City
Morning Brew: Your Ass is Grass, Inhumane Humaneness, Defamation Funds
Photo: "me and you and a New Canoe" by backintheworld, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
Four people were taken to hospital and three suspects were arrested after an SUV, which was apparently fleeing police on bicycles, bounced off a couple of cars and then smashed into a TTC bus shelter at Queen & University. Thankfully, the bystanders that were struck are expected to recover from their injuries.
After reading chapter 3 of "How to Exploit Children for Personal Gain", and visiting a number of real estate open houses, a Brampton woman is in custody. It's believed that she trained her boys (about 6 and 12 years old) to keep the agents and homeowners distracted while she allegedly nabbed jewelery, electronics, and whatever else she could get her dirty hands on.
Unless you have obtained official "natural garden" status on your lawn, be sure not to let it go unkempt for too long. If city inspectors finds your grass taller than 20cm and you don't take heed to their warning, they may end up cutting it for you and fining you for their trouble. Anyone know how much the fine is (it's not stated in the linked CityNews article).
The Toronto Humane Society location on River Street was raided by police and had its affiliate status as an animal shelter suspended. Why? Allegations of violations of standards of care and animal suffering are coming from The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This has my head spinning. It's like pitting Gandhi and Mother Teresa against each other in a mixed martial arts match.
Here's an awesome idea: use taxpayer money to fund lawsuits by city councillors against people who face defamation allegations. That'll keep those city councillors protected. And us quiet.
Can you say "Cy Young"? The Jays' Roy Halladay pitched a complete game last night, and scored a career best 14 strikeouts in the process. He now leads the majors with a 9-1 record (which should actually be 11-1 if it weren't for a couple of tough loses by no fault of his own).
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Oh oh, better block your face.
The other day the Star had an article by the Fixer talking about how stupid the herbicide and pesticide ban was. While it also talked about the unsightliness of the weed riden lawns, it also seemed to focus on allergy sufferers
<i>"The growth in weeds – often in places where only lush grass would grow a few years ago – is nothing short of breathtaking, especially for sufferers of springtime allergies who in some cases swear it's never been worse."</i>
The entire article read like a whiny right wing blog post fill with so much misinformation it would make your head spin.
For example, dandelion allergies are extremely rare. That also goes for allergies to other lawn weeds. Yeah, weeds can be a significant cause of allergies, but those weeds in question (Ragweed primarily) aren't found in people's front yards (and if they are, then the herbicide/pesticide ban shouldn't be your main concern).
<i>In fact</i>, besides ragweed, one of the <b>worst</b> causes of allergy symptoms is grass itself. One could make the argument that as the allergy-less weeds start replacing grass that allergy sufferers would be better off.
Forcing people to keep their grass short is one of the best ways to reduce allergens (as long as the person with allergies isn't the one cutting the grass). It keeps the pollen levels low and the allergy causing mildew and mould at bay later in the season. (I think this is why people assume lawn weeds cause allergies as they tend to go hand in hand with unkempt lawns, which are really the true culprit)
-various appliances/car parts/furniture etc in various states of deterioration
-horrifically ugly statues
-grape vines growing on scrap lumber frames
-Jesus shrines
-all 3 garbage bins so every day looks like garbage day
-lawn replaced by paving stones so it looks like a fucking parking spot
-student houses with plain ol' garbage everywhere
AND I CAN'T LET MY GRASS GROW?
Fuck. You.
As an aside, last summer a neighbour apparently took offence to the tall plants in our yard and weed-whacked it all to hell without telling/asking us, leaving the garden waste all over the yard for us to clean up. I wonder if I should tell our neighbour to save his energy because the city's going to come and do it this year instead.
Half the PARKS in this city are unkempt. How can the City fine us, when its own parks are overgrown messes?
Not that I mind an overgrown mess...
The way you talk about grass makes it seem like it's dirty or something.
Is there a group where the people of Toronto can shame city hall? Post pictures & videos of unkempt PARKS, potholes, dangerous sidewalks, mean city staff etc. Then, as things get fixed/patched up, remove the offending pictures. The taxpayers are getting fed up each day. Let's turn the cameras on them. Is there such a group?
Oops -- I just defamed them.
Are they going to sue me and send me the bill?
The end.
Ooooh, oooh, but can I call the cops on them for tresspassing then?