there are a pair of neighborhood crows nesting in my back yard. today, one of them found a dry old piece of bread somewhere down the alley and flew over to my lawn with it.
she looked around carefully and dropped it into the eavestrough drain, where some water pooled from an overnight shower.
she flew away for 5 minutes and just came back to eat once it was well soaked 
Alas, the enshitification of Alberta continues as a break-neck pace.
Also join the YEG Bike Coalition and Let's Bike There YEG for a Kidicle Mass on May 25!
Help us draw attention to the need for safe infrastructure along 132 Ave. There really is no comparing how much better the completed areas are compared to what was there. This will improve livability for the local residents, will have no negative impacts on traffic volumes, and enables kids to bike to school. On May 25, Kidicle Mass will do a short bike ride that's appropriate for kids of all ages, and then follow with a playground meetup.
The meetup and playground location are being determined, but mark your calendar!
You can see a full ride along of 132 Ave, including the completed sections, old infrastructure that is badly in need of replacement, and the areas under construction here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIpaE6lzPyo/
There have been a lot of ride alongs posted since Minister Dreeshen's announcement, but if you are not familiar with the difference between what was there and what the final state will look like (this will look better when the landscaping is done this summer):
On April 16, 2025, UCP Minister Dreeshen sent a letter to Edmonton Councillor Principe that criticized Edmonton’s complete streets design for 132 Avenue’s roadway renewal project, followed by further comments that other multi-use lanes in Edmonton and Calgary could be the target for removal or cancellation as well. The rationale provided for these comments obfuscates key facts about complete streets designs, disregards years of community engagement that shaped the final design for Edmonton’s 132 Avenue, and would be financially irresponsible, while also being clear provincial overreach into municipal matters. I strongly support complete streets designs and municipal autonomy, and I urge the Government of Alberta and City Councillors to engage with local stakeholders before further action is taken to fully understand the local context and the community’s needs.
Complete streets designs provide a safe way for kids to independently get to school and recreational activities, be it by scooter, bike, wheelchair, or on foot, due to the safe and separated paths, while designating appropriate space for transit, school drop-off, parking, and other vehicular traffic. The suggestion that local roads should prioritize the movement of vehicles over a design that ensures the safety of all users would just make our neighbourhoods more dangerous for families and their children. As a prime example, 132 Avenue in Edmonton has multiple schools, an athletic centre, and an arena directly along the route, highlighting the need for a design that prioritizes safety for all ages, abilities and modes of transportation.
Interfering in the construction of roadway projects when they’re already underway adds huge costs and uncertainty for taxpayers, and undermines the autonomy and democracy within our cities. For Edmonton's 132 Avenue renewal project, construction began two years ago, with shovels already in the ground this season and most of the total project area already completed or underway, making any changes to the design simply irresponsible.
While it’s true that we need to address how our transportation network can serve residents as our city grows, we know from examples all across North America that we cannot continuously widen roads to solve transportation issues. Families want the ability to choose safe, affordable and healthy travel options. Providing more choices to residents—including driving, transit, walking, and cycling—is the most prudent way to move more people efficiently.
How can you help?
- Sign the letter to Minister Dreeshen and Premier Smith, below! It's pre-filled so it will take only a moment.
- Show up Wednesday at Delton Community League to express support for mobility lanes and the 132 Ave project.
- Sign up for this year's Pedal Poll, counting cyclists and others at various parts of the city during Bike Month (requires an app installation on your phone, and an otherwise very limited time investment).
So let's get this straight.
First of all, there is a statute (Section 22) under Alberta law which allows the province to expunge the disciplinary record of police officers after 5 years, earlier if the Chief of Police chooses out of personal discretion.
The Edmonton Police Service, its current Police Chief, and its former Police Chief (Dale McFee), all claim that this means a complete erasure of an officer's past misconducts, and they cannot even be disclosed in a criminal trial.
The courts say that this does not allow them to simply deny a past conviction ever happened, but our police chief disagrees, and claims that disallowing the entitlement and privilege of a police officer to simply have all past transgressions "disappear" from record will "cripple the justice system" and cause the entire system to "collapse".
Obviously, lawyers disagree and I sure hope the Supreme Court of Canada does as well. It's ridiculous that this is even going before them. They say that this expunging of records should only apply internally to clear them in the case of their career path, such as receiving a promotion, and NOT IN THE CASE OF A CRIMINAL TRIAL!
The only case which should be brought before the supreme court is the legitimacy of allowing this statute in Alberta in the first place.
Understand that for a police officer to receive "disciplinary measures" means that they've been caught completely red-handed committing a serious crime which would land a citizen in prison just on suspicion.
We're not talking about, "Joe took home a stapler from the office. He returned it, but we had to write him up. That sort of behavior is not acceptable, and he even tried to lie about it. But that was 5 years ago, and he's sold a lot of product since."
