This fall, CBC Radio will take an in-depth look at the "Sandwich Generation" — middle-aged Calgarians who are sandwiched between taking care of kids at home, and assisting aging parents.
We want to include your stories.
What's your 'Sandwich Generation' experience?
Arthur Smith, the war hero, entrepreneur and former politician known as Mr. Calgary, died early Monday at age 89.
Smith was a city alderman, Alberta MLA, and three-time member of Parliament, and was instrumental in establishing the Calgary Economic Development Authority and Calgary Homeless Foundation.
A longtime Conservative, Smith mentored many Tory politicians and famously told former Alberta premier Ralph Klein it was time to leave politics in 2004.
What are your memories of Arthur Smith?
A Calgary woman has become the first Canadian to receive enough donations from strangers through a U.S. website to get breast augmentation surgery.
Candace Leadley, a 26-year-old single mother, came across a website called My Free Implants while surfing the internet in 2006. The site connects women wanting bigger busts with men willing to donate money to their operations.
Candace Leadley will be getting her surgery in April. (CBC)
Leadley set up a profile and posted some pictures of herself. Soon, she was chatting online with men from around the world.
"I just had guys wanting to talk to me and messaging me," she told CBC News. "I made some pretty good friendships from there and then the donations started coming in."
She eventually found enough benefactors who donated $8,500 for her surgery in April that will take her from a size 29A to a 36C. The money will be transferred directly from the website to her surgeon.
What do you think about this story?
With police still hunting the killer of a woman whose body was found near a Calgary LRT station, calls are getting louder for immediate improvements to safety on the transit system.
Calgary city council ordered a safety audit earlier this week, but that could take a year to complete.
The president of the transit workers' union said there's no need to wait for a report.
"There's absolutely no question that there's problems and those problems have been pointed out for a very long time. Start implementing some [solutions]," said Mike Mahar of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583 Wednesday.
A passerby found the body of a woman, identified by family as Arcelie Laoagan, near the Franklin LRT station on Jan. 18. Police believe she was killed in a random attack the night before as she made her way home from a night shift.
Her death has rattled Calgary transit riders who have flooded councillors' offices with their concerns.
"I'm just asking Calgarians to keep sending me the e-mails," said Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart. "Ald. [Druh] Farrell and I have received well over 600 now."
Calgary women are heeding police warnings to travel in groups at night, and to wait for transit in well-lit areas with other people.
How safe do you think Calgary's transit system is?
A high-speed train to Fort McMurray, a ring road, new research centres and more affordable housing are key to Calgary's growth in the next 10 years, says a city report.
Calgary's 10-year economic development strategy, written by a task force of 17 people from business and government sectors, was introduced to a city committee Wednesday morning for preliminary approval.
The 31-page draft report focused on three goals: making the city more livable, more conducive to businesses and enterprise, and more well-known around the world.
It suggests a high-speed rail line linking Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray, as well as a Calgary ring road, should be high priorities.
The strategy also advocates creating more childcare and senior-care spaces as well as building more affordable housing to make living in Calgary more attractive and to help businesses keep workers in from moving away.
What do you think about the 10-year vision for Calgary?
In his first year as Alberta premier, Ed Stelmach is giving his government a gold star in a report card he issued Tuesday.
In a Year One Progress Report to Albertans, Stelmach said his cabinet ministers have delivered half of the 70 goals he set out when he took over from former Premier Ralph Klein last December.
Stelmach called the Tories' past year "outstanding" at a news conference in Calgary, highlighting raising energy royalties, funding affordable housing and securing a 10-year infrastructure agreement with municipalities as key accomplishments.
Stelmach said the government is making progress on the other 35 initiatives and they will soon be completed.
The opposition parties were quick to attack the report card Tuesday.
Deputy Liberal leader Dave Taylor said accomplishing half of what you set out to do is barely worth a passing grade.
How would you grade the Stelmach government?
Calgary police have laid charges against the driver of a cement truck after a crash that killed two adults and three children on Friday night.
Daniel Tschetter, 50, of Cochrane, Alta., faces five counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of failing to provide a breath sample, Insp. Luch Berti said.
Tschetter was formally charged Saturday morning. He is to appear in provincial court in Calgary on Thursday.
Police said the cement truck collided with a 1999 Chrysler Intrepid that was stopped at Macleod Trail and 194th Avenue Southwest around 7 p.m. Friday. The car ended up lodged underneath the cement truck and was pushed for about a third of a kilometre.
"Although the investigation is in its preliminary stages, what we know from witnesses is the vehicle in which the five occupants were killed was stationary at a red light and was travelling northbound into the city of Calgary," Insp. Guy Slater told CBC News.
"The vehicle was then basically pushed for about 300 metres and the cement truck appears to have driven over the top of it, leaving an incredible debris field over that distance," he said.
Excessive speed and alcohol are believed to have played a role in the crash, police allege.
What do you think about driving in Calgary these days?
The longest-serving member of Calgary city council is spearheading a motion to change the name of the office from alderman to city councillor — 30 years after it was first debated.
Calgary is the only major Canadian city to still use the term alderman, which goes against the image of Calgary as a progressive urban centre, said Ward 1 Ald. Dale Hodges.
Calgary's current city council includes 14 aldermen.
"It's not an issue I've identified personally, but it is an issue for some members of the public," said Hodges.
"A number of people who don't ever comment on any other issue will comment on this. So I think there's more support out there for a change than maybe some of us realized in the past."
The debate was first brought up in 1977 and went to a vote in 2003 but was defeated by a majority of council members, including Mayor Dave Bronconnier.
Do you think the title of alderman should be changed?
Calgary's top cop is calling for Alberta to raise the legal drinking age to reduce violence in bars and drunk driving.
Chief Rick Hanson said the current drinking age of 18 should go up by at least one year and perhaps as high as 21.
Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson
In a speech to the Chamber of Commerce Thursday, the chief said he knows the move wouldn't please bar owners but it would make Calgary safer.
"I grew up in a time when the [drinking] age was 21. And I know people will, say, make all kinds of arguments about how you can serve your country overseas when you're under 19 and all that and OK, that's fine, that's fair," Hanson said.
"But what we have to be concerned about is making the streets and the bars safe for the majority of people."
What do you think about raising Alberta's drinking age?
Turned off by traffic jams, increasing crime and housing costs, the majority of Calgarians polled by the city said their quality of life has deteriorated in the past three years.
The 2007 Citizen Satisfaction Survey found 61 per cent of those polled said their quality of life had declined since 2004, compared to 51 per cent in the 2006 survey.
Overall, 67 per cent said life in Calgary was good or very good, a drop from 85 per cent just two years earlier and 77 per cent in 2006.
How would you describe your quality of life in Calgary?
