By Lori Dance

Perhaps one of the only good things to come of the death of Darcy Sheppard is that (hopefully more) people are now looking at bike safety more closely. The Star today has an interview with Constable Hugh Smith of the Toronto police traffic services division that everyone, no matter how many wheels they ride, should read; it goes over a few fine points of sharing the road, including the art of dealing with right turns. One fun fact: though the drivers of electric bikes require helmets, the fashion-conscious on manual cycles do not—at least, not those old enough to claim that they’re adult enough to not care if someone hits them from behind and causes a severe head injury that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars over the course of said helmet-less wonders’ lifetimes. That’s right, you meticulously coiffed d-bags who ride through stop signs the wrong way on Delaware any generic one-way street—this finger is in your face!
Meanwhile, Councillor Michael Walker is pushing for adult cyclists to wear helmets and carry licences. Do we love him for taking care of us or hate him for trying to blame the woes of the road on our two-wheeled friends? We’ll find out today when he justifies his case at council’s public works committee…
Speaking of blame, as the OLG is attempting to climb from their pit of scandalous iniquity (and fighting off lawsuits from former employees), they’re smokescreening the public by announcing an old idea (like, two-years-ago old) as new and finally finalizing it. After backing down when retailers fought the idea back in 2007, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has grown a pair and, come November, one will not be able to buy nor redeem a lottery ticket in one’s own store. As someone who has worked at a lotto counter for many years, this seems like something that should have been part of that little binder those OLG reps give you when they install your machine, not a too-little-too-late attempt to shift the focus of accountability from one guilty party to the next. Don’t worry, lotto powers-that-be: there’s enough derision for all!
And in other finger-pointing news, Toronto has received nearly two hundred million dollars from the feds for “shovel-ready” projects (don’t go there, kids, no matter how strong the lure). Hm…guess how our illustrious councillors are handing it? That’s right: they’re acting like children! Ah, city council, you never fail to disappoint.
Finally, in case you were away from your computer this weekend, here’s what you missed: the answer to feeling “more fresh and less gross” is going to a school that starts an hour later, the ACC got a facelift, and lots of money was raised for cancer. Oh, and after remaining Ford Canada’s spokesperson in spite of his DUI conviction and resulting MADD outcry, Kiefer Sutherland has been named chair of an acting school. The ironing is delicious.