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Newsstand: February 17, 2010
Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist.
Toronto’s 2010 operating budget is out attempting to cover the $433 million shortfall with property tax and user fee hikes. It doesn’t drastically differ from previous budgets, but it’s drawing mixed reviews from the mayoral candidates. The only missing voice is George Smitherman, who really isn’t going to risk his lead by saying anything too controversial…or anything at all.
Suburban Toronto is seeding its own local, organic food movement. For example, organic grocer Whole Foods is opening two new locations in Mississauga and North York, and Markham residents say they support a food belt to prevent urban sprawl from taking over nearby farmland. But there is one heavily critical voice in the latter issue—the farmers themselves, who don’t want their food-belt properties saved. Price freezes on agricultural land would chill any hopes to cash in on higher property price tags as Markham requires more residential and business areas. In fact, they may even cause some farming families to lay down their hoes immediately, with no possibility for the land to blossom in value for upcoming generations. It seems the farmers see the grass as greener for urbanites—that is, if you can find any grass downtown.
But one University of Toronto professor wouldn’t see the loss of local farmland as a reason to sound the environmental alarm bells. A report released by Professor Pierre Desrochers and the Montreal Economic Institute states eating locally doesn’t really help the environment anyway.
Toronto’s Green Giant is following the Red Rocket with a new trip planner for GO Transit, powered by the transit function on Google Maps. Not all of the bugs have been worked out yet and the only other GTA transit agencies it can connect to are YRT/VIVA and the Hamilton Street Railway, but go here to check it out.
And here you thought it was an old wives’ tale that cats had nine lives. Well, twenty-eight felines saved from a neglected Etobicoke house are down at least a few. Toronto Animal Services entered the cockroach-infested, foul-smelling, garbage-strewn home near Kipling and Eglinton avenues after a year of debating with the homeowners, a woman and her adult daughter, who were finally convinced to give up their pets over the weekend. Fortunately the cats were of normal weight, relatively friendly, and only a few kittens showed signs of respiratory infections. The Star reports that the litter started when a stray male and stray female cat were taken in, making this an ad for spaying and neutering pets that only Bob Barker could rival.
So, the Vancouver games been the subject of lambasting, slander, condemnation, displeasure lately. And by displeasure, we mean they’ve been called the worst in Olympic history. But we ain’t seen nothing yet. Our biggest critic of all, Stephen Colbert, is coming to town to tape two episodes of the Colbert Report in Vancouver, probably armed with a new barrage of Canuck-insulting puns to hurl in our direction. But the joke is on this funny man as Canada had a pretty good day at the games yesterday. Toronto figure skater hopeful Patrick Chan disappointed, but both women’s and men’s curling teams celebrated wins. Men’s hockey shut out Norway 8–0, and Maëlle Ricker took another gold medal for Canada in women’s snowboard cross. The women’s hockey team is also unapologetically dominating their opponents. Syrup-suck on that, Colbert.