Results tagged “news”

You really need to see the plans for Waterfront Toronto's Underpass Park to believe them. The park is to be the centrepiece of the thirty-two-hectare West Don Lands development, a sustainable, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood currently in the planning stages, which faces one small complication in that a set of elevated roads plow right through the middle of it. To join the two halves, the project planners held a design competition to transform the dead underpass area into a cheerful commons. In case the results don't speak for themselves, here's the Star's Christopher Hume insisting that "this is exactly the kind of thinking the city needs to lift itself into the future." You say you want it now? Sorry, you'll just have to wait 'til 2015 like the rest of us. more ›

David Miller announced today that the City of Toronto has discovered, in its most up-to-date analysis of its finances, that its 2009 budget surplus is $100 million higher than previously calculated. This will enable the City to make adjustments to its operating budget and plans for the next two years, allowing it to lower property taxes, mitigate some previously announced user fees and service cuts, and set up a reserve fund that will be put towards the 2011 operating budget. more ›

"You are what you wear. I wear something different every day." more ›

Good morning! Now stop distracting us! We're all worked up about the surprise press conference Mayor David Miller is holding later this morning. His office has been tight-lipped about the contents of Miller's announcement, but as you can see, it's going to be big news. That, or he's going to royally piss off a lot of journalists. Or both! Is he going to run for a third term after all? Is he going to cut short his current term? Will he just do this for a while? Has he secretly been Hazel McCallion all along? We just don't know, though the first two ideas are especially plausible. Torontoist will be there, and if you're as excited as we are, check these guys to get the whole story the minute it becomes available. more ›

"When we say something is important, it's not a word we take lightly." more ›

A lawyer for Steve Ellis, the immigration judge accused of trying to coerce a woman to sleep with him, says that, technically, Ellis never asked Ji Hye Kim to "have sex" with him at all—certainly not on a you-show-me-yours-I'll-let-you-remain-in-the-country kind of way. Ellis may have merely implied that, in his opinion, Kim might want to consider getting into bed with him as a free expression of her wish to live in Canada. Indirectly, you understand. Ever so slyly. The trial continues. more ›

A senior official at the TTC helped a close friend land a lucrative job taking photos of the agency's meetings and construction sites, and personally signed over at least $50,000 to her. A Star investigation reported yesterday that project manager John Cursio recommended the fledgling firm West Point Photography, run by Robin Thoen, with whom he'd had a relationship and for whom his daughter did photo-editing work. Cursio did not disclose any conflict of interest, and is off work for the time being. Thoen's website has removed all of its photo galleries, which the Star said were mainly full of pictures of shells in water, dogs, birds, and a flower. There's always the chance that the pictures were stolen from the internet by art thieves. Either way, it's the world's loss. more ›

If we all could show the restraint that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty used in the 2010 federal budget, there would be no need for gym memberships. The smallest spending increase in thirteen years comes at the expense of public services, climate action, and foreign aid, but at least taxes won't rise and we should be out of the fifty-four-billion-dollar deficit by 2015 as long as the economy stays on track. Of course, the opposition is dissatisfied, but not enough for the "e" word. Which means the fabric of our economy is Flaherty's to control (literally). more ›

It was the first day back at work on Parliament Hill yesterday. But instead of MPs delivering their "What I Did on my Prorogation Vacation" essays, we heard Governor-General Michaëlle Jean deliver an hour-long, six-thousand-word throne speech. Recovery was the name of the game, with plans to tighten government spending, freeze MP salaries, stimulate job growth, and welcome foreign investment in key industries like telecommunications. Considering Harper shut down the government for a complete "refurbishment" of his post-recession agenda, the speech's true-blue conservative tone is hardly what the opposition had in mind. And calling our national anthem sexist? Now them's fighting words. Clearly the speech itself offers a few more details, so click here if you're in the mood for a little light reading. more ›

George Smitherman is willing to contract out Toronto's garbage collection and some of the TTC's bus routes, in addition to those ski slopes we mentioned yesterday. The catch, he says, is that he would only approve of privatization if it saves money for taxpayers without leaving them out in the cold. "I will be their protector," Smitherman told the Star. Please note that the only way to say those words without at least cracking a smirk is to do a full-on Batman impersonation. The Star does not mention any smirk. Just saying. more ›

