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Morning Brew: Teenager charged in Danzig shooting, Don Bosco Eagles win, May Two-Four shopping, a city hall band, no Nestle condo, and making baby wombats

Posted by Chris Bateman / November 9, 2012

24 Comments

toronto humber bridgeIn case you missed it yesterday, Toronto police have charged an eighteen-year-old, Shaquan Mesquito, with first-degree murder and a number of other crimes in connection to the deadly Danzing Street mass shooting this summer. Mesquito also faces one count of attempted murder, one count of reckless discharge of a firearm and 23 counts of aggravated assault.

Well, I think we can all take a little credit for the Don Bosco Eagles' triumph in the Toronto District Catholic School Board championship yesterday. Afterall it was us who let our mayor skip out on meetings to coach the team to the top. Unfortunately for Rob Ford, the squad advances to the Metro Bowl at the Rogers Centre on the day of a council meeting. Some day they'll make a movie out of this...

In the wake of bus-gate, two councillors want the city to pay closer attention to the TTC's dispatching of shelter busses. Maria Augimeri and Karen Stintz hope there's an emergency fund the Commission can tap when it has to send a vehicle to protect people in a crisis.

Get ready to go shopping kerrr-azy! City council's economic development committee is recommending stores be allowed to open on Victoria Day. Right now, only stores in the Eaton Centre, parts of Yonge Street, Yorkville, Harbourfront and the Distillery District can open on stat holidays.

In a rare show of harmony, several city councillors and other political types have formed a band, the Clamshell Quintet. The group, which includes councillors Paula Fletcher, Maria Augimeri, Mike Layton, and Gary Crawford, play a themed set featuring "We Built This City" and "Where The Streets Have No Name." Got any other suggestions for songs? Here's a few to get you started:

  • Town Called Malice
  • Dirty Old Town
  • (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

A proposed condo development opposed by food giant Nestlé has been nixed by the city's planning and growth management committee. If approved, the residential and retail development would have required an area close to the facility be re-zoned, potentially affecting the way it operates.

The uranium processing plant at Lansdowne and Dupont featured in a Star article yesterday says it has a perfect safety record. A group of local residents became concerned when they found out the General Electric-Hitachi factory handles radioactive material.

Toronto Zoo wants its southern hairy nosed wombats to burrow down together and make baby marsupials. Trouble is, the animals tend to lose their sex drive in captivity. Can you blame them?

Finally, here's a video of a building that looks suspiciously like Toronto City Hall in the latest Need for Speed: Most Wanted video game. Meanwhile, the cost of repairing the Nathan Phillips Square rink just jumped: probably all the tire marks.

IN BRIEF:

Photo: "Humber River Bridge" by W..... from the blogTO Flickr pool.

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Sugar / November 9, 2012 at 08:40 am
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Congratulations, Don Bosco Eagles! If only our city could deserve such fine leadership!
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steve replying to a comment from Sugar / November 9, 2012 at 08:42 am
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Seems to be the sentiment of the day
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Ryan / November 9, 2012 at 08:47 am
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Those residents need to realize that not all Uranium leads to Chernobyl like disasters.
Looks like it's the start to another smear campaign against nuclear power.
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What / November 9, 2012 at 08:50 am
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So how come those raised walkways around city hall are closed?
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Ford4ever / November 9, 2012 at 08:57 am
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So, let me get this straight: GE processes uranium in a west-end plant, for use in the province's CANDU reactors. And the neighbours are upset.

Are these the same residents who are protesting the diesel trains and crying for "clean" electric power?

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iSkyscraper / November 9, 2012 at 09:15 am
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You know, this whole football thing has an extra layer of incredulity just because it's football. If this was Texas, or Florida, you could kind of see the Mayor getting away with it. (20,000 people go to regular-season high school football games in some towns, never mind championships held in NFL stadiums. Being a football coach actually would outrank being a mayor in those places). But in Toronto 200 people attended the Don Bosco game, and what, a thousand or so will attend the Metro Bowl?

If Ford was a hockey coach, or even a baseball or lacrosse or soccer coach, he probably would have gotten away with this a little easier. But to be so devoted to football, that most unnatural of local sports.... it's just so.... odd. It's unbelievable how blind he is to the inappropriateness of his actions, however well intended, and such a wonderful summary of what a bad mayor he is.
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NuclearScientist / November 9, 2012 at 09:32 am
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The Uranium being used at the GE plant is natural uranium. The radioactivity is not a risk to anyone at or around the plant. It can be handled with bare hands - the amount is misinformation perpetuated by a supposedly reputable newspaper like The Star is astonishing.
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Jer replying to a comment from Ryan / November 9, 2012 at 09:34 am
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Not just the neighbours but the media. They are really milking this, especially the radio commentators who are not at all educated. One even had an expert on who said it wasn't dangerous (unless directly inhaled/etc) and they still were fear mongering after he got off the line.

One of the residents that lived in the area was on the radio and she actually sounded reasonable. It sounded like she just wanted more information and that the media really blew up what they were looking for/their reaction.

