St. Albert news

• 10 things to do in Edmonton this week: Art show, book launch and youth orchestra

  28-02-2018 23:53 via edmontonjournal.com
  Amy Shark
  Australian indie-pop sensation Amy Shark is forgoing the summer down under to tour our frigid lands this March, hitting town with her acclaimed first EP, Night Thinker, in tow. The Queensland-born singer-songwriter made an impact back in 2016 with her single Adore, going triple platinum in her home country and making an impressive Top 40 dent on the American charts, helped along by an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Opening is Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter MIL
  
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• SkirtsAfire Festival officially starts March 8 — but it's already on

  28-02-2018 23:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  For its sixth year, the annual SkirtsAfire Festival is embracing the revolutionary cultural zeitgeist of helping every voice possible be heard.
  At a multimedia launch at the Nina Haggerty Gallery on Monday, the fest’s director, Annette Loiselle, announced that as SkirtsAfire officially launches on International Women’s Day, March 8, “our theme this year is international women.”
  She immediately gave a sincere and unscripted acknowledgement to living on Treaty 6 land, circl
  
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• Wildlife: TJ McLachlan's art clicks with downtown's endless construction

  28-02-2018 23:15 via edmontonjournal.com
  On the southeast corner of the Kelly Ramsay Building/Enbridge Centre at Rice Howard Way and 100A Street, there’s a new breakfast restaurant promised. It recently seemed like OEB Breakfast Company was moving in fast, as infrastructure of a strange sort took shape in the long-anticipated space, which had been unused since a 2009 fire chased the tenants — then the original building itself — away.
  But behind the recently de-papered glass of the new skyscraper with the old building&
  
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• Latin, blues and roots takes you home

  28-02-2018 23:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  Latin jazz played well can be soothing and exciting, almost addictive.
  Marc Beaudin knows. He’s the gifted bassist, guitarist, arranger and composer who leads a couple of different bands in separate shows this week, mining different Latin beats.
  What’s the attraction to Latin grooves?
  “It’s the rhythmic power,” Beaudin argues. “It’s music you can move to and feel in your soul.”
  Thursday it’s a tribute to the 1962 release by saxophonist Stan G
  
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• Reductions to pharmacists' fees to save Alberta $150 million, government says

  28-02-2018 22:45 via edmontonjournal.com
  Alberta Health says it will save $150 million over the next two years through a new “funding framework” with the province’s pharmacists that will see a number of fees reduced and capped starting in May.
  The agreement announced Wednesday is designed to help slow the growth of the province’s increasingly expensive health budget, but could also deliver a significant financial hit to pharmacists who say they are already being squeezed by a recent reduction in generic drug pri
  
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• Jobs up, deficit down: Ceci unveils fiscal sunshine for Alberta

  28-02-2018 22:44 via edmontonjournal.com
  After two years of fiscal updates that landed anywhere between sad and downright depressing, Alberta’s latest fiscal update forecasts lower unemployment, economic growth and a $1.4-billion drop in the deficit.
  Finance Minister Joe Ceci released the third-quarter figures Wednesday in Edmonton.
  The update revises real GDP growth up to 4.5 per cent — the highest it has been since 2014. It’s expected to continue its climb by 2.8 per cent in 2018.
  Borrowing is expected to drop by ar
  
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• Feds doing all it can to push Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: Sohi

  28-02-2018 21:32 via edmontonjournal.com
  Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi responded to critics Wednesday by saying the federal government is doing everything in its control to ensure the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is built.
  Although Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci called for “real action” on the pipeline, which wasn’t mentioned in this week’s federal budget, Sohi said the project is important to his government.
  “The reason there’s no mention of the pipeline in the budget is because the
  
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• Mother found not criminally responsible for killing daughter

  28-02-2018 20:32 via edmontonjournal.com
  A woman who admitted to killing her daughter while in the midst of a psychotic episode was found not criminally responsible for the death on Wednesday.
  Christine Longridge cried as Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Wayne Renke described Rachael Longridge’s death as a “catastrophe” after finding that the mother believed she had “moral authority” to take her daughter’s life.
  Court earlier heard that Christine Longridge admitted that she intended to kill her d
  
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• Investment in commercial real estate expected to rise in 2018: Report

  28-02-2018 19:54 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton’s commercial real estate market is projected to be a winner in 2018.
  According to the CBRE’s 2018 Canadian Real Estate Market Outlook report released Wednesday, investment in Edmonton’s commercial real estate is expected to rise 6.5 per cent in 2018 with investments totaling more than $2.5 billion, up from $2.3 billion in investments in 2017 and $2.4 billion in 2016.
  Investments in industrial properties are expected to lead the way, with a 71 per cent increase year-ove
  
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• Illegal cannabis operation busts net charges including causing a child to be drug endangered

