News: January 2008 Archives

Provincial Conservative leader John Tory, battling to stay employed in the face of disaffected fellow partiers who want to hold a leadership review next month, says in a letter on his website that he has travelled the province listening to members and coming up with ideas to address their concerns. The Tories are lucky; a leader who also had a job as an MPP probably wouldn't have time for stuff like that.

Want to hear the news that's been making its way around the water cooler at theatres all over town this afternoon? Well, do you remember back in May when we reported that actor/director David Storch would be promoted to Artistic Director of CanStage as a result of a recent regime change? Apparently, as of today, in only the seventh month of his directorship (which officially began on July 1, 2007), Storch has resigned from the position. At least, that's what CanStage says. Those in the know who have heard about recent layoffs are calling shenanigans on the official story of "conflicting artistic visions" and saying that Storch got the sack. It is certainly abrupt for an Artistic Director to leave a theatre company before a single year's tenure, and well before the end of the current season. Especially when many are calling Palace of the End, which Storch directed and which is playing until February 23rd, the best thing CanStage has produced in years. Not to mention the fact that he is scheduled to direct Misery, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel, for CanStage in May.

It's a gloomy time of year to be a cyclist, but Dave Meslin and the Toronto Cyclists Union are still finding time for projects in between their slushy commutes. The group is about to launch its own magazine, and they're looking for a name.

David Miller delivered a balanced budget yesterday, thanks to higher property taxes, some fabulous new tariffs, and a one-time infusion of $150 million from the the provincial government. According to Miller, the property tax increase of 3.75% is in line with his commitment to limit raises to the rate of inflation (1.9% in Toronto last year), evidence that the mayor is either math-illiterate or assumes that everyone else is.

It's one of the crapshoots of the daily commute. When you get to your bus stop with no bus or streetcar in sight, should you walk to the next stop and hope the bus catches up or just stay put and wait? According to the New Scientist, Harvard mathematician Scott Kominers has dedicated lighthearted academic study to this very question.

We hate to burst your bubble, but there's a good chance that the government of Australia hates Canada and all Canadians...especially you. This is, of course, nothing more than a wildly inappropriate and unverifiable allegation on our part, but we do have a bit of evidence to support our theory. You see, Australia's official position on Canada is that we're a dangerous country to visit.

Barack Obama lays down the smack in South Carolina's presidential primary. Obama won by an enormous 28-point margin, prompting Bill Clinton to afterwards comment that this was no big deal because Jesse Jackson, who is a black man, like Barack Obama, won South Carolina when he ran for President, and did he mention that Barack Obama is black just like Jesse Jackson? (Also black: Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, and that R&B star that had sex with those underaged girls.)

Say, who's that dude with the pitchfork selecting the next queen of Toronto's tourism industry? Hmmm, could it be...SATAN?!!!

The TTC says that they plan to improve service on the 501 Queen streetcar route, which has been the object of much complaint over unpredictable service and frequent delays. The good news story here is that National Geographic recently declared the route one of the top ten streetcar trips in the world, so next time you're standing out in the freezing sleet desperately scanning the horizon for a glimpse of that red rocket, make sure you smile at a tourist.

TTC subways twice as costly to build as Madrid's. And they got tapas while they were building it.

The Raptors have reached the halfway point of the season, and almost every news outlet in town has been engaged in the mid-season ritual of handing out report cards.

Photo by Lina Aristizabal.

The Globe and Illegal Signs report today that Titan Outdoor Canada Company has asked the courts to save its sixteen vinyl billboards from a City of Toronto removal order.

Unless you're just coming off a three-day bender, you already know that Australian actor Heath Ledger died in New York yesterday, an event covered by the media with the familiar dead celebrity combination of prurience and gravitas. Still, he was good at what he did and he had a little girl and it's sad.

The saga of John Ferguson, Jr. is mercifully over: the beleaguered General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who's been a whipping boy for the team's misfortunes ever since his appointment in 2003, has been fired.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the Oscars this morning. Canada done good.

Last Friday, Torontoist published an article about Posterchild's latest project––fake subway fliers. On Sunday, the Sun published an article about the same topic, with a paragraph that was identical to a portion of Torontoist's article.

The Star reports that TTC operators have a rate of post-traumatic stress disorder four times higher than Toronto police officers. The syndrome is often a result of witnessing, or becoming the victim of, physical violence, and is now the second leading cause of missed work days at the TTC. Arming operators a la Mad Max probably isn't the right solution, but hoping that the assholes who assault drivers will magically disappear may not be realistic. Anyone?

Hey! Torontoist just got ripped off by The Sun.

Even on a street as gaudy, inconsistent, and ugly as Yonge, the Brass Rail has always felt out of place. Bordered by Ginger on one side and Kitchen Stuff Plus on the other, the building's façade eschews subtlety: unflattering snapshots of women in bikinis––the focus squarely on breasts and torsos––cover the exterior of the building, while an LED marquee scrolls the latest club news past (there's always something about "Porn Star Nikki Benz"), and signs advertise the possibility for "sensual encounter[s]." The whole thing shouts sex while being as decidedly unsexy as possible.

More Rosie! More Slinger! More Star PM! (Well, okay, maybe not that last one.) The Star has just announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with its unions, which means it'll be business as usual, at least until the paper implodes in a year or two.

Good news, everyone! If you got a traffic ticket recently, and you planned to fight it in court, you can go ahead and rip it up right now. Yep, tear it right up, and throw it in the garbage. Actually, you should probably check the date you're supposed to appear in court first. If it happens to be February 18, 2008, you're in luck. If it's not on February 18, well, you still have time to dig that ticket out of the trash, garbage-picker.

