The ongoing war of words between the Ford brothers and TTC Chair Karen Stintz ratcheted up a notch Sunday when the pair spent a majority of their weekly radio show slamming transit taxes. Doug Ford, on the phone from Florida, said "I don't trust her as far as I could throw her," labelling her "deceitful" and "nothing but a liar." Should he apologize?
The prospect of converting the Scarborough RT to subway reared its head this weekend when Coun. Karen Stintz suggested bundling the idea, popular with Rob Ford, in with the debate on new transit taxes, possibly in the hope of winning the mayor over. Switching to subway would involve altering the current agreement with Metrolinx. Should the aging RT become part of the Bloor-Danforth line?
A former player on Rob Ford's Don Bosco Eagles football team has died after a shooting in Scarborough. 20-year-old Kwado "Kojo" Mensah was found near Grace Hartman Housing Co-op at Morningside and Old Finch. Ford called Mensah a "truly a very nice, polite, young man" on his Sunday radio show. "I love you, kiddo," he added.
Leaside alums including Prime Minister Stephen Harper celebrated the community's 100th anniversary on the weekend. It was a century ago on Saturday that the area - now part of Toronto - was officially incorporated as a town. Premier Kathleen Wynne, whose constituency covers Leaside, was also present at the gala inside a self-storage facility.
A stickler for the rules isn't happy with restaurants on the Esplanade. Several eateries, including Bier Markt, were told to hang their patio flower boxes on the inside of the guard railing, not the outside, to prevent infringing on city property. Failing to comply could have resulted in a steep fine and even loss of their liquor license.
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be a TTC bus driver, read this Metro story. Vomit, masturbation, feces, used tampons, and abuse are just some of the treats drivers have to handle on a daily basis working for Toronto's transit system. Do the harsh realities of the work justify the $30 an hour rate of pay?
Finally, three books looted from the town of York during the War of 1812 have been returned to the Toronto Reference Library, more than 200 years overdue. Americans captured the city during the Battle of York in 1813, raiding homes and the burning the town's government buildings. If the books had been checked out instead of being swiped from the town's only library, the overdue fine would be $29,220 using current figures.
FROM THE WEEKEND
- This Week in Theatre
- Classified sells out the Opera House...twice
- Hidden art space hosts eclectic events & young artists
- Toronto hip hop scene in the spotlight at Hot Docs
- The Best Tasting Menus in Toronto
- The catastrophic explosion that defined the War of 1812
- Maylee Todd gets real sexual at album release party
- 5 shops to seek out in Yorkville
IN BRIEF:
- Police make an arrest in Parkdale bar stabbing [Toronto Star]
- Downtown Toronto becomes sea of saffron as thousands celebrate Sikh New Year [Toronto Star]
- Maple Leafs to face Boston Bruins in playoffs [CTV News]
- Yankees beat Dickey, Blue Jays for 4-game sweep [CBC]
*An earlier version of this post confused two separate murders in an item about Rob Ford's radio show. The mistake has been corrected.
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: Nilfisk/blogTO Flickr pool.