AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

[joeiannuzzi]

M.D. considers recycling of energy-efficient bulbs

Don`t throw them out. Instead, recycle those energy-efficient light bulbs. It`s an initiative the Municipal District of Foothills` landfill is considering, said John Deagle, the regional landfill manager. "We`re working with a group in
Regina," Deagle said. "We`re just waiting to see what the total package is going to cost." Compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which is a concern for the landfill, as the mercury can contribute to the
pollution of the air and water. "We`re trying to get the cost of recycling under what the cost of the bulbs are,"
Deagle said. "It just doesn`t make sense to pay more to dispose of them than to buy them." The cost of recycling a four-foot fluorescent tube is $4, and the cost of recycling a compact bulb is $1.

http://www.highrivertimes.com/News/409803.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Boardwalk part two

The Beaver Boardwalk has become a hotbed for locals and tourists.
Now people visiting the boardwalk will get the chance to expand their walk with the official opening of phase two.
June 24, about 80 people attended the grand opening, including everyone from Mayor Glenn Taylor to Bertie the Beaver. Guests were treated to a free barbecue before the ceremony and speeches started.
The Whisky-jack Club honoured Rocky Morin as the volunteer of the year for all the time he spent on the construction of the boardwalk.
The highlights of phase two include the new observation tower and the upstream loop.
"Whatever they do to make it longer I`m all for it," said Sue Friend who visits the boardwalk at least once a week.

http://www.hintonparklander.com/News/408835.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Beetle will continue to be a battle ...

Mountain pine beetles may be a permanent fixture in Alberta, warns Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton.
Population trend surveys conducted by the ministry over May and June indicate high rates of the beetle over-winter survival across much of the province`s southwest, and in several northern and west-central pockets.
Beetle populations have persisted in spite of cold winter temperatures in early 2008 that appeared to have slowed the pest`s growth rate in parts of the province.
"Pine beetles may be here to stay in Alberta," Morton said.

http://www.jasperbooster.com/Headline%20News/409564.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Road paved for new subdivision

Council gave third and final reading to a bylaw to rezone 35 acres of land to pave the way for Trinity Crossing, Laebon Homes` multi-million dollar sub-division that will see about 187 homes going up.

"We have a nice mix in the first phase and have worked hard to make sure it blends into the Town of Lacombe and meets the needs of homebuyers," Steve Bontje, Laebon planner, told council at its regular meeting June 23.

Two residents told council--at a public hearing the same night in council chambers--they were concerned about the added traffic the new subdivision would create.

"We live five to six houses to the west," said Robert Jensen. "We already have vehicles parking in front of our house that are visiting. It`s a bit of an inconvenience. Parking in general seems to be an issue."

http://www.lacombeglobe.com/News/408904.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Changes to Bylaw 924 passed by Council

The new version of Bylaw 924 was passed by town council last Monday after town administration had made changes to the current unsightly premises bylaw at the last policies and priorities meeting.
Some of the new changes were in reference to the definition of junked vehicles as well as the fine and penalties for violators of the bylaw.
Mayerthorpe Mayor Doug McDermid said he feels the revised bylaw represents the public as they had a chance to voice opinions and give input on the bylaw.
"I think the important thing with this particular bylaw is that we went to the public and got public input," he said. "A lot of the public input has been incorporated in the final bylaw. This is the only bylaw that we as council have been reviewing that the public has had a reaction from."

http://www.mayerthorpefreelancer.com/News/409313.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Regional water supply system being considered

Twelve municipalities south of the Peace River, including the City and County of Grande Prairie, are proposing to develop a plan to service the region with potable water.

The South Peace water supply region committee, formed in 2006, is made up of municipalities located within the area bounded by the B.C. border, the Peace River, the Smoky River and the Wapiti River.

It identified the two most viable options to develop the regional water system at a recent meeting with Aquatera Utilities and Associated Engineering Ltd., the engineering consulting firm that authored the feasibility study.

