It’s come to this in Canada. The land will soon know if the choice of playing soccer on grass rather than artificial turf is an inalienable blessing from God or otherwise delivered to humanity by supernatural power. If a tribunal of human rights wise persons find it so, the right to “go grass” will rank right up there with the right to free speech, equal access to paid work and freedom of religion. What a country. Ottawa Citizen
Smart meters a costly flop says Auditor General
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The Auditor General of Ontario, has dropped a ton of bricks on the Liberal government, accusing it permitting the provincial debt to soar out of control and claiming that the over-budget two-billion dollar smart meter program is a total flop. Bonnie Lysek says essentially that off-peak saving are an illusion. The price of the supposedly cheaper power has ballooned, costing consumers more than they would have been paying if smart meters had never been invented. The entire AG’s report is a shocking revelation, even considering her independent role from the government. She says people in Ontario are paying billions of dollars extra for electricity because of the dysfunctional smart meter program. Lysek reported today (Tuesday December 9, 2014) that ratepayers will pay $50 billion between 2006 and 2015 because of an extra charge on their electricity bills that covers the gap between guaranteed prices paid to contracted power generators. Hamilton Spectator
Cody carollers return to Starbucks on Bayview
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Kate and William thrill crowd at Cavs vs Nets
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Tow truck drivers heading for Queen’s Park
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| Getting the hook? |
Tow truck drivers protesting that they are over-regulated may be hard for many people to swallow. But that’s the story Tuesday morning (December 9, 2014) as an estimated 1,500 of them converge on Queen”s Park. Yes, stay away. The province says new legislation will regulate the tow truck industry and reduce auto insurance rates. But tow truck drivers say it hampers their ability to do their job and may ultimately raise prices. It is touting reduced auto insurance premiums by about 15 per cent by August 2015 and the convenience of paying tow truck drivers by credit card,. That one really does seems reasonable. But tow truck drivers so no, claiming it will raise prices. Under the new act, drivers would be under the authority of the Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration, which would limit their workdays to 13 hour days and a maximum of 60 hours a week. Drivers say this this will limit their ability serve customers and create longer response times, especially during the winter when one tow can take four hours.
“World’s worst driver” clocks 3,108,811 clicks
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Calgary police are cutting some slack — but not much — for the poor middle-aged lady who spent five minutes trying to get her car out of a public lot there. They say they understand but have still handed her a $115 ticket for unsafe backing after she was caught on camera reversing into a vehicle. The story with video is in our previous post. A day ago there were 500,000 clicks for the YouTube video but that has grown as the video goes worldwide. It sits at posting time at 3,108,811. As police say, it’s not that the scenes are horrific. They’re just kind of stupefying. Insp. Ken Thrower, head of the traffic section, says the woman probably got nervous trying to back out of the lot and the more she tried the more frustrated she became.“I would think she probably panicked a little bit, got nervous. It’s in front of windows so there’s probably people looking out at her.
Look out! Here comes “You know you shouldn’t”
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Here it comes. You will be “educated” to drive properly in Toronto and you will enjoy it, as those old satires might have put it. On the instructions of the mayor, City officials and police are warning you that the dreaded zero tolerance is about to be invoked. Step out of line and you will get it. You know you shouldn’t — So don’t will address five driving bete noires. See how many of them you commit. 1. Drivers making prohibited turns at intersections 2. Pedestrians stepping on to roadways in advance of green light or walk signals 3. Blocking of the intersection and failing to clear an intersection in the green light 4. Blocking of lanes by stopped vehicles 5. Failing to clear minor collisions.. Chief Blair says that, in the run-up to elections this year, Torontonians had said a major issue affecting their quality of life was traffic congestion. Let’s see how we like the solution.
School joker JMag morphed into Islamic radical
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Excellent account of what is known about John McGuire, Ottawa man seen delivering Islamist harangue. Calgary Herald
What to do as market tanks? Hang on, hang on!
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There’s too much oil, China is slowing down and the market is sweating it out. Toronto closed down 329 points, up from the worst lows of the day of 455. The Canadian dollar declined 0.14 of a cent to 87.33 cents (U.S).Oil prices retreated in the wake of data showing that China’s exports rose by a weaker-than-expected 4.7 per cent, down from October’s 10.6 per cent. Imports were forecast to post a small increase but instead contracted by 6.7 per cent from a year earlier.
All-door boarding on 88 Leaside? Not so much
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The Globe and Mail writes this morning (Monday, December 8, 2014) that the TTC will soon introduce all-door boarding on the King street car line. See if you can work your way through the logic of how the TTC doesn’t go further into debt. We got a headache trying. Such policy is the city’s choice of course. It is predicted to save six or seven minutes from end to end. They may prove expensive minutes. It might seem to herald an era of free streetcar rides. You may be sure there will be no such largess on the handy little buses that move swiftly through South Bayview. Oliver Moore, Globe and Mail.
Leafs don “hideous holiday fashions” (And how)
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In what appears to be strange new sub-cult, NHL hockey players are dressing up in what they proudly crow is “hideous holiday fashions”. Here are Dion Phaneuf and Phi Kessell (who looks a bit like a silly vampire too). We can’t explain it but there is more
Sutherland-Bayview shelter “useless” says woman
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| Old bus shelter |
South Bayview resident Shirley Bush was critical recently in a letter to the editor of the Toronto Star about the usefulness of the new bus shelters created by Bell Media’s Astral division. She says the new shelter at Sutherland Drive and Bayview Ave. simply leaves people out in the rain and snow. That apparently has to do with sidewalk accessibility for those requiring it. For this reason, it seems, the bus shelter was trimmed back to leave the sidewalk clear, says Ms Bush. She calls for “a little common sense” in the application of accessibility rules. She says the old shelter (inset) was “suddenly gone” and an inadequate shallow replacement in its place. “I asked my councillor and city hall why? The same absurd answer was given. The street is narrow. It would be quite simple to use the sidewalk on the other side and cross the street when past the shelter. As it is now, the darn thing is useless except as a giant advertising vehicle. Rigid observance of the law sometimes defeats the purpose the law was designed for and makes it difficult for everyone,” said Ms. Bush, New shelter at Bayview and Millwood