Nigglies of the Month

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On the Go with Pete Koziol

I would like to welcome the readers of Billy's Guide to my inaugural column about the people, places, and events that I come across each month. The focus of this column will be to keep the reader's of Billy Guide updated on numerous topics from sports to businesses to the people who make Edmonton a great place to live.

Last month's civic referendum in Vancouver that had 64% of the voters approving the bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics should clear the final hurtle for Vancouver - Whistler to win the final IOC vote over Austria and South Korea. That should give Edmontonians just less than seven years to save up to attend the games and they may need that much time to pay for the trip. A recent ski weekend to Whistler with the Press Gallery's Bernie Robitaille and Edmonton Sun Columnist Kerry Diotte gave us a up close view of the exorbitant prices that it costs to enjoy a ski weekend at Canada's number one ski resort. Hotel rooms start around $400.00 per night with the upper range for the major hotels in the $600.00 - $800.00 zone, ski lift tickets and rentals for two days run $244.00, and the restaurants and bars can empty the rest of your wallet in record time. When you add in gold medal hockey and figure skating tickets that cost $375.00 $USD in Salt Lake City you may need a second mortgage to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver - Whistler. No wonder all the tourists we met last weekend were from the USA and Europe!

Edmonton's downtown after work bar scene has a new addition with the superb renovation of Earl's Tin Palace, which will compliment the regular happy hour spots of Sherlock Holmes, Joey Tomotoes, Ceili's Irish Pub, Overtime, Original Joe's, Chance, Sorrentino's and the Sidetrack. Spotted on a recent Friday afternoon at The Tin were Mobilcom's Doug Derkatch, SAGE's Renee Spence, Lawyer Terry Thomas, Weber Motors Robert Rosychuk, Downtown Business Association's Melanie Graham, Integrated Financial Group's Mario Kokoroyannis, Grant Gustafson, Kurien Tharakan and the entire Vancouver Canuck's hockey team who were having a team dinner in the restaurant.  After having spent a week in both Calgary and Vancouver, I can honestly say that Edmonton is close to being equal to either city in places to go for the 5 PM business crowd.

During a recent trip to the San Diego Super Bowl, I noticed a refreshing attitude from the city of San Diego towards their primary entertainment restaurant and bar area, The Gaslamp District. The city of San Diego did everything possible to get tourists to visit the 44 bars and restaurants in the area including billboards, huge inflatable signs at every entrance, live outdoor stages with bands, traffic bans and a discreet police presence. Over 250,000 people converged on the area each night for a fun filled atmosphere that made the Super Bowl a tremendous experience for both the tourists and residents. Can you imagine our city council spending money to promote tourism on Whyte Ave. and to allow for this type of activity during our next major event?

Most hockey fans are used to seeing visiting hockey teams tip a few pints after an Oilers home game at Cowboys, Ceili's Irish Pub, Overtime, and The Century Grill. But where do the referrees and linesmen go to avoid the players. After the recent Oilers - Canucks game we spotted Kerry Fraser and Stephane Auger enjoying a frosty refreshment at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald lounge. I am sure that they would just as soon avoid running into the players and the fans considering the treatment they have given the Oilers this season.

Nigglies of the Month

Is it just me or does Shaw Cable's TV guide on Channel 5 always seem to be on channel 60 or higher when you flip to the channel to check out what's coming up on the TV. Then you have to wait for at least one to two minutes to get back to the lower channel display.

Why does Global TV insist on inserting their own commercials into every major sporting event they simulcast when CBC can broadcast the NHL All- Star game and playoffs without cutting into the ABC feed? Why can't we decide for ourselves, which broadcast to watch, after all we are paying Shaw Cable for that privilege not Global TV.

What ever happened to the rule of driving that only a vehicle in the intersection is allowed to turn left on a yellow light? Almost every day I see two, three and sometimes four cars turning left on a yellow/red light. This inevitably kills the advance phase for the cars waiting to turn from the opposite lane.

You can reach Pete at pkoziol@directdesign.net