City
Morning Brew: Giambrone in Sex Scandal, McGuinty to Prorogue Legislature, TTC Union Tired of Harrasment, Definitely Not the Snowmageddon, TREB to Face Competition Bureau, HST Ad Campaign, Brendan Burke Funeral
Photo: "Cherry Beach sunrise" by Grandpaparazzi, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
Adam Giambrone may be the most surpsing person to be at the centre of a "sex scandal," but the story surrounding the man who wishes to be mayor is taking an awfully familiar turn as Giambrone admitted to having multiple affairs over the last year. He vows to stay in the race, but will Torontonians push him out of the race like an American politician? Or does the Sun's Mike Strobel have his finger on our collective pulse when he applauds the councillor?
TTC Union boss Bob Kinnear is getting angry and wants what he calls harrasment to stop. He may have a point that we can't keep playing "gotcha" with the operators, collectors and other front-line TTC employees if we want to see real progress made, but even Kinnear has to realize that riders are fed up and finally feel like their voices are being heard. That and taking it out on riders won't win us over. So let's hope Kinnear sent a similarly strong message to his union members, urging them to step it up a notch (or several).
It may not be Snowmageddon, but Toronto finally got a noticeable amount of snow last night - the first of 2010. Although it wasn't enough for me to need to do more than run the windshield wipers to clear the car, so I'm thinking all the news coverage warning us of snow was just to make sure we didn't feel left out as the east coast got dumped on again.
It seems that the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is the next target of the Competition Bureau, pointing to anti-competitive behaviours such as making MLS data hard to get. Some of the stifled innovation could make it easier for agents and clients to share information but could allow for lower commissions (which I'm guessing TREB doesn't like). If only the Competition Bureau could do something about skyrocketing Toronto house prices.
In the midst of news about as sad as it comes is a heartwarming angle to the story. As Leafs GM Brian Burke says farewell to his 21-year-old son Brendan (who died in a recent car accident), hundreds if not thousands of well-wishers came by (despite difficult weather) to pay their respects and offer their support. Best wishes to the whole Burke family.
It seems that Dalton McGuinty has caught the fever. The prorogue fever, that is. Expect the Ontario legislature to take a break (albeit a short one) and a speech from the throne sometime after the Olympics.
Watch for ads about the new HST to hit the street starting Thursday. The $1.6 million campaign is the government's way (or, at least the Liberal's way) of selling us on the much-maligned 13% tax to start later this year. Note to Liberals: pretty sure people still won't like the tax when things like gas, haircuts, internet and houses get more expensive.
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Between this and Adam Giambrone not keeping his wee wee in his pants, we don't have to worry about him becoming mayor.
Isn't it only an affair if he was married? Otherwise, he was just hooking up with multiple women. He probably slept with more women this summer than The Situation did.
And people said I couldn't combine a mayoral campaign and the Jersey Shore.
And when is Royson James going to stop going for the low hanging fruit and challenge himself to be somewhat interesting? http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/763081--james-adam-giambrone-should-drop-out-of-race?bn=1
With Giam-Phoney's multiple affairs coming to light, its no wonder that the TTC is in chaos and members of his ward are furious. This guy was too busy trying to balance multiple women and ensuring that none found out about the other, to be able to spend the necessary time balancing his 2 jobs as TTC Chair and City Councillor.
He created an entire "fake" life for "political reasons" and has been lying to almost everyone he knows for the past year.
Believe me, we already have a MAJOR LIAR for the Premier of Ontario. We don't need another one for the Mayor of Toronto!
-------Kinnear and the TTC---------
Bob Kinnear is a Manipulative Idiot who seems to be blaming everyone for the TTC's problems, except for the people who are actually failing, the TTC employees themselves...
He wants us to stop pointing out TTC Employee mistakes (or "harassment" as he calls it), yet this recent surge of PUBLIC TTC Watchdogs taking the task of fixing the TTC into their own hands, seems to be the only thing that's ever got the TTC Management and Union's attention.
He's in a dreamland if he thinks that manipulative tripe that he tried to feed us will stop the public from exposing the failure that the TTC is.
-------McGuinty the theif----------
You know, only McGuinty could find a way to add new tax burdens on the already heavily burdened Ontario population, and have it disguised as the same Percentage, except "now you get extra tax benefits!"...
Everyday he reminds us of how selling one's soul to the devil is never the right move, regardless of how dire the situation is...
This $1.6 Million of our tax money being used to manipulate us into thinking that this HST crap is a good thing, is just disgusting.. McGuinty has found yet another way to stoop even lower...
With phrases like "more modern", "value-added" and "tax package", he never ceases to amaze us with his ability to come up ways to manipulate the public.
Only an idiot would believe him when he says that the HST will result in New Jobs, Higher Incomes and Lower Prices... Soon we'll find those promises in the same place as all of his other ones, the infamous "McGuinty cemetary for Broken Promises"... The largest Cemetary in the Political world.
http://jackandcokewithalime.blogspot.com/
He dictates how, where, when, style and content that is acceptable.
