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Newsstand: February 2, 2010
Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist.
With Adam Giambrone finally officially in the running for mayor, he may not have the time to fix all those pesky problems plaguing the TTC as of late. Well, according to fellow front-runner George Smitherman, he won’t. He’s recommending that Giambrone step down as TTC chair so someone more focused can handle the ever-growing list of commuter complaints (like the fare hike, St. Clair line, snoozing employees, busted trip planner, need we go on?). Fanning the flames, Smitherman also says he has his own plans for the TTC and the experience to execute them, which Giambrone, at the tender age of thirty-two, doesn’t have. So Smitherman isn’t swooning, but Torontoist will let you judge for yourself with coverage of Giambrone’s launch party coming up at 9 a.m.
According to a recent poll, Smitherman is far and away the leader in the mayoral race with 46%, followed by Giambrone with 17%. In third is… Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North)? The controversial city councillor isn’t even in the running, but a poll he sponsored placed him ahead of campaigners Joe Pantalone, Rocco Rossi, and Giorgio Mammoliti. Now he says he’s seriously considering jumping in. Ford tends to put other councillors on edge, so his candidacy may make the race look more like an episode of Jersey Shore, with as many tough words and racial slurs to boot.
Speaking of Torontonians proving their bark has bite, coyotes have been spotted again in the east end. A woman managed to scare off two imposing coyotes after her chocolate lab, Choco, was attacked and bitten while the two were walking in the Scarborough Bluffs on Sunday. Last winter, a few dogs in the Beaches area were attacked by coyotes, killing one chihuahua. Toronto’s animal services department is suggesting nearby residents keep a close eye on their animals and children.
Two teens have died and another suffered serious injuries in a car crash in King Township yesterday afternoon. They were headed for a day of snowboarding a little too fast when the seventeen-year-old driver lost control, swerved across lanes, and wrapped the car around a tree. York Region police say it’s a clear example of the dangers of speeding, especially in the winter. It came just before Toronto researchers published a report suggesting that an hour in a car at high speeds may shorten life expectancy by eighty minutes.
More foul news on the TTC front—exhaust from idling buses is hurting Torontonians’ noses and wallets. In 2003, the TTC spent $11.2 million on a new system to heat buses in the winter, which still doesn’t work. Instead buses continue to idle through the night to ensure they’ll start in the morning, leaving residents near Birchmount Road and Danforth Avenue fuming at the fumes and noise. Ummm, what about almost a decade of constant diesel fuel exhaust? Smell will be the least of their worries when climate change causes a tsunami in Lake Ontario.
Meanwhile, Spacing has asked all city councillors what they would change about the TTC.
Finally, Metro Morning host Andy Barrie announced his retirement yesterday, after forty years as a radio personality. For all the Ceeb lovers opposed to the change, we hear Torontoist has excellent morning news coverage.