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Torontoist Week in Review: August 17-21
A lot happens in the course of a workweek. Here's a look back at the top stories from the past five days that you might have missed, or might care to revisit.
A lot happens in the course of a workweek. Here’s a look back at the top stories from the past five days that you might have missed, or might care to revisit.
File photo of Norm Kelly (Ward 40, Scarborough-Agincourt) at a 2015 council meeting. Photo by Giordano Ciampini.
In the warped funhouse that is #TOpoli, our beloved/not-so-beloved Scarborough-Agincourt city councillor Norm Kelly has become a global sensation, most notably due to the internet feud between rappers Drake and Meek Mill. In this article, we explore how the Internet-famous city councillor’s Twitter performance distracts from his less-than-cute politics.
From the article:
In anticipation of Mayor Tory’s comparably subdued leadership, @dmayorkelly became @norm last December, thus completing the councillor’s full online cartoonization. The rebranding was accompanied by a respectably sheepish Vine, and brought with it a more buzzed-about—and prolific—presence. Before long, even the City Hall–ambivalent were jumping onto the @norm bandwagon to catch the politician’s increasingly absurd mix of pothole updates, weather alerts and ravenous Drake-watching.
A new free illustrated map designed by Jonathan Silver and The Urban Geographer writer and cartographer Daniel Rotsztain lets locals explore the city’s living architecture.
From the article:
Surrounded by engineers, architects, horticulturalist, landscape architects, green-roof experts, and materials-industry representatives, Silver realized that the average person not involved in the green-building industry might not be aware of vegetative roofs and walls. So, with the help of The Urban Geographer writer and cartographer Daniel Rotsztain, Silver set forth to map out Toronto’s living roofs. Now, that map—beautifully illustrated by Rotsztain—is available free of charge online.
Photo by Grant D from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
Downtown Toronto businesses are booming, and it’s all thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays.
From the article:
Because this sporty business bump comes hot on the heels of the Pan Am Games, it’s hard not to compare the two. While the recently completed, PACHI-tastic, multi-sport extravaganza was expected to make it rain hard for the local economy, for many businesses it brought a misty drizzle at best. A Moneris Solutions Corp. report from the end of July pointed to a 53.2 per cent increase in entertainment spending from July 10 and July 26 in the area between Bloor Street and Harbourfront from Jarvis to Bathurst streets. In areas surrounding non-downtown Pan Am locations, including Ajax, the York University area, and Milton, gains were much more dramatic.
An unidentified Conservative true believer accuses journalists of being lying pieces of shit in this screenshot from the CBC.
According to Earl Cowan, the angry Conservative supporter who heckled reporters at an event for the Prime Minister earlier this week, we’re all lying pieces of shit.
From the article:
The Conservative supporter, who willingly spoke to reporters, dismissed the Duffy scandal as “a nothing” and told one journalist that “Harper doesn’t read income tax forms, you idiot.” The scandal is unrelated to income tax forms.
He then told the journalist that he believed she “cheats more on [her] taxes than Duffy ever did.” When asked why he might think that, he responded, “Because you’re a lying piece of shit.”
From Pachi’s Instagram account.
With the Pan Am and Parapan Games officially over, we say goodbye to the much-loved PACHI the porcupine. PACHI, we hardly knew ye.
From the article:
Does the photo above imply a hopeful return to the wilderness for the Niagara-born porcupine? Can he re-adapt after the heights of his Toronto fame saw seven versions of him waving to spectators at Pan Am events, and plushies selling for over $40 at Pan Am gift shops? Or-and we did not ask the Pan Am communications team about this-has the very successful PACHI been put out to stud? If it worked for Northern Dancer, so why not the world’s favourite focus-grouped anthropomorphic porcupine? If the two-year-old PACHI does not have this in his future, does this mean he has gone the darker Old Yeller route? Could the Pan Am Games be so cold and cruel?