She calls man a criminal — you pay $5,000 bill

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Maria Augimeri 
Maria Augimeri (Ward 9) called someone a criminal in an Italian newspaper this year. He didn’t like it, she could not prove it  and when the dust had settled the Councilor owed $5,000 for her indiscretion. The question before City Council was who should pay this amount. Mayor Ford was opposed and was one of two dissenting voices Tuesday (August 26, 2014) during an argument on this point.  A motion was moved by Councillor Josh Matlow that Council direct the City Manager to amend the Complaint Protocol so that where the complainant is successful and the Councillor is found in breach of the Code of Conduct that the policy require the Councillor to pay the complainant’s legal fees directly. But no, City Council eventually decided that the city — that would be you the taxpayer — will pay the $5,000. There may be many ways to spin this decision but the council vote was 33-2 — an overwhelming majority — to pay for the councillor’s careless talk. Why? The stories don’t make it very clear. For Mayor Ford it was tailor-made for his campaign message that only he cares about public money. “She accused him of being a criminal. He is not a criminal and now the taxpayers have to pay for her comments? I’m sorry. That’s not right.”  It is a very good example of why the mayor continues to be a contender for re-election in October. And a reminder that his problems have always been about his personal behaviour, not his politics.  

6.000 swelter in dark after contractor cuts line

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According to police, a contractor has cut a power line with a backhoe under the sidewalk outside the Chicken ‘licious restaurant at 2789 Danforth ave. putting approximately 6,000 area residents in the dark on the hottest day of the summer. The bad luck backhoe did its work on in East York. Toronto Hydro says thousands of customers are in dark from an area bounded by Danforth to Queen, and Victoria Park to Main Street. A tweet from TTCing says that the escalators are stopped at Main Street Station. Emergency crews are on scene but the prognosis is for serious sweating until at least dawn. Affected residents are asked to not open the fridge or freezer to allow for items to stay cool, while unplugging non-essential appliances in order to avoid a power surge. Toronto Star  Toronto Sun  #darkTO

No right turn on red at McRae and Millwood

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The decision  by City Council to prohibit right turns on a red light at the intersection of McRae Drive and Millwood Rd. will no doubt give some comfort to local residents. The deep wound caused by the death of Georgia Walsh at this intersection in July remains painful. The motion was sponsored by John Parker (Ward 26) and found wide support. It is of interest that the right turn on red has had growing acceptance throughout North America in the last 40 years because of the cost of fuel. Cars that sit at intersections for a shorter time burn less fuel. Still, the logic of the right hand turn is open to serious discussion. Drivers making such turns must account for traffic on the left.  It is a difficult job when there are pedestrians lingering on the curb at the right. The right turn on red is as old as driving in Ontario and dates from a time when gasoline was 25 cents a gallon. In the U.S. all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have allowed right turns on red since 1978 in response to the shortages of the early 1970s. In Canada right turns on red are permitted in all provinces although the Island of Montreal continues a ban against them. 

Finding helpful insight into native life, poverty

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The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police says it is taking no position on whether there should be some type of inquiry into the deaths of native women. It is easy to understand the care with which police approach the subject.  They are traditionally the whipping boy for some frustrated people when it comes to giving the sad story of aboriginal women a happy ending. The question of an inquiry is deeply inflamed. The political interests of native groups, the provinces and the federal government are thoroughly mixed together when demands are made for an inquiry. The issues extend far beyond aboriginal women. More native men die violently than women. Those who oppose this type of expensive and ineffective grandstand are often portrayed as heartless lowlifes blocking milk deliveries to the nursery. Maybe an inquiry can help. But appeals for one come with the vaguest ideas of what might be achieved. Issues related to aboriginal life in Canada are among the most intractable known to the country. Those working on the ground like former prime minister Paul Martin find occasional insights. His Martin Aboriginal Educational Initiative has found that home ownership gives native people a greater incentive to keep their homes repaired and liveable. It is a small thing but it has the potential to change a culture. Chris Selley in the National Post reviews opinion on how to help native women. He agrees with a writer who says an important cause is poverty on the reserve. How is that fixed? No judicial inquiry anywhere ever eliminated it. Whatever the answer, Selley observes tartly:  “It’s some job, though. isn’t it?”  Chris Selley Full Pundit

