Results tagged “roysonjames”

Douglas Coupland could have taken better stock of his surroundings before he spoke. The writer of Generation X and jPod was on stage in the Toronto Reference Library's new event space, the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, for the space's inaugural event on September 23, the first of three planned installments of The Writer's Room, a series of author interviews hosted by the Globe's Ian Brown. The event was styled as a gala opening for the Salon, complete with a cash bar. The public had turned out in droves, drawn by Coupland's celebrity, and also by free admission. But there were career librarians in the room as well, basking in the Reference Library's beautiful new gathering space. And Coupland had to go and poke their collective sore spot.

The Toronto Star is repenting. On Tuesday, they published "Toronto making me mad as hell" by Vinay Menon, one of the most head-shakingly bad excuses for an article we've ever read in a major daily. To wit:

On July 27 of this year, 75-year-old Antonio Batista was found guilty of making death threats against his Mississauga city councillor for writing and distributing around his neighbourhood a poem which concluded with the following passage:We are going to dig a pothole about six feet and 3 feet wide and 5 feet deep to hide her body and God will take care of Her Soul, but we cannot forgive her for doing nothing. She...

These 45 seats might be empty now but come November 13 we'll get to help decide who should fill them. Yes, the municipal elections are upon us. So where should those addicted to municipal politics go for their online fix?

Jane Pitfield should send a thank you card to Royson James' office. The Star columnist must've hit a nerve with the mayor's office with yesterday's column. It accused the mayor's office of sitting on a proposal to buy the Green Lane landfill and possibly costing the city millions. The mayor denies this and talked to the Star's publisher. Jane Pitfield's campaign is capitalizing on this mistake.

Council met behind closed doors yesterday and the end result is that the city is buying the Green Lane Landfill in London. The deal is still being negotiated but the city is keeping mum on the terms. Opponents of the deal are critical at the way the deal was sprung on them. The mayor of London is none too happy about not getting any notice.

City staff are hard at work looking for a place to dump our sludge. Fortunately Mayor Miller has said that the city is not considering dumping sludge into the lake. Like, we needed any more gunk in our lake.

A man was stabbed to death in North York at a party celebrating Ghana's victory over the USA at the World Cup. Apparently gang colours may have been a trigger for the tragic attack.

Union Station is getting a $100 million facelift. Commuters will not just be getting wider platforms but a whole new one when engineers and construction workers finish moving a sewer by 2008.

Students at West Toronto Collegiate are being tested for tuberculosis after one of their classmates tested positive for the lung disease. Health officials are just being cautious and don't think TB has spread.

Torontoist wants to join in on the chorus of people complaining about Dalton McGuinty's announcement yesterday that Toronto city councillors' terms have been lengthened to four years instead of three. It seems like a minor change and in fact many city councillors were strongly supportive of the move.

Radio Room snuck out early to go trick-or-treating that afternoon?

gotten in over his head, despite assurances that he has "done nothing wrong." Maybe the real question is what the MLS-mess will do to Mayor and Deputy Mayor relations? We had already planned the post-political careers of the Mayor and his deputy. But with scandal washing over one half of this dynamic duo it may take a while for us to coax them into being the next Lemmon and Matthau.

Mayor David Miller, partially elected for his vibrant hair, may be going white.

Torontoist applauds our civic leaders for their vision and steadfastness. We here at Torontoist know that truly great cities like truly great people don't follow trends and weather adversity.

Stick to what got you here: sensible, practical, below the radar. Stay short, quiet, effective.

since become unavoidable.

- First, theatre eater JKelly tells us that Mayor Dave fringed it up at the beer tent last night, chatting with Fringe honcho Derrick Chua, and giving money to those who needed it.

Royson James reports that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and a coterie of staff will be visiting Toronto to swap notes with Mayor Miller. There's plenty that Chicago's mayor can teach us: how to develop a working, people-focused waterfront, how to get money from higher levels of government and more.

Imagine the life of a Toronto City Councilor - the jet setting, the screaming fans, the intense media scrutiny. Toronto City Councilor Paula Fletcher works under this pressure everyday. And, like all Toronto City Councilors, she must dress accordingly.

Only Miller and Dalton really know what's going to happen. If Royson James' theory is correct, great. If it's wrong, see here.