Events in toronto: Morning Brew: Rob Ford waits to talk garbage, replacing Doug Holyday, a Sammy Yatim graphic, reclaiming the waterfront, fighting ferry line-ups, and saving a Banksy

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Morning Brew: Rob Ford waits to talk garbage, replacing Doug Holyday, a Sammy Yatim graphic, reclaiming the waterfront, fighting ferry line-ups, and saving a Banksy

toronto four seasons Rob Ford says he'll start talking garbage, or, more specifically garbage contracts, next year when he enters full election campaign mode. Ford says he plans to outsource trash collection east of Yonge Street in his second term, likely as a campaign plank against Olivia Chow. The mayor blames the delay on tough union contracts, but according to the Star no such obstacle exists. Is Ford stalling on a 2010 election promise to boost his hopes in 2014?

Toronto City Council will have to decide how best to replace former Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday when it returns from summer break. The former Ford ally beat out councillor Peter Milczyn to become Toronto's only PC MPP in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore byelection last week. Rob Ford has already appointed cllr. Norm Kelly as his deputy but the vacant seat at city hall must be filled by appointment or byelection. Which do you think would work best?

With so many eye-witness reports, videos, and perspectives, exactly what happened on a westbound Toronto streetcar the night Sammy Yatim was shot by police is pretty murky. In the hope of making the story clearer, the Star has put together a graphic that combines the various public accounts of what happened.

Should everyone have full access to Toronto's waterfront? Full public access to the shore is an elusive target tangled up in land deals with various property owners, clubhouses, and industries. As a result, users of the existing 46-kilometre waterfront trail must weave behind properties and along busy arterial roads in order to stay off private land. As you might expect, some land owners with a slice of the lake for themselves want it keep it.

The misery of the jam-packed ticket line at the Toronto ferry terminal could become a thing of the past (or at least a rarity) next year. The city has awarded a $521,157.81 contract to a company that specializes in fare payment for an automated ticket system that will include vending machines and online sales. At peak times, the ticket line at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal can take an hour to navigate.

A rare Banksy original, one of only two surviving from the artist's 2010 visit to Toronto, is being saved by a condo developer. The stencil of a police officer holding a balloon animal, illegally painted on the wall of a former RCMP headquarters at 90 Harbour Street, will be worked in to the new Harbour Plaza development, according to developer Menkes.

Today is the first day of a two-week closure of King and Spadina for streetcar track replacement work. The TTC is replacing all of the rails in the complex intersection as part of ongoing maintenance. No vehicles will be allowed through the building site until later this month. Be prepared to find another way.

Finally, one Parkdale man is taking a personal stand against sugar. Jason Holborn, a self-confessed sugar monster, used to consume three to six cups of the sweet stuff every day before deciding to make a change. Now, Holborn has been unsweetened for 220 days and kept his Elm Grove Ave. neighbours abreast of his process with a large, distinctive window sign. The target is 365 days, then maybe 500.

FROM THE LONG WEEKEND: