Flood Barrier, 673K Mail Ballots & Stampeders Win — Calgary's Week in Review.

🚑 Breaking & Incidents

1. Calgary-area landfill operator ordered to close second Balzac facility after fire. Alberta Environment issued a temporary closure order for the company behind a longstanding landfill blaze, requiring the Balzac site to cease operations while investigations and remediation proceed, the regulator said this week.
2. Father of former Calgary Flame Andrei Kuzmenko reported killed in Russian bear attack. Canadian and Russian reports confirmed the death of Kuzmenko’s father in a hunting-related bear attack in Russia, with local outlets naming the victim and citing law-enforcement accounts.

🚨 Crime & Public Safety

1. Calgary Police summer sweep Operation Restore results: more than 160 charges. Calgary Police Service said its summer crackdown produced over 160 criminal charges spanning drug, property and violent-offence categories as part of targeted neighbourhood enforcement operations.
2. Calgary man sentenced to 12 years for rape that caused ‘life-altering injuries.’ A provincial court judge imposed a 12-year prison term after hearing victim-impact evidence and medical reports describing severe, lasting injuries from the assault.
3. Airdrie man charged with six sexual-assault counts after incidents at big-box stores. Alberta RCMP arrested a 30-year-old Airdrie man and laid multiple counts after video evidence reportedly linked him to alleged gropings at Walmart, No Frills, and other Calgary-area retailers; he’s due in court next week.
4. Police warn parents after two youths allegedly stalked via Snapchat location feature. ALERT’s internet child-exploitation unit said an arrested suspect allegedly tracked victims’ locations, prompted coercion to share explicit videos, and travelled to victims’ homes, advising families to review app location settings.

🏛️ Government & Politics

1. Elections Alberta reports 673,000 mail-in ballot requests ahead of Oct. 19 referendum. The agency said applications must be returned by Oct. 16 at 5 p.m., that advance in-person voting runs Oct. 13–17, and that the total far exceeds the ~60,000 mail requests in the 2023 general election.
2. Alberta NDP launches court challenge over new restricted voter-list rules. The opposition filed for judicial review in Edmonton arguing a regulation limiting the voter-list data parties receive (to counts by area only) exceeds government authority and undermines the list’s statutory purpose.
3. Premier Danielle Smith’s Oct. 19 referendum will include 10 questions, including immigration and separation. The government published the full ballot asking whether Alberta should seek increased control over immigration, pursue constitutional reforms, and hold a second binding vote on leaving Canada.
4. Other premiers staying quiet on Alberta’s constitutional referendum proposals. Provincial leaders told reporters they are not publicly endorsing Danielle Smith’s four major reform ideas — Senate abolition, provincial appointment of appeal judges, opt-outs from federal programs, and provincial laws superseding Ottawa — pending further study.

💼 Economy & Business

1. Whistleblower alleges millions of Driscoll’s berries entered Canada with excess chemical residues. The report claims shipments contained fruit with pesticide levels above Canadian limits and has prompted vendor and regulatory scrutiny, according to the filing.
2. Poll finds data centres unpopular in Alberta; question over political liability. A survey cited in the report shows significant local opposition to new data-centre projects in Alberta, prompting debate about whether the issue will hurt politicians who back them.
3. Province awards $38.5 million to Beaumont for infrastructure to build a driving-safety training campus. Alberta says the AMTA Safety Campus will sit on 160 acres in Beaumont’s planned Innovation Park, with funds earmarked for roads, utilities and servicing to attract commercial-driver and law-enforcement training.

🏥 Health

1. WCB data show rising violence against health-care workers in Alberta. Workers’ Compensation Board statistics released this week indicate an increase in reported assaults and injury claims among Alberta health-care staff over recent reporting periods.
2. U of C study finds mindfulness and tai chi help cancer recovery measures. Researchers at the University of Calgary reported measurable benefits in patient-reported outcomes and functional measures among cancer-recovery participants assigned to mindfulness and tai chi programs.

🎨 Community & Culture

1. Manitoba judge rules Gowling must account to day-school lawyer who launched survivors’ case. Judge Shauna McCarthy found Gowling WLG breached obligations by not presenting plaintiffs’ fee claims for approval, overturning a prior outcome and affirming Joan Jack’s role in the $1.5-billion day-school settlement file.
2. Dolly Parton Day observed Sept. 25 after governor signs California bill. California officially declared Sept. 25 an annual Dolly Parton Day via SB 931, honouring Parton’s literacy work and legacy following her death at age 80; fans marked the date worldwide.
3. Elk rut study shows bulls across North America bugle in distinct dialects. Wildlife researchers published findings that elk populations use regionally varied bugling patterns, based on acoustic analyses of rut-season calls.

🏈 Sports

1. Calgary Stampeders beat Ottawa Redblacks 45-31; Vernon Adams Jr. throws for 422 yards. Deonta McMahon scored two touchdowns, Rene Paredes kicked three field goals, and the win kept Calgary’s playoff hopes alive with a 7-8 record.
2. Edmonton Elks outlast Hamilton 37-35 in overtime; kicker Vincent Blanchard sets CFL record. Blanchard made nine field goals — a CFL record — as the Elks improved to 11-4 and Cody Fajardo passed for 298 yards.
3. Mike Babcock’s hiring remains a distraction for the Edmonton Oilers during training camp. Players say Babcock has absorbed media attention after an NHL investigation cleared him to work; veteran Zach Hyman commented that the focus shifts away from player matters.

🌦️ Weather & Roads

1. Calgary to implement new pedestrian safety measures at intersections citywide. City officials approved changes to intersection design and signal timing intended to improve pedestrian visibility and decrease crossing incidents at unspecified priority locations.
2. Sunnyside flood barrier project completed 13 years after destructive floods. The city announced the finished barrier in Sunnyside, a multi-year infrastructure effort aimed at reducing flood risk in the neighbourhood affected by the 2013 floods.
3. TSB calls for new railcar-wheel monitoring process after 2023 Alberta derailment. The Transportation Safety Board recommended enhanced identification methods for deteriorating railcar wheels to prevent future derailments following an investigation of the 2023 incident in Alberta.