SEE Magazine
Issue #393: June 14, 2001
Copyright © 2001. All Rights Reserved

News BRIEFS by SEE Staff Ravers fight back for right to dance Another campaign to save rave culture in Edmonton will be kicked off this weekend. The Edmonton Right to Dance coalition is expected to hold a press conference on June 15 to announce plans for a massive rally in protest of city council’s plans to shut down after-hours clubs. The site of the rally, scheduled for Sunday, June 24, has yet to be decided, but it’s likely to be on the steps of City Hall. Rob Clark, co-owner of Foosh and one of the coalition’s founders, said ravers will be urged to attend, but at the same time cautioned that in order to be effective, the rally must be exceedingly orderly and peaceful. On June 26, city council will vote on a proposed rave bylaw, which critics say would be a death sentence for legitimate rave culture if passed. They warn that just like 10 years ago, when the rave scene first began developing, underground after-hours parties will be held in secret locations, with no way to regulate them or ensure anyone’s safety. The proposed new rules would bar anyone under the age of 18 after midnight and force a total shutdown by 3 a.m. That, say critics, would mean the end of after-hours clubs. "If they’re closed by three, they’re not after-hours any more, are they?" pointed out Oliver Friedmann, owner of Therapy, one of the city’s most popular after-hours clubs. "People who want to go to these things will just go somewhere else, where there won’t be any building codes or safety regulations." Presently, after-hours clubs are able to stay open all night because no alcohol is served. Regular bar and nightclub hours are limited because of liquor laws. What has coalition members most outraged, however, is that they had worked for months with the city on developing a strict, but workable, bylaw. But last week, city council’s executive committee took their proposals and arbitrarily added several more restrictions that the coalition fears will make legal after-hours clubs impossible to operate. Because there’s no revenue from alcohol sales, cover charges are usually in the $30 - $40 range. Friedmann said ravers are willing to pay that amount because the party lasts all night. No one will pay a cover like that if they must leave at 3 a.m. – Andrew Hanon Association wants Whyte Ave. closed to cars If the Old Strathcona Business Association has its way, all cars will be banned along the main street of the city’s top entertainment district for the duration of the World’s. The association is presently lobbying police to endorse the plan to City Hall. Members want to close off Whyte Avenue between 103 and 106 Streets. "We’re trying to convince the police to carry this," said OSBA executive director Shirley Lowe. "If they don’t buy into the idea, it’ll never fly anyway." Lowe is concerned that all attention is being focused on the downtown core during the world track and field championships Aug. 3-12, and no one is planning for the thousands of visitors to Edmonton who will go to other parts of the city. When tourists start asking about night life, there’s a good chance they’ll be directed to areas such as Old Strathcona. "It’s just one of those things I don’t think anyone is prepared for," she said. Several American cities have closed popular shopping districts to traffic and opened the entire street to pedestrians. It’s common in Europe. "It would be a nice thing to do for the entire summer," Lowe mused before adding, "we know that’s not likely to happen. But we think it’s important for the 12 days the World’s are on." – Andrew Hanon Changing the system from the inside out He’s made his announcement, given a bevy of interviews, and now it’s up to Joe Devaney to prove he’s not just a cutesy sideshow in this fall’s civic election. "Am I a fringe candidate?" the 21-year-old echoed. "Absolutely not." Devaney, a University of Alberta business student, has a campaign leadership team of seven, a volunteer research staff of nine and a database of 90 volunteers. He’s only raised about $3,500, but is confident that he’ll collect $20,000. "We’ve only begun our fundraising," he explained. While he acknowledges that against the likes of incumbent Bill Smith, Ward 3 Councillor Robert Noce and businessman Mike Nickel, who each expect to raise $150,000 to $200,000, Devaney’s war chest looks anemic. With only a fraction of their financial firepower, he and his volunteers will have a lot of legwork to do. "We’re going to have to be pretty creative," he admitted. But unlike the other candidates, Devaney is gearing his campaign directly at the youth vote. Typically, with civic elections attracting only 35-40 per cent voter turnout and an even smaller percentage of under-25s bothering to cast their ballots, Devaney’s goal will be to attract those who wouldn’t otherwise bother showing up on election day. "I see a lot of protesting going on by youth," he said. "A lot of young people demonstrate against things, but hardly anyone tries to change the system from the inside. That’s what I want to do." – Andrew Hanon Bernard gets her surgery Mae Bernard is sounding better these days. Her breathing is much clearer and her energy level is slowly rising. Soon she’ll be out of the hospital. SEE readers were introduced to Bernard last January, one year after she began her fight to have heart surgery. Even though she needed a quadruple bypass and double valve replacement following a massive heart attack, the 56-year-old had languished on waiting lists while cases deemed more urgent kept getting bumped ahead. Convinced she was going to die while waiting for surgery, Bernard began a very public campaign to raise money in order to have her operation in a private clinic in Houston, Texas. Her goal was $60,000 but she was only able to get a fraction of that amount. Finally, on May 14, 18 months after her heart attack, Bernard went under the knife at the University of Alberta Hospital. She’s still recovering there, but is expected to be released in the next two weeks. "I’m sure glad I didn’t have to go to Texas," she told SEE Magazine. "It’s flooding there." – Andrew Hanon

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