AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

[joeiannuzzi]

$100M approved for deadly highway

The federal government will spend $100 million to complete the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway to Lake Louise, but its funding commitment Tuesday fell short of what`s needed to complete the entire project to the B.C. border.

The twinning of 14 kilometres between Castle Junction and Lake Louise is expected to be finished in three years. A deadly section of the highway west of Lake Louise to the B.C. border -- the site of six fatalities since 2002 -- remains unfunded.

"The priority is to get the piece completed between Castle Junction and Lake Louise. It is a phased approach. We`ll move forward with each phase as money becomes available," said Bill Fisher, Parks Canada director general for western and northern Canada.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...bc-a423693c84cf

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Natural gas `undervalued`

Natural gas prices are grossly undervalued after the July price slump and should start to recover, says Martin King, an analyst with First Energy Capital Partners in Calgary.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...00-5939436c0c85

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Towns` growth OK with county

Red Deer County expects to see little impact when Penhold and Innisfail assume control of more than 2,000 acres of former county land.

"There is very little impact on the county itself," said county Mayor Earl Kinsella on Tuesday.

"It was basically farmland, a little bit of residential, but really nothing in the way of commercial and industrial (land)."

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

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Several new city subdivisions approved

Red Deer`s municipal planning commission has approved the subdivision of land in several new neighbourhoods.

On Tuesday, the commission authorized the creation of 113 low-density residential lots in the Sunnybrook South subdivision. Three public utility lots and a municipal reserve lot will also result.

This subdivision represents Phase 3 of the Sunnybrook South Neighbourhood, which is on the northwest corner of 19th Street and 40th Avenue and involves 21.6 acres.

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

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Organization fighting for landowners` energy rights

TABER — Renewable energy belongs to Albertans, not the Alberta government, an umbrella organization of surface rights groups claimed Wednesday.
Court action is pending to test the organization`s position, said its founding board head.
Wresting that ownership from the province has become one of the mandates of the new United Landowners of Alberta, said Don Bester of Innisfail, ULA president. The other two mandates include to legally challenge the right to subsurface trespass and to ensure landowners their right to environmental stewardship.
In the group`s first official public meeting, tied directly to membership sales, ULA is prepared to challenge the province in court to allow landowners to claim ownership of renewable energy sources. using coalbed methane gas as the anchor. Coalbed methane is also known as Renewable Biogenic Gas.

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_11600.php

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Residents raise concerns about transition home plans

A plan to convert a northside church into a native women`s transition home got a cool reception at a neighbourhood information meeting Wednesday evening.
About 35 Staffordville residents attended the meeting with city officials, and many voiced concerns about the proposed project including fears of plummeting property values, increased crime and social problems as well as safety issues relating to already high traffic volumes along 9 Avenue North between Stafford Drive and Scenic Drive North.

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_11599.php

 

[joeiannuzzi]

City unlikely to opt for private business model for event centre

It`s unlikely that city council will opt for a fully private business model for the new regional event centre.

That`s according to Ald. Jamie White, chair of the city`s event centre steering committee.

"I expect council will be not too open to a completely private facility, because then the city would have no say in the use of the facility," White told the Medicine Hat News on Wednesday. "A private facility would be operating on a user-pay system, and we would have no idea at what cost."

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/40421/27/

 

[joeiannuzzi]

New taxes floated for arena

Tourists and taxi patrons could help put the puck in the net for a new downtown hockey barn. A draft copy of a report written by Mayor Stephen Mandel`s arena committee suggests new taxes on hotel rooms and cab fares be introduced to help finance the proposed $450-million sports and entertainment centre.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2...372066-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Western provinces lead nation in economic growth

Western provinces will once again lead Canadian economic growth in 2008. However, some arguably unlikely candidates -- Saskatchewan and Manitoba -- have pushed Alberta aside atop the leader board, says a new report.

The Conference Board of Canada said Wednesday a labour crunch and soaring costs here will push Alberta to the No. 3 spot this year, trailing both our commodity-rich neighbours Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Saskatchewan will post the strongest growth in Canada for the first time since 1991.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...de-9b5bd2dc7ca8

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Chicken on the Way arrives in tiny Cluny

The signs are spray-painted, the menu board behind the cash is handwritten and the electrical wiring isn`t completely finished.

The only other nearby businesses in the tiny community of Cluny are a small grocery store and a liquor store run out of a shack.

Yet Mike Jackson thinks he has a winner -- so much so that he spent $225,000 to gut a former general store whose only immediate surroundings are empty lots.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...3b-d94ceee17f44

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Agrium earnings soar amid farming frenzy

Agrium Inc., North America`s No. 3 fertilizer-maker, saw its profits nearly triple in the second quarter as buoyant grain prices continued to drive demand for its crop nutrient products.

