We agree we want to save old buildings, but how can we fund it? How can we find the necessary budget to keep the McDougall United Church? What about foundations? What about crowdsourcing? Tax credits? What about a tax levy to build a heritage fund?

Congrats to all the restaurants who made the 2015 list! Do we agree with the picks? What about all the restaurants that didn’t make the cut? The list does seem to honor the new kids on the block, so should there be a category for “classic” restaurants?

With the redone Crimson Hotel in Jasper and a new plan to fly 737s into Edson, what will the impact be on Edmonton? Online voting has come up again at City Council, will we be able to vote using our devices in the next election?

We discuss those questions and more!

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

• McDougall United Church’s future may not have a prayer
• One final push to save historic McDougall Church
• Avenue Best Restaurants 2015
• The Crimson Jasper
• Edmonton executive committee to petition the province to allow online voting

Thanks for listening!

There are lots of new restaurants to try, including Ampersand, a revamped North 53, and a bunch of lunch spots all around Central LRT Station. It’s a great time to enjoy downtown eats! On the topic of food, have you seen the Sexy Men of YEG Food calendar? All proceeds go to support the Edmonton Food Bank.

What can be done in the region to ensure we have positive economic development in the future? There’s an opportunity here, so how can we seize it? How does the City Charter fit into this opportunity, if at all?

Thanks to some funding from TEC Edmonton, we have a new Health Accelerator moving forward in Edmonton. Will we see 50 new health-related companies created as a result? How will this be different than previous efforts to succeed in the health-commercialization space?

Finally, we have a beautiful new public washroom in Borden Park. Have you checked it out?

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

• Edmonton Oilers fire goaltending coach Frederic Chabot
• The Sexy Men of YEG Food
• Edmonton region must take steps to secure economic future, report says
• TEC Edmonton’s Health Accelerator + Innovate Calgary’s Kinetica Ventures get funding go-ahead
• A Beautiful Public Washroom in an Edmonton Park

Thanks for listening!

With exciting new additions to the local food scene like District, Burrow, Rostizado, Jacek, and many others, we’re really enjoying Edmonton’s restaurant renaissance. It seems others are too, as Edmonton is increasingly mentioned in the national media. Should we be surprised at the recognition or can we leave our modest selves in the past and embrace the new Edmonton wholeheartedly?

We also discuss Edmonton’s summer festivals, with the Heritage Festival taking place over the long weekend the Fringe on the way. Should we be concerned that K-Days attendance was down again this year? Is the Fringe our Stampede? Do we even need a Stampede? We discuss those questions and more.

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

• enRoute Best Restaurants 2014 – Eat & Vote!
• Burrow Central Station
• Innovative chocolatier Jacqueline Jacek opens location on 104 Street
• Edmonton Rocked K-Days
• Servus Heritage Festival
• Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival

Thanks for listening!

Here are some relevant links for this episode:

• Avenue Edmonton’s Best Restaurants 2014
• Tomato Top 100 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton
• 5 Best Spots for Mac n’ Cheese in Edmonton

Thanks for listening!