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Newsstand: May 4, 2010
lllustration by Clayton Hanmer/Torontoist.
Howard Moscoe is voicing how pissed off he is about the province’s cuts to Transit City, and he wants you to join him. The city councillor and former TTC chair has designed bumper stickers that show a cartoon figure with three knives sticking out of its back, along with the message “Stabbed in the Back by Dalton McGuinty” and a Transit City logo. Moscoe’s apparent intent is to affix the stickers to TTC vehicles, although Brad Ross, speaking for the TTC, said permission for any such action would have to be requested and thus far it has not been. Regardless, the stickers could be used ironically or unironically on private vehicles, and the simplicity of the Moscoe design means it would make an excellent tattoo.
The McGuinty government has introduced legislation to improve service and increase efficiency in Ontario hospitals, including a measure that would tie hospital CEO pay to performance. Practices to be mandated include hospital quality committees, a new complaints process, and satisfaction surveys for patients and employees. The precise metrics that will be used to relate pay to performance aren’t detailed, but sources indicate it’s unlikely to be a simple patient-in to cadaver-out ratio.
The head of the civilian body that determines budgets, appointments, and priorities for the Toronto Police Service has been voted President of the organization that represents 174 police boards across Ontario. Dr. Alok Mukherjee, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, was elected to head the Ontario Association of Police Service Boards at the annual meeting of the organization this past weekend. A statement issued by the OAPSB noted that Dr. Mukerjee is “a strong advocate for public safety accountability, sustainability and inclusiveness,” allaying any potential fears that the new Board President might be committed to chaos, waste, and prejudice.
Maybe they thought it was an Etch-a-Sketch. A Star reporter spends a day hauling out an iPad at seven coffee spots around the city and notes that while folks east of Yonge Street found him and his little technological buddy to be fascinating stuff, west-end hipsters either feigned or felt only indifference. Fortunately, the device did attract the attention of both an auburn-haired and a dark-haired barista, which probably made a whole day of exhausting Starbucks-based journalism worthwhile.
Toronto’s Bump Technologies, which has created an innovative 3D interface for Windows, has been acquired by Google. The company (as reported by Torontoist a year back) was founded by Anand Agarawala, who began developing the technology while working on his Master’s degree at the University of Toronto. Neither party is saying exactly how much the deal is worth, but since Google’s involved, we’re probably talking rolling-around-in-hundred-dollar-bills-like-Scrooge-McDuck-style money.