Hard News & Politics
Where we’re at with wards: Calgary’s unofficial councillor vote
LiveWire Calgary | October 21, 2025
During Calgary's 2025 civic election, I was solely responsible for covering the tentative results for all 14 city councillor seats as part of a four-person reporting team. Amid delays in official vote counting, I monitored multiple online poll trackers from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., analyzed trends, contacted leading candidates for comment, and drew on online research to write bios. My ability to prioritize and adapt ensured residents had an up-to-date snapshot of likely ward representatives by the next morning, despite limited official data.
Former Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp speaks to the media on 9 Avenue SW during her summer campaign. PHOTO: SARAH PALMER / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Calgary physician questions 'rushed' mass transfer from hospital to soon-to-be-closing AgeCare facility
LiveWire Calgary | February 27, 2026
After receiving a tip from a local family doctor that approximately 80 patients had been transferred from hospitals around Calgary to a soon-to-close long-term care facility, I set out to verify the claim, identify accountability, and gather responses from all relevant health authorities and organizations. Despite a reluctance to respond and limited transparency, I persistently followed up with AgeCare, Alberta Health Services, and the provincial ministry, ultimately securing statements from nearly all parties. The reporting brought public attention to the abrupt transfer and its strain on patients, families, and staff.
Located in the southwest community of Pump Hill, the long-term care facility, AgeCare Glenmore, is slated to close in April 2025. PHOTO: SARAH PALMER / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
‘Guilty before proven innocent’: Calgary distillery submits appeal to lift liquor detention order
LiveWire Calgary | February 20, 2026
When a Calgary distillery had its top-selling products detained by the CFIA over a labelling dispute, I set out to investigate the basis for the detention order and clarify the regulatory rationale. By interviewing the distillery's owner, analyzing federal labelling regulations, and seeking comment from the agency, I dissected the criteria of its decision-making process. The story highlighted gaps in communication within the process, brought public attention to the financial impact on small businesses, and underscored broader concerns about how one-size-fits-all decisions affect local producers.
Bridgeland Distillery has been back and forth with Canada's food agency, vouching to keep some of their most popular products on shelves. PHOTO: BRIDGELAND DISTILLERY
Community-Centred Features
Overcharged and underinsured: NE Calgary ‘Hail Alley’ residents speak out
LiveWire Calgary | May 16, 2025
Residents living in the northeast communities of Cityscape, Cornerstone, Castleridge, Falconridge, Saddle Ridge, Taradale, and Martindale held a citizen-led media availability to share their experiences of high insurance premiums, denied coverage, and delayed repairs following the previous hail season. I attended and interviewed residents and the area's city councillor, who contextualized the impact on their financial stability. The story exposed systemic affordability and insurance access issues in the city's northeast by amplifying residents' concerns and highlighting policy shortcomings.
Residents of Calgary's NE community host an event in Cornerstone to raise awareness of high insurance costs. PHOTO: SARAH PALMER / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
‘Forgotten about afterthought’: Millican-Ogden residents frustrated with city development plans
LiveWire Calgary | June 15, 2025
The old legion building in Calgary's Millican-Ogden neighbourhood became a symbol of years of unfulfilled development promises. I aimed to explore how city-wide rezoning and large-scale projects like the Green Line LRT caused residents to feel as though their wants were put on the back burner. I conducted on-the-ground reporting by interviewing community leaders and a city councillor in addition to sifting through decades worth of historical planning documents, timelines, and municipal policies. The story illuminated the development barriers posed by rezoning while weighing the tensions between growth and heritage preservation.
Millican-Ogden's deteriorating Royal Canadian Legion building, which is scheduled for demolition. PHOTO: SARAH PALMER / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Calgary transit union wants 'epidemic' of abuse stopped
Calgary Journal | December 12, 2025
Months earlier, I first connected with the president of the city's transit union while covering a breaking story about an attack on a bus driver. This is when I learned that the abuse was nothing new but widely underreported, and I intended to study this further as a long-form feature article. To corroborate the instances of violence, I acquired data from the City of Calgary, which was humanized by the first-hand experiences shared during interviews with former operators. The solutions-forward story showed shortcomings in transit safety strategies while highlighting the union leaders and city officials advocating for more funding.
Vice president of the ATU Local 583 grimaces while sifting through a binder full of transit operator incident reports. PHOTO: SARAH PALMER / CALGARY JOURNAL
Data-Driven Stories
Data: Calgary Stampede crowds will brave any weather for the right reasons
LiveWire Calgary | July 11, 2025
Calgary is known for having unpredictable weather, from drought to sudden downpours and balmy Chinooks. In light of the Calgary Stampede, I wanted to examine whether unstable temperatures impacted attendance. Using graphs created with Datawrapper, I communicated my independent research on the city's historical temperature and precipitation data from 2014 to 2024 and compared these to the total number of visitors for each year. The findings were slightly underwhelming, but demonstrated something quintessentially southern Albertan — if the entertainment is worthy enough, people will go to the grounds no matter the weather.
Attendees hold their spot at the Coca-Cola Stage barricade on July 9, 2025. PHOTO: SARAH PALMER / LIVEWIRE CALGARY
