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Newsstand: April 5, 2012
What's news got to do, got to do with it, you say? What's news, but a sweet old-fashioned notion, you ask? It's important, is what! So listen up: a casino referendum, job cuts at the TDSB, home prices and sales are up, police go digging in Byron Sonne's backyard, and sports leagues may get a pass on new fees.
In the eternal wisdom of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” you got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em. Now, let’s take that sound advice and apply it to city-building. Provincial Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says Toronto ought to hold ’em when it comes to plans for building a casino here, or else another municipality will steal our chance. According to Duncan, a casino, especially one on the waterfront, would create a “golden mile,” as other businesses would flock to be near the gambling emporium. But downtown councillors like Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina) and Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) would rather we fold ’em and not build a casino. So how to settle this thing? Thunderdome! No wait, we misheard, the solution is a potential referendum.
The pervasive smell of bitter coffee won’t be the only bitterness wafting through teachers’ lounges this morning, as the Toronto District School Board voted last night to cut hundreds of jobs in order to balance their budget. The Board hopes enough high school teachers will just retire to cover the 200 jobs they want to eliminate. Some vice-principles and clerical workers will also lose their jobs. Who’s to blame for all these cuts? Four-year-olds. (No really, the unexpected extra costs of all-day kindergarten programs have really cut into schools’ budgets, they say.)
Surprise, surprise, housing prices are on the rise. The average home price in the GTA is expected to stay above $500,000 for the next year. Which is just great.
The bomb squad was digging in Byron Sonne’s backyard, yesterday. They showed up, two years after Sonne was arrested, when it was revealed in the closing arguments of Sonne’s trial that there may have been an ammunition storage unit buried in his backyard. Whatever it was they were looking for, the police say they found it. Good, glad that thing that was there for two years unnoticed is gone now.
Finally, some pretty good news: Sports teams and leagues worried about the new fees for sports fields may be able to stop worrying. A staff report suggests leagues that prove they can’t pay the extra fees be exempt for the 2012 season.