AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-11

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1108CALG
Calgarians weave dreams for city

An urban farm replaced Shaganappi Golf Course on Saturday, while 17th Avenue`s shopping and bar district was extended west to Killarney and, in a reverse of Joni Mitchell`s lyric, they placed green paradise over a parking lot at Westbrook`s Walmart.

That`s what seven Calgarians did, at least, with wood building blocks, ribbons and a tabletop map of west-central Calgary, during a workshop Saturday in a hypothetical redevelopment that will help contribute to the long-term city plan slated for next year.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...ee-5ff9c7a47409

 

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1108EDTN
Gravel-pit reports raise noise, water doubts for Onoway-area residents

ONOWAY - Onoway-area residents fighting a proposed gravel pit on their doorstep say two recent reports raise serious questions about the controversial project.

They say one report released by Alberta Environment shows the project would generate more noise than what is allowed under provincial regulations governing the energy sector, while a second report appears to be missing information on underground water flow.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...8e-544aa5cc311e

 

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AB Small Town Updates: 2008-11-16

 

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1108EDTN
One suite at a time, planners recommend

EDMONTON - In the short term, the city`s affordable housing shortage is best fought one suite at a time, city planners say.

Thousands of residents in older neighbourhoods may soon be able to outfit their single-family homes with affordable suites for rent, if council approves a staff recommendation to make the zoning bylaw more inclusive.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...e3-69c3ec278218

 

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1108ALTA
Oil prices soon to recover

LONDON - World oil prices could easily fall below $50 a barrel and might even slip towards $40 or perhaps $35, but they will recover and could do so fairly quickly, analysts and economists say.

Benchmark U.S. crude futures dropped to a 22-month low last week as evidence mounted that the deepening recession would have a severe impact on demand, reducing the use of oil by industries and individuals alike.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...7a-f5bebd64b36d

 

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1108CALG
City budget battle looms

Everything from tax dollars to political legacies are at stake as city council officially launches into talks today on the most contentious budget in decades.

The document aimed at addressing Calgary`s explosive growth has been in the works for more than a year, but the global financial crisis that only emerged in the past few months has left a cloud over what previously seemed like a rosy economic future.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...38-f517d2adb51a

 

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1108CALG
Troubled $1.4B Bow on track: mayor

Calgary`s mayor is expressing confidence that The Bow -- the biggest office tower project in the city`s history -- remains on track, despite a global credit crunch that has clouded the development`s future.

Construction of the $1.4-billion landmark skyscraper, the future home of energy giant EnCana Corp., is in danger of being halted as the owner/developer attempts to secure financing to finish it.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e3-101dbbc0c8cb

 

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1108REDR
Hotel owners given ultimatum

Backers of a stalled Sylvan Lake hotel project have been given another six months to find a use for their prime site on Lakeshore Drive that has become a local eyesore.

Town council voted Monday night to give the hotel owners until June 30 to clean up the site as long as they meet several conditions, including providing a $500,000 irrevocable letter of credit by Dec.19. Council also wants a proper fence placed around the corner lot, replacing a sagging screened fence that was put up to hide the unsightly concrete parkade.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv..._ultimatum.html

 

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1108REDR
Plan bigger

Red Deer needs an aquatic centre, concert hall and new museum, community groups told city council on Monday.

Representatives from the Central Alberta Aquatics Centre board, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra and Red Deer and District Museum board each made a pitch for new buildings.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...lan_bigger.html

 

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1108REDR
No chill on Plasco`s furnace

The economic chill settling in worldwide will not affect Plasco Energy Group`s Central Alberta gasification plant plans, said company executive vice-president Chris Gay in Red Deer Monday.

Gay said work on the site next to Red Deer County`s Horn Hill Waste Transfer Site near Penhold should begin next summer and the plant could be operational in 2010.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...os_furnace.html

 

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1108REDR
Lots approved for Queens Business Park

Development of Queens Business Park continues, with Red Deer`s municipal planning commission on Monday approving a subdivision plan to create 14 industrial lots west of Hwy 2 and south of Hwy 11A.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...iness_Park.html

 

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1108ALTA
Keeping Albertans fit worth $500 tax credit: MLAs

Playing hockey, carving powder in the mountains and pumping iron in the gym could soon be a lot cheaper in Alberta after MLAs passed a bill Monday to offer physically active Albertans a $500 fitness tax credit.

