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Weekend Newsstand: June 19, 2010
lllustration by Clayton Hanmer/Torontoist.
Wrongbar is planning to expand its capacity to 350 patrons. Some dull folks who live in the area are not happy about this. Gordon Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) is one of the voices speaking out against Wrongbar and apparently also wants to stop its extended last call during Pride. The Queen West hotspot has played host to good business, sweet music, and legendary groove nights such as Big Primpin and the late Will Munro’s Vazaleen. Some are wondering whether the move has something to do with Wrongbar’s association with the gay community, seeing as the bar already has extended drinking hours for NXNE but is being fought on longer hours for Pride. Perks, though, says owner Nav Sangha isn’t operating within his license—something about a ticket for the wrong number of stools.
A woman is stepping into the role of director and CEO at the Royal Ontario Museum for the first time. Janet Carding, who currently works at the Australian Museum in Sydney, will take on the new job in September. The ROM got its makeover, including one building throwing up another the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, after ROM director William Thorsell took the helm, so this time the board was more into “finding someone who had a more traditional museum background.” The ghastly glass thing actually made it a challenge to find someone to take on the position. Hey, some people still think it looks bitchin’!
Speaking of eyesores, wondering about the intricacies of the security fence? Well, now’s your chance to get a detailed look at all things fence: its beginnings in a Quebec mine, its more-than-six-kilometer span, its concrete feet, its link to old car parts, and so much more. Fencing experts weigh in on the fence’s purpose and why the chain link is the size that it is. It’s all been hush-hush with workers in unmarked clothing setting up the thing, but by the time the summit comes to an end, ten thousand cops, Mounties, spies, etc. will have passed through the glorious and hideous structure. So, take a minute to digest some pretty useless information.
Now that you know all about the fence, get to know the people it’s been set up for/against. There will likely be a horde of protesters filling the downtown core, but they won’t all be there for the same reasons. Some will cause a fuss over global politics or climate, others over women’s rights or poverty, and there will also be those who have rage issues and nothing better to do on a weekend in June. From Oxfam to the Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance, here’s a bit of a guide to who’s taking part in the madness and why.
And while you’re at it, also take a look at the Post‘s guide to the Fortress. It’s kind of great.
Drake scared? Do you remember when the Degrassi student–turned–rap superstar (still don’t get it) was robbed at gunpoint in Little Italy and then called out for being a “snitch”? Well, with the MMVAs fast approaching and Drake set for an appearance, he told the New York Times that he feels “unsafe at all times” in the T Dot. Two men were arrested and charged in 2009, but after spending about six months in jail, charges were withdrawn and they were out and about again in January. Still, let’s hope Sunday’s show will be the best he’s ever had.