  28-02-2018 19:50 via edmontonjournal.com
  A man and woman are facing a string of charges including causing a child to be drug endangered after several illegal cannabis operation busts across the city, say police.
  Officers from the the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) unit executed several warrants Feb. 2, including one at a commercial address near 109 Avenue and 156 Street, seizing cannabis, seeds, oil, shatter, edibles such as cookies and candies — even dog treats — with an estimated street value of $50,000.
  Invest
  
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• Parents upset about proposed move of gifted program to school with religious program

  28-02-2018 18:52 via edmontonjournal.com
  A proposal to move a program for gifted children to a public school offering only a Christian program has upset some Edmonton parents.
  With McKernan Elementary-Junior High School crowded and turning some students away, Edmonton public school district planners would like to move the “extensions” elementary program to Queen Alexandra School, about nine blocks east.
  Parent Rachel Hertz Cobb said she was shocked to look at Queen Alexandra’s website and find it offers only the Logos
  
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• Talk Back: Ben Henderson wrestles with honest climate change response

  28-02-2018 17:40 via edmontonjournal.com
  On climate change – it’s much easier to make targets than to follow through. 
  That’s been Edmonton’s experience, says Coun. Ben Henderson, who will join Edmonton Talk Back at noon Wednesday to discuss the way forward.
  Ten years ago, council set an ambitious set of targets for 2018 and pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050.
  Then the city’s population boomed. It built more recreation centres and fire stations, bought a much larger parks and roads fleet. At the sam
  
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• Abandoned animals rescued from West Edmonton Mall pet store

  28-02-2018 17:29 via edmontonjournal.com
  A public complaint has led to the Edmonton Humane Society seizing a large number of animals from a pet store in West Edmonton Mall, the group said Wednesday.
  An undisclosed number of animals, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, were rescued Tuesday from the store after it was thought the animals had been abandoned. 
  An animal protections services officer said the animals must now undergo a mandatory hold period at which point the humane society can determine what
  
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• Tailgating accounts for 37 per cent of collisions on Edmonton streets

  28-02-2018 16:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  Sometimes we all need a little space — but especially when we’re on the road.
  City staff released a report Tuesday notifying drivers of the top 10 Edmonton collision hot spots in 2017 where tailgating numbers seem to spike, including locations on Yellowhead Trail, 34 Avenue, Rabbit Hill Road, 23 Avenue, and 170 Street.
  According to city data, more than 8,900 vehicle collisions are a direct result of drivers following too closely, making up 37 per cent of total vehicle collisions
  
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• Dancing with fire takes 'confidence and persistence'

  28-02-2018 16:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  “I definitely love fire. I think that with most people there is sort of an inherent primal fascination with it,” says fire dancer Daniel Tamagi. “Just the way it moves, it seems to have a life of its own.”
  Tamagi is a member of Transflowmation Entertainment, an Edmonton-based flow arts group who describe their shows as a synergy of movement, light and music.
  “My favourite thing about the flow arts and fire dancing in general is to some extent the empowerment associa
  
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• Edmonton weather: Hello sun my old friend

  28-02-2018 15:02 via edmontonjournal.com
  Wednesday’s weather is sunny with temperatures hovering around 0 C. 
  At 7 a.m. it was -7 C.
  Today: Mainly sunny, high of 0 C.
  Tonight: Clear with increasing cloudiness overnight, low of -8 C.
  Tomorrow: Cloudy, with a 30 per cent chance of snow late in the afternoon. A 30 kilometre per hour wind gusting to 50 in the morning. High of -4 C. 
  Tomorrow night: Periods of snow, low of -8 C.
  Traffic updates
  Before you head out the door, see our live traffic map for updates.
  
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• Judge to rule on criminal responsibility of mother who killed daughter

  28-02-2018 14:03 via edmontonjournal.com
  Family and supporters of a woman who admitted to killing her daughter were expecting a judge to decide Wednesday if she is criminally responsible for the death.
  Earlier this month, Christine Longridge pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the December 2016 slaying of her 21-year-old daughter, Rachael Longridge.
  Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Wayne Renke is expected to deliver his verdict Wednesday morning. 
  Though Christine Longridge admitted that by stabbing her daughter she
  
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• Wednesday's letters: Navy supply ship needs defence capability

  28-02-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Remember that Canadian navy officer that was “suspended” and not charged, the one that Trudeau said publicly “was guilty?” The one that is still not before any courts?
  That civilian ship that he ensured was converted to a navy supply vessel is ready to go and Trudeau will not install any guns or defence mechanisms on it to save some money. Navy personnel and civilians serving onboard obviously have no right to defend themselves when going into conflict zones to re-supply.
  
