The city still seems to be in a post-pandemic slump We live in strange times here in Edmonton. Every other time we went through high energy price cycles – when oil was running between C$100 to C$130 – Edmonton boomed. Restaurants and clubs were opening every week, packed from the moment they opened their doors.…
May even be destined to become an Olympic sport one day Pickleball, kind of a combination of tennis and ping pong, is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. The state of Washington, in fact, has declared it the state sport. Based on different reports, there are somewhere between five million and eight million pickleball…
Food-related videos, recipes and ideas continue to proliferate on social media As I wrote in a previous column, one of my great passions is grilling and smoking. I do the former four or five days a week in every season, including winter. The latter is done as often as possible, including pork butt or shoulder,…
Cities are akin to living organisms where everyone can potentially thrive
When local voters across British Columbia recently ushered in a new slate of mayors and councillors – the City of Vancouver’s wholesale turnover being the best example – citizens sent a message: We like our cities and we love our neighbourhoods, so stop making them less desirable with ill-advised policies that exacerbate homelessness and crime.…
And learn first-hand where the necessities of life come from
The old saying goes, “No news is good news.” But in the 21st-century smartphone/internet era, it should read, “Good news is no news.” Driven by today’s ultra-competitive media, headlines have increasingly become what has been coined “click bait” – capture eyeballs with something awful happening to somebody somewhere. That’s why you’ll never see “7.9 Billion…
And thanks to the federal government beer could get even more expensive in 2023
With recent reports that people are out enjoying the weather, we could assume that everything is back to normal after the pandemic. But that’s not entirely true, especially for the beer industry. Total beer sales have dropped 7.3 per cent from last year, according to Beer Canada. Total beer sales are up in Newfoundland and…
Helping insects survive is more valuable than practically anything else we do to help nature
I recently wrote about haying and the delicate balance between harvesting a crop and protecting nesting birds. Today, I would like to offer some advice to help us protect the beauty and functionality of our properties while simultaneously protecting wildlife. Why should we care? Wildlife is more than just an attractive feature of the landscape;…
Four tips on making wildlife encounters of every description safe and enjoyable for all parties
It seems one can’t swing a cat without hitting a coyote, a jackrabbit, a Canada goose, or a bear – and not just in the far-flung wilderness. Wildlife encounters are now common in cities, with urban populations of coyotes, skunks and Canada geese increasing throughout North America. Here are four tips on making wildlife encounters…
Many municipalities don’t have evacuation plans in place
As natural disasters like fire, extreme heatwaves and flooding are on the rise globally due to a changing climate, cities are looking at how they can be better prepared. According to Stephen Wong, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Alberta, many communities lack clear evacuation plans, and communication to residents is inconsistent across jurisdictions.…
Diversity and culture help attract and retain the creative talent that cities thrive on
When Richard Florida published The Rise of the Creative Class in 2002, it came as news to many that the greater the population of creative types – artists, musicians, designers and technology workers – in a given city, the stronger its economy and quality of life. Attracting and retaining creative talent was partly a question of…