He must control.
Wake up Kinnear, and ALL unions. I for one do not accept your terms, conditions or control. You and your groups out of touch (for decades now).
If you want my approval, try asking me what would satisfy this customer. Just as you and your members expect to be asked when you are the customer.
In other words, successful customer relations dictate a certain decorum. A decorum that dictates the customer's needs are to be recognized and satisfied. A decorum that does not recognize your rules and conditions of how that service is to be provided.
If you and yours find that too difficult or unacceptable, I suggest you find other employment and stop wasting my time.
BTW: When's the protest about Dalton's prorogation?
Plus, try and justify it to HER that it's not an affair.
but I gotta say- AWESOME Jersey Shore reference. Mad Kudos.
Kinnear is the Sarah Palin of spokespeople. He makes his union seem completely out of touch. Remember when he blamed the photographers for not checking the health condition of the sleeping ticket taker?
If we are to judge this union by the spokesperson they select, then this union still does not take the issues seriously, refuses to take any real responsibility for what is clear to everyone else, and the only solution they can come up with is to get together for a chat on their own terms.
I'm sick of being held hostage in this city by public service unions. And if this union continues to plug it's ears and make stupid comments, we're just going to take more photos and videos, we're going to complain louder and we're going to make their commute just as unpleasant as they've been making ours.
It's a numbers game and they can't compete. If we all keep this up, they will eventually either get serious about fixing this, or resign as a group. Either way, we win.
Which brings me to Mr. Kinnear. Is he kidding? Seriously, just yesterday at 9:06am, I watched a Spadina streetcar driver leave his northbound vehicle between Adelaide and Richmond, to get a coffee and snack at the little snack bar on the east side of Spadina. I was standing in the shop incredulous. Even better, there were some 3 or 4 streetcars patiently waiting for him.
This bad behavior persists, and the drivers are all complacent. Blaming the rider for being angry at such rampant rudeness and shirking of duty is ridiculous.
Dear TTC union,
You need to fire Bob, he puts a face on your union that is not helping your public image at all.
I'm sure you realize there are some serious problems with the system, and you need to focus on fixing them. Or else, riders will keep filming and harassing your employees. I don't believe all drivers are bad, in fact, I find most of them quite pleasant.
But in November I sent you a complaint about a King St. streetcar driver responding to my polite inquiry with "I don't F*cking know". You chose to ignore that complaint. And the thousands of other complaints for poor service over the years.
So, this is a bed you made. Stop making excuses, tell Bob to shut up, and take control of your union.
-Denise
I'd love to know what his standard of "perfect" is.
are taxes included in statistics like the consumer price index? is so will this be "inflationary"? i.e. and thus interest rates increase to curb this "inflation"???
As for Giambrone, who are we kidding? His biggest problem is being chair of the TTC and being a Miller lacky. This whole affair thing is trivial next to those problems, as far as electability goes. For those who say its none of our business - if you're talking about an athlete or actor, I agree - its just salacious gossip.
However, for a politician, its the same as discovering he or she was engaged in shady financial irregularities. It shows hubris, a lack of ethics, bad judgment, and quite frankly, immaturity - very undesirable qualities in a leader (but unfortunately, qualities that we encounter far too frequently). When you step into the political, especially now, you have to accept that this kind of scrutiny and be prepared to deal with it. It's simply a fact of public life today.
Notwithstanding my own view of the matter, I respect that he's staying in the race (so far). A sex scandal, though certainly a negative, should not, in and of itself, automatically diqualify someone from running for public office. Let the voters decide.
Regarding the TTC union, does anyone listen to what Kinnear says? To me, his only use would be to deep-fry some KFC on his slick hair. At least he doesn't scare me like the ex-police union thug that went on to work for 640AM.
I *do* have a problem with him running the TTC into the ground, using his appointment there as a launchpad to the mayor's office, instead of dedicating himself wholly to its success.
I *do* have a problem with him lying and using women as tools to his own ends - whether it's sexual gratification or political gain - instead of affording them respect and honesty as people.
I *do* have a problem with him continue to be evasive and lacking in any real substance. More than anything, I find him it totally disturbing that he refuses to read the mood in the room. Most saw him as completely incompetent in running the TTC - it was absolutely NOT the year to run for mayor. He's either clueless or totally deluded, and I find him completely offputting either way.
*snickers*
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I am greatly enjoying the new liberal policies! Wonderful & Amazing!
Alas, I can comment no further, I must watch my team of Philippino butlers polish my solid gold Bentley...
HK v. Canada? communist (small 'c') v. democracy. Apples and oranges.
What bugs me about it is that our system basically allows the employer to "download" a portion of their payroll costs directly onto the customer, who in effect ends up subsidizing the income of the server.