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• Editorial: Class sizes still matter

  28-02-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The government of Alberta paid out $293 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year to Alberta’s school boards to reduce the number of students in classrooms. This same program has received $2.7 billion since it began in 2004.
  For all the good that this vast sum has done as it failed to achieve its intended purpose, the province might as well have slapped paste on those dollars and used them to paper classroom walls or shovelled them into blazing boilers to heat our schools. Those are wild exaggera
  
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• Player grades: Lousy middle period sinks Edmonton Oilers in Shark Tank

  28-02-2018 11:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  Oilers 2, Sharks 5
  Edmonton Oilers played two decent periods in San Jose on Tuesday night, but came undone in a sloppy middle frame that saw the Sharks score four unanswered goals, triggering a 5-2 decision for the home side.
  While the Sharks were the better team on the night, this was a game that turned on a shameful missed call when new Shark Evander Kane crosschecked Matt Benning face first into the boards leaving the Oil defender in a twisted heap about ten feet in front of Referee #24 who c
  
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• Player grades: Lousy second period in Shark Tank sinks Edmonton Oilers

  28-02-2018 11:09 via edmontonjournal.com
  Oilers 2, Sharks 5
  Edmonton Oilers played two decent periods in San Jose on Tuesday night, but came undone in a sloppy middle frame that saw the Sharks score four unanswered goals, triggering a 5-2 decision for the home side.
  While the Sharks were the better team on the night, this was a game that turned on a shameful missed call when new Shark Evander Kane crosschecked Matt Benning face first into the boards leaving the Oil defender in a twisted heap about ten feet in front of Referee #24 who c
  
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• Paula Simons: NRA boycott campaign puts MEC's principles to the test

  28-02-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  A VIDEO ESSAY
  Mountain Equipment Co-op is one of Canada’s most respected companies. But when you sell ethical values alongside your hiking boots and bike helmets, you’re going to be held to a different standard than a regular sporting goods store.
  In this video essay, Paula Simons looks at the social media lobby campaign, designed to convince MEC stop selling popular lines of sporting good made by VISTA, a company whose product lines include ammunition and guns, including the AR-15,
  
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• Decision on criminal responsibility expected in Christine Longridge trial

  28-02-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Family and supporters of a woman who admitted to killing her daughter were expecting a judge to decide Wednesday if she is criminally responsible for the death.
  Earlier this month, Christine Longridge pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the December 2016 slaying of her 21-year-old daughter, Rachael Longridge.
  Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Wayne Renke is expected to deliver his verdict Wednesday morning. 
  Though Christine Longridge admitted that by stabbing her daughter she
  
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• David Staples: Edmonton inventors bring 'Star Trek surgery' to modern medicine

  28-02-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton tech entrepreneurs and inventors Chandra Devam and Scott Edgar, who grew up obsessed with science fiction, are now making space age medical technology of their own.
   “It’s almost like Star Trek surgery we’re doing now,” Devam says.
  Their start-up tech company, Aris MD, has developed both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) software to help in diagnostics and surgery. 
  One program allows surgeons to wear AR glasses to look at a patient before
  
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• Alberta's latest economic outlook to be released Wednesday

  28-02-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Finance Minister Joe Ceci doesn’t think Albertans shouldn’t be too worried about the province’s latest fiscal picture, being released Wednesday.
  On his way into cabinet Tuesday, Ceci said if anything, Albertans should prepare themselves for third-quarter financials that include news about jobs coming back and relative financial sunshine. 
  “They should not be worried by this Q3 update. In fact, they should see it as an indication of this province doing better,”
  
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• Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel wins Alberta Party leadership

  28-02-2018 05:09 via edmontonjournal.com
  The new leader of the Alberta Party, former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel, has his sight set firmly on the premier’s chair come 2019.
  “I wouldn’t do this to be second place; this is about winning,” he said Tuesday night.
  Mandel emerged from the party’s two-month leadership campaign with 66 per cent of the vote.
  The 72-year-old defeated Calgary lawyer Kara Levis (18 per cent) and Calgary-South East MLA Rick Fraser (16 per cent) to take the top job. Just over 70
  
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• Recall issued for IKEA marshmallow candy

  28-02-2018 04:42 via edmontonjournal.com
  Ikea Canada is recalling marshmallow candy sold in five provinces — including Alberta — that may have been contaminated by a mice infestation at the manufacturing plant.
  The furniture giant alerted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) that Godis Påskkyckling marshmallow candies sold at stores in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba may have been contaminated with bacteria.
  The inspection agency released details about the recall Tuesday and is conducting a fo
  
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• 'Tax dollars' truck driver's complaint against Mountie dismissed

