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Newsstand: April 30, 2010
lllustration by Clayton Hanmer/Torontoist.
“May ve see your papers, please?” Police announced yesterday that people lucky enough to live or work in the neighbourhood where the G20 summit is being held this June will be issued a special pass to get them through the security zone more quickly. At a meeting held to address the public’s concerns about the impact of the event on Toronto residents, Constable George Tucker said that a fenced-off security zone would be accessible to pedestrians, although those wishing to enter would require a pass and/or would be questioned on their business. Beyond the initial perimeter will be the “red zone,” inhabited only by dignitaries and security personnel. This is probably what the world is going to be like after the zombie wars.
Toronto Blue Jays games now boast the lowest attendance in major league baseball, with fewer than sixteen thousand fans showing up at each game, on average. You know what they should do to bring more people out? Play hockey. Canadians love that.
A report in Moneysense has placed Toronto 85th out of 179 in its annual ranking of the best city in which to live in Canada, well behind bustling metropolises such as Brandon, Manitoba (7th), and Fredricton, New Brunswick (4th). The survey rated cities on a variety of factors such as affordability, economic growth, crime rate, and access to health care (although apparently not Old World charm, with Montreal slouching in at a lacklustre 120). David Miller pronounced himself unimpressed with the survey, which makes sense because he’s the mayor and it would be quite surprising if he said, “Yes, it’s true. We suck.” Still, Ottawa came in first so you’ll probably want to take the whole survey thing with a grain of salt.
Anyway, we’ve still got plenty to be proud of. Toronto paramedic Rahul Singh has been named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” for his role as founder of disaster relief organization Globalmedic. Globalmedic organizes emergency personnel to help in areas struck by natural disasters, and was one of the first groups on the ground in Haiti following the massive earthquake there earlier this year. Other influencers on the list include Simon Cowell and Lady Gaga.
Yesterday’s picturesque blaze on the roof of a Queen’s Quay condo building had a quick and largely happy ending yesterday, although two people were sent to hospital as a precaution against smoke inhalation. Also, the Sun reports that a woman rescued a cat.