Bryan Labby

Alberta’s tech sector is slowly recovering from mostly self-inflicted wounds that threatened to leave the fledgling industry behind Canada’s tech leaders in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

The demise of coal-fired electricity plants in Alberta has been well documented in recent years, but it’s happening a lot quicker than some expected. The Alberta government’s target to eliminate coal-powered electricity is expected to be achieved seven years ahead of its scheduled date of 2030.

TransAlta has officially filed its application with the Alberta Utilities Commission to build a battery energy storage facility near the Ghost Reservoir, west of Cochrane.

Three of the city’s popular pedestrian-friendly places where Calgarians like to shop, dine and drink are hopeful that people will return to mixing, mingling and spending, now that warmer weather is on the way and most pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

Retailers, hotel operators and restaurant owners have much in common in Banff and Canmore: almost all of them are looking for help. They’re doubtful new federal guidelines to ease the hiring of temporary foreign workers will deliver results this summer.

Cottage owners say TransAlta has chosen the wrong site for the lithium-ion batteries, which have failed and caught fire in a number of incidents around the world in recent years and have injured first responders.

Several Calgary-based tech companies are planning to hire more people and expand their office space as hundreds of millions of dollars are invested in the sector.

Retailer Craig Kolochuk is blunt in his assessment of Alberta’s retail cannabis scene: there are too many stores, competition is fierce, price wars have broken out and dozens of locations are at risk of closing.

People are sleeping rough in the mountain town of Canmore, where the average home price has surpassed $1 million. The community is scrambling to provide enough shelter spaces before winter arrives.

Last year, this southeastern Alberta city of 63,000 said it ended homelessness in a declaration that drew national attention. However, that status lasted just five months. The city is now trying to find out how big the problem has become and what needs to be done.

“We’ve got quite a few businesses that are struggling to find people, especially in the service industry, the construction industry, those types of industries,” said Scott Robinson, the CEO of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce.

It’s been a year of increasing growth and demand for agencies that are helping feed Calgarians in the face of rising food prices — the highest price increases seen in nearly half a century.

Eric Grand-Maison says buying and recycling old catalytic converters used to make up a big part of his business. But since the provincial government put in new rules for sellers and buyers, sales have cooled considerably.

Nearly two years after the launch of an overdose prevention app, the Alberta government refuses to say whether the Digital Overdose Response System is saving lives.

For builders, developers and Calgarians looking for more affordable places to live, Jan. 17 could possibly be remembered as a milestone in the way the city plans and manages new growth in older neighbourhoods.

The company behind a $70-million project says it will reduce feedlot odours, but a residents’ group opposing the plan worries it will make the smell worse.

Rachel Herbert and her husband Tyler are getting used to seeing the parched countryside near Nanton, Alta., an hour south of Calgary, where the family raises grass-fed cattle from start to finish. A familiar but unwelcome predicament.

The Bolduc family has been farming and ranching near Stavely, Alta., for generations and this year will be remembered for its record-breaking heat, lack of rain, parched fields, reduced yields and water restrictions.

Think of it as a sanctuary for leafy vegetables. At least that’s how GoodLeaf’s Barry Murchie describes the company’s 100,000-square-foot vertical farm operation that will soon be producing 900,000 kilograms of veggies a year.

Drake Landing, once the leading solar heating community of its kind in North America, may have to revert to fossil fuels as the aging system is breaking down and may be too expensive or impossible to fix.