Morning Brew: G20 budget woes blamed on timing, AGO in talks with schools, Glee makes an impression, life after City Hall, Ford vs. the province on transit
The staggering G20 bill is being blamed on timing, or lack thereof. Police Board Chair Alok Mukherjee blames a tight timeline for the $124 million bill, saying: "We acted on short notice." Further stating how he had to arrange last-minute flight bookings from British Columbia and Newfoundland for additional police forces. And as any travel agent will tell you, last-minute bookings are a big no-no.
The Toronto District School Board and the Art Gallery of Ontario are negotiating an unprecedented arrangement that would rescue millions of dollars worth of artwork and nearly two centuries worth of artifacts from a dusty vault in a downtown high school. The damaged artworks, which have been hanging on walls or in principals' offices, have been in a Catch-22 for years: without the money to restore or display the treasures, their educational potential was lost. But as Indiana Jones would say: "They belong in a museum!"
With the success of "Glee", the popularity of musical theatre in Toronto high schools has increased ten-fold. The show has catapulted the coolness factor of school choir and young men--not just young women-- are signing up in droves to sing and dance. I bet high school dances are so much better these days--gone are the wallflowers days, these kids actually dance now.
Outgoing Toronto councillors have big plans for themselves after City Hall that include law school, archaeological projects, traveling, pondering, and just sleeping in. You see, Toronto Councillors really are just like you and me, and the majority of university graduates.
Mayor-elect Rob Ford will have his work cut out for him as he attempts to stop David Miller's Transit City of light rail trains on Sheppard, Finch, and Eglinton avenues in Toronto, with a staff of 150 already working full-time and $137 million spent already on the project. Ford's plan is to extend the train from Don Mills station to the Scarborough Town Centre. He said he is "pretty confident" that Premier Dalton McGuinty will transfer the funds committed to the light rail network to extending the subway. But if the province won't agree, then nothing will be built. In other words: same old, same old.
Writing by Brianne Hogan. Photo by thirtyfoursteps in the blogTO Flickr pool.
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