news
Newsstand: February 23, 2015
The family of Elijah Marsh, the little boy who died after leaving his apartment last week, says the support they've received since is "more than anyone can imagine." Elsewhere in the news this morning: a baby was born at Pearson Airport, Massey Hall renovations begin today, an auditor general's report shines a harsh light on the TTC, and Toronto confirms its 10th case of measles.
The details are scant right now, but a baby was born last night at Pearson Airport. The woman who gave birth was in an Air Canada lounge, and both baby and mother are now in an Etobicoke hospital and “doing well,” according to Peel paramedics.
The first phase of Massey Hall’s renovations and update will formally begin today with the public announcement of renovation details and donor recognition. The hall has a 120-year history of hosting historic events, such as speeches by Winston Churchill and aboriginal athlete Tom Longboat’s wedding, in addition to the music the hall was initially intended to host. Gordon Lightfoot has performed at Massey more than 150 times.
Two audits released by the city’s auditor general this week have some councillors up in arms over the perceived waste of money at the Toronto Transit Commission. The audits reveal a continued use of gas cards for non-revenue vehicles no longer in use; leasing vehicles for several years at a time; and former TTC employees who still have access to their gas cards, among other things. The reports found no evidence of wrongdoing, but did find that “misuses were unlikely to be detected.” City councillors Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East) and Josh Colle (Ward 15, Eglinton-Lawrence) called the reports’ findings “remarkable” and “alarming,” respectively. TTC CEO Andy Byford said that, while he agrees the findings are unsatisfactory, he did ask for two things when he took the job: time and money. “Money is predictable. I would say that, wouldn’t I? But I meant what I said when I said time because we are trying to do in five years what many transit agencies would take 10 years to do, in that we are modernizing every single aspect of our operations. It’s a big company.”
The 10th case of measles in Toronto has been confirmed. According to health officials, the person who has it is a woman, and they can’t say whether she’s been immunized or not due to privacy concerns. Ontario now has a total of 18 confirmed cases of measles.