MLSE to build Raptors practice centre at CNE

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Toronto will permit MLSE to build a $30-million practice facility for the Raptors on the CNE grounds. In return, the City will own the facilities and MLSE will pay for upkeep, maintenance  and capital upkeep. Could be fair. Members voted 38-2 in favor at today’s last meeting before the October 27, 2014 general election. Only the Ford brother opposed the motion.  The space used for the centre will eliminate 200 parking spaces so MLSE and the City will split the cost of a $400 million parking garage. MLSE has promised to permit use of the facility to community groups for camps and tournaments as well as to Canada Basketball. NewsTalk1010

“Bully Offer” sweet deal to Leaside homeowner

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81 Bessborough 
So you have owned a home for most of your life and you’ve never heard of a Bully Offer. Maybe that’s because a real estate “bully” has to lay down a lot of cash for the title. We think it’s more like upping the ante in the game of buying and selling of homes. All sellers would like an over-listing bid on their home but the bully offer comes from a buyer with an offer that is way over listing. A bully buyer adds to the urgency of acceptance by setting a deadline, sometimes a really short one. And so we have the case of a 81 Bessborough Drive. It was listed for $1,199,000 and, as reported by Toronto Life, the For Sale sign “went into the ground at 10:30 a.m. Within eight hours, the buying agent had emailed a firm $1,305,000 early bid with one caveat: it would expire in three hours. Immediately, the selling agent called the seller, who was interested. Other potential buyers couldn’t be contacted because of the calculated dinner-hour deadline, so the seller accepted the deal by 8:30 p.m., after the home had been on the market for only 10 hours.”  Hey, bully me. 

Eat the Beltline comes with a southern drawl

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Those who Tweet in and around Davisville Village will probably be aware of the perilous mixture of entries that can appear. Who knew that the City of Atlanta had both a Beltline and a Davisville and that well-meaning Twitterbugs would mix up news from down there with up here. But thus it is that the hilariously named Georgia business venture known as Eat the Beltline would be tweeting pictures of the TTC track work at — um — Davisville Station. Yes. Eat the trackwork.  Good reason to add the word Village to your search  

Pals as kids, Ottawa men learn they are brothers

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An astonishing tale of how two boys, both adopted, were childhood friends and classmates 70 years ago — and now have learned they are in fact biological brothers. The picture shows Duncan Cumming, now 72, and Ron Cole, 71 when they were pals in Ottawa’s Glebe neighborhood never knowing they shared their birth mom. As reported by the Ottawa Citizen Monday (August 25, 2014) an organization called Parent Finders Ottawa put the pieces together. A coordinator with the organization got in touch with both men to share the news. Ottawa Citizen 

Coffee and burgers: It’s all about the taxes

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It’s an eye-catching headline that Canada-based Tim Hortons might be purchased by the U.S. chain Burger King and headquartered in Canada. It would create an enormous fast food company, the third largest in the world. But the stories from the U.S. today make it clear that it isn’t about the food as much as it is the taxes. Canadian taxes would be lower for such a new company. Reuters excellent account goes on for three pages talking about comparable deals and non-deals. Walgreen had a chance to “invert” its taxes when it bought a European drugstore, says Reuters. Inversion is the name for grabbing the cheaper tax rate. But it didn’t happen because Walgreen got cold feet about what the U.S. government might do. Walgreen would still have to do business with Uncle Sam. So nobody at Tims or Burger King is really thinking about what a new fast food mammoth would look like at the counter. Rather, they’re counting the dollars and the political impact to see if makes sense for Burger King to kiss off  its American status. Sorry to be so unromantic about your friend Tim.  Reuters