  28-02-2018 03:32 via edmontonjournal.com
  An Alberta court has dismissed a Mayerthorpe man’s claim against a Mountie and the federal government related to his arrest during a traffic stop triggered by a sign on his truck.   
  Edward Ens sought $75,000 in damages after the 2013 traffic stop, during which the then 77-year-old claimed the police officer acted illegally.  
  RCMP Const. Shea Evans pulled over Ens on Oct. 8, 2013, and ticketed him for distracting other drivers, according to Court of Queen’s Bench
  
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• 'Not enough': Local politicians bemoan lack of pipeline push in federal budget

  28-02-2018 03:13 via edmontonjournal.com
  Albertans listening for that P-word in Ottawa’s budget speech Tuesday were sorely disappointed.
  Finance Minister Bill Morneau did not mention pipelines, Trans Mountain, refining or even the word “energy” once.
  That’s even though the budget’s associated financial analysis said western Canadian oil producers are now facing a $20 per barrel discount on the price of their product because of the lack of pipeline capacity. 
  “I have to reiterate that it’s
  
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• Can an old war horse like Stephen Mandel lead a new Alberta Party?

  28-02-2018 03:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The good news for Alberta Party members is they have chosen a new leader who is experienced, well-known and enjoys the support of veteran politicians.
  The bad news is their new leader is a political re-tread, lost his seat to the NDP in the 2015 election, and is supported by veterans of the old Progressive Conservative government.
  Welcome back, Stephen Mandel.
  Mandel’s overwhelming leadership win Tuesday night was hardly a surprise. Of the three candidates he was the best known, best organ
  
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• City council approves permanent closure of Coliseum

  28-02-2018 02:58 via edmontonjournal.com
  City council on Tuesday approved the permanent closure of the Coliseum.
  “We’re examining the entirety of the exhibition lands through a few different processes, but, generally, the city is accepting any kind of ideas or proposals on what to do with that land, including the land that the Coliseum sits on,” Ward 9 Coun. Tim Cartmell said Tuesday.
  He said administrative officials will discuss options for the area with surrounding neighbourhoods and communities.
  At an executive com
  
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• Council approves extra funds to hire more police for annexed areas

  28-02-2018 02:56 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton city council approved monies Tuesday to police areas it is annexing in the south.
  Councillors approved $1.9 million for 2018 and another $2.4 million for 2019 to begin recruiting and training police officers for the annexed Leduc areas.
  “To be able to police a city that is 13 per cent larger on the map with one per cent more resources, I actually think is not unreasonable,” said Mayor Don Iveson.
  Deputy police chief Brian Simpson said he appreciated the support from the city
  
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• Effing Seafoods to open brick and mortar location in St. Albert

  28-02-2018 01:11 via edmontonjournal.com
  Fans of seafood from Canadian coastal waters will be pleased to know that local supplier Rob Tryon has landed himself a storefront in St. Albert.
  The Effing Seafoods store is still two to three months from being open in the Riel Business Park, where Tryon will offer full retail services for his sustainable seafood (complete with shellfish tanks). But Tryon is excited.
  “This is a dream coming true,” he says in a Facebook message.
  Raised on Vancouver Island, Tryon comes from a fis
  
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• Woman clings to life after being pulled from 109 Street fire

  28-02-2018 00:50 via edmontonjournal.com
  Fire investigators are probing the cause of an early morning Edmonton house fire that sent a woman to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
  Crews rescued the unconscious woman after being called to the “fully involved” house fire at 5807 109 St. at about 7:28 a.m. Tuesday, district chief Robert Shellnutt said.
  Two men who were also in the home escaped, but a dog perished.
  The men were listed in stable condition, Alberta Health Services spokeswoman Kirsten Goruk said in an email.
  A
  
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• RCMP charge man after reports of dogs being abused in Stony Plain parking lot

  28-02-2018 00:47 via edmontonjournal.com
  Five golden retrievers have been seized by Parkland County in connection to the case of a man facing animal-cruelty related charges.
  Stony Plain RCMP arrested and charged the man after receiving multiple complaints Feb. 25 about a male “physically abusing numerous dogs with a hard plastic PVC pipe in the parking lot of a local business.”
  Parkland County’s animal control enforcement officers took custody of five golden retrievers, who were examined by a veterinarian. RCMP said t
  
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• Edmonton company plans first Canadian-led driving expedition to the South Pole

  28-02-2018 00:31 via edmontonjournal.com
  An Edmonton businessman plans to head the first Canadian-led driving expedition to the South Pole in a massive hybrid truck travelling a little faster than a dog sled.
  A four-person team led by Darryl Weflen, president of Airworks Compressors Corp., intends to head out next November on Xpedition 90X, also billed as the first single vehicle and hybrid vehicle journey to the pole.
  The crew will drive across Antarctica in the Rockhopper, a customized 2008 Navistar MXT truck Weflen spent a year buil
  
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