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Newsstand: September 13, 2012
Ah, Thursday: the gateway to the weekend. The day when it's okay to have an extra pint, because heck, it's Thursday. In the news: taxpayers' group calls out Rob Ford on football business, TTC fare hike probably on the way, new traffic lights to protect cyclists, another Bloor-Christie assault reported, the courtroom switcheroo prisoner is caught, and DoFo promises big things for this weekend's RoFo and DoFo radio show.
The mayor is in the bizarro position of being admonished by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The anti-waste group thinks they smell gravy on the football field after it was revealed that some of the mayor’s office staff may be helping out with RoFo’s extracurricular football activities. Even though the school boards say the football coaches are all volunteers, it seems that City-owned cars and cellphones are being used for football-related reasons. Puts a whole new meaning on the words “football phone,” doesn’t it?
Would you like a fare hike with those contracted-out union jobs? You got it! The TTC will probably be raising fares in 2013. Technically, the commission had already approved a 10-cent fare increase “in principle” in 2013 (and 2014 and 2015). But Karen Stintz says the amount of the next fare increase has not officially been decided yet.
The City will shell out $170,000 to install new traffic lights and ban right turns on red lights at Sterling Road and Dundas Street West. That’s the intersection where cyclist Jenna Morrison died last fall.
Another woman has filed a report for being sexually assaulted in the Bloor and Christie area, and her report is consistent with others from the area. This report puts the total number of known victims at 10. The attack took place on August 27.
The prisoner who escaped from a College Park courtroom with the evil genius plan of simply strolling out the front door has been found. The arrest, much like the escape, was “uneventful,” say police.
If you didn’t have plans for the weekend, now you do. And if you did, cancel ‘em. Because Doug Ford is promising “fireworks,” and by fireworks, we’re pretty sure he means civilized, penetrating debate.
