Morning Brew: Re-electing Ford, MLSE chair wants casino, $37 million waste surplus, Beach condo gets go-ahead, a dubious poll and Toronto biking is just OK
The Star's Royson James thinks Rob Ford could win re-election in 2014 - after-all, the city has cut spending and returned surpluses during his tenure (if only it were that simple), a key part of the "gravy train" campaign. Despite his endless supply of gaffes, James thinks voters might be prepared to overlook the negatives and focus once again on what the incumbent mayor promises come 2014.
The billionaire chair of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is the latest big wig to declare an interest in a Toronto casino. Larry Tanenbaum also prefers a waterfront location, which could be Exhibition Place where his Toronto FC are based. Is it any surprise that the owner of a few pro sports teams would want a casino?
Toronto's solid waste department announced a surprising $37.2 million surplus yesterday but still plans to wring an extra $250,000 from charities by charging for garbage collection. I'd say that stinks, but they'd probably take it as some sort of weird compliment.
Toronto East York Community Council voted in favor of a controversial six-storey condo in the Beaches area. The building, unpopular among local residents who say it's too big for the neighborhood, will be built at Queen and Kenilworth Avenue - a site currently home to Lick's. Developers hope to break ground later this year.
Here's one for you - a "poll" by the Alliance for Family Values (I bet they're a barrel of laughs) has found 90 per cent of Ontario is against Bill 13, anti-bullying legislation that would allow gay-straight alliances in schools. That's funny, the poll conveniently backs up their entire ideology. Even funnier is the write up in the Toronto Sun which seems to confuse the blatant propaganda with an actual scientific poll. Once you've had a laugh at that, read the results from an actual poll here.
What's better than Halifax and Calgary but worse than Victoria and Saskatoon? That's right, Toronto! We're loathing ourselves a little bit more today because a handful of western cities (and Montreal) have higher bike ridership and better infrastructure than us, according the University of British Columbia. Still, at least we're not St. John's, the worst Canadian city for two-wheeled commutes. Sorry Newfies.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Jonathan Goldsbie is excited to see "Animated GIFs About Toronto Brunch," a retort to Toronto Strife, the Tumblr blog we mentioned yesterday that describes Toronto life with recycled GIFs.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Photo: "Kwasind" by BruceK in the BlogTO Flickr pool.
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