CITY HALL
• Don’t label needy communities: Councillor [The Sun]
• Free nurses? No thanks, says Mayor Rob Ford [The Star]
• Ford’s decision on nurses ‘bizarre, strange’ [The Sun]
• Union refuses to be taken to the cleaners [The Sun]
• How ‘hot chicks’ tweet stacks up against other gaffes [National Post]
• Toronto councillor apologizes after ‘hot chicks’ tweet gets chilly response [Globe & Mail]
• Parker apologizes for tweet, says ‘I’ve learned something’ [The Star]
TRANSPORTATION
• Metrolinx seeks to calm anxieties over Eglinton LRT [Globe & Mail]
• Wary business owners cool to Eglinton transit plans [The Star]
• Despite being almost a decade away, Eglinton celebrates transit line [National Post]
• LRT office to address construction concerns [The Sun]
• Our Bixi bike program safe, despite Montreal’s woes [The Star]
• City to replace ‘misleading’ cycling data [The Star]
DEVELOPMENT & PARKING
• The Fixer: Sunken utility chambers sinks drivers [The Star]
• Heads up! Gardiner concrete could keep on falling [The Star]
• Hume: It’s time to charge the real cost of parking [The Star]
• Plan to fight a parking ticket? It could cost you [The Star]
• Parking ticket trial may become more costly [National Post]
• City eyes parking ticket court charge [The Sun]
OTHER NEWS
• Arts group fears end to programs if city stops backstopping loans [Globe & Mail]
• Exclusive: Toronto police swear off G20 kettling tactic [The Star]
2 comments
I can understand the City giving time-limited guarantees for specific projects but guaranteeing lines of credit or otherwise giving organizations the impression that guarantees will be continued beyond expiry is counterproductive – if for no other reason than it lets the bankers off the hook for treating as uncreditworthy organizations who during the period of their initial guarantee kept their loan in good standing.
@Mark, you are correct, but this is not the issue. The original motion was intended to tighten up the loan guarantee criteria, and given the MasterCard Centre situation, I think that is fair enough.
But Cllr Del Grande went much further. In another ruthless blindside, he amended the motion to cancel ALL loan guarantees, no matter how beneficial the partnership or credit-worthy the recipient.
It seems to me that an administration seeking to cut red tape and explore innovative financing options would welcome efficient and creative grassroots organizations like Centre for Social Innovation, the Brickworks or Artscape, which perform valuable services for little or no cost. Why are these successes being punished for the failures of one arena?