"This remains a story about food and the world wants and needs more food production," Agrium chief executive Mike Wilson told analysts Wednesday following the release of the Calgary company`s best quarterly earnings.

Agrium posted net earnings of $636 million US, or $4 diluted earnings per share, compared with $229 million, or $1.70 per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...a3-f961107850af

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Alberta has record August land sale

Alberta collected $41.9 million from the sale of oil and gas leases and exploration licences Wednesday, its biggest early August result in at least 10 years -- but its year-to-date total remained at less than half the record rush of cash being steadily accumulated in British Columbia.

The auction brought the Alberta total for conventional oil and gas rights so far this year to about $716 million -- well off the blistering pace set in 2006 when Alberta took in $3.5 billion for the full year.

In contrast, B.C.`s last land sale in July alone brought in a record $610 million for parcels in the northeastern part of the province, taking the province`s total for the year so far to $1.5 billion.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...24-0ac96c824d34

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Fort Hills costs escalate

A final cost estimate for the Fort Hills oilsands project will be higher than the $15.2 billion announced a year ago, but probably not high enough to greatly change its scope or timing, UTS Energy Corp. shareholders heard Wednesday.

The company is waiting for final cost estimates, expected in three or four months, before sanctioning the project it is developing with Petro-Canada (the operator, with 60 per cent) and Teck Cominco.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...48-fb10515cd7d6

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Grants decline, as population declines

Red Deer County is adjusting this year`s budget after two provincial grants were reduced slightly.

Corporate services director Terryl Allen said the county`s spending level was dependent on grants under the Alberta Municipal Infrastructure Program (AMIP), and the New Deal for Cities and Communities.

Both are per capita grants based on municipalities` official 2007 population.

Red Deer County`s population has been decreasing because urban municipalities have been annexing county land.

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

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Devon looks to expand Jackfish

CALGARY - Devon Energy Corp. is evaluating whether to launch a third expansion of its Jackfish oil sands project in Northern Alberta.

The Oklahoma City-based company told analysts yesterday it plans further drilling this winter to size up whether there is enough resource in nearby lands to support a Jackfish 3.

Devon started producing heavy oil last year at Jackfish, south of Fort McMurray, using steam-assisted gravity drainage technology.

Senior vice-president Steve Hadden said that the first phase will ramp up to its capacity, 35,000 barrels a day, in the first half of 2009.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/s....html?id=707033

 

[joeiannuzzi]

CBC still looking to Red Deer as site of new radio station

The CBC is looking for other ways to open more Radio One stations after the government turned down its request for more funding.

The Canadian Broadcast Corp. had asked for an extra $25 million annually to expand into 15 new markets, including Red Deer.

"Red Deer is still an area we are very interested in," said Ted Kennedy, chief of staff for English radio. "We`re in the process of looking into other ways we can do it, but without the money it`s going to be difficult."

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

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Affordable housing in Ponoka

PONOKA — Paul Semple once made as much in a week as he now makes in a month.

Working as a petroleum technologist, he had a 5,800-square-foot house, a jet boat and a Porsche.

His doctor told him he was working too hard and he needed to slow down. But Semple said he thought money and buying the newest toy was the most important thing.

Then, in July 2004, at age 49, Semple had a stroke and the condition turned his life upside down.

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

 

[Mauro]

Labour shortage forces more delays in oil patchCALGARY — A strained labour market in northern Alberta is taking a toll on Canada`s oil patch, adding another $525-million to the cost of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.`s oil sands project while prompting Imperial Oil Ltd. to push a decision on its construction plans into next year.

Globe & Mail - Aug 7, 2008 - Labour Shortage forces more delays in Oil Patch

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Landowners in two-pronged attack

A group that hopes to challenge the Alberta government`s ownership of coalbed methane deposits has a "Herculean" task ahead of it, says the chairman of another group that has been battling power transmission lines in the province. Angry landowners, who believe they have a personal claim to some of the estimated 500 trillion cubic feet of coalbed methane in Alberta, are organizing themselves and promoting the need for a legal battle to settle the thorny question.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/20...383466-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Condo owners allege shoddy work

EDMONTON - Owners of a controversial Cloverdale condominium are suing the developer and builder for problems they say include cracked walls, structural failures and insufficient soundproofing.

In 2002, dozens of trees beside the North Saskatchewan River were chopped down and three houses demolished to make way for The Landing, four brick-and-cedar-clad structures with about 120 units of luxury condominiums.

Some people complained because they thought the site at 9815 96A St. was parkland, but city councillors had decided against buying the property when they approved the project in 2000.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...31-b87d111e6079