For the past seventeen days, nobody could get their heads out of the snow. But now that the Winter Olympic Games fever has cooled, so has the City of Toronto's need for ski slopes. The proposal to privatize two of the GTA's ski hills and a Scarborough campground will apparently save the city $715,000 over the next two years, but would freeze out skiers who can't afford steeper fees and place about 360 jobs on the edge. But the bid still needs to pass a vote before going into action, something that Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul's) slalomly doubts. Get it? Instead of solemnly, we said slalomly. Eh? Eh? Ah, it's early. more ›

The results are in and Canada won the Olympics! Sid Crosby shut down Toronto yesterday with his gold-winning overtime goal. We showed you a gallery of shots of mayhem, glee, and snow art in Toronto before, during, and after The Hockeying, and we called a foul on Jack Layton for apparently shoving a woman's arm out of his way so he could smile directly at the CTV crowd-cam down at Gretzky's. more ›

"A gold medal for Canada’s men," we wrote last week, "would set off a collective national orgasm the likes of which this country has never seen." Well, it's come: on Sunday evening, millions upon millions watched Canada beat the United States, 3–2, in overtime. more ›

In a clear example of what can happen when you do your job too well, Dalton McGuinty has chosen not to renew the contracts of two of his most outspoken critics, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin and Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller. With only a few weeks left in their five-year contracts, McGuinty says their jobs are now open for "new blood" to take over. Ontarians are lamenting their loss, while other commissioners, like Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian, have been re-appointed without pause. Miller's last report brought the province's lack of greenhouse gas reductions to light, and Marin has a roster of righted-wrongs, spewing headlines Torontoist wishes we had written. Both reportedly intend on applying for a second term, but McGuinty reps are implying they don't want these snitches watchdogs back on the playground at Queen's Park. more ›

Over at the Star, there's an unusual piece up about the blurry ethics of mayoral candidates getting front-page publicity from magazines—especially from their own magazines. Sarah Thomson, who published Women's Post magazine until quitting last month to run for mayor, used the magazine's current issue to run a splashy cover story on herself, a fact Star blogger Chantal Braganza finds a bit dodgy. Braganza took a side-by-side look at Thomson's self-promotional goodbye and Toronto Life's eye-catching George Smitherman story, and didn't have much good to say about Thomson or her former publication: "One magazine decided to run a profile of a candidate it thought was an interesting character. The other used its pages as a political bullhorn for its own publisher." more ›

In a breakfast speech delivered at the Board of Trade this morning, budget chief, city councillor, and prospective mayoral candidate Shelley Carroll (Ward 33, Don Valley East) did not pull her punches. Her bottom-line message: there are no easy fixes for Toronto's financial woes, and anyone who says otherwise is either misguided or misleading you. more ›

Now, for part 847,020 in the never-ending series of TTC tussles, David Miller says he wants Dalton McGuinty to keep his hands on his own government. The premier stated yesterday he supports debate over Liberal MPP David Caplan's bill to make the TTC an essential service, but according to Miller the issue is already over and done with (the City narrowly declined the same notion in October of 2008). It's just another sign the province wants to be in the TTC driver's seat, hopefully without coffee breaks. Too bad the McGuinty government is nowhere near being able to afford it. more ›

The "Rob Ford Report" by Rob Ford is a real document, and Councillor Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) really does call it that. It spells out a formal procedure for stepping on other councillors' toes and harrassing their staff. City Hall just voted to "receive" the report (perversely, that means they basically killed it) in which Ford outlined his vision of a protocol for intervening in constituent issues within other councillors' wards. For perspective, this would include summoning three of another councillor's staff members to a meeting about a crack in the sidewalk in that other councillor's ward. Certain peeved councillors say the report is really a systematic, painstakingly officious user's manual for Rob Ford. “No other council has this issue and if Councillor Ford were not here, we wouldn’t have this issue,” said Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby (Ward 4, Etobicoke Centre). more ›

