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Newsstand: January 14, 2015
Researchers at Ohio State University say that men who post and edit a lot of selfies on social media are more prone to higher levels of narcissism, psychopathy, and self-objectification. In (perhaps) less obvious news: Mayor John Tory tackles homelessness, an extension to the PATH system will open soon, and a Markham Street home goes up in flames for the second time.
Mayor John Tory wants you to know that he is working on increasing capacity at Toronto shelters, which he admits are full even if statistics beg to differ. As of Monday, Toronto shelters were operating at 93 per cent capacity, with even fewer beds expected to be available as temperatures continued to plummet on Tuesday night. While speaking with CP24, Mayor Tory acknowledged that shelter occupancy is currently maxed out and pledged to create more spaces for homeless people at Toronto shelters, with one proviso that funding must first be obtained to pay for the additional beds. This is a contrast with his predecessor, Councillor Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North), who once claimed that there were more than enough beds in homeless shelters across the city, and voted against adding some 200 new shelter beds in April of 2013.
An extension to the PATH system that links the Air Canada Centre to the waterfront at Queens Quay is set to open later this month. Three new bridges will let Torontonians who are inclined to avoid the outdoors walk from Yonge-Dundas Square all the way to RBC Water Park Place without having to set foot outside. It was no easy task to assemble the new indoor walkways according to John White, one of the principal architects on the project. White explains that the three bridges had to be pre-assembled and brought into place, with two being raised using a crane and the third with a truck equipped to hydraulically lift it. The bridges, which are chiefly made of glass, were created to capture quality of light around the waterfront that White says is unmatched in the downtown core. Sounds fancy!
Here’s hoping that bad things do not actually happen in threes for a Markham Street home that was severely damaged by a fire for the second time in just over a year. While the Ontario Fire Marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire, it took nine fire trucks to contain the two-alarm blaze that broke out at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The house was under construction after another fire on September 21, 2013 caused $100,000 in property damage. A month ago, construction workers stumbled upon two homemade explosive devices in the home, prompting a bomb-dismantling team to be called to the location to dismantle them. Predictably, arson has not been ruled out in this case, even though Toronto Fire Services captain Adrian Ratushniak would not go so far as to say that any of the incidents are linked.