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Newsstand: October 10, 2011
Time to wipe the tryptophan-induced sleep out of your eyes and the gravy-laced droll off your chin and catch-up on what's going on in and around the city. In today's news: Daily Bread is behind on its goal to fight hunger in Toronto (you can help!), flying out of Pearson could cause a new level of stress later this week, late-night Bloor-Danforth subway riders should prepare to ride the rocket on wheels, and, oh yeah, you might have heard—it's pretty hot this weekend.
The Daily Bread Food Bank is struggling to meet its October 14 goal of $400,000 and 400,000 pounds of food. As of Sunday, the organization was less than halfway there—cash donations added up to just over $200,000 and only 136,000 pounds of food had been collected. That could mean a lot of hungry people in the City this fall. The deadline is still a few days away and those looking to help can do so by dropping off food items at local fire halls, No Frills, Valu-Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, and the Daily Bread Food Bank. The items most needed include canned fish, pasta sauce, pasta, rice, beans, lentils, soups, stews, and baby formula. Cash donations can be made online at dailybread.ca.
Pearson airport might get a bit crazy (again!) later this week. CUPE, the union that represents Air Canada’s 6,800 flight attendants, advised the airline that the new tentative agreement reached by the company and the union’s negotiating committee last month was not ratified by the union membership and they are set to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday, October 13, 2011. The federal government has made it pretty clear that they’d quickly intervene if this were to happen, with Labour Minister Lisa (Down With Labour Rights!) Raitt calling the potential work stoppage “unacceptable.” In June, after a walkout by Air Canada’s sales and support staff, Raitt threatened back-to-work-legislation (a deal was reached the next day). Raitt vowed last month to force a contract on flight attendants, too, if they walk off the job.
If you find yourself on a subway platform between St. George Station and Broadview Station at the stroke of midnight you might turn into a pumpkin. Just kidding—it’s Thanksgiving, not Halloween, silly! You have, however, made a huge mistake and will now have to walk right back up the stairs and onto the street. Sigh. Starting today and continuing through November, sections of the Bloor-Danforth subway will close early, at midnight, for scheduled rail grinding. Subway service will be replaced with buses, but will resume in the morning.
Sometimes the weather actually does make for interesting small talk and beach revellers had something to discuss this weekend since, well, they were on the beach on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s going to be another feels-like-summer-let’s-all-discuss-get-out-the-street-cams kind of day. Happy long weekend Monday!