The first most viable option is to service the entire region from the current Aquatera treatment facility with water from the Wapiti River, supplemented by the Smoky River, upon confirming its suitability.

http://www.peacecountrysun.com/News/409382.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Regional water group seek provincial funding

The Regional Water Task Committee may obtain 100 per cent funding for a feasibility study for a regional potable water system.
The Regional Water Task Committee, which was formed earlier this spring, is an ad hoc task force consisting of administration and council from each of the participating municipalities. Those municipalities include the Village of Cowley, the Town of Pincher Creek and the Municipal District of Pincher Creek.
Recently, the committee has been putting together an application for a Water for Life Initiative grant through Alberta Transportation.

http://www.pinchercreekecho.com/News/409532.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Province invests in park

Plans to develop the River Valley Park are set to begin after the Government of Alberta presented a $50-million cheque to the River Valley Alliance (RVA) in support of the project.

Cindy Ady, minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation, presented the cheque to Sol Rolingher, chair of the RVA, and looks forward to seeing the plans for development of the 88 kilometre park unfold.

"There are all kinds of plans to put together over the next several years, because it is going to be the number one tourism destination in the area," she said. "It will be very community driven, and there has already been lots of good co-operation from all of the many involved communities.

http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/News/409652.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Carmangay area residents in favour of wind power project

Barbara Lennon could think of nothing wrong with a proposed wind power project near the village.
Greengate Power Corporation held an open house at Carmangay School on June 24 to allow the public to see diagrams of the project and talk to company representatives.
"I can`t think of anything that would bother me," she said during an interview.
Anything that keeps companies from taking
non-renewable resources out of the ground is a good thing, she said.
"I think it`s clean and ecologically sound," she said. "I like that."
She was "blown away" that anyone would care about the shadows cast by the turbines,
which Greengate has had to account for.
While some residents in other communities have complained about their views after turbines have been put in, Lennon actually wouldn`t mind having something else to glimpse at.

http://www.vulcanadvocate.com/News/409319.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Powerline plans perturb public

With charts and graphs on display and representatives with pens and paper in hand, Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) came to By-the-Lake-Park on June 25 to hear feedback from residents around Wetakskiwin about the building of a transmission system.
Currently, AESO is in the planning stages of making recommendations to site companies about a transmission system to be built between Edmonton and Calgary to deal with the demand for electricity.
"The goal of the day is to share information of what we are doing and where we are at," said Dick Way, senior director of strategic projects of AESO.
A transmission line moves energy from where it`s produced to other areas to help meet growing power needs.

http://www.wetaskiwintimes.com/News/409032.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Vagrants to vamoose

A judge`s eviction order is expected to permanently clear a group of squatters from an unsavoury city apartment building.

The order comes weeks after dozens of legal tenants were frightened off the property by druggies and prostitutes, and found other places to live.

But one former tenant wasn`t sure tossing out squatters would be the answer.

"They`re just going to end up somewhere else now," said Aaron Andronyk, who lived in the apartment 14 years. "It doesn`t solve the problem. It just pushes it elsewhere." On Friday, a judge gave control of two Queen Alexandra apartments to Joanna Seccafien, the ex-wife of a former landlord alleged to have let the buildings degenerate into flophouses.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2...078901-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

City missed the bus with LRT, transportation visionary says

Retired transportation engineer Louis Grimble gestures around the nearly deserted Bay LRT station to indicate what he sees wrong with the system Edmonton started in 1978.

"Edmonton was pioneering. Here was a city of 300,000 doing what most cities don`t do until they`re over one million, and everything first-class ... and nobody was riding it," he says, as a handful of people enter and exit midday trains. "We got an LRT system going from nowhere to nowhere."

Not enough passengers, not enough planning, too much spending -- Grimble points to these as problems that could be solved by focusing on such areas as improved bus service and increasing the population density around LRT stations.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...92-392cacae07fb

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Delegation cries foul over Beaver Brook development

Residents of Beaver Brook Estates filed a petition with the town of Barrhead and met with councillors during a regular meeting last Monday to discuss the development of five new lots on what they believed to be a designated green area.

Twelve delegates represented the concerned homeowners and stated their case for why the town should reconsider selling and developing the disputed lots.