Dufferin Grove Park is home to a bonfire pit, wood-burning ovens where residents can bake pizza and bread, an adobe courtyard, a weekly farmers' market, dozens of year-round art festivals, two skating rinks, a cheap and healthy cafe, and regular pay-what-you-can community meals. more ›

So, hockey. The Canadian men's 5–3 loss to the U.S. yesterday shunted them into a qualifying match for the quarterfinals. Still, it's cheering to know that Canadians still have the spirit to respond to the Americans' third goal with "a profane chant not fit for print." Martin Brodeur is pretty widely expected to be swapped out for Roberto Luongo as goalie, but some media outfit in New York says that depends on the outcome of a video review by coach Mike Babcock. more ›

"There's trouble in every country...this is a chance to give hope, and who'll do it if not the old Woodstockers?" more ›

Torontoist has learned that plans are afoot for a massive two-day festival at Downsview Park that aims to combine the biggest concert the city has ever seen—expected attendance is 350,000 people each day, with 300 million watching around the world—with an effort to let G20 leaders know they need to try harder to change the world for the better. more ›

Rob Ford is still keeping uncharacteristically quiet, at least on the question of his political ambitions. Although the limited segment of the mediasphere that cares about Rob Ford has been buzzing with speculation about an imminent run for Mayor, the outspoken councillor for Ward 2 isn’t ready to go public with a decision—unsurprisingly, he hasn't returned Torontoist's call asking for comment. more ›

Ahh, there's nothing better than a nice, free dip in a Toronto public pool. Right? Not this year. Oh, well maybe they take debit? That's another dollar. Damn! This makes me want to report a phony blaze to the fire department. Well that's another $350 for every truck, you fool. Such are a few of the new and increased user fees outlined in the 2010 operating budget. Just ask yourself one thing, David Miller. Is the $9.2 milllion generated by the hikes worth making us pay an extra $7.40 for our Aquafit classes? Monster. more ›

The local web found out, late last night, from a press release, that the Carlton Cinemas will be reopening under the ownership of Magic Lantern Theatres, operators of Rainbow Cinemas. more ›

Torontoist loves Vancouver—who doesn’t?—so when the opportunity to spend a week at ground zero of the 2010 Winter Olympics presented itself, we jumped. After calling in a few favours we landed ourselves a couch within sight of BC Place, scene of last Friday’s epic torch disaster during the Opening Ceremonies. And when we arrived downtown, riding in from the airport on board the splendid new Canada Line rail link, we walked right into the maelstrom of the first Team Canada men’s hockey game. more ›

The secret ingredient in David Miller's recipe for budgetary success quickly turned sour. A partnership between the City and the Ontario government to permanently fund the TTC was going to solve the budget's biggest bother—until Dalton McGuinty heard about it. Apparently Miller forgot about the province's own deficit of $24.7 billion, squashing any hopes of McGuinty bailing out Ontario's largest transit system any time soon. Even if they do find some extra cash, McGuinty says there would be some serious strings attached. The province would exchange the money for a hands-on role in the TTC's affairs, especially in improving customer service. more ›

We like free entertainment. We also like HotDocs, Toronto's annual documentary film festival and self-proclaimed largest documentary film festival in North America (beginning this year on April 29). Yesterday, HotDocs went and combined both of those things by launching an online doc library, financed with a little help from the Department of Canadian Heritage. We say this completely without irony: your tax dollars at work. more ›

Rumours have been flying about the impending launch of Bixi, the public bike sharing service, in Toronto. Now, the long-anticipated local rollout appears to be in jeopardy. more ›

This is pretty wonderful: in six months, Bitstrips for Schools—the education-focused arm of Toronto-based make-your-own-comics site Bitstrips—has hit one million comics created by schoolkids in Ontario and around the world. The one millionth comic, unveiled yesterday, was created by a certain "Sam B." after his Grade Eight English class was asked by their teacher to illustrate some event from Canadian history. Sam B. chose the story of famous chocolatier accidental spy Laura Secords [sic], and expertly condensed the story of her 1813 trek into three panels, above. more ›