City staff say it will cost up to $1 million and take about six months to fully study the impacts of allowing Porter to operate jets out of Billy Bishop airport. City council will decide to today whether or not to proceed with the analysis. A preliminary report is due before Rob Ford's executive committee on July 3, which Porter says it will finance. The airline wants to expand the runway and operate Bombardier "whisper jets" out of the downtown airport.
At the same time, Margaret Atwood and other prominent citizens are lining up against the idea. NOJetsTO wants council to reject the feasibility study and force airlines to stick with propellor planes. The group has a petition with almost 1,000 signatures. Former mayor John Sewell is also a supporter of the group. Where do you stand on this?
Toronto's chief planner says the city needs to be a leading voice in the transit tax discussion. Speaking to the Toronto Sun, Jennifer Keesmaat says there's a "pending crisis" as more transit-friendly citizens begin to pack the already overcrowded subway and streetcar network. Transit taxes are expected to come up at today's council meeting. Do you think Toronto can reclaim its world-class transit system with taxes?
City council will vote today whether or not to revive the Nathan Phillips Square bike station. Rob Ford has already said he'll try and kill off the storage area, which comes with basic showers and tools for cyclists. $650,000 of the $1.2 million pricetag has already been spent designing and planning the project.
Chris Hadfield lead the first ever space-to-Earth singalong yesterday, performing the song I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing) he co-wrote with the Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson. Schools across Canada and kids at the Ontario Science Centre sang along with help from a Toronto choir and Robertson. The song was Hadfield's final broadcast before he returns home on May 13.
A Toronto Maple Leafs fan didn't exactly get a Beantown welcome (or maybe he did) during the last playoff game at the TD Garden. Kyle Hay says he was sucker punched in the back of the head by a disgruntled Bruins fan after the Leafs' 4-2 win. He suffered a concussion and needled surgical staples to seal a wound on the back of his head. A video of the aftermath is circulating online.
Also in hockey, the Leafs couldn't manage to reel in their first home ice playoff win in close to a decade last night. The boys in blue dropped Game 3 to the Bruins 5-2. Centre Tyler Bozak put the loss down to the B's expert cheating in the face-off circle.
Three firefighters were injured battling a blaze on the roof of The Centre for Health and Wellbeing, a store near Dundas West and Keele yesterday. Two were suffered heat exhaustion and the other was treated for an ankle injury. No word on the cause or extent of the damage yet.
Cops are trying to ID a man seen carrying and loading a gun on the subway. He was seen at various times Thursday and Friday wearing a grey Adidas hoodie and a Blue Jays cap at St. George station. Know this guy? Turn him in.
Finally, Corriere Canadese, Toronto's oldest Italian language newspaper, has ceased publication. The paper was founded by Dan Iannuzzi, a third-generation Canadian also responsible for founding the station now broadcasting as OMNI, and was due to celebrate its 59th anniversary next month.
IN BRIEF:
- Runner who died at Toronto Marathon remembered as ambitious, friendly teen [Toronto Star]
- Fire hero dog among animal hall of fame inductees [CP24]
- More than 23 kilograms of suspected heroin seized at Pearson airport [Toronto Star]
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: K W/blogTO Flickr pool.