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Newsstand: March 19, 2015
According to American economist Tyler Cowen, Scarborough is the best ethnic food suburb in the world. What do you think, Raccoon Nation: is Scarborough the best-kept foodie secret in the city? Discuss amongst yourselves. In the news: UofT has reached a tentative deal with teaching assistants, parking enforcement officers get heat for ticketing on-duty Wheel-Trans vehicles, a portion of Eglinton Avenue is closed because of a weak tunnel, and a patient at Sunnybrook tests negative for Ebola.
The University of Toronto has reached a tentative deal with the union that represents its teaching assistants, who have been on strike for nearly three weeks. A ratification vote is set for Friday, and picket lines will continue until then. If the deal ends the strike, students will soon learn what will come of the remainder of their term. For many, it is expected that final exams or evaluations will be more heavily weighted to make up for assignments missed during the strike.
Toronto’s Disability Issues Committee has called on police to use better judgement when it comes to ticketing Wheel-Trans vehicles and accessible taxis. The TTC reports that 13 vehicles have been ticketed since the zero-tolerance crackdown on illegal stopping and parking during rush hour came into effect. George Johnstone, the operations supervisor speaking on behalf of the parking enforcement unit, admits that there were a number of tickets issued to Wheel-Trans vehicles and accessible taxis in January when the new policy was first adopted. Since then, police have been trained to use more discretion, which has resulted in fewer tickets being issued. City Councillor Mary Fragedakis (Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth) says that discretion is not the best policy, because it leaves far to much open for interpretation. Fragedakis has asked that a new protocol be established that will help provide clarity for both police and Wheel-Trans operators.
Tunnels are back in the news today, albeit not of the strange and man-made variety. Eglinton Avenue is closed near Keele Street this morning over fears that a weak tunnel located between 15 and 30 metres underground could collapse. While the risk of a sinkhole appears low, if one were to occur, it could break a nearby watermain, and we all know that nothing good comes from a broken watermain.
Some good news for a woman being held at Sunnybrook on suspicion that she may have contracted Ebola after a recent trip to West Africa. It turns out she has tested negative for the disease. High five, Canada, for remaining Ebola-free!