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Newsstand: November 11, 2011
Today is 11-11-11, and that only means two things, both of which go by the name of "Animal Crackers." In the news today: the City could try to evict Occupy Toronto by next week, fluoride stays in Toronto's water, a study shows ticketing panhandlers isn't effective after all, and the rest of Canada hates our guts.
City manager Joe Pennachetti says it’s only a matter of time before the city moves in on Occupy Toronto’s camp at St. James Park, and the eviction might come pretty soon. To paraphrase Pennachetti, the shit could go down as early as next week, although the occupiers still maintain they aren’t going anywhere. Meanwhile, things are getting ugly between those occupying the park and those occupying condos in the area; yesterday, arguments between the protesters and residents led to a man being attacked with hot soup.
It’s amazing how fast Mike Del Grande (Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt) can turn into a hippie when doing so will result in savings. The budget chief spoke out yesterday in favour of removing fluoride from our water supply, which would save about $2 million and would entice dentists from across the country to open up shop in Toronto. The committee, however, has voted to keep the fluoride in. So if you’re actually able to taste fluoride, and you like the taste of it, this is an amazing day for you. Go call your parents.
While ticketing the homeless for panhandling seems like an obvious solution to the city’s money woes, a new study suggests otherwise. In fact, the study claims the increase in ticketing that has occurred since the province instituted the Safe Streets Act in 1999 has actually cost $1 million in police hours, with little money to show for it. It seems the homeless don’t tend to pay their fines, despite having all that change handy.
City Hall has a message for all you over-recyclers out there, all you people who see your blue box filled and put your extra recycling out on the curb anyway, instead of just cramming it into the garbage like sensible adults. Well guess what? Your over-zealous disposal tendencies are costing the city around $500,000 a year, and the budget committee is tired of it. The committee has approved cuts to Toronto’s recycling program that would have garbage collectors only picking up recycling in a blue box, the way it’s meant to be picked up. The cuts go to the executive committee next, but as they’re in transit, let’s ponder the potential savings here, given that anyone can get a bigger blue box or a second blue box for free.
Going through your day knowing the rest of Canada hates you is part of being a Torontonian, just as much as eating beef patties or not using nicknames for the city suggested by weekly magazines. But in case you wanted actual proof the rest of the country has a bee in its bonnet about the nation’s capital the capital in our hearts, it’s right here. We’d say the door just opened back up on Alberta-hating, despite Calgary’s awesome mayor.