Tasers, Flag Flap Toronto Style and a Missing Paramedic Kit

Three divisions of Toronto Police will be trying out tasers in the coming year the Sun reports. We've written about tasers before and how other jurisdictions have had problems with them. We hope that Toronto Police approach this with caution and aren't trigger happy with their new toys.

The Star reports that Durham politicos are getting set to fight the greenbelt. Durham is one of the few affected municipalities where there's still opposition to the province's successful sprawl curbing legislation. Steve Parish, the mayor of Ajax, warns the province mustn't back down. "Death by a thousand cuts is what will kill the greenbelt. If the greenbelt is going to survive, the province must hold firm."

The Republican Conservative government has forbidden publication of photos of flag draped coffins of soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Is it another example of Conservative message control? Defence minister Gordon O'Connor argues "The repatriation of our fallen soldiers back to Canada is a private and solemn event between the families and the Canadian Forces."

David Miller has decided to lower the flag on top of city hall in respect to the four soldiers killed recently. One of them was a GTA resident. Is the mayor wading into the flag debate currently under way in Ottawa?

As if we needed another reason not to go into the club district. Councillor Jane Pitfield claims that some of the clubs there may have ties to organized crime, including bike gangs. While she has no evidence the police will still look into it.

The Exhibition Place GO terminal has a new mobility hub. The project by local NGO Moving the Economy will include TTC links, bike trails/facilities, a new BikeShare hub and free wireless.

Finally, Emergency Medical Services are worried about a missing paramedic's kit which may include such dangerous things as contaminated needles.