Morning Brew: Toronto mulls 2024 Olympics, G20 cops worried about embarrassment, ugly underpasses, mentalist predicts news, and Doug Ford apologizes
London, Rio, Toronto? City council has decided to request a staff report on the feasibility of hosting the 2024 summer Olympics. A successful Pan Am Games would bolster our potential bid but snagging Expo 2025 or a Quebec Winter Games in 2022 would effectively rule out the city as a viable venue. It's the first time Toronto has expressed an interest in the Olympics since the unsuccessful 1996 bid. Hurdles aside, could we really host a major event like the Olympics? Even with our new LRTs, could the city handle the hospitality?
G20 police considered "embarrassment to the Canadian government" a threat on par with organized crime and terrorism at the 2010 summit, according to the National Post. Apparently, though, kettling and police abuse aren't something that shames the country. Insert jokes about the real embarrassments to the Canadian government in the comments section.
Over on the Ford radio show, Doug Ford called the mayor's wife a Polack during a discussion of Euro 2012 Sunday. The councilor later apologized, calling Renata - who is of Polish descent - Rob's "Polish little princess." Naturally, The Star wrote up the story.
Also at The Star, UK mentalist Banachek has accurately predicted the paper's front page 10 days ahead of time as part of his performance at Luminato. Feel free to speculate how he pulled it off.
Are two corrugated pipes under the CN tracks near Dufferin and Eglinton the city's ugliest underpasses? Spacing says they are, and local city councillor Josh Colle is planning to spruce up the area with murals, perennials and lighting. Interestingly, some of the funding for the revamp would come from advertising - something Colle expects to be contentious.
Rob Ford, TTC Chair Karen Stintz and various other dignitaries will gather by a large hole at Sheppard Avenue West this morning to celebrate the completion of the first 1.6 kilometers of tunnel for the Spadina Subway Extension. Boring machines Holey and Moley recently finished two parallel subway tunnels which will become the track between Sheppard and Finch West stations. The first trains are scheduled to run in 2015.
And finally, if you're feeling groggy this Monday morning this terrifying PSA from the Construction Safety Association will open your eyes. Last time we included one of these videos we observed the consequences of incorrect duct installation; today - buried alive! (via Retrontario.)
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Photo: "Superman never made any money" by Dan Cronin^ in the BlogTO Flickr Pool.
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