Results tagged “newsstand”

Everyone needs love, even people who aren't, in fact, people, but over-designed alien glassworks stuck to the sides of historic buildings. They need love, too. We are pretty sure of this. So we wonder whether calling the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal one of the ten ugliest buildings in the world is really necessary. For reference, here's last year's "winner." Sure, the crystalline ROMniplex may have a shoddy interior, but it's nice on the outside if you stand in the right place, plus it makes a sweet lightsaber-fight venue. Besides, obviously no one told the selection committee about Toronto's dirty little secret at the corner of Jarvis and Dundas. Go ahead and trash the crystal, but remember, we'd still love you—even if you'd been designed by Daniel Libeskind.

You'd probably think you were on the wrong site if you pulled up today's Newsstand and didn't see anything about yesterday's TTC...um...what rhymes with "blusterduck"? Perhaps the Toronto Star delivered the most effective hat trick of coverage of yesterday's debacle: After Tuesday's Trudeau Poll results named transportation Toronto's biggest source of emo woe, the Star then regaled the reader with tales of how super pissed people are about the fare hike, culminating in last night's complete shutdown of subway service between Bloor and Eglinton. Despite all that has happened, is it terrible to be concerned about what all this worry is doing to poor Adam's pretty face? Then again, grey hair is rather sexy...

It's not unfair to call it a "shoebox multiplex from the Reagan era," and we'd have to agree that the theatre itself is not exactly a cinema treasure—but dammit, they didn't have to go and shut down The Carlton!

Hey, remember when we mentioned that Toronto bylaw enforcement officers were gearing up to crack down on motorists who leave their cars idling for more than three minutes every hour? Well, Toronto's board of health is attempting to lobby a reduction of that amount of time from three minutes to one minute. And, shocker of shockers, someone on council isn't happy about it. "It's totally unreasonable," fumed Ward 29 Councillor Case Ootes (likely stamping his foot petulantly). "The public is tired of all this meddling and I am not sure what it achieves." Well, perhaps if he reads the Globe (or our September 22 edition of Newsstand, for chissakes), he would see that "it will better protect air quality and it reduces the amount of fuel wasted," according to Monica Campbell, manager of the environmental protection office of Toronto Public Health. "It has direct health benefits." Wait a second...he's not one of those d-bags who parks his Hummer outside the Food Depot at Dupont and Davenport and blocks the right-turn lane with the engine gunning, is he? Hm.

With one very clever piece of spin, the TTC has managed to lose money it doesn't even have! A lot of money! To reach their estimated one million dollars of revenue lost to token hoarding, the TTC would need Torontonians to stash away four million tokens by January 3. Here's hoping that a single person will step up and do all the work for us, just so they can literally bathe in tokens. In all seriousness, the TTC's estimate is plausible, if your definition of "token hoarding" is "anyone having any tokens they purchased before the fare hike." With 1,485,000 rides per day, even when you eliminate metropass users and cash fares, it only takes single-digit tokens per rider to reach the TTC's sensational number. The real question is, does having four or five tokens in your wallet at 11:59 p.m. on January 2 really count as "hoarding"?

What do you get when you cross a gunman with a couple of veterans? An open can of whoop ass, that's what! According to the Star, "on Thursday afternoon...a gunman stormed into a Royal Canadian Legion in Scarborough, demanding thousands in poppy donations...When the gunman lunged for the cash, [John] Dietsch grabbed his arm, pushing away the gun. They struggled and Dietsch fell to the floor. The startled attacker, who looked to be in his 20s, ran to the door empty-handed." Unfortunately, names weren't taken but, rest assured, ass was indeed kicked. And that's what those two minutes are for every year, you whippersnappers.

Does the city's equity policy for public skating rinks mean that girls' hockey leagues should actually get equal access to the ice when that would require "kicking little boys out of arenas so they can't play hockey?" Did that sound like a slanted question? Welcome to the debate.