"We want the council to wait before allowing construction on these lots and to take a closer look at it before going ahead," said long time Barrhead area resident and Beaver Brook home owner Dr. Richard Farnalls, who chaired the delegation.

http://www.barrheadleader.com/news/2008/0701/news1.htm

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Population cap is actually too high

When you consider the future of Okotoks, think "water."
The kind of flooding Okotoks experienced this past spring is deceptive. Rather than water excess, flooding can actually signal future water scarcity (increased evaporation that turns to rain, and abnormally high spring temperatures that cause mountain snow packs to melt suddenly, instead of slowly over the warmer months). With climate warming, as world-renowned water ecologist Dr. David Schindler says, "It`s going to be hot, no matter where you look."
Of Canada`s total water supply, Alberta only has a scant 2.2 per cent — one-fifth of which is in the southern half of the province. (Contrary to public opinion, with only 6.5 to 9 per cent of the world supply, Canada`s freshwater is not as abundant as you might think.)
That`s only part of the story.

http://www.westernwheel.com/news-cap.htm

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Decision on high density proposal delayed for site inspection

MD of Foothills councillors delayed first reading on a high-density development near Priddis until they have time to inspect the site.
A public hearing was held last Thursday at council chambers on a 16-lot subdivision north of Highway 22, northwest of Priddis, by landowners Bruce and Cindy Urban.
According to the Urbans, the proposed development, called Hadden Country Estates and located just south of the existing 38-lot Ranchers Hill subdivision, is intended to create a minimal footprint on the surrounding environment.
"We want it to be a development that is first class," Urban said. "We want to implement eco-friendly homes because that`s the way the world is going."

http://www.westernwheel.com/news-decision.htm

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Heritage Pointe`s last phase on track

The final phase of the Heritage Pointe development is on track to proceed.
Last week, MD council passed first reading to rezone part of the northeast corner of the community to allow 33 new residential lots. There are already more than 150 lots in the Heritage Pointe area and more than 200 in the Heritage Lake area.
The homes will be built on a 40-acre parcel located in the northeast corner of the Heritage Pointe area adjacent to Deerfoot Trail. It would be primarily comprised of executive, single-family and bungalow-type homes.
The application would also create a 17-acre open space between the new development and existing homes along Ridge Pointe Drive to the west.

http://www.westernwheel.com/news-heritage.htm

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Future of gas plant still undecided

A new committee has formed to assess a plan to continue on the path of preparing the Turner Valley gas plant as a historic site, however, the province has not yet formally accepted a recommendation to reopen the site as a tourist attraction.
The minister of Culture and Community Spirit, Lindsay Blackett, is in the process of reviewing a feasibility report prepared by the Turner Valley Gas Plant Resolution Advisory Panel, but officials from his ministry are on the new committee which met on May 28 to discuss the future of the site.
The new committee has not yet passed their terms of reference, nor has a name been formally accepted, although Turner Valley Coun. Barry Williamson, who has been invited to participate in the committee, refers to it as the working committee.

http://www.westernwheel.com/news-gas%20plant.htm

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Edmonton playing catchup fast

EDMONTON - Launching a $1.1 billion expansion amid chronic labour shortages and rising construction costs takes a special strategy, Edmonton Airports CEO Reg Milley says.

An alliance with contractors that guarantees them five years` work will help retain workers and push the project along more smoothly, he believes.

The authority put out a request for design proposals last month and is picking a project manager for the expansion that includes a new passenger concourse, adding 13 airplane gates to the current 17, new control tower and offices and more parking. Between 700 and 800 new parkade stalls will open soon.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...3a-fbd48c73b4bb

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Diamond prices jumped 200%

Jewels - The rapid rate of increase in wholesale prices of rare polished diamonds is unsustainable, but for now the growing number of super-rich are paying rising prices for top-tier diamond jewellery.

Charles Wyndham, founder of PolishedPrices, a leading index of wholesale diamond prices, said prices of larger, rare, near-flawless gemstones had shot up by roughly 200 per cent over the past 18 months.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...0c-493c750edeeb

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Twisters land near Airdrie

Airdrie residents watched in awe last night as two tornadoes ripped through the area.

Environment Canada meteorologist Stuart MacKay said one resident reported two tornadoes touching down at 4:40 p.m. about five km north of the Hwy. 567 overpass and 400 metres west of Hwy. 2. Jana Bienz was about to start making dinner when she saw the dark storm twist into a menacing tornado that touched down in a farmer`s field near her Airdrie home.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/0...086506-sun.html