St. Albert news

• Guilty plea in homicide case where man's body discovered in ditch

  12-01-2018 23:40 via edmontonjournal.com
  Austin Southworth, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Friday for his role in violently beating a man with a baseball bat and leaving him to die in an Edmonton ditch over a debt owed to a sex worker.
  “Brad did not deserve this,” Southworth said as he read an apology after details of the case were heard in Court of Queen’s Bench.
  Brad MacDonald, 37, was found dead in a ditch near Stony Plain Road and Winterburn Road on April 10, 2016.
  According to an agreed statement of facts, Ma
  
  Read more

• A chat with first CEO of Edmonton Screen Industries Office, filmmaker Josh Miller

  12-01-2018 22:26 via edmontonjournal.com
  Last month, Josh Miller began his job as the first CEO of the new Edmonton Screen Industries Office — a rethink and update of the city’s film commission. Absorb the organization’s name to sense its new mandate beyond TV and film into the digital future.
  The call for the inaugural screen industries office boss went out across North America, yet Edmonton-born Miller won its board over with his encourage-local vision and resume, which includes degrees in English and drama, fi
  
  Read more

• Wine column: Cold weather calls for robust red wines to pair with hearty stew or roast

  12-01-2018 22:25 via edmontonjournal.com
  With plunging temperatures and snow in the forecast, I reach out for inspiration from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking — specifically to chapter seven, Braised Beef.
  Canadian winter is the time to choose robust red wines that only pair with heartier dishes, such as beef stews and roasted red meats. The next step is to select a wine that I’ll add to the dish — and to my glass.
  Tender, braised beef cooked at a lower temperature results in a dish with layers
  
  Read more

• Dining Out: Top marks for design at Holy Roller while food leaves room for improvement

  12-01-2018 22:25 via edmontonjournal.com
  There was a time, not so long ago, when Edmonton was a relative bargain place to dine on the continent with a surprising variety of worthy culinary and potable options on offer for not much more than a song. Savvy travellers from other locales would often remark favourably on this Canadian anomaly, especially those who hit River City after pricier stops in Vancouver and Calgary.
  The one aspect the city lacked then was the design sense common to those and other larger, if comparable, centres. Bac
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The Humans reveals the inner workings of the family

  12-01-2018 21:59 via edmontonjournal.com
  Every generation is different from the next. But in Stephan Karam’s The Humans, the gap between the sixty-something parents and their adult children is less of a chasm, and more of a joint abyss.
  Even as Erik and Deirdre Blake (played beautifully in this Citadel production by both Ric Reid and Laurie Paton) suffer their own late-life crisis in the form of bad knees and tetchy backs, their daughters are struggling with careers and relationships that are far from smooth. Platitudes passed fr
  
  Read more

• Edmonton Oilers' epic scoring drought threatens to put Decade of Darkness in the shade

  12-01-2018 21:37 via edmontonjournal.com
  Game Day 45: Oilers at Coyotes
  Of all the things that potentially could go wrong with the Edmonton Oilers, scoring goals wasn’t supposed to be one. After all the club features the NHL’s reigning scoring champion and MVP, Connor McDavid, to build around, surrounded by a variety of players with a history of scoring from rising stars like Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to veterans Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, and even Mike Cammalleri. All six of these guys have scored at least 2
  
  Read more

• Pump prices continue to creep higher in Alberta

  12-01-2018 20:19 via edmontonjournal.com
  While gas prices in Edmonton and Calgary continue to rise, they are still well below the national average, data from GasBuddy.com showed Friday.
  The average price rose from around $1.03.6/litre last week to close to $1.09.6/litre this week in Edmonton. Calgary saw an increase from around $1.07/litre to $1.13.1/litre. 
  Three-month average retail price chart in Edmonton (blue), Calgary (red) and Canada (green).
  The current prices are the highest they have been since Dec. 21, 2017, but as the
  
  Read more

• Edmonton Journal on Twitter as truck attack unfolded, Sept. 30-Oct. 1

  12-01-2018 19:29 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton Journal staff were very active on Twitter in the minutes and hours following the Sept 30 attack where a police officer was stabbed and four pedestrians were run down on Jasper Avenue. Here is how the Journal’s Twitter coverage unfolded.
  At 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, a police officer had been hit by a car and stabbed near Commonwealth Stadium. Crime reporter Catherine Griwkowsky heard the call on the police scanner and emailed editor-in-chief Mark Iype, and then headed
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Edmonton truck attack suspect deemed fit to stand trial

