I Heart Edmonton

What would Global News anchor Carole Anne Devaney want to read, listen to, or watch if she were stranded on a deserted island?  BY EMIL TIEDEMANN Since she was 17 in English class, Ottawa-born Carole Anne Devaney knew she wanted to be in journalism. W hen Lynda Steele announced that she was leaving Global Edmonton in 2010 to move to Vancouver, we were devastated. Okay, maybe we weren't devastated , but there was no doubt whoever was to take her place had some big shoes to fill. But, by the end of 2011, Ottawa's Carole Anne Devaney took over as Gord Steinke 's co-anchor of Global's News Hour , and it was as though she had always been there. "This is such a perfect fit for me," Devaney said when she accepted the job. "The position really plays to my strengths and skills." Devaney--who speaks three languages btw--graduated from Ottawa's Carleton University School of Journalism, and is the winner of an RTNDA Canada Award for her work on ...

Together, the existing and proposed LRT lines will connect Edmonton on all sides, establishing a public transit system other cities will be envious of BY EMIL TIEDEMANN Edmonton's LRT system began operating in April 1978. Construction began in 1974 and cost $65 million. A S the city grows, so must our public transit system . That's just obvious. But even with that in mind, I'm still in awe of what City Council has in store for Edmonton when it comes to our low-floor, community-integrated LRT expansion plan .  The long-term LRT Network Plan was initiated by the city in June 2009, spearheaded by our new Mayor (and then City Councillor) Don Iveson . Since then we've seen five brand new stations on the LRT line: Health Sciences/ Jubilee , McKernan/ Belgravia , South Campus/ Fort Edmonton Park , Southgate , and Century Park , all of which were completed by 2010.  In addition to those and the pre-existing 10 stations ( Clareview to University ), there are three...

Edmonton resident Lynn Coady's Hellgoing becomes only the fourth short story collection to receive the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada's most prestigious award for fiction Lynn Coady's Hellgoing wins the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T HE Scotiabank Giller Prize is Canada's most sought-after and prestigious honour in literary fiction, with a cash prize of $50,000 for the year's top entry. Last week (Nov. 5), Edmonton's own Lynn Coady , 43, joined the ranks of Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood by capturing the 2013 Giller for her collection of short stories, Hellgoing (published by House of Anansi). "I think probably the only way for me to keep it together is just to read from this page," an excited and nervous Coady said in her acceptance speech at Toronto's Ritz-Carlton. "So I'm gonna hold on to these papers for dear life. "This is shocking and overwhelming," she continued. "I don't eve...

In honour of brave soldiers throughout Canada and around the world, Edmontonians will take the time to remember their sacrifices for our future BY EMIL TIEDEMANN Remembrance Day is Monday, November 11. E DMONTON'S always had a prolific military history, and even today remains an important branch of the Canadian military, as headquarters of the 3rd Canadian Division.  Part of that Division is Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), one of the three Regular Force Infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. Next August it will celebrate 100 years since The Charter of the Regiment was signed and recruiting began.  Earlier this year, on June 7, Edmonton's CFB (Canadian Forces base) became the first Canadian military base to raise a rainbow flag in support of Edmonton Pride. The move was groundbreaking and represented the CFB's acceptance of all its soldiers.  So, to pay our respect to those soldiers past and present, below we've listed all the ...

Unlike other urban regions in Canada, Edmonton lacks a gay district that could allow our city to truly take pride in acceptance and equality BY EMIL TIEDEMANN " W HAT if they stabbed me?" asked Chevi Rabbit after he was attacked in public by a group of men last year near the U of A campus, on his way to the local grocery store. "What if they had a knife or something?" The University student was targeted simply because he's gay, apparent when the young men began yelling homophobic slurs at Rabbit, who has since become somewhat of a voice for the rights and equality of Edmonton's LGBTQ+ community. The Castro District in San Francisco is the most prominent and one of the first gay neighbourhoods in the United States, established during the 1960s and '70s. Fortunately, Rabbit was not seriously injured during the July 2012 incident, though it certainly affected how safe he feels in his own neighbourhood. How could you blame him! This is no...

Although we're far off from competing with the intimidating skylines of Toronto and New York, Edmonton's own cityscape is seeking a new look, thanks much in part to a proposed high rise that would dominate the downtown BY EMIL TIEDEMANN The proposed Edmontonian tower would be the tallest building in Western Canada, and second in the country. I F you take the spires and flagpoles into account, the 2-year-old Epcor Tower (10180-101 Street) is currently the tallest building in Edmonton, rising 149.3 metres (490 feet) above the city streets. That's only three metres (11 feet) higher than Manulife Place , which reigned supreme since it was completed in 1983.  The 28-floor Epcor Tower is also Edmonton's first downtown high rise in 22 years! I recently went atop the Tower to snap some photos of Edmonton's downtown skyline, and was impressed with the unique vantage point.  But, if all goes as planned, the view will be peanuts compared to what's on the way...

Colleen Brown's "Happy Love Song" (2011) BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T just happened to be a coincidence that I should stumble upon this music video featuring Mayor Don Iveson , just days after he won the October 21st election. Of course, he was still a City Councillor when the video for Edmonton-based Colleen Brown 's "Happy Love Song" was made (August 2011).  Singer-songwriter Colleen Brown has performed at the Edmonton Folk Festival and won the Alberta Emerging Artist Award in 2008.  "I had a lot of fun playing a bit role in the collaboration between ETS and Colleen Brown," Iveson wrote in his personal blog. "That bus was literally bouncing, and the acoustics were surprisingly good. Wonderful Edmonton talent on display." The video was also produced to help promote the new-&-improved ETS Trip Planner, and was filmed almost entirely aboard a moving city bus.   "Happy Love Song" was featured on Brown's third al...

Imagine an Edmonton where tramways take you across the North Saskatchewan, a giant Ferris wheel defines a new Whyte Avenue, and where homelessness is a thing of the past. With the right visionaries behind the helm, these things and much more could be a reality someday! By Emil Tiedemann I T'S been more than four years since the last time I saw my cousin, Amy. She had just turned 30 then, so we and about a half dozen of her friends spent the whole weekend drinking far too many hazy shots of tequila and Jagermeister at an endless thread of Vancouver nightclubs. But now she was on my turf, and those nights of overindulging in overpriced Cuevo and Bacardi were behind us. Well, sort of. It wasn't even noon yet when I picked Amy up from the Edmonton International Airport . She had barely changed at all from when I shared a carpet with her during one of our drunken swoons back in B.C. "Neither have you," she lied. Amy was "starving," and even though o...