June 16, 2006
Later Last Call?, No Drake Hotel in Leslieville, Bombardier Deal Confuses Mayor
The province has given municipalities the power to set closing time for bars. Toronto even gets the power to add additional taxes to booze. The province might even give this power to other municipalities if it works well in Toronto.
Was there a link between the man who took a shot at police in Etobicoke yesterday and a series of recent sexual assaults?
Council wants to make it illegal to harm law-enforcement animals. The law was spurred on by the death of Brigadier, a police horse killed by a speeding car in February. We also think this is a good time to dredge up Matt Blackett's comments about why police horses should be phased out of the service.
A new city by-law banning Sunday construction noise passed. Construction industry types point out this'll make crews busier on the other days of the week and may even raise prices.
Drake Hotel owner Jeff Stober doesn't want to buy East End strip club Jilly's. Really he doesn't want to. He's never even been there.
An Atlanta man discovered a website with elaborate plans on blowing up a school in Brampton.
The mayor has a disagreement with the premier over sole-sourcing of $700 million worth of new subway cars from Bombardier. The mayor feels that the city must buy the cars from Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant, McGuinty thinks that deal expired back in 1997.
The SUV-driving, cyclist hating Jacob Richler visits the TTC's next generation test car at Davisville. He spots a guy clipping his fingernails on the test car (who does this?!), a couple of guys dazzled by flashing lights and worries about the "fate of innocent thin people under attack from fat people attempting to settle into the half of a TTC seat for two."
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Did anyone else go read the star story about the brampton school thing and find themselves totally distracted as to what this sweet retired engineer was doing getting tobasco sauce on his bedsheets?
Matt Blackett's little screed make senses only if you're completely ignorant of policing methods.
Mounted units exist because they are excellent crowd control. People have a natural wariness of large beasts and mounted units count on this. The horses are quite steady and undergo extensive training to deal with large, violent crowd situations. A horse also has terrific ability to defend itself and nobody wants to get kicked by one. You might risk getting decked by an officer but you'll never (in your right mind) risk taking a hoof to the chest or face.
Yes, they are occasionally assigned to traffic duty downtown -- the horses have to be acclimatised to the city in which they work, and nobody is ever going to hold a large rowdy protest on the horses' home turf -- the Horse Palace on the CNE grounds. Where do protests occur? In the downtown core, which is -- surprise -- where the horses spend a big chunk of their duty time.
If you don't have horses then you have to get uglier and arguably more provocative forms of crowd control, like riot-shielded officers or vehicle-mounted water cannons and so on. And you have to have a lot more of them. Would you rather see those types of crowd control in this city? I wouldn't.
What a weird tone Richler writes in. I ride the TTC every day for at least an hour's worth of time, and most Torontonians are pretty clever about allowing passengers off before embarking themselves.
I always figured the Rocket was pretty explanatory. Fast? Early 20th century obsession with space travel?
He does come off as an occasional user. Ah, well, Jacob Richler. You simply don't understand.
Oh right. I finally read the little Torontoist blurb attached to the link. Everything makes sense now.
A horse! I love horses. butterstuff... butternuts.... BUTTERCUP!"