  12-01-2018 19:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  The man accused of running down an Edmonton police officer and four pedestrians on Sept. 30 has been found fit to stand trial after an assessment at Alberta Hospital.
  However, it will take another 30 days to assess whether he was mentally stable at the time of the attacks. 
  Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, appeared in court by phone on Friday morning from Alberta Hospital, where he was ordered to undergo two mental health-related assessments.
  A fitness to stand trial assessment found that Sharif
  
  Read more

• Red Deer RCMP cocaine bust one of largest seizures in recent years

  12-01-2018 19:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  RCMP seized more than one kilogram of cocaine — with a street value in excess of $80,000 — in one of the largest seizures of the drug in Red Deer in recent years, Mounties said Friday. 
  Drug investigators arrested the suspect during a traffic stop in a north Red Deer parking lot on Jan. 4 following a month long probe and a sweep of the suspect’s Highland Green apartment that same day resulted in the seizure of drugs and “paraphernalia consistent with drug traffi
  
  Read more

• Edmonton truck attack suspect scheduled for court appearance

  12-01-2018 15:26 via edmontonjournal.com
  The suspect in the Sept. 30 attack on a city police officer near Commonwealth Stadium and four pedestrians on Jasper Avenue is scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning.
  Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, last appeared in court on Dec. 12 when the case was adjourned until Friday due to a shortage of hospital beds following a mental health review ordered in November.
  Karanpal Aujla, the defence lawyer in the case, said the earliest Sharif could be assessed was on Dec. 14.
  The mental health asse
  
  Read more

• Extreme cold warning remains, warmer temperatures are on the horizon

  12-01-2018 15:04 via edmontonjournal.com
  Friday is expected to be the last of a multi-day episode of cold wind-chills and teeth-chattering temperatures.
  Extreme Cold warnings remain in place for much of the province.
  An extreme cold warning remains in place for the City of Edmonton, but Environment Canada expects temperatures to “moderate” bringing an end to the cold snap that has plagued much of the province.
  Temperatures at 6 a.m. tipped in at -27 C with a 5 km/h wind contributing to a -33 C windchill. However, the wind i
  
  Read more

• Union president applauds firing of Edmonton correctional officers

  12-01-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The firing of four correctional officers — including two managers — shows Correctional Service Canada is finally taking bullying, abuse of power and harassment at Edmonton’s maximum security prison seriously, says the head of a union representing prison employees.  
  “Over the years, you always get employees that are released because of excessive use of force or inappropriate behaviour,” Stan Stapleton, who worked at Edmonton Institution for two decades an
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Outsiders must oversee cultural change at Edmonton Institution

  12-01-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  On Monday, Correctional Service Canada confirmed that it had terminated two correctional officers and two managers at the maximum-security prison, Edmonton Institution, after launching an investigation this past summer.
  The investigation was instigated by an independent workplace assessment which found widespread sexual harassment and bullying among employees.  
  The independent assessment revealed that a “culture of bullying and harassment” had become firmly entrenched at E
  
  Read more

• Friday's letters: Motorists becoming second-class citizens

  12-01-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  When driving to downtown the other day, I was flummoxed to see so many signs saying “Yield to cyclists.” Are cyclists not to obey the same rules as motorists? Am I behind times and have cyclists now got licences and insurance?
  The way things are going I expect that there will be signs put up that say, “No motor vehicles” downtown.
  Patricia Dunnill, Edmonton
  Industrial pollution unbearable 
  We live in northeast Edmonton, in the community of Fraser. Mostly it’s a
  
  Read more

• Editorial: Time's up, city hall

  12-01-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  To borrow a rallying cry from the #MeToo movement, time’s up on the culture of harassment pervading City of Edmonton workplaces.
  There can be no doubt there is a serious problem with various forms of abuse pervading many of the offices and job sites where the city’s 14,000 full-time employees work.
  A detailed set of workplace-complaint data released late Wednesday confirmed what a city auditor’s report found last fall, that nearly 20 per cent of the city’s workforce repor
  
