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Morning Brew: The Fords strike back over the airwaves, police seek hit and run driver, a final push for an electric ARL, Hits and Misses closes, and a TTC workers video

Posted by Chris Bateman / September 17, 2012

20 Comments

dupont stationThe brothers Ford returned to their weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show yesterday, taking time to attack local media for having the audacity to report the mayor's endless supply of gaffes. At one point, a caller identifying himself as "Dave from Toronto" questioned Rob Ford on his alleged use of staffers at football training but Doug stepped in and accused the man of lying. The comedy pair also covered "lefties," "elites," "cocktail socialists" and blah, blah, blah, a trade delegation.

Police are urging the owner of an SUV that allegedly dragged a gas station employee to his death on Marlee Road and Roselawn Avenue Saturday night to come forward. The attendant appears to have tried to stop the driver of an Isuzu Rodeo from making a gas and dash when the incident occurred near Eglinton West station.

A group of west end residents made a final push for an electrified airport rail link yesterday. Some living along the route are concerned the diesel locomotives planned for the line will generate too much pollution. Dalton McGuinty will tour the site today and has promised to retrofit the line after the Pan Am games.

Looks like the Jarvis Street bike lane is dead. The province has told the city an environmental assessment - the last line of defense against removal - is not required. According to a letter from Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley, the city is now free to add a reversible fifth lane to Jarvis.

Queen West record store Hits and Misses closed its doors for the last time Saturday, citing falling sales. Originally operating at Bloor and Ossington, owner Peter Genest moved to the shop next to Rotate This for better foot traffic. Genest told The Star punk isn't dead, it's just sleeping.

Finally, here's a cool compilation video celebrating the work of the TTC's maintenance staff shared on Reddit over the weekend. Investigators are still looking into the death of a subway tunnel foreman late last week.

IN OTHER NEWS:

FROM THE WEEKEND:

Photo: "Untitled" by Lisa on the Run in the blogTO Flickr pool.

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Geez / September 17, 2012 at 09:32 am
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I'm starting to become less and less surprised about the ignorance of Ford and his brother...

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Alex / September 17, 2012 at 09:41 am
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Why do people try to stop gas and dashers? Just record their license plate as they drive away. Unless the car is stolen the police can immediately identify them. I just don't understand why anyone would run toward or in front of a moving vehicle.
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Rob replying to a comment from Alex / September 17, 2012 at 09:50 am
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I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that if someone fills up and takes off without paying, the attendant on duty is responsible (i.e. comes out of his paycheque). If that's indeed true, it's a horrible practice...but this could just be a rumour.
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Soren / September 17, 2012 at 10:26 am
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Councillor Ford needs to be told that attacking citizens who question the mayor's misuse of city resources is undemocratic.
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No replying to a comment from Rob / September 17, 2012 at 10:29 am
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Not true. There is a reason many gas stations late at might make you pay through the security window. For their employees safety.
In no way do they expect attendants to run after a dasher.
I feel terrible for the guy but he really should have known better.
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Nate replying to a comment from Rob / September 17, 2012 at 10:47 am
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No it's usually marked as a drive-off and written off.
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Nate replying to a comment from Rob / September 17, 2012 at 10:47 am
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Still a sleezy thing to do if you ask me, though.
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Nate replying to a comment from Soren / September 17, 2012 at 10:48 am
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It's all smoke and mirrors...
They make a lot of noise because that's all they can do to distract people from what's really going on.
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John replying to a comment from No / September 17, 2012 at 10:49 am
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Since Shell stations are often franchises, there's no way of knowing the practice at this station on gas and dashes. I know dine and dashes at restaurants are legally the restaurant's responsibility, but that doesn't prevent a huge number of them from taking it out of the pockets of wait(er/ress)s anyway.

