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Kathleen Wynne Warns Ford About Transit City Plans - Local News :: Local News
Kathleen Wynne Warns Ford About Transit City Plans The McGuinty government seems to be pushing back at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's unilateral declaration that Transit City is dead. Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne thinks the decision to scrap the whole plan would risk wasting time and money. Wynne refused to say that the provincial funding would be cancelled if Transit City stalls, and that's an 8.15 billion dollar plan. She's willing to discuss revisions but in her words "any plan that comes from the city has to come from the full council and the transit commission." Ford addressed Wynne's concerns Friday morning on NewsTalk 1010's Jerry Agar Show.
Councillors Want Say in Transit City's Future In his first day as mayor on Wednesday, Rob Ford came out to say that Transit City was over. He spoke with the TTC and says he plans on speaking with Premier Dalton McGuinty. And this has some councillors frustrated.
Councillors Want Say in Transit City's Future - Local News :: Local News
Catching some of his own supporters off guard, Mayor Rob Ford announced a surprise tax freeze Wednesday on his first day on the job. "Toronto taxpayers expect the wasteful spending and the annual tax increases to come to an end," Ford said to reporters packed into his second-floor office at City Hall. "There will be no tax increases next year and there will be no major service cuts next year. We're going to keep the budget the exact same as this year. Property taxes will not go up this year."
Tax freeze comes as surprised
TTC puts Sheppard East LRT on chopping block
TORONTO - Rob Ford's choice as transit boss wants to pull the emergency brake on building the Sheppard East light rail line. "Yes, there is no question that we want to be making smart decisions around transit investment," Councillor Karen Stintz said Tuesday, one day after being confirmed as the mayor-elect's nominee to chair the Toronto Transit Commission. Ford campaigned on a promise to convert the Transit City Sheppard LRT into a subway and is already pressuring the province - which is putting up all the money for the construction of Sheppard and other Transit City lines - to switch gears. "Mayor(-elect) Ford was very clear in his campaign and the people in Scarborough were very clear in how they voted," Stintz said. "I think we do need to take that seriously and adjust our plan as we can."A police officer was praised this week for spotting a suspicious vehicle and knocking on Jessica Lloyd’s door the night she was abducted and later murdered. “She did more than a lot of officers would have done,” Belleville police Chief Cory McMullan said. McMullan’s remarks beg the question: What other officers have done? Forget it, drive on?
When police are guilty of FIDO — forget it, drive on
November 12th, 2010 Gene Robinson, the world’s first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, has announced that he will be leaving his post after seven years in service. The Episcopal Church elected Robinson the Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, making history in the process.
First Openly Gay Bishop Leaves After Death Threats
The Ontario Power Authority has revamped its cold weather energy saving tips after getting caught offering ridiculous suggestions such as turning down the air conditioner to save money in winter. As revealed by the Sunday Sun, the OPA's fall and winter online seasonal power-saving advice included cleaning and replacing the air conditioner filter, closing the curtains during the day and using a clothesline. Those are all warm weather tips that provide no help to the million and counting Ontarians on smart meters who, during the late fall and winter months, pay top price for electricity in the morning and evening. The updated web page now advises consumers to: n Install a programmable thermostat set at 20C when at home and 18C when sleeping or away. n Check for gaps in weather-stripping around doors, fireplace dampers, attic hatches and air conditioners.
Finally, the right tips on how to cut electricity costs
Many transit agencies in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton will honour the sacrifice of the veterans of Canada’s wars by offering vets and their travelling companions free rides on Remembrance Day, Thursday, November 11 . Transit agencies that have specifically announced the free service include Barrie Transit , Brampton Transit , GO Transit , MiWay , the Toronto Transit Commission and York Region Transit . The agencies encourage vets to wear uniforms and medals on Remembrance Day or bring some other form of identification to let drivers and fare collectors know that they are veterans. The transit agencies also offer free rides to the families of deceased veterans. Families should bring some document to identify them as a family member of a veteran who has passed away.
Free rides for veterans on Remembrance Day, November 11 - Transit Toronto - Weblog
Transit vehicles "stop and stay" on Remembrance Day, <br/ >November 11 - Transit Toronto - Weblog
The drivers of Toronto Transit Commission , Durham Region Transit , MiWay , York Region Transit and other Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton transit vehicles pause their buses, streetcars and trains at 11 a.m. on Remembrance Day, next Thursday, November 11 . The drivers “stop and stay” at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month for two minutes to honour the veterans of Canada’s wars. (Ninety-two years ago, at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the Allies and Central Powers signed the Armistice — the formal document ending the First World War.) The stop and stay allows passengers and drivers two minutes to reflect on the sacrifices that members of the Canadian armed forces and other Canadians have made for peace.
Miller Props Up Transit City, Stays Mum On Election Outgoing mayor David Miller is popping his head out of the rabbit hole for the first time since Monday's election, making a speech to the East York Rotary Club. While Miller wouldn't comment on the election, he continued to prop up the Transit City plan in his final days in office, something mayor-elect Rob Ford has been eager to slam down in favour if subways.
Miller Props Up Transit City, Stays Mum On Election - Local News :: Local News
TORONTO - Metrolinx dropped a heartless legal letter in a Toronto man's mailbox this week advising him he must leave his home - the place where he tended his dying wife - to make way for the new GO Transit/airport rail link. Pietro Valeriani, 64, said he's not against progress but he had been told all along that his property would not be touched, and then the regional transportation body sent him a cold form letter out of the blue advising him that he has to sell. An emotional Valeriani, who has lived in the home for 20 years, came to Queen's Park Thursday to plead his case and that of eight of his neighbours who got identical letters. "I'm depressed, mad...who's going to buy back all my memories," a tearful Valeriani said. "I'm a stupid immigrant but these people are more stupid than me."
Callous letter from Metrolinx
Questions Raised About Province's SIU - Local News :: Local News
Questions Raised About Province's SIU Some serious questions being raised in a Toronto Star investigation into 20 years of cases investigated by the Ontario SIU. It found the agency has conducted at least 34-hundred investigations into police and laid criminal charges in only 95 of them. The newspaper claims only 16 of those officers were convicted of crimes. Only 3 have been sent to jail.Province will refund part of HST charged on poppies - Local News :: Local News
Province will refund part of HST charged on poppies Veterans groups are going to get a refund after they were charged the new HST on poppies. Bob Butt with the Royal Canadian Legion says the group used to pay only GST on poppy orders. But he says the supplier told the group the company had to charge the full HST this year. So Butt says the Legion had contacted the provincial and federal governments about the issue.Police want to scrap TTC special constable program
TORONTO - The TTC's special constables unit reached the end of the line, Toronto Police say. But the Toronto Transit Commission wants to keep its special constables and is wondering why the police want less cops on the system instead of having both its special constables and the new transit patrol unit. Chief Bill Blair will present the service's position Thursday to strip the special constables of being designated cops on TTC property. The police are overseers of the special constables, used on the TTC, the University of Toronto and Toronto Community Housing. But the police aren't targeting the U of T or Toronto housing special constables.Hamilton police not only want to see prepayment made mandatory at gas stations in this city, but across all Ontario. During Monday night’s meeting, the Hamilton Police Services Board approved putting forward the recommendation to the city — which will decide if and how to create the bylaw — and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. Police decided to examine the issue back in June because of the number of pump-and-dash incidents, 57 per cent of which are never resolved, said Sergeant Treena Ley, deputy chief executive officer. But after issuing a survey to gas station operators in August she said she was alarmed to learn that many of the incidents led to some level of violence, from fights to traffic collisions. There were 271 reported gas-and-dash incidents reported between July 2009 and July 2010.