  Read more

• Bonnie Doon mall owners plan major redevelopment

  12-01-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre is facing a major overhaul that will include building high-density housing, shops and improved connections to a nearby Valley Line LRT station.
  While few details about the proposal have been released, a rezoning document submitted to the city in December by facility owner Morguard Investments Ltd. says development of the 12-hectare site will help Edmonton’s plans for more sustainable growth.
  “The redevelopment proposal and rezoning application present Edmo
  
  Read more

• Edmonton Minor Hockey Week: Memories of a Coach, 2011-18

  12-01-2018 06:59 via edmontonjournal.com
  I’ve been writing about minor hockey and Edmonton Minor Hockey Week for years now. Here’s my latest column, with links to past ones as well.
  Now that Christmas and New Year’s are over, Edmonton moves on to its great winter festival, Edmonton Minor Hockey Week. 
  Thousands of players on hundreds of teams will take centre stage in the Jan. 12-21 hockey fest, all of them guided by several thousand coaches, some of the coaches outstanding, some mediocre, almost all complete hoc
  
  Read more

• Victim in serious condition after Highlands stabbing

  12-01-2018 06:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  A victim was hospitalized with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, after a stabbing Thursday in the Highlands neighbourhood.
  Officers were at the scene near 113 Avenue and 58 Street around 9 p.m., putting police tape around houses in the area and knocking on doors.
  The victim was in hospital and Edmonton police were still seeking a suspect, according to northeast division acting Staff Sgt. Roger Bellerose.
  Several police vehicles were stationed at points along 112 Avenue and police canin
  
  Read more

• Investigators, city to probe 85 cases of harassment against city employees

  12-01-2018 05:49 via edmontonjournal.com
  Eighty-five cases of alleged harassment among city employees are under investigation, officials said Thursday.
  “That’s our challenge, to do right by all those people … We’re committed to doing that,” said city manager Linda Cochrane, giving an update to reporters on the number of employees who have come forward with complaints since Postmedia broke the story in November.
  Interim third-party consultant Paula Drouin heard from 194 distraught or concerned employees af
  
  Read more

• STARS lottery hopes for easier flight for fundraising effort

  12-01-2018 04:41 via edmontonjournal.com
  Alberta STARS Air Ambulance officials are hoping for a quicker lottery liftoff after a few years of recession-challenged fundraising.
  The life-saving service launched its annual lottery campaign Thursday, an effort aiming to raise up to $12 million, or about one-third of its budget, said spokesman Mike Haska.
  “That’s the equivalent of the cost of running one of our three Alberta bases,” he said.
  Buffeted by the economic downturn, the lottery fell just short of a sellout last ye
  
  Read more

• One dead in semi-truck crash on Highway 2 near Lacombe

  12-01-2018 04:16 via edmontonjournal.com
  One person is dead after one semi-truck crashed into another semi-truck on Highway 2 near Lacombe, Alta., around 4 p.m. on Thursday.
  One semi-truck rear-ended another semi-truck that was parked on the side of Highway 2, said RCMP Cpl. Ronald Bumbry on Thursday evening.
  At 8 p.m. Thursday, traffic on Highway 2 southbound was being rerouted to Highway 2A near Lacombe. Northbound traffic in the area was also affected as RCMP collision analysts remained on scene.
  There were no other injuries, B
  
  Read more

• Man gets jail for 'stupid' gun play that resulted in friend's death

  12-01-2018 03:04 via edmontonjournal.com
  A man whose friend was fatally shot while the pair played with a handgun was sentenced to 18 months in jail Thursday.
  Dallas Charles Edlund, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing bodily harm with a firearm and one count of pointing a handgun in the 2015 fatal shooting of his “best friend,” Brandon Neil Campbell.
  According to an agreed statement of facts entered with the court, Campbell, 21, Edlund and Edlund’s 16-year-old girlfriend were drinking rum and smoking ma
  
  Read more

• Edmonton to discuss playing host to FIFA World Cup in 2026

  12-01-2018 02:42 via edmontonjournal.com
  Hoping to deliver a kick to cash registers and set them ringing, the city of Edmonton is scheduled to discuss participating in a bid to be host city of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 
  The community and public services committee hopes city council will approve a bid to host 2026 FIFA matches in Edmonton, bringing in an estimated US$170 million in economic impact, according to a report to be discussed at the committee meeting on Jan. 17. 
  The committee will also discuss bid timelines, requirem
  
