MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Call for TTC Audit, Speculation about Hazel McCallion and Re-election, the Fate of Public Ski Hills, Regent Park Gets a Bank, Leaf Trade Rumours
Photo: "every person you see in this photo could fit on one streetcar" by tapesonthefloor, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
The Toronto Board of Trade is pushing for the city's auditor general to do an in-depth probe of the TTC's finances - not to seek out any wrongdoings or suspect dealings, but to fully understand and appreciate whether or not Torontonians are getting value for their money. Most Torontonians feel that we don't need an official audit to come to certain foregone conclusions.
Is 89-year old Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, who received over 90% of the vote in the 2006 mayoral election, going to run again? Or is she stalling on registering for the next election so she can strategically prop up a chosen successor? Speculation abounds.
Toronto City Hall is looking at the Centennial Park and Earl Bales Park public skiing facilities and contemplating either selling them off or leasing them to private companies as a means of saving $715,000 over the next two years. Three full-time staff, 360 part-time jobs, and some fledgling Olympic dreams would be lost in the process.
I know a picture can be "worth a thousand words," but it's amazing what qualifies as a news story these days. Look! A police car wrapped around a pole!
Regent Park residents finally have a place to put what little money they may have. RBC opened a branch at Parliament and Dundas yesterday, and for the first time nearby residents have a bank within walking distance. It's amazing that it took this long, but I guess none of the big banks saw much benefit to investing in an area not likely to see frequent use, large deposits, low risk loan repayments, etc.
And the NHL trade deadline is fast approaching. Plenty of trade rumours have been circulating about soon-to-be free agent Leaf players Ponikarovsky, Stempniak and Primeau. Kaberle is also mentioned as a possible player for a big deal, but he has no plans to waive his no-trade clause. It should be interesting to see what Burke does, given that he recently pulled off a couple of big trades already, landing Phanuef and Giguere.
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If our antiquated roads weren't, well, antiquated, there wouldn't be this 'world class' traffic in a city of 2.5 million. It would have been simply amazing IF the city had built its infrastructure on 6 lane arterial roads, instead of two. You know, like the rest of the world did.
Privatization isn't bad, but paying someone a decent wage rather than the lowest wage that they will accept isn't an evil concept.
Also, good to see Hazel's contemplating jumping ship just as all the problems she put off dealing with come home to roost.
But, yes, let's live in that shangri-la never-never land where everyone walks and people live and die within 10 km of their birthplace, just like in the 1800s - which is when our road network was built.
I'll be real curious to see how fast it takes for the condo dwellers to start complaining about people hanging outside of Timmie's as the people of Cabbagetown have been complaining about undesirables who hang out at Timmie's at Parliament and Winchester in the good weather.
Is this now what constitutes sensationalism, reporting on an officer in critical condition? What am I missing here?
To blogTO... that photo of the smashed police car qualifies as a story because the officer who was in it, suffered SEVERE injuries... and has now passed away as a result.
He was on the job for only 2 years, had a family, and was relatively young (mid-thirties).
Keep your cynicism and glib remarks in your Street Style series.