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Newsstand: November 17, 2011
It's Thursday, so go ahead and treat yourself to some hot chocolate today. You deserve it! In the news: traffic disruptions for Eglinton LRT construction will make drivers hate everyone ever, Africentric high school approved, councillors want NBA back, York transit still striking, and 3-1-1 isn't answering the phone.
Team Car will have plenty of quiet time to sit and contemplate how much better the city will be with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT underground, as construction is expected to close major routes and cause huge traffic disruptions during the five-year construction period. You’re welcome, cars. Where once the line, in its above-ground iteration, was obviously just a nuisance and tool of warfare designed for the sole purpose of getting in the way of cars, Mayor Rob Ford made streets safe for cars again and sent that LRT line packing, into the depths of the earth. Cars: 1. War on cars: 0.
It looks like 3-1-1 just doesn’t feel like talking to you, okay? A report from the City’s auditor general reveals that a fifth of calls to the municipal help line don’t get picked up, and ones that do can take up to three minutes to connect. You know, you might have better luck calling them at home for help with your goldfish disposal quandary, as more than 10 per cent of employees are out sick every single day.
The TDSB’s Africentric alternative school project will soon extend to high school. Some school board trustees against the initiative worry it causes too many divisions. Supporters of the program extending from kindergarten to grade 12 say, Shhhh.
Sad councillors are sad that the NBA has not resolved its labour dispute. Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37, Scarborough Centre), chair of the economic development committee, is worried about the potential economic impact of the Raptors losing their entire season. Meantime Josh Colle (Ward 15, Eglinton-Lawrence) is too embarrassed to put any formal letter to the league together after his failed bid for a second NHL team. But he’s not too embarrassed to raise the specter of the Montreal Expos, a team that relocated after it never recovered from the ’94–’95 season strike. As if dark November nights without basketball weren’t bad enough, you had to put that out there, didn’t you, Colle?
Speaking of labour disputes, the York region transit strike is still happening. All parties have walked away from negotiations, and with the region technically saving money while their contracted-out transit service is off the job, things don’t look good.