Ottawa to introduce new fuel economy standards. They will be "at least" as stringent as American fuel economy standards. In response, David Suzuki blew upon a party horn sarcastically and waved a tiny flag, his derision apparent to all and sundry.

Left to right: TTC market research director Mike Anders, TTC Chair Adam Giambrone, irate civil engineering Engineering Science student Ryan Campbell, and Giambrone executive assistant Kevin Beaulieu.

In the battle of who owns the roads, cyclists and motorists are frequently at each others' throats. Over the last few years we've seen a heated altercation in Kensington Market and another that resulted in a motorist being stabbed with a screwdriver. It seems that the threat of a streetside melee is always looming.

Good newspaper headlines are concise, descriptive, clear, and––occasionally, just occasionally––nothing short of genius. And then there's "Man who stole car with baby faces more charges."

Government fires head of Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Linda Keen. However, it is understandable, considering that Ms. Keen went public about government interference in her job and threats of being fired if she shut down the Chalk River reactor for being potentially unsafe. We mean, you can't say she wasn't warned that her bosses were mendacious assholes, is our point.

Just in case this is something you like to be reminded of, you're going to die someday. The good news is that day is likely to be further off than ever, because average life expectancy in Canada has risen, with a baby born in 2005 likely to live to 80.4 years of age. On the other hand, who wants to be an 80-year-old baby?

Toronto-based Naked News (NSFW, duh), which already broadcasts both an English and Japanese version, will soon also be available in Spanish, Italian and Korean. That's right. While other newsrooms are cutting back, laying off correspondents, and eliminating foreign bureaus, Naked News is (insert your pun of choice here).

Waves eroding the tip of the Toronto Islands. A project to keep it from eroding will cost around $14 million, thus reminding us all once again that attempting to combat the effects of Mother Nature is a horribly costly experience, as anybody who has ever bought a jar of Oil of Olay knows full well.

Torontoist is one of fourteen cities in the worldwide Gothamist network. Each Sunday, the editors of every site—from LAist to Londonist—choose their most interesting article, a list which is compiled into the network-wide feature Elsewhere In The Ist-A-Verse.

The Falconer report on violence in Toronto schools talks of a "culture of fear," saying that many students bring weapons to school, and many crimes go unreported. Some of the basic recommendations to fix things include more social workers and after-school basketball, fewer suspensions, more diverse teaching staff, and gun-sniffing springer spaniels to roam the halls.

The University of Toronto has announced that Ramin Jahanbegloo—academic, author, and former Iranian political prisoner—is returning as a professor of political science and a member of the scholar-at-risk program in Massey College.

Sections of downtown core shut down for fear of falling debris. David Miller responds by initiating the "Less Wind Now" campaign, encouraging Ottawa to build "a giant wall" around Toronto to serve as a windbreak.

In case you were wondering, it's probably not a great idea to be hanging out in the entertainment district at 3:15 a.m. Especially if you're in a luxury SUV. And especially especially if you've got a ponytail.

Apparently 6% GST is still being charged in parking lots at Pearson airport, in spite of the fact that the tax was lowered to 5% on January 1. The overpricing is being blamed on a system glitch that is being "worked on," but in the meantime, the GTAA plans to keep the extra cash for themselves. A spokesperson explained, "If you don't like it, then you can fly out of another international airport in Toronto."

City service fees to increase? Toronto's recreation department wants to increase user fees by 21 percent this year and a total of 81 percent over seven years. Because you know who doesn't pay their fair share? Poor people!

See, all that snow shovelling was just a waste of time. Toronto is expecting record-breaking heat over the next couple of days, with highs expected to hit 13 degrees. The heat wave is expected to give dumbass radio personalities a chance to say things like, "Hey, this global warming thing is OK by me!"

Torontoist is one of fourteen cities in the worldwide Gothamist network. Each Sunday, the editors of every site—from LAist to Londonist—choose their most interesting article, a list which is compiled into the network-wide feature Elsewhere In The Ist-A-Verse.

Who knew there was a connection between the TTC and the Titanic, and not just that both are often associated with the words "transportation" and "disaster" (ba-dum-bum)? An exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre features four Toronto streetcar tickets salvaged from the world's most famous shipwreck by a 1987 expedition.

Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee win the Iowa Democratic and Republican caucuses. The caucuses, which are the first real test for any American presidential candidate, delivered powerful margins of victory for both candidates. However, Iowa alone does not guarantee you the nomination—just ask 1992 Iowa caucus winner Tom Harkin.

In the best campaign commercial since HuckChuckFacts, Chris Bosh has assumed the identity of a Texas used car salesman in order to try to drum up votes to make it to this year's NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.

In addition to some upcoming online renovations based on some questions they are asking, the Toronto Reference Library has announced a revitalization project that will physically transform the library throughout the next five years. Being the first renovation of its kind since the library opened its doors in 1977, the project will cost $30 million. Original architects Moriyama and Teshima will be responsible for the library's redesign.

Gas prices are up three cents a litre as the price of oil crossed the psychological threshold of US$100 a barrel for the first time ever. Upon hearing the news, Stephen Harper flew to the Alberta oil sands and gave a stirring speech about how victory would soon be his, whereupon he was roundly cheered by all the hosts of Mordor.

The annual Polar Bear Dip is a success, raising $59,000 for World Vision Canada. This follows Toronto's proud tradition of really, really bloody stupid stunts for charity, like the Great Canadian Tack-Eating Contest of 1958 and the Who Needs A Parachute? First Canadian Place Jump-Off of 1971.