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Newsstand: October 12, 2012
Whatever, Friday. You can’t stand in the way of our weekend forever. Eventually you too will give in—just like all the other weekdays. In the news: cutting revenue to pay off debt is like being progressively conservative, Rob Ford’s street smarts, what about e-dandy-horses?, down with downspouts, and a debater doesn’t get to come here.
What do you do with less money? Why you get more expensive things, of course. Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak, who helped fill in the Eglinton subway line as one of Mike Harris’s MPPs, released a white paper yesterday outlining prospective plans to cut jobs, build subways rather than LRT lines, cut billions in tax revenue, and consolidate planning and operation of major transportation routes at the provincial level. Premier Dalton McGuinty responded to the PC’s paper, claiming that it lacks a way of funding its transit ideas. That sounds familiar.
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East) has come to the defense of Rob Ford after former mayor Mel Lastman boasted about himself looking like a genius compared to our current mayor (first mentioned yesterday). Minnan-Wong said of the Fords that he doesn’t “think either of them made the Dean’s List at university, but [he] wouldn’t underestimate their street smarts.” Let’s just hope he doesn’t think that Rob has smarts about the 401, which ends in Windsor, not Manitoba. Or, safe streets. Or other safe streets.
Speaking of safe streets: vroom, vroom, pedal, pedal. E-bike riders were at City Hall yesterday to argue against a bylaw that only allows bicycles “propelled by muscular power” on city bike lanes and trails. The public works committee, which is chaired by Councillor Minnan-Wong, voted to ask staff for a report in the spring on the bike vs. e-bike distinction. Provincial laws consider both modes of transportation to be equal, but City bylaws override those. The speed discrepancy between the two types of vehicles will become an especially sticky problem as the City introduces more separated bikes lanes, where passing can be more difficult.
The itsy-bitsy spider is getting his waterspout rezoned. The City is planning a crackdown on houses, especially those in the centre of the city, that have the downspout from the roof connected into the city’s sewer system, despite a bylaw that prohibits the procedure. Councillor Michelle Berardinetti (Ward 35, Scarborough Southwest) is leading the charge to enforce the minor home renovation in an effort to relieve stress on the city’s sewer system and instead have the rain water filter out onto residents’ lawns and gardens. The downspout disconnection has been a bylaw for the past year.
Oh, and some asshole tried to come to Toronto to talk about freedom of speech. However, his attempted appearance probably had more to do with getting attention for his stupid ideas than the value of free speech. He was turned back at the border.
