Four LRT Lines up by 2020
A Transit City billboard, circa 2011. Image: http://transit.toronto.on.caIf all goes according to plan, four new light-rail transit lines will be fully functioning in Toronto by 2020, making Transit City, a campaign that Mayor Rob Ford vehemently fought against, a reality.
Metrolinx, a provincial agency, unveiled the detailed construction plans in a report on Tuesday, and will vote on the recommendations this Wednesday. Among the updates are plans to expand construction on the Sheppard East LRT line in 2014, for a 2018 start date, a Scarborough RT replacement line, a Finch West LRT line, and an Eglinton Crosstown LRT line.
Splendid. .
Harold the Jewellery Buyer Survives Attack
He may not be known as the “Cash Man,” but famed Toronto jeweller Harold “the Jewellery Buyer” Gerstel survived an armed robbery on Friday, leaving him with 10 stitches and a black eye.
Gerstel, the owner and public face of his Bathurst St. store, was pistol-whipped and beaten by the hand of a gun by a man claiming to be interested in buying rings. The 29-year-old suspect, Khan Facey, had “built up an element of trust” with Gerstel through previous store visits, but this one was certainly different.
Facey has been charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and careless storage of a firearm.
Mitt Romney Secures Nod as Obama Sings on Fallon
After winning five key primaries in states like New York and Pennsylvania, it looks as though Mitt Romney has the 2012 Republican presidential nomination all locked up. Similarly, on the same night that Romney made remarks to supporters in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. President Barack Obama was live on television, on stage with Jimmy Fallon, singing and “slow jamming the news.”
Obama spoke to the live UNC student audience about student loan interest rates, in a smooth Al Green-like tone he displayed earlier this year with a soulful rendition of “Let’s Stay Together.” Oh, Barry. Is there anything you won’t do?
Yertle the Turtle is Banned by a BC Classroom
Dr. Seuss’s renowned book, Yertle the Turtle, has been deemed “too political” for a B.C. classroom.
In the midst of a B.C. educational labour dispute over keeping political materials out of schools, a Prince Rupert, B.C. teacher has taken this to mean that turtle stacking does not meet district standards of acceptable content. Sure, the book has a strong political allegory to a child well-versed in 1930s and 1940s European politics, but so does The Butter Battle Book!, technically. Yikes.
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Joanna Adams writes for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at†@nowstarringTO.
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