No, we're talking about "Joe decided one day to charge at a person and beat them to an inch of their life for no reason but that he felt like it. He's done this many times before, but this time somebody happened to catch his face and badge number clearly on video, and after the accusation was thrown out of court the first time, it was picked up by a news journalist and went viral, and so we were forced to put him on administrative leave."
THAT is the difference between "disciplinary action" for a police officer compared to a civilian, or in the words of the prosecutor in this case, they are “serious and have a realistic bearing on the credibility of Det. Ruecker.”
Note that these transgressions are also referred as "convictions", because they have gone through such a rigorous legal process to convict them, just to get an administrative action on their record.
The sheer enormity of this entitlement to shirk accountability is mind-boggling.
What the EPS is fighting against is the "Rule of Law", that pesky idea that all people should be subject to the law and accountable to it.
But now millions of our public tax dollars are about to go into a Supreme Court appeal to prevent police from losing this entitlement to be exposed to any kind of record of criminal transgressions, even though these records are only "administrative records" to them.
But hey, let's just focus on the wastefulness of our tax dollars being used for stuff like building safe infrastructure for active transportation users to get to work without dying, shall we?
The good, the bad, the bad, and the ugly.
The good: Carney won, and Canada will NOT become the 51st state. Poilievre lost his seat in his own riding in Ottawa to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy! Edmonton's Heather MacPherson kept her (quite safe) seat in Edmonton Strathcona, and Liberal candidate Eleanor Olszewski won her seat in Edmonton Centre! I have to thank former MLA, Minister, and Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk for his tireless efforts on her campaign trail!
The bad: The Liberals were 4 seats short of a majority. Which is really quite good, but still allows the CPC to cripple our government, especially since our left-wing parties were effectively wiped out. :( They will block, block, block any progressive legislation, then next election will accuse the Liberals of not doing the things they promised.
The ugly: Edmonton Griesbach. wtf, Edmonton... Kerry Diotte?! I can't imagine a more appalling choice. Even if the votes weren't split with the Liberal candidate, Blake would have won it but not by a huge lead. Does nobody voting still remember the disaster of Kerry Diotte in City Council, or his uselessness as former MP in Griesbach? Has nobody read his repugnant columns he wrote for the Edmonton Sun, such as his desire to ban bicycles in Edmonton, a stance which he continued to reiterate support for decades later? The only good I can think out of this is at least he's kept out of our municipal and provincial politics. What is he going to do in Ottawa, petition them to tear up bike lanes in Edmonton? Oh, but he has many more hateful causes to bring up.
Documentary about Chinatown mural to screen at inaugural Edmonton edition of FascinAsian https://edmonton.taproot.news/news/2025/04/29/documentary-about-chinatown-mural-to-screen-at-inaugural-edmonton-edition-of-fascinasian #yeg
To be fair, Edmonton's representation in Federal politics doesn't make or break anything. His specific brand of hate can only go so far there. What's he going to do, petition Ottawa to tear up bike lanes in Edmonton? It would be worse if he were elected in a municipal or provincial position.
The Pulse: April 29, 2025 - here's what you need to know about the Edmonton region today https://edmonton.taproot.news/pulse/2025/04/29 #yeg
I am so disgusted by the results in Edmonton, but that's probably because Kerry Diotte won his seat back and that's the most appalling thing that could have happened in #yeg. wtf is wrong with you, Griesbach?!
Good news is, Canada will not become the 51st state. Liberals have secured a win, though not a majority government yet.
Looking at the ongoing #yeg results though, is frustrating. Each riding is consistently progressive with 2/3 of the vote split between Liberal and NDP candidates, and 1/3 of the vote Conservative... but that puts the Conservatives in the lead in every riding, though they least represent the vast majority of voters who are voting progressive.
Edmonton did not vote strategically.
Looks like Sohi will lose in #yeg, and also Desjarlais 
Los Angeles Kings 3 @ Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT), 2025-04-27
Game visuals, “all states” (5v5, 6v5, PP, PK, OT)
#Oilers #nhl #stanleycup #hockey #hnom #yeg #edmonton @hnom @hockey
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&game=30184&view=limited
The Pulse: April 28, 2025 - here's what you need to know about the Edmonton region today https://edmonton.taproot.news/pulse/2025/04/28 #yeg
On the agenda: Affordable housing audit, Kendal neighbourhood plan https://edmonton.taproot.news/briefs/2025/04/28/on-the-agenda-affordable-housing-audit-kendal-neighbourhood-plan #yeg
Noted: Taxes, Bill 50, Dreeshen's bike lane visit https://edmonton.taproot.news/briefs/2025/04/28/noted-taxes-bill-50-dreeshens-bike-lane-visit #yeg
Common Front Resistance Rally
April 26, 2025
Alberta Legislature
Organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour
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#yeg #labour #union #CommonFront #abfedlabour #edmonton #rally #edmonton #alberta #ableg #photojournalism
