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Newsstand: August 3, 2011
Oh summer Wednesdays, forever trapped right in the middle of that purgatory between cottage and cottage again. Today: the puzzle pieces of the Caribana shooting start to come together, Harpo hangs out with RoFo, and the Toronto Zoo loses its star lioness.
Police have released the names of the victims in last weekend’s Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival shootings, including that of the gunman who started the whole fracas, who the Toronto Sun claims has a criminal history. Police have been pretty stingy with details of this investigation so far, so for now we’ll have to rely on some good old-fashioned rumours and hearsay: apparently the gunman and a friend were robbing people at gunpoint at the parade until police got involved. Despite the incident, councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Pauls) maintains the carnival is safe and should not have its funding cut. Well sorry, Joey, you’re just not the one we want to hear from about this. Where you at, Giorgio?
When you hear the phrase, “Guess who’s coming to dinner?” you probably don’t associate it with a boring, middle-aged white guy. But such was the case for the mayor and his family yesterday as they had Prime Minister Stephen Harper and local conservatives over for hamburgers, Twister and a good old-fashioned game of “Hang Toronto by its thumbs.” The dinner was part of a celebration for finance minister Jim Flaherty, who apparently we should love because he has been good to Bay Street. Rob Ford’s hobnobbing continues today, and rumour has it he may even leave his minivan to show the feds around.
Speaking of RoFo, apparently he and his cronies are “sexist and outrageous,” according to the Toronto Women’s City Alliance, whose coordinator was shouted at by members of the City’s executive committee during her deputation last Thursday. The coordinator had been arguing that KPMG’s proposed budget cuts disproportionately affect women, and that women are underrepresented on the committee. Deputy mayor Doug Holyday (Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre) bit back, accusing her of being rude and wrapping it all up by saying, “Look, were you really expecting an apology from this administration?”
The Toronto Zoo has lost one of its star attractions as Nokanda, the zoo’s only white lioness, was put down after veterinarians discovered she had cancer in her liver. Part of an incredibly rare genetic variation, the lioness was given to the zoo in 1997 and instantly became more popular than both the raccoon and Canada goose exhibits combined. She will be missed, even though she could have totally ripped our faces off if it weren’t for the enclosure.