Hipster artbags looking for more variety in their late-night omnomnoms may be in for a nasty surprise: Six months after council slapped a temporary kibosh on all restaurant developments on Ossington, it appears as though there are more restrictions to come. "If resolutions passed at a community council meeting Tuesday go ahead when city council meets at the end of the month," reports the Globe, "second-floor restaurants are a no-go on the street. Same for rear patios; side patios more than half the size of the restaurant; large, open doors and windows; and any restaurant larger than 175 square metres."

Before Newsstand today, the TTC would like us to take a moment to remind you that token-hoarding is inconsiderate, un-environmental, non-okay, and makes baby trees die screaming in their nursery pots. So, to be safe, even if it prompts a "riders strike," they're imposing a five-token-per-person limit at ticket booths, and a one-per-person limit at ticket machines. Because the ten-token cap they handed down on Friday was just asking for trouble. Why would anyone need so many tokens at once? Unless...unless they were melting them down to make SUVs to drive in streetcar lanes while sharing discount Metropasses! Still, it'll be kind of nice when the fare hike kicks in and we can all buy up tokens 'til we're practically broke!

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before (but if you haven't, that joke isn't funny anymore): George Smitherman is running for mayor. Yes, that George Smitherman. “Anybody can come up with a platform,” said the furious little monkey, “but who has a track record of determination to actually see things through? I think that is a strength of my candidacy—I'm a person who has a track record of transformational action.” And yes, we know that running this story first and then expecting you to read the rest of today's Newsstand is like holding down a Jack Russell terrier's butt when all he wants to do is run the steeplechase (*cough* eHealth *cough*). Patience, my puppies...

Our pets are catching the swine flu! And not just our pet swine! Confirmed cases of housepets gettin' sick with H1N1 are giving us some kibble for thought today. Maybe it's time to make some new flu-naming rules, though, because this is pretty complicated. While humans can't get equine flu from a horse, apparently we might be able to catch swine flu from a parrot and then give it to our cat. Dogs are virtually people-flu proof, but humans deliberately infect ferrets with our influenza germs. Rabbits are just a total wild card. And don't even get us started on the iguanas. People are being cautioned to take steps to protect their pets from the Pig, but the vaccine is still for humans only—felix no can haz.

You read about the possibility yesterday and, besides, you knew it was going to happen anyway, so here it is: the TTC is planning to propose a fare increase on November 17, which they hope to implement by January. According to the National Post, this would be the first fare increase since 2007, and "the adult fare will increase to $3 from $2.75, while tokens will cost $2.50, up from $2.25. Seniors and student rates will rise to $2 from $1.85, while children's fares will climb to 75¢ from 70¢. The cost of a monthly Metropass will rise to $126 from $109."

Just in case the National Post's miraculous financial rescue made you think that times really aren't so tough for newspapers, the Toronto Star may lay off a third of its newsroom. And, did we mention that this was announced to staff yesterday afternoon, on the paper's 117th birthday? We hope this cheery letter from HR [PDF] didn't put too much of a damper on the festivities when it informed staff that they have until November 30 to apply for voluntary severance packages of three weeks' pay per year of service. Hey, remember how the National Post called everyone who said they were going out of business an uninformed, reactionary, communist? Surely their editorial pages will now be crammed with pleas urging readers to give the Star the benefit of the doubt.

Shall we begin today's Newsstand in the gutter? (Were you expecting anything less?) Yesterday, the Executive Committee approved the application of the savings gleaned from this summer's city strike to offset a 2% rate hike in our garbage fees. Sounds good, right? Well, the mayor doesn't think so. "I thought they were taking a short-term gain for long-term pain," he lamented. "I thought cancelling the rate increase this year means that the increase next year will have to be over 4%." Councillor Pam McConnell, on the other hand, is lamenting the fact that the green-bin program will now take longer to implement, citing "pent up desire on behalf of residents...to be able to participate." And with that quote, you know in what direction today's news is going to go...

