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Newsstand: February 7, 2012
It's the kind of Tuesday when you miss Electric Circus and nothing really makes sense to you anymore, isn't it? Well, hang in there, we've got some news for you: Metrolinx releases a report suggesting the mayor's transit plan isn't so bad, council moves to cut out the OMB, timing of cost-of-living debate to be debated, Buddy and Pedro may be parents soon, Facebook gets weird about boobs, and charges dropped against a deaf man arrested at the G20.
All aboard the bus to Confusion Town, as this transit situation gets even messier. As we all know, there’s going to be a special meeting of council on Wednesday that basically aims to reinstate the old transit plan, right? And when TTC Chair Karen Stintz made moves to call that meeting, she framed it as a necessary move so that council could respond to a letter from Metrolinx Chair Rob Prichard, asking what was up with the City’s transit plans. Ok, so now Metrolinx has released a report on the mayor’s plan to bury the whole Eglinton line, and the CEO of Metrolinx, Bruce McCuaig is pretty much saying, “No explanation needed, Rob’s plan looks fine.” Like sand on the streetcar tracks, so are the days of our transit troubles.
In slightly less contentious city council news, a majority of councillors voted to cut the Ontario Municipal Board out of zoning decisions. Currently the OMB has the power to override municipal governments and residents’ associations and is seen by many as a pro-developer body. If the OMB’s jurisdiction is removed, some other review process would crop up in its place. But, hey, at least it won’t be the OMB.
The final, and most confusing, bit of news from the clam shell: councillors voted yesterday to have a debate today about putting off the debate about a cost-of-living raise until after the City is done negotiating with the unions. At least, we think that’s what this means. We could be really wrong, though.
Toronto’s most progressive penguins, Buddy and Pedro, have done it again. First they were gay penguins. Now they are in a group-love living arrangement with new female partners and one other couple, and redefining parental paradigms as eggs have been laid in the penguin house. But rather than celebrating the blessed event, zoo staff are so far keeping quiet about the possible baby penguins that may hatch from those eggs.
In the latest chapter of the ongoing saga that is boobs, Facebook, and all things holy: A small group of mothers went to the Toronto offices of the social network to do a little protest over Facebook’s tendency to delete users who post pictures of themselves breastfeeding. By this one account, it seems Facebook handled the protest the way it handles breastfeeding: awkwardly.
And all charges against a deaf man who was arrested during the G20 have been dropped. That was probably the right decision, that one.