SE Bus Rapid Transit received mixed reviews from Calgary customers

Monday was launch day for the southeast Bus Rapid Transit service.  City officials says ridership levels on the BRT line route 302 will be reviewed to gauge potential demand for a future LRT line.  Neil Mckendrick, the City’s manager of transit planning says Calgary Transit has previously served high-demand areas with a form of bus rapid transit up to ten years before installing an LRT line, and may do the same within the city’s southeast.   Continue Reading

By Markham Hislop, Editor

Markham’s Media Rule #16: if the media is stampeding in one direction on a story, take a closer look, there’s usually a good case to be made for the other side.  So it is with the furor over the mural Swinton’s Art Supply & Instruction plastered over its front window.  City Hall wants the business to take it down, Swintons already spent $10,000 plus putting it up, people like it (heck, I like it) and the bureaucrats in charge look petty and mean-spirited. Continue Reading

Artist's rendering of the Calgary Co-operative store currently under construction

Situated on the side of an old gravel quarry, the new community of Quarry Park is on its way to injecting jobs and liveliness into a formerly desolate corner of the quadrant. 
By the time the project is complete around 2012, Quarry Park will be a European-style community where home, work and play all fall within a short distance of each other.   Located between Riverbend and Douglas Glen Estates, the project will include single and multi-family homes along with office and retail space. Continue Reading

Turning the water off is the easiest way to protect you home while you're on vacation

That dream vacation is finally here.  Maybe a month studying the architecture of the capitol cities of Europe or an eco-holiday in the verdant jungles of the Amazon.  So much to do and so little time to do it in!  But have you checked your insurance policy to ensure your home is covered in the event of the million things that can wrong when you’re not around every day? Continue Reading

Dale Wallace

As the new school year begins the question of which books should be banned from school curriculums begins as well. It seems that in the city of Brampton, Ontario a high school principal removed Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird from grade 10 English courses because the word “nigger” (which from now on will be referred to as the-word-which-shall-not-be-spoken) is used in the book. I think it’s time Canadian citizens take a stand; our kids need to be protected from truth and the stark realities of life. Continue Reading

Ukranian dancers at this year's Globalfest

Globalfest is done for another year.  The fireworks are over, the tents are put away, the food vendors have moved on to the next event.  While this year’s Globalfest was the biggest and best yet, it still struggled in some areas, which I pointed out in last Sunday’s column and in so doing touched a few nerves, including the event’s organizers.  Continue Reading

Ramsay District 1 police station officially opened Saturday

The Calgary Police Service unveiled its newest and most high-tech station Saturday in the community of Ramsay.  Politicians, dignitaries and the public were on hand to christen the new building, make a few speeches and eat some Spolumbos sausages and cake.  Located at 1010 26 Ave. S.E., this new, 36,000 square-foot -facility was built to accommodate CPS and community needs, including community meeting rooms, front-counter reporting, public parking and space to house a growing number of officers serving the downtown area. Continue Reading

The Ronda Store opened for business Saturday

“Easy wear, easy care” is the rallying cry for today’s women who want to be fashionable, but because of the demands of work and home don’t have time for haute couture.  The same holds true for home decor as well, says Ronda Bertram, a southeast Calgary fashion designer who Saturday opened her first store specializing in her own designs for real women.  The Ronda Store is located at located in the Heritage Mall at 7640 Blackfoot Trail S.E. and had shoppers lined up when it opened its doors for the first time. Continue Reading

Building under construction at 201 - 10th Avenue SE

By Markham Hislop, Editor

Pedestrians on 10 Avenue SE narrowly missed serious injury Saturday afternoon when glass shards fell from a 20-story building being constructed in the 200 block.  The fire department responded after several 911 calls about the falling glass, which narrowly missed a number of cars, and dispatched its High Angle specialty team, comprised of approximately 20 firefighters.  Continue Reading

Greg Johnston, tech columnist

As summer winds down and we move into autumn, this week finds Calgarians already sending their kids back to school in the Public and Catholic school systems, to be followed shortly by university and college students.  Autumn is a time of transition and change, and a time of purchasing back-to-school supplies – which for many households may include a computer purchase.  This fall, both Apple and Microsoft are debuting new versions of their operating systems, the software that runs the computer and provides the “user experience” – which both companies want to enhance. Continue Reading