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Newsstand: April 2, 2015
Here is some pretty crazy news: apparently Cadbury Mini Eggs are now available year-round. Did you know this? Mind-blowing... In other news: Jim Karygiannis wants to ban Uber from City-owned phones, Giorgio Mammoliti wants to take Frances Nunziata to court, an elderly man who was hit by a streetcar has died, and a handy list to help navigate what is open and closed this long weekend.
On the heels of a police crackdown earlier this week, which saw 13 UberX drivers charged for operating taxis without a proper licence or insurance, City councillor Jim Karygiannis (Ward 39, Scarborough—Agincourt) plans to put forth a motion at City Hall next month that would force the app to be removed from City-owned smartphones. Karygiannis says that the app should not be installed on some 12,000 City-issued phones because the car hailing service is a danger to public safety. He further thinks that blocking the app from City phones also makes sense as it wages a legal battle against the app’s parent company. Karygiannis has no idea whether or not his motion will be successful, but we can predict that the reaction to it by many Torontonians will involve an exasperated sigh.
Meanwhile, on the latest episode of Giorgio Mammoliti Says the Darndest Things, everyone’s favourite city councillor representing Ward 7, York West has threatened to take Speaker Frances Nunziata to court over an allegation that she neglected to do her duties properly at a council meeting on Wednesday. Mammoliti’s nose is out of joint after Nunziata abruptly ended the meeting, singling him out for his role in disturbing council during a heated exchange that prompted things to go off the rails. “Her job is to defend every single councillor and their role in that chamber. Not to downgrade [sic] and not to tell people to sit down and not listen to them,” explains Mammoliti. Nunziata maintains that her decision to shut down the meeting was justified because the councillor was “just misbehaving” as he participated in a discussion about a report by the City’s integrity commissioner that stated former mayor Rob Ford broke council code of conduct by using of racial slurs last year. Says Nunziata, “When you have 44 members of council that are angry at his behaviour on council, how can I be picking on him? Everybody agrees that he is acting inappropriately. He’s just trying to get an audience.” Touché, Frances Nunziata!
An elderly man who was hit by a streetcar while trying to cross St. Clair Avenue West last month has died. According to Toronto police, the 80-year-old man was struck by an eastbound car near Arlington Avenue on the evening of March 20, and was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries. Police say that an investigation is ongoing, although no charges have been laid as of yet.
The long weekend is almost here. We know you’ve likely already mentally checked out this week, but we implore you to stay with us long enough to read through this list of what will be closed this weekend. Happy (almost) Easter and/or Passover, friends!