live: Citizens weigh in on Edmonton attempting to host the Commonwealth Games

  27-06-2017 18:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  The Commonwealth Games can cost $1 billion, but they leave a legacy of pride, new sports venues and expose a host city to the world. 
  On Tuesday morning, councillors will hear back from a citizens’ panel convened to help the city be more strategic in these major event bids, including the possibility of a Commonwealth Games bid for 2026.
  The panel is chaired by Reg Milley, former chair of the 2022 Commonwealth Games bid committee, and formed after Edmonton pulled out of that bid, citin
  
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• Pedestrian killed in early morning downtown collision

  27-06-2017 15:26 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  A pedestrian was killed in a downtown collision early Tuesday morning.
  Police said a 65-year-old man was struck by the driver of a vehicle at around 115 Street and Jasper Avenue at around 1 a.m.. The man was transported to hospital where he later died.
  Police said the collision was not a hit and run and no charges have been laid at this time. 
  The Edmonton Police Service major collision unit has taken over the investigation.
  
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• Black people, aboriginal women over-represented in 'carding' police stops

  27-06-2017 14:48 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Black and indigenous Edmontonians are more likely to be stopped and “carded” by police, a practice that local activists call racial profiling, but city police say helps suppress crime and assist in investigations. 
  Black Lives Matter Edmonton, the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women and the Stolen Sisters Awareness Movement are questioning the practice of street checks. 
  Bashir Mohamed, with Black Lives Matter, said new data the group obtained through a freedo
  
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• Tuesday's letters: Low Level Bridge an eyesore

  27-06-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  The city has spent millions of dollars on the new funicular installation. I wonder if there will be any money left for repainting the awful Low Level Bridge rust below it. The rust eating the bridge is an embarrassing sight for tens of thousands of us crossing it daily.
  Rudi Zacsko Sr., Edmonton
  Sexuality not formed by cookie-cutter
  As a Grade 6 student at a Catholic school in Edmonton, I was given a “comic” book describing suicide and how the person committing suicide would be banis
  
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• Opinion: Instead of denial, coal communities must look forward

  27-06-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Re. “Alberta government clearly has no plan for coal communities; Workers deserve respect, not vague promises,” Opinion, June 6
  In the midst of all the recent colourful political events south of the border, you might have easily missed an irony that Alberta would be wise to pay attention to.
  Even as the U.S. administration promised to roll back environmental regulations and climate commitments, U.S. coal plants continued to shut down. In fact, on the same day the U.S. pulled out of t
  
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• Editorial: Chinatown plan long time coming

  27-06-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Now that downtown is on the path to revitalization, thanks partly to Rogers Place and the budding Ice District enlivening a once bleak neighbourhood, it’s time to look a few blocks north and east where Chinatown also needs some overdue attention and action.
  The future of Chinatowns across North America is looking uncertain with rising rents, gentrification, declining resident populations and competition from suburban amenities. Edmonton’s Chinatown is no different. Its very survival
  
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• City court clerks file workload grievances as province fills some vacancies

  27-06-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Judicial clerks working at the Edmonton courthouse filed 35 workload grievances against the government this spring, as more than 110 administrative job vacancies remain in courts across the province. 
  Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) spokesman Tyler Bedford confirmed Monday that most of the grievances were initiated at the end of April, though a few were filed in late May.
  About 30 vacant administrative court positions exist in Edmonton, Alberta Justice said last week.
  Justice M
  
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• Coach Clare Drake finally gets his due, to be inducted in Hockey Hall of Fame

  27-06-2017 05:14 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Fantastic news Monday as Clare Drake, “the Coaches’ Coach”, has finally been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.To say this nomination is long overdue is an understatement, but the great news here is that not only has it finally happened, the honour has come during his lifetime. Coach Drake turns 89 later this year, and as the old saying goes, there are no guarantees. 
  In addition to his superb record coaching University of Alberta Golden Bears for 28 seasons, Drake has ex
  
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• Young Albertans need more protection from deadly tobacco, health coalition says

  27-06-2017 04:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  A health coalition that feels the Alberta government is prioritizing marijuana legislation over tobacco wants to see action taken to protect the province’s youth. 
  Representatives from the Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta gathered outside the Alberta legislature Monday to voice their concerns and launch a new mobilization campaign, Protect Alberta Kids From Tobacco.
  One concern is that implementation of the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act is being delayed while cannabis legisl
  
