news
Weekend Newsstand: May 14, 2011
Illustration by Sasha Plotnikova/Torontoist.
It’s Weekend Newsstand time, so you know what that means! That’s right, news! And the weekend! Independent audit finds flaming garbage pants at City Hall, G20 flame starter gets a whopper of a jail sentence, Rob Ford is siccing Ford Nation all over town, and a little something to make it all go away.
Say what you will about RoFo and Co., this administration sure has been a boon to the independent audit industry. First a committee decided to put the mayor’s campaign financing through the ringer in an independent compliance audit. Now an independent auditor—brought in by the Toronto Civic Employees Union—says he’s caught the City with its pants on fire. That is to say, the auditor called City staff’s financial case for privatizing garbage collection in parts of Toronto “fictional.” Accountant Al Rosen says councillors don’t have enough facts to decide on the matter and the whole process should be slowed down until more complete evidence is presented. To which Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East) replied, na-na boo boo.
Speaking of things being on fire, a Windsor man was sentenced to 17 months in jail for his role in torching a police cruiser during the G20. Nicodemo Catenacci is also being forced to pay the $33,733 cost for the car, which is apparently a pretty common car price for such a random number. Google it if you were wondering. Maybe it will distract you from how sad the Star article about Catenacci is.
We told you, friends and readers, that the City was holding public consultations to determine core services ahead of impending budget doom service cuts. We told you when and where the meetings were happening. We told you there was limited seating. But if you’re also a friend of Mayor Ford (and on his campaign updates mailing list) you got all that and more! In a missive titled “Mayor Ford needs your help!,” RoFo informed supporters of the consultations and threw in his stump speech about gravy this and respect for taxpayers that, as if anyone had forgotten the words. Like the way Rob Ford forgets the difference between being a candidate for mayor and actually being the mayor. Zing!
We also let you know about the upcoming by-election in Ward 9 (York Centre). But once again the residents of Ford Nation will be receiving a slightly altered version of these events, with Ford’s former campaign manager vowing to harness the power of the Fordians to “replace” current seat-holder Maria Augimeri with Ford-friendly Gus Cusimano. And the City clerk’s decision not to appeal the by-election ruling (something she’d hinted would happen) has some wondering if she’d taken a day trip to Ford Nation.
Boy, how’s about we forget all these “petty indignities,” to borrow a phrase from Peter Kuitenbrouwer of the National Post, and head out on the Leslie Street Spit for a tranquil round of bird watching?
There, there. It’s the weekend now.