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Newsstand: September 11, 2012
If you're low-key, Tuesday, you be low-key. We can't all be Ryan Goslings in this town. In the news: Casa Loma up for grabs, bullet ban put off, executive committee tries again to ban "Israeli Apartheid" from Pride, CUPE president Mark Ferguson will run for reelection after all, and a lead on the Danzig shootings points to known gang.
How much is that castle in the window? The one with the tastefully manicured turrets? That may be what some private companies are asking as the City opens Casa Loma up to outside help in running the joint. The City has been operating the Casa since 2011. Executive Committee voted to put out a request for proposals to lease Casa Loma, provided whoever takes over continues to run the site as a tourist attraction. So no using the place exclusively for private pizza parties and screenings of Game of Thrones.
Adam Vaughan’s (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) proposal to ban bullets has been disrupted by Executive Committee. The item was delayed at Monday’s meeting, which means they didn’t even debate the matter before deferring it for probably ever a bit.
There is one thing Executive Committee seems bent on banning, though: the phrase “Israeli Apartheid” from appearing anywhere in and around Pride. The only reason that the phrase tends to crop up around Pride events is thanks to the Queers Against Israeli Apartheid group. So the Committee, minus the mayor, voted to look into both revising the City’s anti-discrimination policy and finding some way of suspending City funding for Pride so long as the phrase is used as part of the event.
CUPE Local 416 can save a couple of bucks on giant novelty cards and ice cream cake, as it looks like the Farewell Party for current president Mark Ferguson may be a ways off yet (depending on a vote, of course). In the past Ferguson had announced that he’d step down as union president at the end of his term, but now he’s saying he’ll run for reelection in November. Turns out Ferguson just couldn’t pass up a chance to be involved in city politics when it comes time for the 2014 election. Yes, that is one of his real reasons.
Police are linking the “Galloway Boys street gang” to a string of shootings and homicides over the past few months, including the shooting on Danzig Street.
And Mayor Rob Ford has come out in support of TTC Chair Karen Stintz’s plan to contract out cleaning jobs at the transit service. Because of course he did.
