| Tuesday, Oct. 29
If your smoke detector is your sous chef or you specialize in charred cuisine, be warned: Edmonton Fire Rescue Services is planning to start charging locals who repeatedly trigger frivolous false alarms if firefighters are sent out but find no danger upon arrival... A former Alberta RCMP officer and an Edmonton-area family received a bravery award after a fiery fatal crash a decade ago. "If it wasn't for my dad, I wouldn't be alive today," says Mackenzie Fragoso...
Oilers captain Connor McDavid was injured early in last night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and out for the rest. "It should be an opportunity for guys to step up and say, ‘I got this.’ It’s more ice time, more opportunity," says Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. But our boys lost 6-1.
In vomit-inducing news, doctors removed a live cockroach from the intestine of man complaining of abdominal issues...
Last-minute costume ideas? Feedback on today's newsletter? Send your thoughts to ksmall@postmedia.com.
— Kaylen Small |
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Setting off alarms by cooking? Edmonton's fire department could send you a bill
Burned toast or steaming hot showers setting off fire alarms could cost Edmontonians starting next year as the fire department hopes to cut down on a spike in unnecessary calls. Edmonton Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) plans to start charging locals who repeatedly trigger frivolous false alarms, intentionally or by mistake, if firefighters are sent out but find no real danger when they arrive. Homeowners can be fined around $100 after one warning, and up to around $1,000 for the fourth unnecessary alarm in one year. Fines for other property owners would range from about $400 to $1,500.
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Former Alberta RCMP officer and Edmonton-area family receive Star of Courage award after fiery fatal crash
Mackenzie Fragoso still remembers the sounds of the crash. The rocketing bang of twisted metal as vehicles collided, the whirling of flames and the smell of smoke permeating the air where she, her father and stepmother were left trapped in their minivan along Highway 28 near St. Paul on June 30, 2014. They had been hit by a vehicle driven by an impaired driver whose vehicle crossed the centre line and slammed into the Fragoso family head-on. The driver, Fallon Jessica Ouellette, was one-and-a-half times over the legal blood-alcohol limit.
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Governor General takes on digital bullies in Edmonton panel discussion
Crude online commentary and digital incivility were top of mind for Canada’s Governor General on Monday. Speaking at MacEwan University, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon related grim personal experience of hate speech cloaked in the anonymity of social media that led to shutting down online commenting on posts. “When I first got installed as Governor General, there was a lot of abusive language being used online, on the platform that we have for the Governor General on different sites. And it just got worse and worse. Some of it started to be directly related to me as a woman and as an Indigenous woman,” she said.
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Trial begins for Edmonton woman accused of murdering her 85-year-old mother
An elderly widow allegedly murdered by her daughter was found in her home with “extreme” blunt force injuries to the head, Crown prosecutors said at the start of her daughter’s murder trial. Vini Buecken began a second-degree murder trial in Edmonton Court of King’s Bench Monday for the death of Dagmar Petersen, her 85-year-old mother. Buecken, 66, sat behind her defence counsel and watched silently as a prosecutor gave the Crown’s opening statement. Buecken wore glasses and a white blazer and balanced her chin on her fist.
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Around the province and beyond
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Alberta Bill of Rights changes mark return of MLAs to legislature as session resumes
The Alberta government marked the return of MLAs to the legislature Monday by introducing promised legislation that overhauls the Alberta Bill of Rights by adding three new rights and updating provisions around free speech and property rights. Bill 24 — the Alberta Bill of Rights Amendment Act, 2024 — was tabled on the assembly’s floor Monday afternoon and spells out new rights to be added to the existing Bill of Rights and changes to its preamble and application. |
Columbus crime scene a spooky glimpse of Oilers without Connor McDavid
You want spooky for Halloween? All you had to do is watch the Edmonton Oilers without Connor McDavid Monday night. It was like the aftermath of a slasher movie, nothing but Oilers blood and guts strewn all over Nationwide Arena. And if their humbling 6-1 slaughter is a sign of what’s to come while the Oilers captain recovers from the injury he suffered against the Columbus Blue Jackets, then prepare to be frightened out of your wits.
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McDavid injured, Oilers pounded in nightmare visit to Columbus
Talk about things going from bad to worse in a hurry. Monday night went so badly so quickly for the Edmonton Oilers on Monday it was like a plane crash BEFORE takeoff. Just when it looked like things might finally be going their way after back-to-back wins over Pittsburgh and Detroit lifted them to .500, the Oilers took a double-barrelled shot in the mouth Monday in Columbus. Not only did they get bombed 6-1 by the Blue Jackets, but that turned out to be the least of their worries on a night when Connor McDavid got injured on his first shift of the game.
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Uncertainty looms over promising finish as Edmonton Elks head into off-season
While an optimist may point out that the Edmonton Elks went 7-4 to close out the season after a dreadful 0-7 start, the team heads into the CFL off-season with plenty of questions. Will interim general manager Geroy Simon and interim head coach Jarious Jackson, who replaced former coach and GM Chris Jones five games into the regular season, keep their jobs in 2025? With McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s one-year deal now expired, and Tre Ford not under contract for 2025, who will play quarterback for going forward?
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Edmonton filmmaker to follow hit Skinamarink with A24 film The Land of Nod
Edmonton-based filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball turned his creepy Skinamarink — filmed in his childhood home on a shoe-string $15,000 — into a sleeper horror hit last year. For a follow-up, he’s teaming up with A24 — the studio behind Oscar darlings Moonlight and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, as well as horror hits Hereditary and The Witch — according to Variety.
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Halloween Jacks is an immersive experience on the main floor of the former Hudson's Bay location in Edmonton City Centre mall, pictured on Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Shaughn Butts/Postmedia |
Donald Trump's rising polls scare U.S. Democrats. Cartoon by Malcolm Mayes |
Letters To The Editor welcome
We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don’t publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: letters@edmontonjournal.com |
Tuesday's letters: Revoke cuts to pharmacists' fees
In a letter sent to Alberta’s pharmacists, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange goes on about how much she values the work they do. LaGrange indicates that pharmacies are highly valued in Alberta’s health scene. Empty, hollow words. A mere two days after, pharmacies receive a letter cutting their fees and consultation times from 12 per year to four. We, the public, are informed of the decision. There was no warning at all for the pharmacies.
Currently, pharmacists bill $20 for consultations. Now that they are only allowed four consultations, they will have no choice but to tell their patients to book an appointment with their doctors, that is, if they even have a family physician. A doctor charges just under $40. Is it only me who sees that the added cost is double? I wonder if LaGrange expects the pharmacists to work for free. Why should they? It is a business and no one should be expected to provide a service without compensation.
If LaGrange suspects some pharmacies are padding their books, go after them with a forensic audit, but don’t penalize the honest, hardworking pharmacists. I encourage all concerned Albertans to contact Lagrange and their MLAs and push for this decision to be revoked.
Jim Pernsky, Edmonton |
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