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MrPotato / November 9, 2012 at 09:35 am
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I still havent heard from the TTC as to why they couldnt have sent an empty bus from one of the stations instead of kicking people off of a bus mid-route. Maybe BlogTO and the Star can stop jerking off behind the bushes of Rob Ford's backyard and look into this.
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NIMBYS / November 9, 2012 at 09:44 am
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That plant has been there for 50+ years... Bunch of freaking NIMBYs. MOVE if you don't want to be around it. Mention the word Nuclear and everyone gets their panties in a bunch. Most of these NIMBYs haven't even been alive for half of the time that the plant has been there! Ridiculous.
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Mark / November 9, 2012 at 10:23 am
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I wish football season lasted the entire year. Watching you fools burst a vein in anger at this is hilarious.
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Mark / November 9, 2012 at 10:24 am
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That said, I still don't think it is appropriate of the Mayor to leave or miss council meetings for this volunteer job. Hopefully this is his last year doing this.
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Peter Parker / November 9, 2012 at 10:56 am
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Why would you move AWAY from a uranium processing plant? Don't they realize there's a better chance of being bitten by radioactive spiders and becoming Spider Men (or Women) if they stay put?
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Toothpaste replying to a comment from Mark / November 9, 2012 at 11:00 am
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"Hopefully this is his last year doing this."

You're referring to his mayoral job, right?
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Alex replying to a comment from NuclearScientist / November 9, 2012 at 11:08 am
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The only news I've gotten about this issue was from the Star, and they made it pretty clear that the plant was safe in their article. They had an expert saying that this stuff is inert and could only be dangerous by ingesting it repeatedly over time. I haven't heard anyone but the NIMBY's actually complaining about it, and those are the kind of people that try to find something to complain about.

All this is because some Trent grad realized his arts or environmental science degree was worthless and he needed to get some media exposure to get a job.
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Oh Silly Mark replying to a comment from Mark / November 9, 2012 at 11:12 am
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"That said, I still don't think it is appropriate of the Mayor to leave or miss council meetings for this volunteer job."

I guess you just burst your own vein, eh? LOL
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Mark replying to a comment from Oh Silly Mark / November 9, 2012 at 11:45 am
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Not really, I don't like it but I'm not going to go apoplectic about it. Also as mentioned it is funny watching you guys lose your minds about it so I guess it's not all bad.
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Ford for coach of the year replying to a comment from Mark / November 9, 2012 at 11:55 am
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If it gives you a nice chuckle to believe that people wanting the Mayor to do his damned job is equivalent to losing their minds, then its hard to argue with that.

I also agree that anyone wanting Ford to continue on as Mayor instead of becoming a full-time football coach has lost their mind. Always nice to find common ground, isn't it?
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I live there / November 9, 2012 at 01:20 pm
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The whole GE plant thing is just insane. First, many of us who live in the area and even some who are newly arrived knew about the place. We didn't care because it isn't an issue. The best part about the article today is the GE compliance report indicating that uranium air emissions reached 9.3 grams while 760 grams is considered safe according to the federally regulated annual discharge limit which seems to prove this theory. It is 0.01% of the maximum that is still considered to be safe! It's also worth noting our regulations are considered among to toughest in the world and once again, it's a totally inert powder that leaves as a totally inert pellet. I've heard staples provides the chairs at CANDU... maybe they can go there and protest and leave us alone as office chairs are about as much of an issue as this plant is.
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JackieC replying to a comment from I live there / November 9, 2012 at 01:41 pm
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Here here. I live nearby as well and we aren't doe eyed idiots as we are being portrayed. The reason no one was concerned is there is no concern. If people didn't know, its because it's such a non issue. The problem with these guys is there are single issue folks. The thing that probably needs to be understood it they actually have a lot in common with the Westboro Baptist church types. For them 'gay' is wrong, 'sodomites' are condemned and all evils in society or tragedies are somehow the falt of acceptance of something pretty harmless. Remove 'gay' and insert 'Nuclear' and that is these folks. Thanks for the post and stats... Wow all this over 0.01%
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Jay / November 10, 2012 at 07:03 am
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I see all the lefties losers still can't miss a chance to take a shot at the Mayor. Too bad they are blinded by false notions. I guess the lefties like to pretend they missed the report in the Toronto 'Red' Star that Ford has a better attendance record than your blonde god Miller?? Also has a better attendance record than halfl of council. Oops. I guess that makes Adam Vaughan full of crap -again - trying to make the claim he's an absentee Mayor. But let's not let facts get in the way, eh? I guess everyone wants a return to continual tax increases and waste at Ciry Hall.
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Sleepy replying to a comment from Jay / November 10, 2012 at 09:28 am
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You know what be good for Toronto, is running all those lefty losers out of town! There is no place for them here!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Matt replying to a comment from Jay / November 10, 2012 at 09:52 am
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I see the short-bus has WiFi now.
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Simon Tarses replying to a comment from Alex / November 13, 2012 at 10:55 pm
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No, really what it was is said Trent University grad not reading up on anything having to do with nuclear science (like way too many people in the world) or science of ANY kind other than just the environmental type, and getting a big knee jerk because its got something to do with nuclear power-similar to the knee jerk responses about genetically modified food or anything else that's not strictly 'clean' enough for them (forgetting, of course, that nuclear power IS clean, and probably cleaner than anything else once the wastes are properly handled.)

This is why I'm not as super-supportive of the environmental movement as I once was, and have been wondering if the movement isn't getting just as retrogressive as religious fundamentalism usually is.
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