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• 'No one saw this coming, but yet we all saw it coming': Family, friends, fighters remember gentle giant Tim Hague

  27-06-2017 04:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Boyle — Friends, family members and fighters closest to Tim Hague packed into a community centre Monday in his northern Alberta hometown to remember the boxer’s life in sadness and in pride.
  More than 600 people filled the main hall in Boyle (pop. 880), the final standing-room-only event of Hague’s short, tumultuous life.
  Hague, 34, died June 18 after getting knocked out by Adam Braidwood in a heavyweight boxing match in Edmonton.
  All aspects of the fight are being reviewed by
  
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• Hockey Hall of Fame finally gets it right, to induct local coaching legend Clare Drake

  27-06-2017 03:44 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Fantastic news Monday as Clare Drake, “the Coaches’ Coach”, has finally been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.To say this nomination is long overdue is an understatement, but the great news here is that not only has it finally happened, the honour has come during his lifetime. Coach Drake turns 89 later this year, and as the old saying goes, there are no guarantees. 
  In addition to his superb record coaching University of Alberta Golden Bears for 28 seasons, Drake has ex
  
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• Edmonton Prolife denied a booth at K-Days raises questions about new vendor policy

  27-06-2017 03:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Edmonton Prolife has been denied a booth at next month’s K-Days festival, after having participated for the last 15 years.
  The group has retained the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which said Northlands is violating the group’s freedom of expression Charter rights because Northlands is, in its view, a government actor.
  In addition, the centre, which frequently supports free speech and right-of-centre causes, said in a letter to Northlands that Northlands’ posi
  
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• Protein found in saliva is related to human stress, U of A prof says

  27-06-2017 02:36 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  A new protein has been identified in the salivary glands of humans and is influenced by acute stress, feelings of negative mood and emotional distress.
  Dean Befus, a professor at the University of Alberta and a research leader for AllerGen, who funded the research, led three studies looking into the protein known as calcium-binding protein spermatid-specific 1 (CABS1) and how its levels relate to stress.
  The protein, which was previously only identified in the male reproductive system, exhibits
  
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• Paula Simons: No justice for victims nor accused when courts can't do their work

  27-06-2017 02:17 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Blair Jason Hinkley of Ponoka was charged with aggravated sexual assault on Feb. 3, 2014.
  According to testimony from his preliminary hearing, his ex-girlfriend required emergency surgery and multiple blood transfusions.
  But the case never went to trial. First, the RCMP failed to disclose pertinent documents on time. A mistrial was declared. A new trial was scheduled for December 2016, almost three years after the alleged offence.
  While Hinkley and his accuser were waiting — and waiting &m
  
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• Fracking rarely linked to earthquakes, U of A professor says

  27-06-2017 01:57 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Hydraulic fracturing has had limited impact on the rising number of earthquakes in Alberta, according to research led by a University of Alberta professor and geophysicist. 
  There has been substantial hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in Alberta since the 1950s and the earthquake rate has increased slightly, but Mirko Van der Baan said Monday this is happening in very specific clusters. 
  Looking at the numbers, he said between 170,000 and 180,000 hydraulic fracturing treatm
  
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• Terry Jones: Finally, Clare Drake gets his due: membership in the Hockey Hall of Fame

  27-06-2017 01:35 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  The reaction was the same from thousands and thousands of people around the hockey world.
  “About @#$*&% time!”
  Clare Drake has finally been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
  It was not only about time, it was in time.
  He’s 88 now, Papa Bear, and in failing health. There’s some concern that Drake, who has been in extended care for two years, won’t be able to make it to Toronto for the induction in November.
  But Monday, Drake finally got the phone call. And I kn
  
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• Edmonton Eskimos lose JC Sherritt to injury for rest of 2017 CFL season

  27-06-2017 00:04 via edmontonjournal.com
  
  Make it two starting linebackers out for the season for the Edmonton Eskimos.
  JC Sherritt, the Esks’ defensive captain and starter at middle linebacker, is finished for 2017 after rupturing the Achilles tendon in his left leg during the season-opening Edmonton win over the host B.C. Lions on Saturday. The team lost Cory Greenwood, a Canadian who was pegged to start at WIL linebacker alongside Sherritt, early in the Canadian Football League team’s training camp with a torn anterior cr
  
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