MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Talking more casino locations, Rob Ford leaves an impression stateside, Chow softens on mayoral run, pumpkins, loud subways, and a streetcar graphic
Gambling corporations are refining their Toronto casino plans and several locations are beginning to bubble to the surface. According to the National Post, Ceasars is eyeing the Toronto Convention Centre near Front and John while MGM Resorts International likes Exhibition Place. The general consensus is that no more than 10 percent of any resort would be devoted to gambling. OLG, also interested, says it won't force a casino on Toronto if we're not interested. Thanks, guys.
Rob Ford didn't exactly make a splash in the local press during his trade visit to Chicago last week. The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times didn't devote so much as a column inch to the event but NBC writer Edward McClelland has more than made up for that with his opinion piece entitled "Big, Obnoxious Toronto Mayor Visits Chicago." McClelland says the "loud and obese" Ford was a perfect fit in Chicago.
Could NDP MP Olivia Chow change her mind and make a run for mayor? The Star says Chow is now offering a "wait and see" instead of a flat "no."
Looks like gourds could be the latest victims of austerity cuts. The Parks Department says it won't clean up jack-o'-lanterns left at neighbourhood pumpkin parades over the next couple of months and will issue fines to organizers who leave rotting vegetables in public parks.
Things are getting noisy for residents on the western reaches of the Bloor-Danforth line. According to a report, deteriorating rails and train wheels mean train noise is through the roof (or floor, actually).
Finally, as we discovered yesterday, the first of many new streetcars arrived in Toronto yesterday ready for its first test on city streets. The National Post has a cool infographic comparing the new Bombardier vehicle with the existing stock of CLRVs and ALRVs. Bottom line, they're bigger, lower and air conditioned.
IN OTHER NEWS:
- Baltimore Orioles bomb Blue Jays 12-2 [The Star]
- Ottawa adds $100M for Pan Am aquatic centre [Globe and Mail]
- Ryerson holds emergency meetings in wake of sex assaults [The Star]
- Ford's office asked province about money for football field [The Star]
Photo: "Chinatown No.2 Toronto" by aaron schwartz in the blogTO Flickr pool.
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Obviously, I don't know either personally, but I've always gotten a vibe of earnestness from Chow that I've never gotten from Vaughan and his NIMBYism can get a little too self-righteous at times.
I still maintain, though, that, if he chose to run, John Tory would likely win in a landslide. He's a fiscal conservative who is as moderate as they come and I think he'd appeal to those on both sides of the aisle.
Tory would be especially attractive to those who voted for Rob Ford thinking that they would a fiscal conservative, but are now horribly embarrassed that they gave the city Tommy Callahan.
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After the mayor returned from Chicago last week, his brother went on the radio to call the local newsies “pathological liars” and claim he’d been approached by American reporters who asked him, “What is wrong with your media? They’re embarrassing your city.” Which seems unlikely because a) there were no American reporters covering Ford’s visit, and b) American reporters don’t follow local Canadian news.
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Burn!
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Rahm-and-Rods-Trash-Talk-171000671.html
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120927/st-george/worlds-tallest-ferris-wheel-will-be-built-staten-island-city-says
I wouldn't hold your breath for a Mayor Tory. He may seem like a nice, level-headed guy, but he sucks at elections.
Despite his lacklustre electoral history, I think he could win if he ran for mayor in 2 years, and although I've never voted for a conservative politician in my life, he would become my immediate favourite. I listen to him on the radio, and he manages to keep a calm head and open mind even when dealing with some of the mouth-breathers who call in to Newstalk 1010 to scream about whatever.
I like Olivia Chow, but she's a very polarizing figure. I love how much she loves the city and know that her administration would be an compassionate and inclusive one, but we've also got to get the finances in order. Ford's preferred "slash and burn" approach is not the answer, but I do have some misgivings about Olivia's ability to make the really tough decisions.
In a lot of ways John Tory is a compromise candidate, but compromise is something that has been lacking at City Hall for quite a while now.
Having said all this, I don't think he would ever consider running against Rob Ford. And that's a shame.
This is Dewitt Lee, 2010 Toronto Mayor Candidate and I wanted to chime in, and express my opinion. I noticed that most media and members of the public seem to have completely forgotten about the other candidates who campaigned for Mayor in 2010. It's as if, they feel compelled for some reason to dig up new potential candidates, instead of looking at the one's who did run in the last election. I finished 12 out of 50+ choices and I have never taken a day off since I signed up for the job on July 14, 2010. I invite you to visit my social media pages, facebook.com/teamtoronto and Twitter.com/leeformayor, and just one look at my activities and comments, and you won't have to speculate, if I'm running again. Keep up the good work BlogTO.. and citizen contributors, you bring great value to the site!
This is Dewitt Lee, 2010 Toronto Mayor Candidate and I wanted to chime in, and express my opinion. I noticed that most media and members of the public seem to have completely forgotten about the other candidates who campaigned for Mayor in 2010. It's as if, they feel compelled for some reason to dig up new potential candidates, instead of looking at the one's who did run in the last election. I finished 12 out of 50+ choices and I have never taken a day off since I signed up for the job on July 14, 2010. I invite you to visit my social media pages, facebook.com/teamtoronto and Twitter.com/leeformayor, and just one look at my activities and comments, and you won't have to speculate, if I'm running again. Keep up the good work BlogTO.. and citizen contributors, you bring great value to the site!