I wonder if there could be some legal liability for the station if it comes out that they were taking the cost of these things out of their attendant's wages.
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Nick / September 17, 2012 at 10:50 am
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I find it odd that Doug used to be referred to as the "smarter" Ford. So this is what happens when a taxpaying citizen calls into your radio show that is meant to be an outlet for you and your inept brother to reach out to the community? And it wasn't just that phone call. I can't remember a a tiem when a local politician used as many offensive terms for left leanining voters/politicians the way Doug Ford does on a regular basis. Tree huggers, pinkos, socialists, elitists, lazy lefties, wingnuts....can he even complete a sentence without using one or more of these? Grow up buddy, you do know that the main part of your job is to come to a consensus...right? It's one thing to do this on a blog or even in a newspaper as a journalist or private citizen simply voicing their opinion but you're an elected politician being paid to speak for Toronto citizens. What an ignorant embarrassment.
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duder replying to a comment from Nick / September 17, 2012 at 11:38 am
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What makes me even crazier is that he doesn't do anything for his ward...all he ever does is defend (and contribute to) Rob's shithead behaviour. He's just a councillor and I've never heard him talk about anything he'd doing for his constituents.
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I think I found some "gravy". / September 17, 2012 at 12:12 pm
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I have never voted for a conservative in my life. By the time I was old enough to vote, the old-fashioned Progressive Conservatives (Bill Davis, Larry Grossman, Peter Lougheed, Joe Clark etc.) were already becoming an endangered species, to be replaced by Mike Harris, Stephen Harper, and the rest of the Republican-lite, neo-Cons we're stuck with today. That said, I would have GLADLY voted for John Tory had he run for mayor in 2010. My problems with Rob Ford go so far past the mere political/ideological. He's a buffoon, and is completely unqualified to be mayor of a city like Toronto. He's not even qualified to be student council president at one of the schools he coaches football at. Regardless of one's politics, I'm consistently stunned that so many people continue to stand by him, despite the fact that he makes it a point to demonstrate on a daily basis how unfit he is for the office. I never thought that I would look back at the Lastman era fondly, but Rob and Doug are that terrible.
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Antony / September 17, 2012 at 12:41 pm
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With the number of car owners that attach blue / grey license plate camouflage covers, possibly the attendant couldn't get the number?

It's illegal to obscure license plates but at least 5% of the cars on the road have camouflaged plates. Why hide your plate unless you're planning to drive unsafely?
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Jill / September 17, 2012 at 12:49 pm
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It's shocking that our elected officials - the mayor and his councilor brother - use the media to name-call and demonize citizens when they are being scrutinized. This bullying behaviour is reprehensible.
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Chris / September 17, 2012 at 04:34 pm
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I find it obscene that these clowns routinely run away from the media whenever they get asked a tough question but then get a weekly two hour show in which to spew their nonsense, unchecked.

Yes, I know that Toronto Mayors have always had a weekly radio show - except in the past, the purpose was to inform people of what was going on at City hall and give people direct access to the Mayor to ask questions and complain here and there - these jokers (one of whom is not even the Mayor or deputy Mayor for that matter) just use it as a mouthpiece for defaming their political enemies and critics and engaging in a masturbatory love fest with each other and their bottom-feeding, knuckle-dragging core supporters. Ridiculous.

Two more years and then hopefully we're smart enough to kick both of these clowns out of office.
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Keith / September 17, 2012 at 04:51 pm
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The Jarvis bike lane was great - while it lasted. I think it cost $75k to implement and will probably cost $150k to return to auto route (sarcasm).
Stupid city. Toronto's mass transit improvements are decades behind. Let's bring more cars into the city but have them pay a toll at the gate. ;-]
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Robert replying to a comment from Antony / September 17, 2012 at 05:48 pm
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Cars pay a license fee, they are responsible so can break a law or two, unlike cyclists (sarcasm this is)
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jd / September 17, 2012 at 06:02 pm
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Doug's words come off a little racist to me in the article. Odd that is being talked about at all.
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jd / September 17, 2012 at 06:03 pm
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isn't*
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Biggy / September 17, 2012 at 10:49 pm
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They were saying in the CBC this afternoon that the attendant already had someone get gas and leave without paying and was stuck with the bill by his boss. Essentially losing a day's pay. He made a comment to his wife that it was not going to happen again.

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