Controversy stirred citizen interest in 2012
Arena talks drew more eyes than murders, Wildrose or zeros
When it came to the news in Edmonton in 2012, bad or controversial news stories generated the most interest. Four such stories, in particular, had more of a lock on our attention than any others, at least if you go by the number of page views each story got at the Journal’s Edmonton Commons blog on politics and current events. The four stories were the downtown arena debate, the no-zeros controversy, the Wildrose meltdown in the provincial election, and the HUB mall mass murder.
It’s worth noting, though, that there’s been a corrective response in all of these stories.
Let’s start with the no-zeros controversy, a significant story in that it showed how deep is parental unrest with academic standards at our schools.
The Edmonton public school board became embroiled in the no-zeros fiasco in late May 2012 after teacher Lynden Dorval was suspended and fired because he insisted on giving zeros to students who failed to do their work.
It turned out that the vast majority of parents were on Dorval’s side. Our polls at The Edmonton Commons blog usually get 400 or 500 respondents. The poll on Dorval had more than 16,000 respondents, with more than 96 per cent saying that if a kid fails to do his or her work, they should get a zero.
Little wonder then that the board is now reviewing its assessment policies to allow teachers to hand out zeros. Parents have the opportunity to weigh in for a few more weeks. It’s a wise and necessary process that should boost parental confidence that elected officials are upholding high academic and behavioural standards.
The Wildrose party has also started to deal with its major miscalculation of the year. The party likely lost a great many votes in the provincial election when it was found that a few candidates held homophobic or racially paternalistic views. At the recent Wildrose convention, leader Danielle Smith made a wise and welcome move, making it clear that the party must take more care in selecting candidates. Smith added that troublesome nominees would be asked to step down: “Every single person who runs for office has to be able to state their beliefs in a way that is respectful to all Albertans.”
The June 2012 HUB mall shooting, where three security guards were murdered and a fourth wounded in an armed robbery, was of intense interest to readers; in particular, the details of the life and character of suspect Travis Baumgartner.
The corrective action in this came before this particular shooting, in response to mass or multiple murders in general. The Harper government has enacted a new law that could bring more severe punishments for anyone convicted of multiple murders. A judge can now decide that parole eligibility should be 25 years for each murder committed. For example, someone convicted of three murders could have no chance of parole for 75 years.
Essentially, when warranted, judges are now able to impose life sentences that really mean life. It’s a fitting response to multiple and mass murders.
The story that generated the most page views at The Edmonton Commons this past year was reporter Elise Stolte’s live blog of the Katz Group’s visit to City Hall in mid-December.
Mayor Stephen Mandel has since said an arena deal must be closed in the next month or so, or it’s not going to happen at all. Folks in Edmonton, and politicians on city council, have definitely lost trust and patience with the Katz Group, mainly because this past fall it made a huge miscalculation, asking in its secretive negotiations for a $6-million annual subsidy to close the deal, then threatening to move the team when the city didn’t agree at once.
It was a dramatic stunt by the Katz Group and it revealed their agenda, but it also blew up on them. Most outraged of all were strong supporters of the deal. Politicians like councillors Bryan Anderson, Dave Loken, Kim Krushell and the mayor had fought long and hard in public to win support for an arena deal. They were distressed to see their partner in negotiations get so far off track at the last minute.
Whether the Katz Group continues to grind too hard will be the deal maker or deal breaker of the year in 2013. That said, the degree of contrition shown by Katz Group officials in that mid-December meeting was a somewhat hopeful sign.