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Newsstand: April 29, 2016
In the news: Views released, Ford hope to continue Ward 2 legacy, naming the under-Gardiner, and wonky weather threatens the cherry blossoms.
It’s here, baby! Views, Drake’s latest full-length, studio-released album hit Beats 1 Radio and iTunes libraries everywhere late last night. This reporter hasn’t yet had a chance to listen to it, but if you want to participate in water-cooler talk at work today, you need to get into it ASAP. (Or try to coast on Lemonade for a bit longer.)
That other venerable Toronto pop-culture institution, the Ford family, is also making a play for attention. Doug Ford, stand-in mayoral candidate for now-deceased brother Rob, told reporters yesterday that if there is a by-election held to replace Rob’s seat representing the city’s Ward 2, in northern Etobicoke, either he (Doug) or his nephew Mike Ford will run to occupy it. Colour no one surprised. The seat has been occupied by Rob or Doug since the 2000 election. “Our family is there to serve the people. I get stopped everywhere I go and get asked to carry on with Rob’s legacy, making sure that we always respect the taxpayer,” Ford said.
Help the city choose between several terrible names for part of the land beneath the Gardiner Expressway. Just kidding, only some of them are terrible. “The Artery,” “The Bentway,” “The Canopy,” and “Gathering Place” are the four names on offer, and you can vote at undergardiner.com for the next eight days.
The mild winter and cool spring have combined to threaten cherry blossoms, one of the city’s unmitigated summer pleasures. Apparently those conditions are perfect for encouraging blossoms to convert to leaves.