CITY COUNCIL
• Hume: In Rob Ford’s Toronto, out of sight is out of mind [The Star]
• Toronto library board pushes for budget increase [The Sun]
• But What Is Customer Service, Anyway? [Torontoist]
TRANSIT
• Ease off on ‘essential’ and we won’t strike: TTC union [The Star]
• TTC won’t strike during contract negotiations: Kinnear [National Post]
• Quoted: ‘For those who are saying it’s a war on public transit…this isn’t it’ [National Post]
• TTC union vows not to disrupt service during contract talks [Globe & Mail]
• 500 TTC cleaners aren’t enough [The Sun]
• The only thing that’s essential are TTC riders [The Sun]
• TTC service cuts and the “greater good” [BlogTO]
• The TTC Gets An Earful Over Bus Route Cuts [Torontoist]
ATTRACTIONS
• Details of Toronto’s aquarium are massive [The Star]
• Action at Sherbourne Commons [National Post]
STREETSCAPE
• Yes … but is it graffiti? [Globe & Mail]
• Long Live Salad King, Long Live Yonge Street [Torontoist]
WINTER
• Snowstorm didn’t live up to the hype, but we sure did [The Star]
• Clearing a plane of snow is deicing on the cake [Globe & Mail]
• The snowpocalypse that wasn’t [OpenFile]
POLICE & CRIME
• Police board ‘shocked’ force will keep sound cannons [The Star]
• Police Board powerless in ‘sound cannon’ buy [National Post]
• Police keep range of equipment acquired for G20 summit [Globe & Mail]
MEDIA & TECH
• Podcast: On weather, Rocco and Red Rockets [National Post]
• Why we need community radio in Toronto [BlogTO]
• The CRTC, UBB, and the Politics of Digital Space [Torontoist]
ELECTION AFTER-MATH
• Peter Kuitenbrouwer: Checking in with Joe Pantalone and Sarah Thomson [National Post]
• The harmony is gone [The Sun]
4 comments
Gagging on the aquarium news for a couple reasons:
– The Star throws around hip-hip-hooray stats on the “massive” aquarium, but with no context. What does a 150,000 SF aquarium mean? That’s the size of a Wal-Mart, ok, but is that big or small in the world of Aquariums? For example, the Georgia Aquarium is 550,000 SF (and growing). Without context, how do we understand the potential draw?
– Public money is one thing if dealing with a city owned or non-profit facility, like the Toronto Zoo. But it’s quite another for the city to be investing public dollars in a private, for-profit facility. This is a Ripley’s aquarium, guaranteed to charge high ticket prices. It is not a civic facility. It they want to build it and then gouge tourists, ok, But I don’t want to see public dollars put into a private aquarium that will charge at least $30 a ticket. Surprised His Fordship is not objecting to this. (By the way, the Georgia Aquarium was funded by a Home Depot magnate and a bunch of other corporate donations).
– This announcement is allowing the anti-downtown crowd to whine about not getting an aquarium in North York or Etobicoke, where you can, you know, drive to it. (Read the comments section of the Star) Listen fools, this thing is going to go bankrupt in two years and be taken over by the city, but put it in the suburbs and it will go under in two months. The saga of the New York Aquarium (moved from lower Manhattan to Coney Island) tells the tale. If it is to have any chance at all it needs to be downtown-ish.
– Seriously, we couldn’t find a way to put an aquarium on the actual shoreline? Hello, Ontario Place? Portlands?
What’s dolphin-speak for “arrrrgh”?
Gagging on the aquarium news for a couple reasons:
– The Star throws around hip-hip-hooray stats on the “massive” aquarium, but with no context. What does a 150,000 SF aquarium mean? That’s the size of a Wal-Mart, ok, but is that big or small in the world of Aquariums? For example, the Georgia Aquarium is 550,000 SF (and growing). Without context, how do we understand the potential draw?
– Public money is one thing if dealing with a city owned or non-profit facility, like the Toronto Zoo. But it’s quite another for the city to be investing public dollars in a private, for-profit facility. This is a Ripley’s aquarium, guaranteed to charge high ticket prices. It is not a civic facility. It they want to build it and then gouge tourists, ok, But I don’t want to see public dollars put into a private aquarium that will charge at least $30 a ticket. Surprised His Fordship is not objecting to this. (By the way, the Georgia Aquarium was funded by a Home Depot magnate and a bunch of other corporate donations).
– This announcement is allowing the anti-downtown crowd to whine about not getting an aquarium in North York or Etobicoke, where you can, you know, drive to it. (Read the comments section of the Star) Listen fools, this thing is going to go bankrupt in two years and be taken over by the city, but put it in the suburbs and it will go under in two months. The saga of the New York Aquarium (moved from lower Manhattan to Coney Island) tells the tale. If it is to have any chance at all it needs to be downtown-ish.
– Seriously, we couldn’t find a way to put an aquarium on the actual shoreline? Hello, Ontario Place? Portlands?
What’s dolphin-speak for “arrrrgh”?
• But What Is Customer Service, Anyway?
My experience with the city’s permit and children service department was that, 90% of the times, my phone call was not answered, 50% of the time the voice mailbox was full, the rest of times I left voice messages but nobody ever called back. My permit plan review was supposed to take about 2 weeks and ended up took 5 months! The city staffs at the front desk are usually helpful, but the ones in the back office are terrible.
Re: TTC Union
Judging by his previous promise to not go on strike without warning, Kinnear’s promises are as empty as an out of service bus.