Morning Brew: Ford boots lone woman from executive, Foulidis told to pay partial costs, Doug Ford's record, casino debate cost $370K, and nurdles in the Humber
Rob Ford's executive committee is now all male, all the time. Coun. Jaye Robinson, the lone woman on the mayor's cabinet-like committee, was removed yesterday after publicly urging Ford to take a leave of absence in the wake of the recent crack cocaine allegations. Coun. Anthony Perruzza will take over Robinson's role as chair of the Community Development and Recreation committee. "Diversity our strength."
A judge has order Boardwalk Pub owner George Foulidis to pay Rob Ford more than $160,000 in legal fees after unsuccessfully trying to sue the mayor for $6 million. Justice John Macdonald awarded Ford partial costs and not the full $267,000 he was seeking. Foulidis, who launched the libel suit over remarks Ford made to the Toronto Sun, says he'll appeal the decision.
From one Ford to another, Graeme Bayliss over at Spacing has a breakdown of Doug Ford's work in his ward, where a quarter of people live in poverty. Turns out the mayor's right hand man hasn't exactly been focused on issues at home. His achievements? Something about advertising signs and driveway extensions.
A woman who was fined $135 for jamming her hand in the door of a Mississauga-bound GO train is crying foul. Francine Leriche was trying to board the Lake Shore West train at Union Station and claims her door closed early. GO says Leriche was asked "many times" to remove her hand and foot and was delaying the departure. Is the ticket justified?
The city spent $370,000 investigating the possibility of allowing a casino somewhere in the city limits, according city manager Joe Pennachetti. That figure doesn't factor in the cost of city staff wages. Coun. Mike Layton says the province, whose OLG initiated the discussion, should cover the cost. Good idea?
Police are baffled about the recently linked disappearances of three men from the Gay Village area. There has been no fresh evidence to indicate what happened to Skandaraj (Skanda) Navaratnam, Abdulbasir (Basir) Faizi, and Majeed (Hamid) Kayhan who were reported missing at various times since 2010. Det. Debbie Harris told Xtra there's no indication the three knew each other.
TD Centre's Ernst and Young tower won't be getting two giant illuminated billboards. The city's Sign Variance Committee voted yesterday to deny the application for the partially heritage-protected building that would have seen two 19x2-metre boards hung from the outside.
Finally, the Humber River has a nurdle problem. It seems somewhere along its length, small pieces of lentil-sized plastic are making their way into the river. The problem is no-one's found the source. Nurdles have been found in other areas of the great lake and can be a significant problem for wildlife. The Ministry of Environment says it will investigate.
IN BRIEF:
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: Stephanie Fysh/blogTO Flickr pool.
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