AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

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5 Street South at a crossroads

For generations, it was the city`s centre of commerce. Lethbridge`s finest stores vied for space on 5 Street South.
Today the downtown street is showing its age, and its future looks uncertain. Vacant buildings and boarded-up windows scar the face of what was once southern Alberta`s commercial magnet.
And right at its centre — in the block between 3 and 4 Avenues — one of the street`s most storied commercial buildings stands condemned to demolition. Business owners wonder if that will improve the situation . . . or make a bad story worse.
"Fifth Street was really the heart of the city," says archivist Greg Ellis at the Galt Museum. "It`s one of our most photographed streets."

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_11484.php

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Prep the next generation

One of the most perplexing problems of success in a small, family-run business lies in passing it on to the next generation.

And it`s often a business killer.

Handing over a business to the second generation creates a dilemma, but it`s even worse passing from the second to the third generation. Substantial businesses, grown through the hard work and good judgment of the founder and then improved on by the next cohort, often disappear when the third generation goes off in a different direction.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/News/2...271006-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Underused labour pool tapped

Labour shortage? What labour shortage?

An Edmonton-based security company says it has discovered a solution to the chronic labour crunch in its own backyard.

United Protection Services (UPS) is turning to northern Alberta`s under-employed aboriginal population to beef up its workforce. "The success we`re having is just tremendous. It`s a one-of-a-kind thing here," said Earl John, vice-president of aboriginal affairs for UPS.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/News/2...210636-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Indy just too loud

The roar of the IndyCar engines has one resident roaring mad.

The city, meanwhile, admits they`ve given the Rexall Edmonton Indy a green light to get loud but officials are monitoring noise levels.

"The wind must have been from the west yesterday (Thursday) because the noise was so intense that I couldn`t stand it sitting in the backyard," Ted Urkow complained yesterday. "So I came in and sat in my living room and the dishes were rattling in the China cabinet." For the past 14 years, Urkow has lived in his Spruce Avenue-area home just east of the NAIT`s main campus. He`s a short distance from the Indy series track and in the past he has put up with the buzzing of engines when the Champ Car series raced at the City Centre Airport.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2...271086-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

$100M city bike network unveiled

EDMONTON - City planners want to lure more cyclists on to Edmonton streets with a $100-million proposal to build a network of marked lanes and trails, improve signs and require bicycle parking in new developments.

The scheme, unveiled this week, would create a 489-kilometre system of high-volume routes along major roads by 2018 that would link to local connectors, as well as putting bike racks on all 906 transit buses instead of the current 100 and increasing rider-safety education campaigns.

But one city councillor is concerned the project involves spending "a lot of money" at a time when the city faces other big-ticket items such as road upgrades, LRT expansion and neighbourhood rehabilita- tion.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...f8-4186b712db98

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Royalty hikes still rankle

EDMONTON - Nine months after Alberta`s Tory government unveiled its new oil and gas royalty regime, industry execs are still fuming.

In a province where the powerful energy sector has for decades enjoyed a cosy relationship with the ruling Tories, the move by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach to hike royalties in 2009 marked a major turning point.

For many who work in Alberta`s dominant industry -- particularly the influential, well-connected execs who toil in the office towers of downtown Calgary -- Stelmach`s move was simply unfathomable.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...f9-6d11081e48f6

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Natural gas prices may curb drilling


Natural gas prices are teetering on the brink of where it could become uneconomical to extract the resource from the ground, says the president of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

Although natural gas prices have rebounded for much of this year and have stayed surprisingly resilient throughout the spring, they have slid significantly from highs near $13 per thousand cubic feet to now trade near $9. Natural gas futures for August delivery settled at $9.084 on the New York Mercantile exchange yesterday, a hair`s breadth from $9.10 PSAC average price forecast for 2008.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/Business/2008/07/26/6271626-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Albertans sue for $4.6M over alleged motorhome scam

More than a dozen Albertans have filed a $4.6-million lawsuit, claiming they were swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a sophisticated motorhome scam.

Plaintiffs from Pincher Creek to Grande Prairie are suing Arnold Donszelmann, his family, their companies and two employees in a statement of claim that alleges conspiracy, deceit and breach of contract dating back to 2001.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims the staff at Leisure RV in Millet, about 45 kilometres south of Edmonton, sold recreational vehicles to 17 customers, who then placed the vehicles with the company`s rental program.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...d8-907ca7bc776f

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Farmers` market has no shortage of suitors

The Calgary Farmers` Market continues to look for alternative locations, talking to up to nine interested suitors in case it`s unable to secure a new lease at the Currie Barracks site.

Darrell Komick, the market`s general manager, said they`ve spoken to the Tsuu T`ina First Nation about relocating there, along with the Stampede and up to seven other potential sites.

Morton Paulsen, spokesman for the Tsuu T`ina, said it would be premature to discuss any talks that have taken place with the farmers` market.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...96-e181715b775b

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Privatization among city`s waste options

Funding fixes for the city`s waste and recycling services -- which are facing a $17-million shortfall over the next three years -- will be brought to council this fall, including a look at privatization.

"We need to examine all the possibilities," said Ald. Joe Connelly, who asked that privatization be included, although the consultants said it would be part of the review anyway.

