Graffiti Trial Update, MLA BBQ, Democracy Dogs
Graffiti Trial Update
On Monday Geraldine Lidberg of the Kookums went to court for a trial for a graffiti ticket - for chalk. Because she was given two tickets, two trials were scheduled, one for June, one for July.
At last month's trial as they started to do a voir dire - a trial within a trial - that Lidberg was unprepared for. She asked for an adjournment but the trial had already started; the judge declared a mistrial and rescheduled it for August 17.
Monday July 20 2026 was the original trial date for ticket #2. Reportedly, the city requested an adjournment until August 17.
A jurisdictional scan of other municipalities done by The Owl shows that they do not differentiate between permanent and non permanent graffiti mediums.
Of course there is no way to scan for how many graffiti tickets were issued for chalk. It is our best guess that nobody tickets for using chalk or you would have children getting $2500 tickets for making hopscotch grids or drawing on the sidewalk.
The March 10 2026 minutes of the Administrative And Legislative Review And Government Relations Committee Meeting (now called Governance Committee) did address this issue. It was added to the agenda after The Owl met with Mayor Clark, Councillors Young and Hellman and told them about it. They discussed it in closed though hiding behind the sec 29 advice from officials. It was never brought up in open except for the very end where they voted on the motion to
…recommend that Council directs administration to bring forward suggested amendments to the Graffiti Bylaw.
No clock was put on it.
Jul 3 The Owl asked Chair Stuart Young for an update and received this
The change I was originally looking into was whether or not we could adjust the bylaw so that it would differentiate between permanent and non-permanent markings. I believe there was a jurisdictional scan done, but I don't recall the outcome at the moment. I will follow up with you asap.
Jul 6 The Owl asked for more information but we have not yet received a response.
The next Governance Committee meeting was originally scheduled for Jul 14 but it was cancelled because some committee members would be travelling.
The next meeting is August 11.
Photos below from Nov 10 2025 - Owl News. The last one is 4 officers presenting the graffiti ticket to Geraldine.
MLA BBQ This Week (But No Fascist Pancakes)
Our local MLAs - Premier Danielle Smith and Justin Wright - are having a joint BBQ at Wright's constituency office on TransCanada Way and 13th Ave. Since they are serving hotdogs and hamburgers, you likely won't hear
F*ck Your Fascist Pancakes!
But there will be a group gathered across the parking lot offering up free Democracy Dogs.
Both events provide free food.
There won't be any pancake flipping, we do not know if either MLA will be flipping burgers.
More Info
All of the Following Information Provided by the Organizers, Nothing has been Altered
MLA BBQ
From Facebook page of Justin Wright
Medicine Hat Stampede BBQ
Friday, July 24, 2026 | 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
#5 1299 TransCanada Way SE, Medicine Hat
Yeehaw! You're invited to the Medicine Hat Stampede BBQ! The constituency offices of Hon. MLA Justin Wright (Cypress-Medicine Hat) and Hon. MLA Danielle Smith (Brooks-Medicine Hat) are teaming up to host a FREE community BBQ in the spirit of Stampede season.
This is a community event open to everyone -- residents from across both ridings are welcome. Come enjoy great food, good company, and a little western flair with your neighbours!
No tickets. No RSVP required. Just show up and enjoy! We look forward to celebrating with you!
For more information, contact:
Cypress-Medicine Hat Constituency Office
403-528-2191 | cypress.medicinehat@assembly.ab.ca
DEMOCRACY DOGS
We heard Edmontonians were unhappy with the lack of Democratic food options last weekend.
We want to make sure we don’t have the same limitations during the Medicine Hat Stampede this coming weekend.
On July 24, while Dani and her little friend Justin are serving up fascist food, we’ll be across the parking lot ensuring Hatters have a Democratic food option.
Please join us while we serve up some democracy dogs.
We are asking for one dollar donations to help cover the cost of democracy dogs.
Email your democracy dollar to brittany_doctor@yahoo.ca
