The city is setting the record straight about the ongoing saga that is the Mission Pit.

To recap: The 'Pit' is the result of several cancelled, stalled and delayed projects. For 10 years a gaping hole has marred an otherwise idealic 4th Street. In June, the city announced that the developer, Strategic Group, had applied for a building permit, suggesting the project was, finally, moving forward.

Then, last week, a spokesperson for Strategic said the building permit application already existed and the application was merely a formality to ensure the permit wouldn't expire, adding, "There's nothing going on there from a construction point of view right now," and that the city may be doing a little bit of spin doctoring.

But that was then. Now … Read More

Here's some political gristle for city hall observers to chew on.

Several sources say Calgary Ald. John Mar, barely seven months into his second term on council, is considering running for the Progressive Conservatives in the next provincial election, which will happen before the next municipal election in 2013.

Mar admits the Conservatives, as well as the Wildrose Alliance, have approached him to run, but denies rumours he has chosen the Tory camp. 

"I just got re-elected, so at this time I'm actually really happy where I'm at," he says. "Plus, the fact we just had a baby, I'm not going anywhere. I can't go anywhere. I've got two kids and a newborn baby. Can you see me going to Edmonton anytime soon for a week at a time? Really?"

Well, yes, actually.

First … Read More

Feeling ignored this election Calgary? It's understandable. None of the federal party leaders have bothered to stop by. Like a emotionally detatched husband, Stephen takes you for granted. Ignatieff and Jack would love to court you I'm sure, but they're wise enough to know you're loyal to ol' Steve.

But Green Party Leader Elizabeth May isn't giving up on you Cowtown. She believes your vote can be swayed. Afterall, her party pulled in some (relatively) impressive numbers in the mostly urban ridings of Calgary Centre and Centre-North in the 2008 election.

On Tuesday, May became the first party leader to visit our fair city. She walked down Stephen Avenue, shaking hands, fielding questions and pumping out policy to all within earshot.

 … Read More

Alberta voters are being taken for granted by Conservative MPs who are actively avoiding public forums and all but invisible during the 2011 federal election campaign, says a University of Calgary political science professor.

"It's appalling that during an election campaign one party consistently absents itself," says Doreen Barrie.

Calgary East MP Deepak Obhrai told the Herald he sees no need to debate his opponents, particularly Liberal candidate Josipa Petrunic because she's only a "visitor from Toronto." Other Conservative MPs are either stumping in swing ridings outside the province or sitting on the fence about whether they'll participate in a public debate.

The narrative is that it's a smart political … Read More

The Wildrose Alliance has been scoring big political points and garnering support for their outright opposition to the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA). They're a hit with rural landowners, who quite rightly, have a reason to fear the government's intentions.

Over several months, Wildrose MLAs with the help of Keith Wilson, a lawyer and former vice-president of the party’s St. Albert constituency association, have been stoking fears across the province that the act would strip landowners of their property rights.

In fact, the Wildrose says it will repeal ALSA and legislate a bill that enshrines private property rights as its first order of business if voted into power. Former Tory MLA Rob Anderson, who crossed the floor … Read More

Could you live on $1,188 for one month?

More than 40,000 of Alberta's severely disabled who receive financial support through the province's Assured Income for Severely Handicapped do, scraping by on $1,188 — or less — every month.

Recently, several local advocacy groups, including the Disability Action Hall and the Calgary Ability Network issued a challenge: Try, for one month, to live on $1,188.

For the month of March, set aside $1,188 and then hide the rest of your income from yourself. If you are brave enough to take on the $1,188 challenge, you will be trying to make it through one month on the income that nearly 41 000 Albertans with severe disabilities are provided by AISH. However, to make it easier, everyone will pay the same rent of $ 705 a … Read More

Peter Kent, Canada's still-green industry err... environment minister, is taking it on his made-for-TV chin with this new Greenpeace mock dating site commercial (polluterharmony.ca), which depicts the minister's relationship with the oilsands' industry as more than friendly.

Shortly after he was handed the environment portfolio, Kent began treading on conservative pundit Ezra Levant's territory, rebranding Alberta's oilsands as "ethical oil." Cleaning up the oilsands' image — though not necessarily the industry itself — was a top priority, declared Kent.

Environmentalists immediately questioned Kent's mandate: Was he in charge of defending the environment, as his job title suggests? Or was Kent acting as Big Oil's defacto … Read More

Today, on arguably the most manufactured of feel-good days that is Valentine's, card makers, florists and chocolatiers will squeal in delight as the cash rolls in while untold thousands of well-trained men and women rush about in a panicked, glazy-eyed state, searching for the perfect gift that says, 'I love you.'

While many will reflect on the meaning of love, few will ponder their right to love and be loved. And why would we? How many of us have been told, explicitly or implicity, that we don't have that right because of who we are?

Unfortunately, many persons with disabilities, however, are often led to believe this. And it's not hard to see why considering instances where societies have taken extreme measures to "protect the gene pool."

 … Read More

The big news in provincial politics today: Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor, who ditched the Alberta Liberal Party in a foot-stomping, take-my-ball-home huff last April to sit as an independent, has joined the upstart Alberta Party.

It's a bit of a coup for the Alberta Party, which with Taylor, now has one sitting member in the legislature. And we really mean "a bit." While some try to make Taylor out to be some sort of political powerhouse, consider his record since leaving the Liberals: Tabling an anti-idling bill. That's about it.

Enlisting Taylor also presents a problem for the Alberta Party's branding efforts, which continually professes putting an end to politics-as-usual in this province. Why? Here's what Taylor told Fast … Read More