  Read more

• David Staples: Our great winter festival — Edmonton Minor Hockey Week — is finally here

  12-01-2018 02:41 via edmontonjournal.com
  Now that Christmas and New Year’s are over, Edmonton moves on to its great winter festival, Edmonton Minor Hockey Week. 
  Thousands of players on hundreds of teams will take centre stage in the Jan. 12-21 hockey fest, all of them guided by several thousand coaches, some of the coaches outstanding, some mediocre, almost all complete hockey fanatics.
  I speak on the character of coaches with some authority, having been around minor hockey for two decades and having been a head and assista
  
  Read more

• Investigators to probe 62 cases of harassment against city employees

  12-01-2018 02:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  Investigators have been hired to look into 62 cases of alleged harassment, Edmonton’s city manager announced Thursday.
  “That’s our challenge, to do right by all those people … We’re committed to doing that,” said city manager Linda Cochrane, giving an update to reporters on the number of employees who have come forward with complaints since Postmedia broke the story in November.
  Cochrane said interim third-party consultant Paula Drouin received 190 calls from
  
  Read more

• Education Minister David Eggen blasts United Conservative Party's draft ideas for education policy

  12-01-2018 01:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  A planning document outlining policy ideas United Conservative Party members may discuss shows the party and its leader want to weaken Alberta’s public education system, Education Minister David Eggen said Thursday.
  “The devolution of public school boards is a clear nod to American-style privatization of education. Everyone should be concerned about this,” Eggen, an NDP cabinet minister, said in an interview.
  A draft policy framework circulated to UCP members last week includes
  
  Read more

• Peter Chiarelli hangs out "fire sale" sign as Edmonton Oilers look to move on from Anton Slepyshev

  12-01-2018 00:23 via edmontonjournal.com
  It sounds like the Edmonton Oilers are ready to part company with young winger Anton Slepyshev. This according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, who tweeted Thursday:Very curious timing for this move, given the closing sentence in Spector’s tweet. Slepyshev was fully under club control and waiver exempt until he reached the magic number of 80 NHL games, including playoffs. As such he was part of a couple of paper transactions where he was removed from the roster to make room for other players,
  
  Read more

• Disturbing footage shows two pedestrians struck by van in hit and run

  12-01-2018 00:19 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton police have released shocking video of two pedestrians being hit by a van in December as officers continue to hunt for the driver responsible.
  On Dec. 13, a 49-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk near 96 Street and 71 Avenue around 5 p.m. when they were run down by a white van.
  “This video clearly shows the suspect vehicle striking the two pedestrians and leaving the scene of the collision,” Const. Pauline Westman, with the EPS
  
  Read more

• Fire in suite displaces McCauley apartment residents

  12-01-2018 00:16 via edmontonjournal.com
  Residents of an apartment building in Edmonton’s McCauley neighbourhood were displaced by a small fire in a third-floor suite Thursday. 
  Edmonton fire rescue crews were called to the apartment at 100 Street and 106 Avenue at 1:51 p.m. after a call about fire alarms ringing at Capital Tower.  
  They arrived a few minutes later and found smoke and a small fire in a suite. Seven crews were on scene. 
  The fire was declared extinguished at 2:07 p.m.
  With temperatures around -
  
  Read more

• Edmonton is not Mario Kart: 191 collisions reported on Thursday

  12-01-2018 00:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton police are asking drivers to slow down and drive to conditions as collisions piled up all day.
  Drivers reported 191 collisions to Edmonton Police between 6 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Thursday, 11 of which involved injuries. 
  There were 10 hit and run collisions and 170 property damage collisions.
  Earlier in the day police tweeted: “Edmonton is not a level in Mario Kart. Our roads are not race tracks. There is no winner. And if you slip off the road, a Ko
  
  Read more

• City to consider combative sport review next week

  12-01-2018 00:06 via edmontonjournal.com
  Alberta’s combative sports community, city council and members of the public will next week get the chance to weigh in on a report into the death of boxer Tim Hague.
  The 130-plus page, two-volume report prepared by Alberta-based consultant MNP LLP and released late last year details the circumstances surrounding Hague’s death in June and makes 18 recommendations to improve fighter safety, increase oversight and monitoring and ultimately calls for the establishment of a provincial&nbs
  
  Read more

Follow @StAlbertNews on Twitter!