Saturday Brew: Pan Am Games Win, Rebranding Israel in Toronto, TTC Token Limits, Bloor Station Bottlenecks, and the Attack of a Copy Editor
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November 7, 2009
Photo: "AGO stairs" by septembergurl99, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
Former Canadian Olympian, Marnie McBean summed it up nicely: "Toronto finally won something." Beating out Lima and Bogota on the first ballot, the Pan Am games will come to the city in 2015. Although the bid organizers are ecstatic about the win, public reaction has been ambivalent. As desirable as new sporting facilities and infrastructure are, many are worried about the price tag of an event that's not as prestigious as it used to be.
A Globe article featuring Amir Gissin, Jerusalem's leading PR man and Israel's consul-general for Toronto, explores his project to "rebrand" Israel abroad by using Toronto as a testing ground for the international community at large. Citing the city's overall size, its large Jewish and Muslim communities, and the fact that it's home to some of Israel's harshest critics (the article mentions the United Church and the Canadian Union of Public Employees), Gissin views it as an excellent testing ground for a PR project that aims to change the discourse that surrounds the country.
The TTC announced yesterday that it'll be limiting the number of tokens purchased at one time to 10 or less. The move is intended to prevent hoarding in the face of a possible (likely!) fare increase in the new year. Was it ever fast, though. The decision on the fare increase won't even take place until Nov. 17th. I also wonder about the effectiveness of such a strategy. If one really wanted to hoard tokens, couldn't he/she just purchase 10 over and over again on separate days? I guess they bank on people not going to the trouble of doing so.
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October's been a busy month for the visual arts throughout the city, headlined by the Leona Drive Project and the Toronto International Art Fair. And along with these major (although sadly short-lived) events, there's been plenty of stimulating shows at galleries across the city, many of which are still running, if only for a few more days.
With its many parks and trees, Toronto is a city that looks particularly beautiful in the fall. And as the end of October nears, much of this beauty has hit its peak. After a few windy days, what remains of the the bright and saturated foliage will likely hit the ground, leaving us with the prospect of cold grey days and (ugh!) snow. So, to commemorate another season, I thought I'd share some of the excellent photos in the
Photo: "King and Bay" by 




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