In a vote of 24-20, MLAs narrowly approved a private member`s bill, sponsored by Calgary-Lougheed Tory MLA Dave Rodney, which will provide partial tax relief up to $500 per person on annual fees for physical activities.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...1f-3afed9b8166b

 

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1108EDTN
Council dodges rental suite bullet

EDMONTON - City council late Monday night referred the proposed changes to the bylaw to allow secondary suites back to administration until Jan. 19, citing concerns over density, parking, dispute resolution and enforcement, and owner occupancy.

While the motion to defer the changes was carried, several councillors expressed frustation, as did Mayor Stephen Mandel.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...4f-70038ab68ec1

 

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1108ALTA
Oil price plunge means `amber light` for Albertans

EDMONTON - Alberta`s finance minister is expected to trot out a gloomy report card today, filled with more economic warnings than spending promises.

Iris Evans will unveil the province`s second-quarter fiscal update today. The numbers may look good on paper, because the economy suffered its worst battering towards the end of the second quarter, but today`s forecast will fall short of the near-record $8.5-billion surplus projected in August.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...7b-6eb2858130f9

 

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1108EDTN
Costs delay Fort Hills upgrader

EDMONTON -- The Fort Hills bitumen upgrader north of Edmonton has been delayed indefinitely, and the partners will decide next year whether to go ahead with the mine and processing portion of the $24-billion oilsands project.

A final decision on the mine 90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray will be made when they can get costs more in line with the current market environment, the partners said Monday.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...8f-7e573f3bb28a

 

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1108CALG
Smaller tax hike seems a certainty

If stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments descended from the ceiling in city council chambers, aldermen would look them over and throw them in the shredder.

Everything gets shredded with this council -- intentions, promises, strategies and commitments. Once just annoying, this is now tawdry. It has led Calgary into the biggest budget mess in a generation.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...0b-04e1a0028f4a

 

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1108ALTA
Alberta billions lead carbon fight

In the battle against climate change, the world`s richest countries have called for $20 billion US to be spent on 20 projects to store and capture carbon -- a technology to slow climate change while still allowing for the burning of fossil fuels around the world.

Alberta`s economy represents less than half of one per cent of the total world`s gross domestic product, yet it alone has agreed to put $2 billion towards building projects that will see carbon dioxide captured, transported and stored underground.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...a7-3ded0fc29d78

 

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1108ALTA
More obstacles ahead for oilpatch

P etro-Canada confirmed what had become a poorly kept secret of late, revealing Monday morning it is deferring development on its Fort Hills oilsands project and indefinitely benching plans for an associated upgrader that would have been capable of processing 180,000 barrels a day of bitumen.

The reasons offered came as no surprise: the combination of rising costs, a credit squeeze and soft oil prices has had an impact on every oilsands player of late, with Petro-Canada`s Fort Hills project becoming the ninth in a growing list of companies that have announced changes to development plans.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...c4-f92c251f902d

 

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1108ALTA
Montana-Alberta power line gets nod from U.S. Regulator

A contentious transmission line that would carry power to and from Alberta and Montana received final approvals from U.S. regula-tors Monday, according to the company promoting the 230-kilovolt line.

Toronto-based Tonbridge Power Inc. said the approvals by the United States Department of Energy and Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability allows it to proceed with the final, pre-construction stages of the $180-million project.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...83-db638d71f363

 

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1108ALTA
Oil price plunge leaves alberta $6.5B poorer

EDMONTON - Plummeting oil prices have slashed $6.5 billion from what was expected to be a near-record breaking Alberta surplus.

The province still expects a $2-billion surplus, mostly because of summer oil prices that surged to $147 US per barrel.

In its last budget, the government had predicted a $1.6-billion surplus.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...5c-23894aa62b77