Now it's down to six.

Calgary's search for a poet laureate is entering the final phases with a handful of local poets up for the prize: Derek Beaulieu, Daniel Bennett (better known to you as Transit), Kris Demeanor, Diane Guichon, Tyler Perry and Sheri-D Wilson.

It's not  suprising to see any of those names on the shortlist, which I suppose is a good thing. They've picked some of the best-known poets to vie for the prize, and have a good mix of genres (if that's even the right word).

After being whittled down by a committee, Calgarians will have a chance to judge the finalists at a free event at Hotel Arts on March 1. The night will feature readings by the poets, plus a discussion on what they'd bring to the role. You can suggest questions for the … Read More

When the Triangle Gallery changed its name to the Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary late last year, it was a step towards recreating the gallery and the organization into a proper collecting contemporary art museum — something that has been sorely missing in Calgary's art scene.

Today, MOCA announced a memorandum of understanding with another group that has long sought space for a similar intiative — the Institute of Modern and Contemporary Art (IMCA). On the surface, the press release reads like non-news. Oh great, two groups are going to talk about things for a while. The cynic inside says nothing will come of it.

But there's real hope here. Jeffrey Spalding, the still-new artistic director of MOCA, isn't known for sitting on his … Read More

A report by the Cornell University Global Labor Institute slams claims by TransCanada, the company trying to build the controversial Keystone XL oilsands pipeline through the U.S.

Chief amongst those claims is the possibility of thousands of jobs in a country that is desperate to improve its unemployment rate. According to TransCanada, the project could create 119,000 jobs for American workers. 

According to the report,  "The industry’s claim that KXL will create 119,000 total jobs (direct, indirect, and induced) is based on a flawed and poorly documented study commissioned by TransCanada (The Perryman Group study). Perryman wrongly includes over $1 billion in spending and over 10,000 person-years of employment for a … Read More

P3 Rec Centres in Calgary-24-Nov-11

Hell hath no fury like a politician scorned. Even our diplomatic mayor has his knickers in a bunch today and one alderman actually dared to ask the question: what do our Conservative MPs really do for us?

The reason for this little political uprising is the denial of funding for three rec centres in Calgary through a federal public-private partnership fund. The federal funding would have covered 25 per cent of the cost of the projects, a significant sum of money ($99 million).

Adding insult to injury, the city already tossed out $3.1 million just to apply for the grants and was apparently assured that the proposal was on its way to approval.

During Nenshi's press conference to say just how … Read More

At a press conference on October 28, Tom Sampson, deputy chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, let out a whopper: Occupy Calgary protesters in Olympic Plaza have caused $40,000 worth of damage to the park since they took up residence two weeks ago.

The figure was quickly parroted by the local media, instantly sent out via Twitter and then followed up by news reports. But where, exactly, did that figure come from? No one seemed to know.

According to Cara Katterhagen, speaking on behalf of CEMA (Sampson was in a course all day and unavailable for comment), the figure is a "guesstimate" from the parks department. Actual figures won't be known until the city can access the site and determine the state of the park.

According the … Read More

Local photographer Joey Podlubny decided to document those who are participating in the Occupy Calgary camps. In his own words, the goal of the project is "to create an individual voice as a part of the collective whole. To provide insight to others on what the goals are, what the dreams are and who is standing up for them."

Hundreds gathered in front of Bankers Hall on Oct. 15 to vent their frustration with global, national and local economic policies that they feel have gone off the rails.

There will be some hearty souls camping in Olympic Plaza tonight to carry on the protest. Here's a taste of what happened today.

So, what's the worst-kept secret of the day? Calgary is going to be named the cultural capital of Canada for 2012. What does that mean? Money! Lots of it and all earmarked for cultural events and organizations.

Of course, this isn't official yet. There is the slim possibility that James Moore, the minister of heritage and official languages, is just popping into town with an entourage of Conservative MPs to laugh in our faces while he tells us we don't get a damn thing. If it was any other government, that wouldn't even be possibility, but with these guys? Who knows.

Assuming we do get a bunch of money from the feds this afternoon (the announcement is at 12:30 and we'll let you know how it goes), there are some questions that need to answered: Where … Read More

Fast Forward Weekly wants to hear your most cringe-worthy or most amazing (or both) Halloween stories.

Did you wear something one year that you still celebrate or regret? Are you missing a few hours of your life before you woke up in a petting zoo? Maybe you had the best damn Halloween evah and you just want to share. Well, we want to share all of it in our Halloween issue. We want your stories and we want pictures of you in costume on the night in question. We’ll feature the best submissions in the paper on October 27. Let’s see what you got Calgary.

Send stories and photos to danderson@ffwd.greatwest.ca.

Insight and public accountability into issues such as military helicopter cost overruns, a severance package for the ousted integrity commissioner and renovations on parliament hill have been dealt a death blow thanks to the Conservative government's actions at the public accounts committee.

The decision to shelve the auditor general's reports into these issue is a sad day for public oversight of how our government operates. It's another move by the Conservatives to keep the public in the dark.

For those who don't follow CBC reporter Kady O'Malley, do it. She's a tireless watcher of Parliament Hill. Here's a link to her summary of what happened when the body that is responsible for overseeing the actions of a majority … Read More