Ald. Gord Lowe, who has been raising alarm bells about the underfunding of waste and recycling, said the problem needs to be addressed, calling it major surgery.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...d8-b8b70a0e4167

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Local real estate an `anomaly`

Commercial real estate transactions in Calgary ballooned to more than $980 million in the second quarter of this year, more than $250 million compared with the second quarter of 2007.

This is despite a 35 per cent decline in the number of investment sales transactions, according to a report by Barclay Street Real Estate Ltd.

"The increase in dollar volume was bolstered significantly from strong office and industrial markets while retail and multi-family sales suffered significant declines in transaction and dollar volumes," said the second quarter 2008 investment report by Michelle Pink, research analyst at Barclay Street.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...ed-b942b7a625cf

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Reaching far and wide for workers

The new reality for Canadian companies looking to recruit workers increasingly means casting a wider net across the world while government and education leaders lead the charge overseas in the face of economic restraints.

"I believe with the shortage of labour in Canada, more and more companies will be going abroad not only to India, China and the Philippines, but also Eastern Europe," says Kirk White, recruitment co-ordinator in Fort McMurray with OPTI Canada Inc.

His company took part earlier this year in a recruitment drive to India organized by the Alberta government and NAIT in Edmonton. "The trip was extremely successful," he says, adding the company is in the process of hiring up to 28 short-listed candidates found across India at career fairs held in May.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...e0-2392016b491b

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Western Canada still paradise on earth

Plenty of questions in the last few weeks. I thank you and beg your indulgence -- I am not directly answering any more questions till the end of August.

I am currently cruising in Desolation Sound off B.C. with limited access of the "Net of the airwaves" kind (I do have access to my "net of the fishing" kind and yes, there are still salmon in "them thar" waters.)

But for this week, I have picked a few more commonly-asked questions:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...ca-51ca8f5f214f

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Slowdown affecting sellers

Acolumn I wrote earlier this month in which I lauded the benefits of condominium living downtown and in the Beltline area caused a frustrated seller to respond.

The writer suggested I was seriously out of touch with the condo market or that I was getting my information from overly optimistic developers and real estate agents.

My comment about the number of people relocating here, and my belief that demand for condos in the core is only going to increase, may have hit a nerve with other people trying so hard to sell. But real estate has a lot to do with timing and I would hope my comments would, in fact, help sales.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/l...8a-6a7a93887176

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Gas prices forcing change

Ever since the rise of the automobile in the 1950s, the American Dream has featured a home in the suburbs and two cars in the garage.

Now the iconic white picket fence comes with a hefty price tag in the form of the cost of the gasoline needed to drive to work and to the supermarket, and the suburban idyll is under review.

In different parts of the United States, there are signs of change.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...0b-997c886a47b4

 

[joeiannuzzi]

City population growth to boost housing demand

In spite of the lower number of housing construction starts this year, people are moving to Calgary -- and they`re buying homes in the suburbs, says the latest city census.

"The migration numbers are stronger than we had initially thought they would be, and that`s a good sign the demand for housing is supported by people moving in," says Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. "We had thought the net migration numbers would be down about 40 per cent, but they`re only down around 29 per cent."

Calgary`s population stands at 1,042,892 -- up 2.25 per cent from last year`s census.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...62-4b0562e95f3e

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Luxury housing demand good sign for city

Calgary`s high-end housing is still garnering plenty of consumer attention -- and that`s a good thing.

I can recall one real estate broker telling me that a strong level of activity at the luxury, or near-luxury, level means there is confidence in the city`s economy. "If there was any concern at all, these people would not be buying these big, expensive homes."

Well, by the looks of the latest resale figures from the Calgary Real Estate Board, there are few economic concerns out there.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...9a-f65623bc8de4

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Road project should alleviate `rat hole` problem

A major roadworks project that will turn into a major city route over the next couple years has received a surprise revision.
After the City of Airdrie was unable to obtain a road right-of-way at the south end of 8th street, the project has been changed from a two-lane divided roadway for the last half-mile to an undivided roadway. The original cost of the project was $2.1 million per half mile. It will now be a $400,000 throwaway cost when the development pressures force a four-lane divided cross section to be constructed in the next 10-12 years.
The 8th Street improvements are important to the city in that it will become a major detour once improvements to the "rat hole" are given the go ahead. That project could start this year and will take three years to complete.

http://www.airdrieecho.com/News/412102.html

 

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Coalbed methane progress

The Alberta government continues to make progress on the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee`s (MAC) recommendations.
Of the 42 accepted recommendations, 41 are either in progress or completed.
"Coalbed methane and other unconventional gas resources represent the future of Alberta`s natural gas industry," said Minister of Energy Mel Knight. "Implementing these recommendations will help ensure this resource is developed responsibly."

http://www.airdrieecho.com/News/412116.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Miquelon adds more power sites

Several big changes are in store for park users at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park this summer.
More power sites are now available, with 40 sites in section A converted to power to bring the tally to 159 power sites. There is one new site, bringing the
total number to 276 sites. All sites have also been made wider, longer and now have new fire pits and tables.
There are two new shower houses, a new dump station, a new front office booth, renovated group-use shelters, 10 kilometres of repaved trails and a new park centre.
"The park is 50 years old this year and a lot of the facilities were 50 years old," said conservation officer Anita Schmidt. "It was decided because Miquelon is a natural heritage site that`s close to the city that the direction is to try to accommodate
more people and make it a worthwhile experience for them."

http://www.camrosecanadian.com/News/412191.html