NEWS & SPORTS FOR MAY 6TH/2024

UPDATE:

-If you’re in east-central and southeast Alberta, get ready for some rain!
Rainfall warnings are in effect for Red Deer, Ponoka, Innisfail, Stettler, Coronation, Hanna, Drumheller and Oyen, along with the counties of Camrose, Red Deer, Lacombe and Flagstaff.
Forecasters say those regions will be looking at 50 to 70mm of rain, starting this afternoon and lasting til sometime Wednesday night.
Some could wind up with more than 80mm, so there is a chance of localized flooding.

Other regions, such as Edmonton, are in for 15 to 25mm of rain, both tonight and tomorrow.
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-Several forecasters are talking about widespread heavy rain and winds for at least a couple of days this week across the Prairies.
And some are calling for a low pressure system that will move in and not move out that quickly, especially over southern Saskatchewan.
Persistent rain is also being forecast for many regions of Alberta, with the heaviest stuff expected to fall tomorrow in eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan.
Some weather experts say it could lead to flooding, while others say there could even be power outages in some areas because of high winds, along with the rain.
The rain is expected to start easing up sometime Wednesday night.

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-RCMP in Strathcona County issued a short-lived “shelter in place” for residents between Range Road 222 and 223 north of Highway 16 this morning, as they were investigating a firearms complaint.
They haven’t released details, but say one man was taken into custody.

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-A tentative deal has been reached between WestJet and its mechanics.

Neither side is releasing details on that agreement, as they’re only saying it’s happened after nine months of tough negotiating.

The mechanics had been concerned about wages, layoff protection and scheduling.

The agreement was reached after the airline issued lockout notice on Saturday.

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-London Drugs has released a list of stores that are now open following the cyber-security incident the company was hit by last weekend.

In Edmonton, the only store that’s open at this time is the one at Unity Square on 104th Avenue and 117th Street.

And in Red Deer, the store on 50th Avenue is open as well.

The company says it is carrying out a “gradual re-opening” of its stores, as they continue working to make sure everything is safe and secure.

They have re-iterated there’s no evidence any customer information has been compromised.

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-Residents of Morinville are looking at a property tax hike this year, but not as much as council has originally planned.
Back in March, council had said residents could expect a hike of 5.25-percent, but after doing more number crunching and allocating surpluses from last year, the hike is going to be 3.38-percent.

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-The federal Tories say a prominent Indigenous leader is going to run for them in Alberta in the next election.

They say former Enoch Cree Nation Chief Billy Morin will be their candidate in Edmonton-Northwest.

Morin had been Chief of the Enoch Cree Nation from 2015 to 2022.

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-The Blackfoot Lions Club community playground is closer to reality, thanks to some recent financial donations.
One came through the provincial community facility enhancement program grant, to the tune of 125-thousand dollars.
And the County of Vermillion River came up with another 50-thousand.
At this point, the Lions Club is about 20-thousand dollars short of its goal, but they’re still hoping the inclusive playground can be ready to go, by the end of August.

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-There are major flood watches in effect throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas because of heavy rains in all three states..
More than 4-hundred people have already been rescued from homes, rooftops and roads around Houston, while a 5-year old boy died after the vehicle he was in, was swept away by rising floodwaters.
Houston is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the U-S.

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-The Oilers’ second playoff round gets underway Wednesday night against the Canucks.

Game 1 is in Vancouver at 8pm.

There will be outdoor watch parties in the ICE-District in downtown Edmonton Wednesday and Friday, but not inside Rogers Place, because wrestling and Foreigner are in town those nights.

-Dallas beat the Golden Knights 2-1 last night to wrap up that first round series.

-Rangers edged the Hurricanes 4-3 to take a 1-nothing lead in the second round.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE:

-Toronto beat Ottawa 5-2 yesterday, with Natalie Spooner scoring twice to help with that win. She wrapped up her season with a league-leading 20-goals and 27 points.

The league is now heading into the playoffs.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:

-Washington hit the Jays 11-8.

TODAY/TONIGHT:

-Bruins take on the Panthers this evening in Game 1 of their series. 6pm start.