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Newsstand: July 6, 2010
Illustration by Matt Daley/Torontoist.
A blackout, the G20 financial fallout quantified, and the Queen and Shriners in town: it’s Tuesday!
So, what did you do during the Not-Great-But-Still-Locally-Disruptive Blackout of 2010? It was shades of 2003 yesterday, when a west end transformer fire knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses and sent passersby racing into the streets to play traffic cop. Power was pretty much restored by 9 p.m., disappointing survivalists who had already barricaded themselves in their basements with cans of baked beans, bottled water, and homemade flamethrowers. Toronto Hydro reports that the incident was not caused by the heat and massive AC use, and, in fact, there was plenty of electricity to go around. Sometimes things just blow up.
Did yesterday’s blackout give Mayor David Miller his 9/11 moment? A man in a wheelchair was stuck on the eighteenth floor of the TD Tower when the elevators stopped working and, frustrated by the lack of response from anyone else, tweeted the mayor about his predicament. To Joel Dembe’s surprise, Miller actually called him on his cellphone to make sure he was okay. You know, Torontoist is sometimes cynical, but that’s kind of a nice story.
Tempest, earthquake, insurrection, heat wave, and blackout: Toronto’s summer Apocalypse continues today as the Shriner Parade winds its surreal way through downtown Toronto. The parade begins at Queen’s Park at 1 p.m. and street closures will be in place as fezzed seniors go-kart their way across the city and into our hearts.
Also, Queen Elizabeth II will be at Her Park today (fun fact: did you know she is not named after the famous passenger ship?), along with husband Prince Phillip. After meeting with the Shriners in a secret underground lair to discuss plans for world domination, the pair will present the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship to people other than you. This Post story is worth clicking through to for the picture of Dalton McGuinty apparently trying to sell the Queen a timeshare.
Data from Moneris Inc., Canada’s largest debit and credit card processor, reveal that consumer spending dropped dramatically across the city during the G20 summit. Restaurants were the hardest hit, with eateries inside the summit security zone earning 66% less revenue during the weekend of June 25–27 than the previous weekend. No report on whether there was an inverse effect on doughnut shops within the zone.
Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) wants Pride to pony up the $123,807 grant they received from the City. The former mayoral candidate is angry that the organization reversed an earlier decision and allowed Queers Against Israeli Apartheid to march in Saturday’s parade, and plans to move forward with a motion in City Council to try and recover the funding. Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) also supports the proposal, which likely won’t make it any more popular down on Church Street.
When it was first published, this article mistakenly called Joel Dembe—the man who was trapped on the eighteenth floor of his building during the blackout yesterday—Jonathan Dembe.