MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Coun. Minnan-Wong has a new tax plan, Mike Del Grande hospitalized, Hudak floats TTC-GO merger, SIU looks at Queen St. crash, and Harlem Shake
Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong has an alternative idea to Rob Ford's proposed land transfer tax cut. The executive committee member is suggesting council cap the tax and reduce or increase it each year to ensure it always generates the same amount. Would you prefer that to a straight cut? Should council leave the land trasnfer tax alone?
Coun. Mike Del Grande has been hospitalized with an unknown illness. The former budget chief, who resigned his post in Jan., was active over the weekend helping constituents clear snow-blocked driveways. He was treated for a benign brain tumor in the 1990s but there's no evidence his current illness is connected to any previous health concerns.
Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak says merging Toronto's subways and LRTs with GO Transit is one of the ways the GTHA can improve the quality of its transit. TTC chair Karen Stintz re-iterated her stance that GO would need to absorb all, not just parts, of the Commission. Would you like to see the subways and LRTs run by Metrolinx and the rest left to the city?
Adam Vaughan won't be rubbing shoulders with Rob Ford at executive committee meetings any time soon. The city's striking committee recommend coun. Vince Crisanti fill the spot recently vacated by coun. Mike Del Grande instead.
The Special Investigations Unit has been called to investigate after a cyclist was struck and pinned between a car and a newspaper box at Queen and Augusta yesterday. The crash occurred during a police pursuit, bystanders say. The cyclist, a woman thought to be in her 30s, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. SIU investigates police incidents that involve death or serious injury.
In case you missed it yesterday, we at blogTO have released our new Toronto bars, pubs, late night eats iPhone app. It's free on the App Store and is your go-to guide for a night out. Like our patio guide and as the name suggests, it finds nearby bars, pubs and late night eats using your phone's GPS. Results include photos, beer lists, opening hours, and more. You know what to do.
The Ottawa Senators don't want Maple Leafs fans packing out their stadium anymore. The team is taking measures to prevent supporters visiting from Toronto and Montreal cheering too loud for the away team. "We want to make sure the competition stays on the ice," said a spokesman.
Finally, so far, this has been a Harlem Shake free zone. Not any more. Here's the Smoke's Poutinerie version of the viral dance craze that's sweeping the planet.
IN BRIEF:
- Couple met in Nazi death camp, reunited in Toronto [CBC]
- City apologizes for homeowner's giant snowbank [CBC]
- Grandfather wrestles gun from would-be robbers [CBC]
- Toronto woman, 87, waits hours for ambulance, then dies [Toronto Star]
- Layoffs at Woodbine, Mohawk racetracks [City News]
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: "C911" by AshtonPal/blogTO Flickr pool.
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It's a well-known fact that hating Toronto is Canada's third official sport. But the sumg taunts from people in Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, and even Halifax for example, are ultimately rooted in the idea that where they're from is inherently superior to the "dirty", "crime-ridden", traffic-clogged (that one's true), "uptight" and all-around terrible place that is Toronto.
Ottawa on the other hand, hates Toronto because deep down in their hearts, they know that it's more interesting, richer, and more important; and that despite being the nation's captial, that their significance doesn't really extend much beyond providing large numbers of civil servants with a place to sleep at night.
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if amalgamation has taught us anything - it is that dispersing the interests of the urban core to the extents of the periphery has crippled much of the city.
Philadelphia merged systems decades ago - and not a single new investment in downtown urban transit systems has been made. All new investments happen in the 'burbs . . . .
Stay away from toronto Hudak! Keep your hands off the already-stretched TTC.
- Keep the Urban interests in the Urban realm.
Thanks to Mike Harris, the city has now been divided into two sides. One side wants a functioning city and transit where it makes sense, the other side doesn't want downtown/old city to get anything and doesn't want to pay for it. Short of de-amalgamation or an even more massive downtown condo boom, this city, like the province, will be driven by suburban policy.
Don't be stunned if Hudak wins and look for him to further dismantle the province, especially if Ford or a likeminded idiot gets elected in Toronto, which is a very, very, very distinct possibility.
I have zero problem with merging GO, the suburban transit agencies and the TTC. This is normal on most of the continent (Chicago, New York, Philly, Boston, etc.) But you can't just cherry-pick it. That's bizarre, anti-urban, possibly racist and plain stupid.
what a complete fuck of a person.
They're the problem, not me, but of course, since I'm "a downtowner" it's my fault. Got it. Right.
From the mayor on down, the inmates are running the asylum.
At some point we, the citizens of Toronto, will need to raise taxes to fund it it we want to continue to function as a city. The longer we wait, the more expensive it becomes, because things don't magically repair themselves if left alone.
Although, this is pretty typical for the Toronto Star's Sports Department. Maple Leafs fans first, hockey fans second.
Why do you come here if you don't offer anything to the discussion?
Nobody here is a whiner when they respond to you. They're just pointing out that you're a fucking idiot putting words into other people's mouths.
Whether or not you're Mark Towhey, you're still just a miserable troll who spends too much time on here. (and if you are Mark Towhey, stop wasting my tax dollars and get back to work you chump)
Power is definitely shifting, but not so much from the suburbs to the city centre as it is from the old establishment to the new. And this young demographic, while highly urban, isn't necessarily urban.
The next election will be fascinating, even moreso than the provincial one. We've reached the tipping point where the youth demographic will permanently skew things towards centre /centre-left. And centre-right and right-leaning candidate will see an uphill battle to win wards. The same will happen with the province, but not for another 4-5 years (based on demographics).
So, much like what we saw happen in the US last November, the more conservative voices in this part of the world are no longer going to be able to count on their blocs to pull out wins. Through such a natural regression we could see 10-12 years of non-conservative candidates which, while you downtowners may whoop at the concept, is actually not good for on-the-ground democracy.
We live in interesting times.