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AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

joeiannuzzi

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Bar project rejected

A Sylvan Lake bar owner has lost his appeal of a municipal planning commission decision rejecting a proposed 68-seat patio on the town`s Lakeshore Drive.

Bob Brown had hoped to double seating in his Bikini`s Beach Pub to 136 indoor and outdoor seats.

To make room for the expanded patio, he planned to tear down the adjacent Loco`s Bar and Grill, which is currently boarded up.

In turning down his application, the planning commission notes that allowing Bikini`s to expand to more than 100 seats would contravene the drinking establishment bylaw, which prohibits bars with more than 100 seats from being located within 100 metres of each other.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...t_rejected.html
 

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Protecting assets has costs

Losses from theft and wilful property damage are an inevitable cost of doing business, right?

"Ridiculous," says Steve Woolrich, a longtime security expert who operates SeCure Consulting Solutions Inc. in Red Deer.

"It comes down to one word: opportunity.

"If you can remove certain opportunities, or at least reduce those opportunities, there is success right there."

The challenge for many business owners is identifying those opportunities and knowing how to address them.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv..._has_costs.html
 

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Oil boom batters Alberta graduation rate

Alberta`s hot economy is putting money into people`s pockets. But it`s also pulling the kids out of school, leaving Alberta with the lowest high-school graduation rate of any province, according to a Statistics Canada report released yesterday.

Alberta shows the only increase in school enrolment in the country, because young people with children or of child-bearing age have moved there in search of good jobs and in sufficient numbers to trump the effect of the falling birth rate across Canada.

But the same enticing job prospects also appear to be luring young Albertans out of the classroom, said Patric Blouin, author of the report entitled Summary Public School Indicators for the Provinces and Territories, 1999/2000 to 2005/2006.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home
 

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Population Boom

EDMONTON - Edmonton`s economic boom has created a population boom as the latest civic census figures show the city now has more than three-quarters of a million residents.

According to information collected last spring, 752,412 people call Edmonton home, up 40,021 or 5.6 per cent from last local census in 2005.

Two years ago, forecasters predicted Edmonton wouldn`t have this many people until about 2010. Mayor Stephen Mandel said the current number could have been higher if homes didn`t cost so much.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...da-b06c0328e5b4
 

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Pumped over bike route plan

EDMONTON - Members of the local cycling community are excited by a recent proposal to make Edmonton a more bike-friendly city and hope the city report`s recommendations will be carried out.

"We need just what they`re talking about -- more bicycle trails, so you don`t have to go into traffic with the cars," Don Chase, owner of Mill Woods Sports and Cycle, said Sunday.

The Edmonton Bicycle Transportation Plan calls for the city to expand on existing infrastructure to create nearly 500 kilometres of marked bike lanes and trails.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...65-cba2301a6c4e
 

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New Glenora project a pool for all seasons

EDMONTON -You won`t need to be a polar bear to take a winter dip in the Royal Glenora Club`s swimming pool after its $16-million redevelopment.

When it`s finished, the private club will boast an aquatic centre with glass walls and roof that will shield swimmers from wintry cold and retract in the summer so they can bask in outdoor sunshine.

The 14,000-square foot aquatic centre -- including a teaching pool, a 25-metre lane pool, hot tub and splash pool -- will be the dramatic centrepiece of extensive renovations starting as early as Sept. 1 at the club on the north river bank at 11160 River Valley Road.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...97-ccbfe666453d
 

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Okotoks mayor praises proposal for express buses

Express buses from Okotoks to Calgary are a good first step to deal with increasing traffic in the town, Mayor Bill McAlpine says.

The Okotoks mayor said that with more than 3,700 commuters travelling between his community and Calgary every day, increased public transit is needed.

"The most sensible first step is what`s proposed," McAlpine said of Calgary`s pitch for the province to fund the southeast leg of the LRT, as opposed to trying to immediately run rail lines between the communities.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...d6-a0f1071dd6be
 

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Sylvan cruises to prominence

Sylvan Lake has cruised into the pages of a national magazine`s list as of one of the country`s choice trailer boating destinations.

The summer edition of Trailer Boating Canada features Sylvan Lake as one of "three great trailer boating Canadian destinations," along with Lake of the Woods in Manitoba and Ontario, and the scenic St. John River in New Brunswick.

Sylvan Lake is the first of the three to be profiled in the magazine, which began publication earlier this year and is in its second issue. The publishers of Canadian Yachting are behind the magazine, which is mailed to subscribers and can also be found on newsstands around the country.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...prominence.html
 

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Bar owner frustrated town `handcuffed` Lakeshore property

Frustrated Sylvan Lake bar owner Bob Brown said lakeshore businesses wanting to upgrade have been "handcuffed" by a town council that is standing in the way of improving the popular strip.

Brown had proposed tearing down his Loco`s Bar and Grill to expand the patio of the adjacent Bikini`s Beach Pub. But the town`s municipal planning commission rejected that plan last month, and the subdivision and development appeal board recently upheld the decision.

The decision leaves Loco`s, which has been closed since last summer, in limbo.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...e_property.html
 

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Council maintains business-only rule at street level

Having more people residing in downtown Red Deer is good — but not if they occupy ground-floor residences with direct access to the street.

