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Weekend Newsstand: August 4, 2012
As the bright Saturday rises, we erect statues in honour of weekends everywhere. And what would a weekend be without news? Not statue-worthy, that's for sure. So: the couple denied apartment rental because they're gay is pissed, CUPE 416 sets up a hotline to monitor new private garbage collectors, police try to make people stop using their phones while walking, the City's getting a new facilities manager, and some stores and roads will be closed on Monday.
A couple trying to rent an apartment in Brampton was turned down because they’re gay. When Chris Prentice called up the rental consultant expressing interest in the place for him and his “partner,” the consultant straight up asked if Prentice and his partner were gay. Then she explained that the people who own the apartment explicitly said they didn’t want to rent it to gay people, as if that’s a totally acceptable and normal thing to say. In fact, the rental consultant told the Star that some landlords deny tenants based on ethnicity, too. (So there?) Prentice and his partner plan to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
A new fleet of private garbage collectors will roll out in the city’s west end on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the union representing displaced City workers will have nothing to do. CUPE local 416 will be busy monitoring the hotline they set up for citizens to call in with any and every complaint or problem that arises from the new pick-up plan. In his response to the proposal, Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East) is being sort of reasonable for a change, saying those types of complaints should go directly to the City via 311 rather than to the union. Are we wrong or does that actually make a lot of sense?
Speaking of devoting a lot of energy to catching minor infractions, the police spent some time at Broadview and Danforth Friday morning telling people not to text and walk. Or listen to music while crossing the street. Or tweet and stroll. The official line is they were looking for distracted pedestrians, but as the Sun tells it, the morning comprised mainly of police officers yelling at people with headphones on.
The City is gaining a new facilities manager and plugging one of the holes in its senior management. Josie Scioli will be stepping in to the role after the old facilities manager retired in June. The job involves overseeing the management and maintenance of City-owned buildings and vehicles. Scioli is currently the CEO of a Toronto Community Housing subsidiary that provides construction and maintenance.
And as if you didn’t know (if you didn’t we are sad for you and the life of ceaseless obligation you must lead), Monday is a holiday. So honour John Graves Simcoe, the former lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, by stocking up on beer on Sunday, because most LCBO and Beer Stores, along with many grocery stores and the like, will be closed on Monday in celebration of Simcoe and his York-finding ways.
