Morning Brew: July 28th, 2008
Photo: untitled by PierreD., member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday July 28th, 2008:
First, flooding led to an explosion in an underground hydro vault which forced the evacuation and displacement of residents of a high rise building. Then, when inhabitants were allowed to return briefly to grab important items from the mess, they found that during their absence their apartments had been ransacked and burglarized. Three teens have been arrested, and much of the stolen property has been recovered.
Several drowning deaths in cottage country and near Toronto have prompted the predictably mildly paranoid voices at CityNews to give us a helpful tip sheet on how to avoid a miserable drowning death, because you could be next.
With population growth and the loss of arable land to urban development leading to concerns of a looming food crisis, should Toronto be looking to install vertical farming towers? The 1-mile diet is an intriguing concept, but reminds us of zany sci-fi scenarios like Soylent Green (is people) and The Matrix (people farming towers).
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Ontario is taking the safer (and much slower) route to allowing electric cars on Ontario roads. While Quebec and British Columbia have already made provisions to allow the slower-moving vehicles to legally enter the traffic mix, Ontario is hoping to complete its evaluation and make a decision in the near future. Read more about Toronto company Zenn's electric car and their struggles with the government.
High fuel costs, a strong dollar, and a looming global recession (and daily weather forecasts that predict sun followed by thunderstorms followed by sun and thunderstorms) are taking their toll on tourism in the peak of summer in Toronto. Torontonians themselves are also less likely to be tourists elsewhere, since we're now being ranked as the second most expensive city in North America, with only New York City being pricier.
And people driving cars adorned with "support our troops" stickers should be giving extra support today. Canadian soldiers shot up a civilian vehicle that was not yeilding to instructions to keep its distance, killing two children and injuring their parents. I guess things like this are "the cost of war" and necessary for "protecting our rights and freedoms" in Canada, right?
Comments (18)
And while Toronto might be the second most expensive city to live in, I really don't think it's all that expenisve for tourists...well, unless you count the cost of going up the CN Tower or visiting the ROM.
New York is expensive even to visit. For the same price that would get you a club level room at the Sheraton, you'd get a dirty hostel in Manhattan.
No doubt the high C$, pricey gasoline and the U.S. hangover from the 2001-2007 Creditfest are major factors in the tourism slump. But frankly, during my 3 years as a weekly travel columnist for a major daily broadsheet, I found that, with some notable exceptions, Ontario tourism operators are a profoundly unimaginative, unworldly bunch.
RBeezy 
on July 28, 2008 10:06 AM
"The Ratpick Travels"? I LOVED that column!
you're right, Ontario tour packages are as exciting as eating cardboard. Toronto's no exception. TO Unlimited? Hippo Tours? kill me now.
does anyone else think that the increase in drownings has anything to do witht he closing and cutbacks to school swim programs?
lovely photo btw. looks like the Pearly Gates.
"The driver of the car ignored repeated signals to keep away from the convoy"
Just thought I'd get that inconvenient fact in there.
If I was to be as inflammatory as to say something similar to 'I guess things like this are "the cost of war"' it would be 'I guess Canadian soldiers should know their being murdered by homicide bombers is the cost of being a caring and sharing co-user of Afghan highways'
Mark Dowling, I sort of agree with you.
The locals in Afghanistan generally know to stay well away from NATO convoys, which tend to be full of freaked-out young men with large guns.
Kind of makes you wonder what we're going to accomplish there, doesn't it?
@ Mark Dowling:
I thought I did cover that fact when I wrote: "...not yeilding to instructions to keep distance..."
@ Jerrold
You did. Then you added in a snarky comment at the end that makes in sound like you don't think we should be over there no matter what. Which is fine, but just have the balls to come out and say that rather than become defensive when someone calls you on your snark.
@ Dave
My words were called inflammatory and it was suggested that I was ignoring inconvenient facts, which I don't think I was. I felt the need to come to my own defence by trying to clarify that I did state the circumstances of the killings when Mark insinuated that I hadn't.
@ everyone
My snarky comments are what the Morning Brew is all about... a roundup of news with my personal left-leaning biases and witticisms infused. I make no effort to mask my biases. I don't think Canadians should be in Afghanistan, but I also don't think that I need to plainly state the obvious either. :) Hope this approach works for all of you!
Why don't they require that electric car drivers wear helmets in the interim, while they sort ouf the safety stuff. That would be both effective and hilarious.
RBeezy on July 28, 2008 1:10 PM
@ Mark Dowling.
Hmmm...let's see now: strange foreigners yelling at you in a different language in your country while pointing guns at you.
nah, that wouldn't make anyone hesistant or nervous to the point of freezing up. not at all.
Jerrold, I understand that you are trying to present the Morning Brew with your own leanings and witticisms, but man... Sometimes you just go a wee bit too far for some folks.
No worries from me though. I'll be there waiting tomorrow for what you post next.
Thanks for the feedback Christopher :) We all have our slants, and I suspect that even a highly toned-down version of my opinions would be too far one way or another for some folks. That's the upshot of political debate, freedom of thought, and self expression, which I can only hope readers continue to show in the comments of the Morning Brew. If you don't agree, speak up! Discussion about current events is great! See you tomorrow morning...
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