Like chomping through a thick skull to get at the chewy, unlife-giving braaains inside, you gotta work for the good stuff. Let's see what you did with your weekend, Toronto. Well, for starters, it looks like somebody decided to keep candy out of the mouths of Rosie DiManno's niece and nephew, and now she is foaming at the mouth has written one of her columns, heaping snack-size helpings of whoopass (marked not for individual resale) onto the kid-hating "money bag brigade" of Bridle Path, who wouldn't even send one butler to hand out goodies to the kids, or her, or the Star photographer out taking pictures of the expedition. Hey, at least no one put a razor blade in there. Besides, fair's fair, Rosie: You clearly waived your right to a treat when you agreed to the "trick-or-" part of the deal. Verbal contract.

Remember when we reported earlier this month that the intrepid Joe Pantalone was on the case to help save the Annex from itself? Well, he failed, and now Ici is getting its liquor licence after all. “It's fantastic—it finally gives this incredible business the ability to open,” said area resident John Bowker. “Everybody seems just ecstatic.” Ecstatic to start boozing it up all over the place, John? That Ontario pinot grigio you're sucking back with your Melba of Maritime lobster is one daintily held pinky finger away from complete and utter iniquity. Sheesh. Well, there goes the neighbourhood...

Wuh-hoa! Fans of top-notch investigative reporting need not look any further than the Star's front page, above the fold, today. The newspaper has apparently managed to get its hands on a classified photo of Omar Khadr in Afghanistan that appears to exonerate the Guantanamo Bay detainee and former child soldier in the murder of American soldier Christopher Speer. The magic photo itself, however, is conspicuously missing from the Star's coverage, which might raise a few eyebrows. Will this be enough to change Ottawa's longstanding policy of being cool with letting Khadr rot in an inhumane prison and then go to hell? If today's story holds together, there's bound to be some heat on the government—but maybe Stephen can cool things down with another Beatles cover.

There are many of you who have been following the whole illegal-signs debate raging though our (not so) newly amalgamated city on the edge of your seats. Really; it's terribly riveting. Okay, so for those of you who haven't, we covered it in quite some detail here. And here. And we even gave it a Nuit Blanche slant here, because that's just how we roll. Anyway, it looks as though City Hall has released the final draft of their new sign by-law and billboard tax. This basically means that all illegal signs (and billboards without permits) will enjoy some pretty hefty fines. Which, in theory, and like many by-laws, means that Toronto stands to make a serious killing if they'd only go after the myriad perps responsible for this blight upon our fair city. In theory, communism works. In theory.

Stop. Look outside for a second and breathe in deep. The morning news can wait just one more minute. Sip your coffee if you've got one and smile a little, because between pranksters blinding pilots and a cash-starved city blowing much-needed millions on garbage stunts, there's not much relief ahead.

Remember Giorgio Mammoliti? The guy who, according to previous Newsstands, names streets after people who contribute to his campaigns, traps cats and says that gays make bad parents, and is now running for mayor with a platform of red-light districts and casinos? Well, now he wants to shut down a bunch of Toronto spas! Sheesh, Giorgio, didn't you read in the Sun today that Torontonians are 4% more stressed than everyone else? Don't you think we could use a little "me time"? Wait...whut? What kind of spas, you say? Oh. Never mind...

Apparently the kids at Northern don't really care all that much about the student from their school who was arrested for calling a police officer "bacon" and then charged with assault and resisting arrest. That at least is what the Post tells us, since only about one-tenth of the student body came out to protest the cops' patrolling the school. The protest organizers went all out, though, even sending out press releases to media outlets—press releases, real ones, for a high-school protest! Sure, only 150 students came, but everyone who went is gonna start an advocacy group when they grow up (or at least vote in city elections when they're old enough).

