10 Comments October 15, 2015 at 4:15 pm

Extra, Extra: A SmartTrack Lobby Group, Photos of Baby Pandas, and the Best Blue Jays Inning Ever

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not to miss.

Image courtesy of the John Tory campaign. Larger version here.

Some supporters of John Tory have formed a lobby group called Friends & Allies of SmartTrack—or FAST, if you’re into acronyms. With former MPP Alvin Curling and former councillor Kyle Rae signed on as boosters, the group hopes to act as a cheering section of sorts for the mayor’s signature transit proposal. But the site is riddled with errors—you can’t sign up for emails unless you give a U.S. zip code, the site gives an incorrect time estimate for the Downtown Relief Line, and makes seemingly impossible claims about its own projected ridership.

You know what’s cute? Pandas. You know what’s not really cute? Baby pandas. Regardless, there are some photos of the panda spawn from the Toronto Zoo, and they look more like piglets at this point. The two panda cubs are being swapped out by zookeepers, because mama pandas only take care of one of their babies at a time.
Are you still not over last night’s amazing Blue Jays game, and the seventh inning in particular? You can either re-watch the bottom of the seventh, or read Grantland‘s fictional oral history of the bizarre and glorious series of events. Either way, let’s cherish these moments while they last.
From today’s edition of 12:36: Rob Ford was not in the greatest shape in 2012, according to a forthcoming book co-authored by the mayor’s former chief of staff. Maclean’s has a first look at Mark Towhey’s Uncontrollable, which will be available for sale on October 27. The excerpt is a full recounting of what it was like being on the phone as the mayor fought with his wife at 3 a.m. (It includes many redacted quotes, which were apparently “not appropriate for Maclean’s.” The magazine’s editors have not replied to 12:36’s request for further explanation.) ( Want more 12:36? Subscribe to it now.)