| Council delays Nose Hill decision
Nose Hill Park will remain undeveloped, at least for a while. City council has put off a decision on a $6.8-million development plan for the hill until September.
The proposed development includes paved pathways, washroom facilities and interpretive trail markers. The plan has raised the ire of conservationists who want the park to remain as is.
Ski resort seeks expansion
A ski resort in the Castle wilderness region is hoping to get legal approval for a controversial expansion without having to conduct an environmental impact assessment first.
Castle Mountain Ski Resort will be in court on Thursday, May 19 to appeal a Court of Queen’s Bench ruling that an environmental impact assessment must be conducted.
Last year, Alberta Environment approved the resort expansion, but the Castle Crown Wilderness Coalition swiftly took the issue to court. The judge said that the decision to press ahead without an environmental impact assessment was "clearly irrational."
"We hope that the area’s looked after and protected," says Jeffrey Emmett of the Castle Crown Wilderness Coalition. "If we’re going to have this development and expansion, we need to see mitigation and protection of the environment."
"The Castle region consists of about 1,000 square kilometres of land between Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek and Waterton Lakes National Park. Land in the Castle region provides an important link between wildlife populations in Montana, British Columbia and Alberta.
"We hope that water quality and wildlife in southern Alberta is given its due consideration," says Emmett.
C-Jazz festival gets more funding
Calgary’s C-Jazz festival is receiving a funding boost from the Calgary Region Arts Foundation while another jazz festival is losing out.
The foundation says there were some difficult decisions made for this year’s grants, including the re-channeling of funding to the Calgary Jazz Association for the C-Jazz festival, which received $20,500, from the TD Canada Trust Jazz Festival Calgary.
The foundation says Jazz Festival Calgary was unable to provide convincing evidence of its viability.
Foundation president Mick Mulloy says they didn’t receive Jazz Festival Calgary’s application until after the application deadline.
He says care was taken to make sure that Calgary’s jazz community wasn’t left out when the grant money was distributed.
"We wanted to make sure that the jazz community was well-supported," says Mulloy, adding that the Calgary Jazz Association is a "very ambitious" organization with a lot of promise.
The Calgary Region Arts Foundation gave over $2.4 million to 111 arts organizations this year. The foundation is made up of 50 volunteers.
City growth often harms environment: report
Expanding cities may have booming economies, but rapid growth often takes a toll on a city’s natural environment, according to a report released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
"There is a real risk that continuously expanding urban populations, increasing incomes and growing economic activity will result in increased pressure on the quality of air, water and soil," the report says.
Despite the expansion of recycling services, the amount of garbage shipped to landfills in Canadian cities increased dramatically between 1991 and 2001, according to the report.
"I think we’re doing better than a decade ago, but we have a long way to go," says Ald. Joe Ceci, Calgary’s representative to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The report also says that while most Canadian cities have been seeing a strong demand for single- detached and semi-detached homes, the demand for this kind of housing has dropped in Calgary, indicating a higher demand for more efficient options like condos.
The report is based on data from 20 Canadian cities including Calgary.
Loose Moose
The Loose Moose Theatre Company has found a new home. The improv theatre troupe is moving to the Crossroads Market (1235 - 26 Ave. S.E.). The company is planning to build a 200-seat theatre on the second floor of the historic building.
Construction is scheduled to begin shortly, and a grand opening is planned for September. |
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