news
Newsstand: May 5, 2011
Illustration by Sasha Plotnikova/Torontoist.
Blersday, Mirsday, it’s finally Thursday! In the news: our mayor is more popular than ever according to science; new subway car sightings have newspapers making up words; one Craigslist fraudster charged, lots more to go; Tamils plan demonstrations; and Henry Kissinger is still alive.
If you read Torontoist a lot, you might be inclined to think that nobody likes Rob Ford. Well, despite our best efforts, RoFo is pulling in a 70 per cent approval rating according to a recent poll. And that number is up from a poll in February that had the mayor at a 60 per cent approval. People like him even more now. Globe and Mail–described “vocal critic” Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) is baffled as to why a mayor who cuts TTC routes, closes libraries, and lays off City workers who provide beloved City services (not to mention the three audit requests on RoFo’s campaign financing) could retain such high popularity poll numbers. Vaughan’s probably not the only one.
Move over Red Rocket, there’s a new subway car in town. The TTC has been testing out the new Bombardier subway trains this week before they officially go into service next month by rolling the trains through stations on “simulated service.” The trains teasingly stop at every station, never opening their doors. The new trains can hold 200 more passengers than the current models thanks to the removal of dividing doors between subway cars. That design plus new switching equipment should make for faster trips and less underground congestion once the things go into real service. The folks over at the Sun are so excited about the new trains they’ve decided to invent new words just for the occasion. See if you can spot them.
Toronto’s Tamil population is planning a large demonstration on Friday afternoon near the U.S. consulate on University Avenue. Organizers say the goal of the demonstration is to put pressure on international powers to investigate violations of international humanitarian and human-rights laws in the closing months of Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long civil war.
You know those Craigslist ads that clog up your search results when all you want is some reclaimed barn wood for the bar you’re opening with your buddies? The ones that say “***************$$$$**********FS: too cheap to be real tickets to Tom Petty, pay upfront*****$$$$$*****************”? Turns out people really answer those, and now a 27-year-old Hamiltonian man is facing 60 charges related to posting fraudulent Craigslist ads.
And newsflash: Henry Kissinger is still alive and doing stuff. The 87-year-old former secretary of state for the U.S. will be in town next month for the Munk Debates. Or at least, that’s the plan.