Newsstand: June 12, 2012

Jump back! Because Tuesday's coming at ya like a horde of mangy go-karts, and it's in the mood to news. Like this: As progress is made on the Spadina subway extension, talk turns to a downtown relief line; our new bag ban makes everybody jealous, but no word on court challenges; now there is definitely no fishing allowed at the waterfront; and a second victim dies after the Eaton Centre shooting.

By Sarah-Joyce Battersby • Illustration by Brett Lamb

Holey and Moley are comin’ for ye. And be “ye,” we of course mean York Region, where a new subway line is on its way. But as the cutely named boring machines broke through the first stage of construction, everyone was over it and on to the next subway dream: the downtown relief line. While celebrating the progress on the Spadina subway extension, both TTC Chair Karen Stintz and CEO Andy Byford were talking up the idea of a downtown relief line as the next big transit project for Toronto. But with the way these things go, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Holey and Moley, after a lustrous career of boring, retire and leave the job of digging the downtown relief line to future generations, like Holey and Moley VII, once removed, esquire.

Looks like once again absolutely everyone ever is totes jeals of Toronto and her new plastic bag ban, including Vancouver and Calgary. Sure, sure other cities with similar bans, like Los Angeles, may have pondered the possibility for longer (like 8 years in L.A. versus, oh, less than a day in Toronto). But still, at least one of the industry groups potentially affected by the ban say they will not be taking the thing to court. Although Mayor Rob Ford has assured us that the ban will definitely for sure go to court, so don’t worry.

In a follow up to the fish tale that started bubbling up last March, the war on fishing at the waterfront rages on in the form of new signs. The “No Fishing” warning signs sprang up along the waterfront last Friday and are pretty much the opposite of those folksy and charming Gone Fishin’ signs you always dreamed of tacking up on your cottage wall if you had a cottage. But you don’t have a cottage, so you fished at the waterfront. But now that’s getting tricky too. So just say good bye to all your dreams, basically, is what the signs want.

The Province is blocking the sale of community housing properties after council voted to sell the 65 single-family homes.

In sad news, one of the victim’s of the Eaton Centre shooting died in hospital on Monday, which brings the death toll to two. The National Post says they can’t say the second victim’s name due to a publication ban, but that rule doesn’t seem to apply to the Star.