As the fallout continues from yesterday's Rob Ford alcohol abuse story, coun. Sarah Doucette says it's been known around city hall that the mayor has a drinking problem for some time. Though she says she's never seen Ford impaired, Doucette says other councillors have balked at going to the press for fear of the consequences. The Parkdale-High Park rep went on to urge Ford into rehab.
Meanwhile, the parents of kids at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary where Rob Ford coaches football met last night to discuss whether the mayor should continue working with the school. Ford has been criticized for casting the school and its students in a negative light. The group will vote and make a recommendation to the school board. Should Ford continue?
Police chief Bill Blair is telling some Toronto cops to pull their socks up over "totally unacceptable behaviour." In an internal video circulated yesterday, Blair called out a group of unnamed officers for behavior that "damages our service." It's thought Blair was referring the cops who abuse their authority.
Barbara Amiel, the wife of Conrad Black and a contributing editor to Maclean's, is recalling an exchange between Sarah Thomson and her husband in a controversial column. Amiel says Thomson asked, joking, whether she'd have to sleep with Black to get an interview for Hamilton Examiner, where she worked at the time. Amiel argues the 1998 exchange is an example of "an anything-goes sexual society."
There ain't no battle like a sidewalk battle, apparently. Dylan Reid at Spacing reports on the ten-year war of attrition between the city and residents of a Scarborough street vehemently opposed to a sidewalk, of all things. As it happens, Chine Drive is the only access route for a local school, but never mind the kids - what if the "rural feel" is lost?
Finally, the owners of Fortune Seafood Restaurant on Midland Ave. are stewing over a $10,000 fine issued under the Endangered Species Act. The Cantonese eatery was punished for offering soup made from a threatened species of freshwater turtle. The animals, which are protected under provincial and federal law, were discovered packed in a freezer during a routine inspection.
IN BRIEF:
- Second man charged with murder in shooting of Toronto rapper Anthony Spencer [National Post]
- Teen arrested for performing indecent acts at York University [Toronto Star]
- Extracurricular activities to return to Ontario public elementary schools [CBC]
- Joffrey Lupul rallies Maple Leafs over Panthers [CBC]
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: "Old Ways" by Lucky7Photo's/blogTO Flickr pool.