Morning Brew: OneCity takes its first knocks, Rob Ford keeps mum over TTC incident, Spanish fans celebrate on College, and Toronto's bag fee is dead
Karen Stintz and Glenn De Baeremaeker are taking the first knocks to their OneCity transit plan on the chin, saying they will keep fighting for the enormous transit expansion project despite an unfavourable reception from the province. Although a recent poll suggests roughly 80% of people are in favor of the new subway, LRT, streetcar, and bus lines, Ontario's transit and infrastructure minister Bob Chiarelli rejected several key aspects of the plan.
The head of the TTC union, Bob Kinnear, says Rob Ford should explain his side of the incident that caused a streetcar driver to leave his seat last week. According to Kinnear, Ford drove past open streetcar doors, a traffic offense punishable with a $109 fine, and exchanged words with the vehicle's driver. There's been no comment so far from the mayor's office. Should Rob Ford publicly acknowledge the incident or would it be making a mountain out of a molehill?
Elsewhere, Spain beat Italy 4-0 to clinch the Euro 2012 title. At the final whistle, College Street was temporarily closed as crowds spilled from bars into the street to celebrate and commiserate.
Speaking of the mayor, seems like the family tradition of a weekend at the cottage isn't as mandatory as Rob Ford claims. The Grid has pictures of Ford marching in the 2010 East York Canada Day parade, an event that should have clashed with his regular cottage time. The mayor has skipped out on the traditional mayoral march in the Pride parade the last two years to go to his holiday home.
Toronto officially trashed its mandatory five-cent plastic bag fee yesterday but it looks like most large retailers will stick to charging customers until the outright ban comes in next year. Shoppers are being encouraged to switch to paper or reusable bags.
To celebrate Canada Day, the UK National Archives has released hundreds images of Canada, including numerous shots of Toronto. Check them out on Flickr.
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Photo: "overlook" by Fion N. in the blogTO Flickr Pool.
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