It’s hard to believe that the newly-laid sidewalks and terrazzo fill-ins beside the new trees have turned to junk in one winter. It was a bad winter of course but the mess now revealed is upsetting. Soon we will be complaining about the summer heat on our favorite business street. Many will recall the unbearable conditions in which people worked last August to lay pavement. Time for all those fellas to return to check the quality of their work. Picture was taken just outside Passion Fruit. 
It’s one of the least focused searches on Twitter but for anyone who wants to get a broad fix on what’s bugging or beguiling people in this city, the “Toronto” search is a good one. You can catch up on Laureen Harper fencing with an aboriginal heckler or the unhappy fans of the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS if you please) who find themselves in an endless line for tickets. There’s much interest in the forthcoming Raptors-Nets game. The Toronto Sun calls the Nets the Dinosaurs because of their age. Cute. Lot’s of comment on that one. Most curious of all is the Toronto Star story about a medical marijuana businessman and cook who has taken to the newspaper’s pages to whip up non-hash dishes and warning that it’s illegal to serve marijuana at dinner. Good to know. But he is in the medical cannabis business under federal rules. What a temple of free enterprise in which we worship.  |
| Bags and briefcases just keep on dropping |
Dwayne Stewart posted a video on YouTube today that shows Air Canada baggage handlers dropping hand luggage off an approximately 20-foot set of steps into a bin at the bottom. This, rather than carry the bags to the ground as Air Canada policy requires. The hand luggage was being placed in the cargo hold because of crowding in the cabin. Global News first reported that Stewart was complaining about the handling of the baggage. He took the video while waiting on the tarmac at Pearson Airport and told the broadcaster that passengers on the Vancouver-bound flight were asked to check their carry-on luggage because there wasn’t enough room in the overhead compartments. He looked out his window and started shooting as a handler dropped several bags. “Sorry Air Canada, this is a fail,” he says while filming. In a statement, Air Canada said it is “extremely disappointed by the actions” depicted in the video. “This clearly goes against our standard baggage handling procedures which dictates that gate-checked bags are to be hand carried down to the ramp. An investigation into this has been launched.” See video
Update: Work has begun on the mural on the wall of the steps leading to the Kay Gardiner Beltline Trail at Mt. Pleasant Ave. and Merton St. Here’s a shot (top inset) of work as of Saturday, May 17, 2014. Earlier story here: Next month work is scheduled to begin on a mural to decorate and commemorate the history of the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail. The work will be done by students from Greenwood College School with the guidance of celebrated Toronto muralist Monica Wickeler. The mural’s design has been released by Greenwood and reveals a work of artistic charm and historic pertinence. Top and bottom inset are the design and an overlay of the design where it will be painted. The mural will grace the now bare concrete wall beside the steps which lead to the Beltline from the west side of Mt. Pleasant Rd. just south of Merton Street. This is the location of the well-remembered storage silos of the Canada Coal and Wood Company. The mural tells those on the trail that the Mt. Pleasant Village shopping area is just up the stairs. At the bottom is the walking and cycling pathway which follows the 19th Century Beltline Railway. This undertaking was intended to provide commuter service from downtown to the then new neighborhoods of Rosedale, Moore Park and Forest Hill. It failed and sat dormant for many decades. Greenwood College School has noted that the idea for a mural at this location came from local resident Ann Dempster two years ago. The City was consulted and the Grade 12 Drawing and Painting class went to work researching the history of the site. Funding was secured for the mural through the auspices of Josh Matlow (Ward 22) who has taken a continuing interest in the project. Mr. Matlow said, “Local residents and Greenwood College School students came together to celebrate our community’s history with a mural that will be a vibrant new addition to our public realm. I am so happy to support this wonderful initiative.”
John Tory was in Leaside Thursday morning speaking with housewives about transit but later appeared on CP24. He got asked about his idea for water taxis (on which Chow dumped scorn today). Tory then got feisty about keeping the Gardiner Expressway and insisted that Chow will tear it down. That seems a reasonable guess. At the end of his exchange with Stephen LeDrew, Mr. Tory made his most critical move. “Rob Ford is done. He’s done,” said Tory. This is so important for him because it is Ford who will lose the election for both Ford Nation and John Tory. Between them they have more than enough support to beat Ms. Chow, but as it stands, these two guys are the most important part of her campaign to occupy the big office overlooking Phillips Square. It is, as The Bulldog observed earlier, like watching a traffic accident unfold in slow motion. That’s it so far for Transit Thursday. But at this writing it is only noon.
