news
Newsstand: March 29, 2010
Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist.
What’s that whistling waking us from our weekend slumber? Oh, it’s just the steam still escaping from David Miller’s ears after the province took back almost half of its funding for Transit City plans. He’s calling on citizens to voice their disappointment, like this, while experts debate on how else we can fund this plagued project. Private partnership? Road tolls? An auction for a cab ride with Adam Giambrone? Either way, the fate of David Miller’s legacy the Pan Am Games are riding on this rocket.
It’s Giorgio Mammoliti’s (Ward 7, York West) party and he can cry if he wants to—no one will be around to see it anyway. Apparently it’s not only The Darcys that aren’t keen to hear Mammoliti’s mantras—ticket sales for a dinner event for the mayoral candidate were so low organizers had to ask him to recruit his own supporters for (more) cash. Sales for “Discussions at the Bistro” dinners featuring the other primary candidates have been steady, even in demand, but as of Friday Mammoliti’s Tuesday event was only half-sold. So the miffed Mammoliti pulled out of the gig, accusing the non-profit organizer of trying to “make a quick buck” off of his name.
But we still wish him luck at tonight’s first mayoral debate, held at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough at 6 p.m. Seating is first-come-first-served for six hundred spectators, hopefully not entirely consisting of thirsty Rocco Rossi supporters.
As the death of fifteen-year-old Jordan Manners nears its third anniversary, his family and classmates will have to wait even longer for closure. A judge declared the case against his two accused killers a mistrial after two and a half months of testimony, two recanted witness statements, and four straight days of jury deliberation. A date for the retrial of the high school shooting will be decided upon this Thursday.
Hundreds of Torontonians showed up at Yonge-Dundas Square Saturday night to see the lights go out for Earth Hour, but did they remember to turn off the lights at home? The city still saw a drop in power usage, but it didn’t meet last year’s participation. The same goes for the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. This means that either Earth Hour has already become too inconvenient, or Toronto’s psychic powers are severely lacking. Probably both.
Three separate fires claimed two lives yesterday and left two more in critical condition in High Park, Etobicoke, and the Victoria Park and Danforth Avenue area. Another industrial fire blazed yesterday near Caledonia on Lawrence Avenue, but no one was injured.
And neighbourhood groups haven’t had a walk in the park recently when it comes to City Council. But George Smitherman says he’ll come to their rescue if he’s elected mayor with a “recreation rennaissance.” He says he’ll appoint citizen advisory panels to run fifteen parks that aren’t “barren and underutilized.”