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Newsstand: July 29, 2011
It’s just another Friday morning in what feels more and more like Wonderland. In the news: Public deputations are done in the longest meeting in city council history, cyclists get one less friend in the city, and Maple Leaf Gardens’ owners are told not to use the name “Maple Leaf Gardens.”
If you’re reading this right now, it’s probably because you got a good night’s sleep in a nice, comfortable bed. Not so for the throngs of people that waited through the night at City Hall to give the executive committee their two cents, not to mention politicians and journalists (including Torontoist‘s Hamutal Dotan, who is live-blogging the chaos). Yep, through the night. And they’ve got photos to prove it. On the eve of a long weekend, to boot. And after countless deputations, a whopping two people spoke supporting service cuts efficiencies. So what’s the deal? Is Ford Nation a PR invention, as some have speculated? Or just a bunch of cowards?
In case you haven’t been following what is now the longest meeting in council history, between zingers by deputants, a speech from a sock puppet, death threats against the mayor, Margaret Atwood merch and masks, and the now-legendary #yellygranny “modest proposals”, our municipal government has been by far the craziest party in town so far. And have any of the people’s opinions mattered to the mayor and right-wing councillors? Not a chance.
Bike-riding pinkos in the city have one less ally thanks to reckless behaviour, as a woman who was severely injured after being hit by a cyclist running a red light is now calling for licensing and insurance for all cyclists. Seriously, we know this post has been widely circulated by now, but it’s still worth reading. So here it is again, in case you just missed it.
With season after season of embarrassing losses, you might think nothing could get under the skin of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of Toronto’s loveable hockey losers and former owner of Maple Leaf Gardens. But as Ryerson University and Loblaw are discovering, there is something: money, and the threat of not making as much of it. The former Gardens owner, which sold the building to Loblaw in 2004 (which in turn partnered with Ryerson in 2009), is seeking an injunction to prevent Ryerson from using the name “Maple Leaf Gardens” and from holding concerts in the arena, which could cut into the pocket-lining smaller concert business at the Air Canada Centre. Considering concerts are about the only time Torontonians leave the Air Canada Centre feeling good about life, the injunction is probably a good idea.