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Extra, Extra: Cocktail Flair, Cold Snap, and Toronto’s Scariest New Sport

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not miss. Flair bartenders, we learned last night at the Jack Astor Flagship Flair Bartending Competition, are basically like a fascinating combination of bro and busker. The bar gave out $10,000 over two nights to winners who best combined acts [...]

After the Vote: What Does the Future Hold for Council and the TTC?

Light-rail proponents were thrilled by Wednesday's transit vote, but the path forward is far from clear.

This week’s historic vote to resurrect parts of the Transit City network is unprecedented in the history of the relationship between the Toronto Transit Commission and city council. Never before has a sitting TTC chair challenged and defeated a mayor on a major transit-policy issue. Light-rail transit (LRT) supporters may have partied into the night, [...]

Newsstand: February 10, 2012

The weekend greets you like a warm and fuzzy blanket. But don't be weirded out by that metaphor— here's the news: Ford probably can't fire Karen Stintz; the provincial minister of transportation says the Ford Brothers refused to talk TTC over dinner; paramedics worry they'll get screwed over by a collective agreement; and, the pandas are coming.

Among the oh-so-many humiliations undergone by the mayor this week, a new development reported by the Sun likely leaves Rob Ford eating his words. Although he and brother Doug have, following TTC Chair Karen Stintz’s “transit rebellion,” called for her resignation, it turns out a new policy instated by the mayor himself last year will [...]

City and CUPE 416 reach Settlement; Ratification Vote Scheduled for Monday

Memorandum of Settlement signed at 3:15 p.m. today.

A notice from the City a few minutes ago: The City of Toronto and Toronto Civic Employees’ Union Local 416 (CUPE), which represents the City’s 6,000 outside workers and paramedics, signed a Memorandum of Settlement today at 3:15 p.m. confirming the terms of the tentative agreement announced by the parties on February 5. The next [...]

Ontario to Ford: Council is Supreme

In a press conference this afternoon, Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli encouraged Rob Ford to work as a partner with the council and the province.

Yesterday, after city council voted to overturn Rob Ford’s decree and reinstate a previously agreed-upon plan for light rail lines with the province, the mayor dismissed the decision entirely. Speaking to reporters a few minutes after voting, he said he was “very confident” the province would continue building subways. And then he went on: “Technically, [...]

Extra, Extra: Guns, Bears, and Bars

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not miss. Oh, NOW Magazine. Your decision to run a photoshopped image of Rob Ford holding a gun to his head in this week’s issue is the desperate act of an alt-weekly trying to recapture a type of edginess it [...]

Scene: A Tibetan Vigil

WHERE: Nathan Phillips Square WHEN: Wednesday, February 8 WHAT: A few hundred people gathered in front of City Hall as part of a global day of vigils to memorialize Tibetans who have died or been seriously injured as a result of self-immolation—a form of political protest against Chinese rule that has become increasingly common over [...]

Maple Leafs to Play in Winter Classic

Diehard hockey fans to celebrate the arrival of 2013 at an outdoor game near Detroit.

The National Hockey League confirmed during a press conference this morning that the Toronto Maple Leafs will play the Detroit Red Wings in the next Winter Classic game, scheduled for January 1, 2013. As rumours over the past month have indicated, the match will be held at Michigan Stadium (aka “The Big House”) in Ann [...]

Transit Debate Crib Sheet: Key Votes and Reaction Roundup

If you missed the play-by-play of yesterday’s transit debate, we’ve put together a summary of all the key facts, figures, and reactions to get you caught up. The Proposals That Passed This is based on a binding Memorandum of Agreement the City signed with the province in 2009, with a plan to build several light [...]

Newsstand: February 9, 2012

Hurtling towards the weekend, we pause to consider Thursday. And the news: mayor's transit plan is overruled, he's pretty sure it doesn't count thought; how about those local sports teams; sprawling suburbs have a transit problem of their own; and another book store bites the dust.

Everyone was abuzz yesterday over the special meeting and city council’s vote to reinstate a wide-reaching LRT-based transit plan instead of the mayor’s unilateral subway decision. Everyone except the likes of Rob Ford and Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West). Mayor Ford said of the meeting, “Technically speaking, that whole meeting was irrelevant.” While Mammoliti [...]

Liveblog: Transit Showdown at City Hall

After months of debate and weeks of mounting tension, city council meets today to decide what transit plan they support.

COUNCIL OVERTURNS FORD, RESTORES LIGHT RAIL PLAN BY A VOTE OF 25-18 Quick reference; live updates follow below: The Coalition Plan This is based on a binding Memorandum of Agreement the City signed with the province in 2009. Karen Stintz is introducing a multi-part proposal that extends that MOA (which would making it council’s endorsed [...]

Extra, Extra: Transit, Food, and Data

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not miss. Are you enjoying today’s marathon transit-debate coverage? Not yet exhausted to the point that you can no longer tell the difference between an LRT, a BRT, an SRT, an MOU, or any other of the fantastic array of [...]