Ford’s class attack suckers the Empire Club

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If he had written a script for them, Doug Ford could hardly be more pleased with the wounded response of  the Empire Club to his wild appeal to class warfare at the club’s expense. A spokesperson is defending the club as a place of fair-minded discussion of public events. Honestly. Get a grip. If the Empire Club held its debate in a City park with a free barbecue Mr. Ford would still find them snooty fat cats who are out to screw the people. He must be the defender and guardian of the people to weld Ford Nation together. It does seem desperate.

Mr. Ford’s class warfare campaign — Part 2

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Doug Ford has pulled out of the Empire Club debate of mayoral candidates scheduled for this noon hour (Friday, September 25, 2014) saying by email that he is a candidate of the people and that the Empire Club is an elitist place where ordinary people are not invited and cannot afford to go. Tables apparently cost $800 each for the debate. The naked appeal to envy and resentment seems breathtaking. Ford’s withdrawal comes less than an hour before the event was to take place. It is clear, however, based on his slashing attack earlier this week on John Tory’s pedigree, rather than his ability,  that Doug Ford believes this desperate tactic can win the election for him. Class warfare Part 1   Ford suckers Empire Club 

Effort to re-light City Hall looks like all-day job

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Mid-morning reports on the efforts to get City Hall re-lighted suggest the job is going slower than hoped. Cam Woolley on CP24 guessed that hard-pressed Hydro crews might miss the noon-time resolution mentioned overnight. It will, apparently require five mobile generators which are not yet connected, said Woolley. Four generators are said to be on scene with another coming from Quebec. CP24  At her Twitter account Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27) described the shock of the frightening explosions and blackout. Proof that partisan gibberish is never too far away on Twitter is a Tweet asking if the Councillor will be blaming this incident on Ford Nation. Oh well. Twitter 

Lucky Moose grocer dumps Chow, endorses Tory

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David Chen, owner of the Spadina Chinatown Lucky Moose grocery store has come out publicly for John Tory for mayor. The media has made much of the support given to Chen by then Trinity Spadina MP Olivia Chow when he faced charges of manhandling a shoplifter. But many people gave Chen support. Stephen Harper aced out the  NDP by wining and dining the humble grocer in Ottawa and then writing legislation that gave small store owners more leeway to crack down on pilferers. Today, the Lucky Moose man endorsed Tory after a meeting of the Spadina BIA, an organization strongly influenced by downtown Chinese businessmen. They are four square in support of Tory. CP24

Ford (Motor) Square? It’s just not reasonable

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It is entirely reasonable for people to just hate the idea. Why permit a change of name for a place that honours a civic treasure. The Toronto Maple Leafs, just to sell cars. But the public plaza located outside of the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto will be renamed after the automobile company anyway, it seems. Unless, somehow, it begins to seem unreasonable to the boys in Detroit. 

Blowing more smoke than usual at City Hall

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Blowing smoke took on a new meaning at City Hall this afternoon in rather a frightening incident that ended with no one hurt. It began during a training program, according to fire officials, as civilian wardens were being taught what to do during a real fire. A ladder fell onto a transformer in the municipal electrical room causing a nasty short circuit. City Hall had to be evacuated and there was a report of low level smoke inhalation. It does not appear that anyone was hospitalized. The short caused a total blackout at the 27-storey building and forced the cancellation of all services and events including civil marriages. And the outlook for tomorrow is not clear yet as hydro workers assess the damage and how to fix it. More pictures  City’s news release.

Witness video of Brampton shooting linked here

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A man has been shot to death in a confrontation with Peel Region Police in Brampton after he was stopped in a car about 10 p.m. last night. The CBC recorded a very coherent witness named Richard Appleby. He was outside the Crabby Joe’s Restaurant on Kennedy Road during a break when the incident occurred. Mr. Appleby’s interview can be seen here. 

THEN THERE’S THIS SUAVE GENT