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Newsstand: February 21, 2012
Not gonna lie, this Tuesday is shaping up to be a bit of a bummer. It's no longer the weekend, so say goodbye to all that and let's get on with it: Karen Stintz is really not looking forward to today's special TTC meeting, the SIU is being called in again, pinball players breaking all the rules, talking about a new look for the Toronto Coach Terminal, and protesting horse-eating.
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic. No, wait. That sounds like a most whimsical and droll display of ursine feeding habits, whereas what is actually happening today is a maddening and illogical display of municipal politicking. For today’s the day the TTC board will likely move to fire chief general manager Gary Webster, despite objections from many, including TTC chair Karen Stintz. Among Stintz’s reasons not to fire Webster (apart from the obvious one, that there’s no legitimate reason to do so), are the projected expenses that come with such an abrupt and unnecessary change.
A course of horse is a repulsive force for a group of protesters outside La Palette on Monday. The gaggle of equine egalitarians demonstrated outside the French bistro to try and persuade to owners to take horse meat off their menu. But the owners just crossed their striped shirt-sleeved arms, adjusted their berets, and said, “Non. Absolument non.”
Not bummed out enough yet? Listen to what these guys are saying about our beloved Toronto Coach Terminal. You know, the bus station at Bay and Dundas where you have to wait outside in the cold for 30 minutes among bus exhaust in order to snag a good seat on the bus to London only to end up sitting next to that guy who wants to tell you about how he lost part of his index finger. No other mode of public transit drums up such feelings of victory and survival once the trip is done, and yet some planning professionals and bus bosses think the station is ugly and scary and uninviting. As if that is not part of the carefully crafted branding of intercity bus travel.
Speaking of seedy places, a bylaw once intended to prevent arcades and gaming halls from attracting ruffians and louts may now prevent children from playing pinball. Actually, the owners of The Pinball Café are still operating, despite being denied their business license for being over the two arcade game limit set by the bylaw. The owners are appealing the decision. So play on, non-threatening patrons!
And as residents near Toronto East General Hospital still question the use of force after a man in a hospital gown was shot and killed in an altercation with police, the SIU is being called in again to investigate a fatal shooting near Dupont and Lansdowne on Monday morning. Police say they were in the area after getting a call about a person with a gun.