toronto sunset

Morning Brew: Vaughan wants in on Ford's inner circle, the mayor's private afternoons, city to review snow plan, Cabbagetown coyote shot, and an all-dachshund UN

Coun. Adam Vaughan, one of Rob Ford's harshest critics, wants to be part of the mayor's inner circle with a place on the cabinet-like executive committee. Vaughan's chance aren't good - Deputy mayor Doug Holyday said selecting Vaughan, someone unlikely to tow the official line, "wouldn't make sense." Coun. Vince Crisanti is likely to get the nod to replace coun. Mike Del Grande instead.

Rob Ford's official schedule is back in the spotlight again thanks to the Globe and Mail (paywall.) The paper says the mayor regularly left city hall at 3:30 during the fall and gave large blocks of time to returning calls and attending meetings. The paper notes Ford's afternoons were labelled "private" after the paper reported on his after-school football practices.

The city will review the way it handled last week's snow storm, including the decision not to use special powers to ban parking on all streetcar routes. Speaking to reporters yesterday, coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong said the city could have "acted differently." He explained a so-called "snow emergency" wasn't called because the weather was expected to clear quickly. Could the city have reacted better?

The brief adventure of the Cabbagetown coyote came to a startling end Monday night when police officers shot the animal dead in Wellesley Park. Residents spotted the coyote over the weekend roaming near Carlton and Sackville streets. Police said they shot the wild canine, likely a native of the Don Valley, because it showed its teeth and seemed unafraid of people.

GO Transit's new Quiet Zone on the upper deck of its Barrie line cars could be expanded if it's a success. The Toronto Star reports the pilot project is likely to arrive on all lines when the current three-month trial period ends. Do you like the idea of quiet areas?

Finally, Toronto is going to get its own doggy UN when 36 dachshunds from around the GTA are assembled at the Harbourfront Centre later this month. Each dog will represent a country and be allowed to run free in a show in the Enwave theatre. Don't worry dog lovers, the show will be webcast too.

IN BRIEF:

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: "Dovercourt Park Sunset" by John-Paul Darby/blogTO Flickr pool.


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