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Newsstand: February 19, 2010
Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist.
Ahh, there’s nothing better than a nice, free dip in a Toronto public pool. Right? Not this year. Oh, well maybe they take debit? That’s another dollar. Damn! This makes me want to report a phony blaze to the fire department. Well that’s another $350 for every truck, you fool. Such are a few of the new and increased user fees outlined in the 2010 operating budget. Just ask yourself one thing, David Miller. Is the $9.2 milllion generated by the hikes worth making us pay an extra $7.40 for our Aquafit classes? Monster.
But now that the budget is finally out, and so is Adam Giambrone (Ward 18, Davenport), budget chief Shelley Carroll (Ward 33, Don Valley East) is reconsidering running for mayor. Logically, she makes a pretty good replacement for Giambrone, but she says her main priority is still making sure the budget gets through council. And as long as the other candidates understand the financial plan she has laid out, she’s happy with her seat. Hmmm, unlikely.
Unsafe construction conditions have supposedly led to the death of its forty-three-year-old supervisor, who fell six storeys to his death from an apartment building renovation site. Meanwhile, at Adelaide and Simcoe streets, another construction worker sustained injuries when an iron cage fell on him. Concerns for workplace safety are now paramount for the Ministry of Labour, which already launched a safety review following the death of four workers when their scaffolding collapsed on Christmas Eve.
Last April, the gaping, empty lot at the intersection of Queen Street West and Portland Street was like a gaping, empty elephant in the room. And lo and behold ten months later, an answer! Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is going through with plans to open three new grocery stores in the Toronto area, including one at this location, even though consumers are generally spending much less nowadays. But judging from the comments Torontoist received on its coverage of the lot, that isn’t going to be a problem.
YouTube wasn’t enough for @Adam_Giambrone. Now he has opened the tweetgates.
Yesterday he announced the TTC is choosing one of the new customer service panel members via Twitter resumes of 140 chrcters or less.
So many applicants tweeted with humour, contempt, passion, and sincerity, the hashtag #TTCpanel became Canada’s number two trending topic.
We’re still not too sure what makes a certain tweet a winner, but social networking will be a major funnel from the public to the panel.
Good luck to all Twitter hopefuls. Getting a point across in 140 characters is not easy.
As we’ve seen throughout the past few weeks, the TTC has a colourful history. And the Commission wants its own transit museum to show it off. But don’t call the empty bus garage near Coxwell station a museum just yet. To make the project fit with Adam Giambrone’s current customer service push, it will be referred to as a “transit interpretation centre.”
And while you’re in Leslieville checking out the highs and lows of TTC woes, end the night in typical Canadiana with a skate and toasted marshmallow on the miniature ice rink that is the patio at the Ceili Cottage restaurant. Now that’s creative customer service.