Red Deer city council reinforced its commitment to maintaining a commercial hub in the downtown by giving first reading to a bylaw change that will restrict ground-level residences in the city`s core.

Only above-ground residences are permitted in the C1 commercial zone, while multi-family buildings including ground floor dwelling units are a discretionary use.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...reet_level.html
 

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Shell Canada Ltd. on selling spree

A number of local brownfield sites could soon be ready for commercial development.

Shell Canada Ltd. is currently marketing a half dozen properties in Red Deer and Gasoline Alley, confirmed Jana Masters, a senior communications rep with the energy company.

These include 5518 Gaetz Ave., where The Creamery ice-cream stand is operating; 5214 Gaetz Ave., which is the site of Budget Car and Truck Rental; and 3410 Gaetz Ave., which is being leased by A&S Auto Sales. Also up for sale is the property at 4705 49th Ave., which is the site of Rent-A-Wreck; and at 4921 54th Ave., where Pastime RV Auto and Truck is located.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...ling_spree.html
 

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City surprised by bankruptcy filing

Medicine Hat residents won`t see a rise in their utility rates, even though the city`s gas utility is facing an $8 million financial exposure following the bankruptcy filing of one of its gas marketers.

The city has had a contract with CEG Energy Options — one of three gas marketers that sell Medicine Hat natural gas in Saskatchewan — since 1995. On July 25, CEG did not make its regular monthly payment, so the city`s gas utility stopped shipments to the company. That was when the city became aware that CEG`s parent company, the U.S.-based SemGroup, had filed for bankruptcy.

Paul Hubbard, gas marketing manager for the city, said the city has always had a good relationship with CEG and had no idea they were in trouble.

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/39134/65/
 

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Southlands subdivision proposal approved at MPC

Medicine Hat`s municipal planning commission has approved a subdivision proposal in the Southlands area, in spite of reservations some committee members had about a lack of green space in the area.

The Meadowlands development will subdivide a 4.4 hectare parcel of land located at 4000 Southlands Drive into 58 small, modular home residential lots.

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/39136/27/
 

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$1.4B deal spurs construction on next leg of Anthony Henday

EDMONTON - Construction will begin Friday on the northwest leg of the Anthony Henday Drive after the provincial government awarded a $1.42-billion contract to build the newest piece of the regional ring road.

"We believe this road will actually handle the growth of the city, the population growth of the city, the traffic growth of the city for the next 30 to 40 years," Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette said Wednesday.

Northwestconnect, a group of Canadian and international contractors, will build, operate and partly finance the project under a public, private partnership agreement with the provincial government. The government will pay $500 million up front, then pay the company back over a 30-year period.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...a3-c6ceb519a0c4
 

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Forestry workers sought

EDMONTON - As soon as you drive up to Ben Sawatzky`s lumber mill just west of Edmonton, you see two basketball nets erected in the executive parking lot for his production workers. They`re not the only perks.

If they work at Spruceland Millworks long enough, he may even fly his entire staff and their families to Mexico or Hawaii on a chartered jet.

But not even hoops, benefits, tropical vacations and starting-year pay of close to $50,000 are enough to lure and keep all the workers he needs. "We have 85 long-timers here and the other 40 are constantly turning over," said Sawatzky, Spruceland`s president.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...bd-98e09872d7bc
 

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WestJet profits triple

WestJet Airlines Ltd., Canada`s No. 2 carrier, posted second-quarter profits nearly triple that of a year ago, when it posted a one-time charge related to a failed reservation booking system.

Calgary-based WestJet reported second-quarter net earnings of $30.2 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $11.5 million, or nine cents per share, in the year earlier quarter.

However, the second quarter of 2007 included a one-time loss related to the $22.2 million after-tax writedown of the failed aiRES system.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e4-f01dc5186421
 

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Alberta has `long way to go` for geothermal energy

A new study concludes geothermal energy has more potential than previously believed to provide a clean source of electricity and steam for Alberta residents and industries, including the oilsands.

But bringing such a project on stream would take years of study and millions of dollars to drill test wells that are twice as deep as the deepest typical gas wells, according to author Michal Moore of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy at the University of Calgary.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...c3-89d65e684850
 

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RDC housing demand remains steady

The annual hunt for student housing in Red Deer is so far proceeding at a relaxed pace.

"I`m not getting any frantic phone calls from students," said Kathleen Cromwell, administrative assistant with the Students Association of Red Deer College, on Wednesday.

It reminds her a lot of what happened last summer but it does appear rooms and suites are being snapped up a little quicker.

"It`s just quieter."

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...ins_steady.html
 

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Cash helps post-secondary program

Red Deer College is one of the 21 post-secondary institutions in the province involved in a project that has received $5 million in cash from Rural Alberta`s Development Fund.

Red Deer College president Ron Woodward said the project — called the Alberta Rural Development Network — started a couple years ago and grew out of a desire of colleges, technical institutes and universities to form a virtual network that could support rural development across the province.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...ry_program.html
 

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Penold makes historic anexation bid

The Town of Penhold made history when its bid to annex about 700 acres received official provincial approval recently. It`s the first time the community has added to its borders in its 104-year history, said Mayor Julia King on Wednesday. "It doubles the area size of the community."

The growth spurt also gives the town a land supply that is expected to meet the needs for decades to come.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...xation_bid.html
 
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