Many of you have likely heard about this through one of your friends' outraged Facebook status updates (or yesterday's Newsstand), but here it is for the social-network challenged: the Toronto District School Board is toying with the idea of an all-boys' school. What makes it news again? Dalton McGuinty likes the idea! No kidding! He's like Mikey…you think he'll hate it, but he's just scarfing down the ideas lately. Really, though—are you surprised? First gays, then blacks…now boys are next in line for a school that caters to their unique needs. Because obviously, people just can't learn in settings where they are forced to interact with other people. What's next, a school for girls? Well, math is pretty hard…

Clean diesel trains for all, public schools for boys only, and the RCMP’s very own giant terrorist bomb blows up in a huge "test blast" released on video for you. All this and more from a city that hit the ground running this Wednesday.

Despite the fact that Mayor Miller promised to divert 70% of waste from landfills by 2010 as part of his 2006 election campaign, he will be well out of office before his dream is realized. But why should he worry? Experts are saying that his goal, though lofty, was a noble one. “The faster we got to 70 per cent, the longer that landfill is going to last," says the man with the (failed) plan. "So that was why I [set] an ambitious date." I don't know, Davey. The fact that it was an election campaign promise, by virtue of name alone, kinda indicates that you set the "ambitious date" to get elected. But what do we know of such things?

Ever since a conference of "gay delegates" picked Toronto to host the World Pride 2014 festivities yesterday, one thing has been clear: the bar is now high. If Toronto is going to step up as the proudest city in the world and finally show those punks in Stockholm, we need to start gathering an unprecedented amount of self-esteem right now. And what better way is there to build ourselves up than to go over what else we've accomplished lately, and how it makes us, as a city, look good. Think of the following as talking points to bring out when interviewing for the job of being awesome.

Who let the dogs out? Toronto's Parks and Environment Committee, that's who! The group has decided that dog owners can allow their furry friends to let their freak flag fly south of the snow fence on the Kew, Balmy, and Woodbine beaches between November 1 and March 31. We at Torontoist think it's an excellent excuse to provide those of you without canine companions with a photo of a shaky wet dog to start your day. You're welcome.

Say, what would you do with a free domain name from none other than Raptors' power forward Chris Bosh? Okay, you probably aren't on the list of Bosh's beneficiaries, but here it is just in case you want to check [PDF]. If you are among the roughly eight-hundred athletes and celebrities whose names Bosh just rescued from internet infamy at the hands of cybersquatters, you'll probably want to start by scrubbing out all the tacky ads and XXX links. Then again, if Bryan Colangelo or Scarlett Johansson can't find a more profitable use for their new domain names, we hear that marketing cheap Cialis online (no Rx needed!) is a reliable way to make a living.

Has anyone actually seen a TTC special constable hand out one of those newfangled citations this week? Apparently, they've been in effect since Monday. The bylaw changes include new fines for injustices like hogging more than one seat, but old offenses are getting a hefty increase as well. Adding a hundred bucks to the fine for smoking on TTC property? Fine. Throwing in a thirty-five-dollar victim surcharge? Do it. But charging $345 (plus a victim surcharge of $75) for drawing Sharpie dongs in the hands of respected Canadian authors on subway advertisements? Dude, that's just not cool. You should be paying us for that special brand of seventh-grade comedy gold.

If you Google "Fire Queen's Park" right now, odds are good you'll get hits about an actual fire. In a city where knee-jerk abuse of politicians is the norm, that's sort of neat. For an eerie moment last Sunday while flames shot from the top of the Ontario Legislature, it looked like history was repeating itself—it had been almost precisely a century since a tinsmith mending the roof there had sprayed sparks in the wrong direction and started a blaze that consumed the building's west wing and decimated its hundred-thousand-book library. In the year 2009, though, humanity has humbled fire, and the blaze was snuffed out almost before we could take a picture to remember it by.

If you're all good commuters, we're sure you'll shrug off the news that the increased TTC fines quietly approved last January will come into effect this Monday. Alongside whopping increases for smoking or making fraudulent passes (duh), people will now start getting fined for hogging priority seats. Though the fines are set by TTC's by-laws, the money collected doesn't just go down the tubes—all the funds go to the city itself, not its cash-strapped transit commission.