Two months ago, I became aware of the supposed City of Toronto initiative to support the arts in this city . It is a good idea in theory: create a website where all the arts groups could promote their work in one place.

I had but one question: what took them so damned long?

In 1999, I had attended an arts conference at that concrete shell known as Metro Hall. I did not belong to an arts council or marketing firm. I was just a chick with an idea: why don't you do an arts database online?

Six years later we have Live with Culture, a website that is slick in its simplicity; that is, until you read the fine print. It says on the bottom right hand corner of the main page "This site is owned by Toronto Culture and developed in collaboration with the Toronto Arts Council Foundation."

What it does not say is the fact this website has been in existance for at least two years (more or less). Called Toronto Arts Online (which is STILL up, FYI), it was hosted on Toronto Arts Council website with little to no fanfare.

Luckily for you, gentle reader, this info geek thought something was fishier than the Toronto Harbour when all the promotion and hoopla came to pass. So I called the City only to find out that the City has bought the website from the TAC.

So we taxpayers have paid not once but TWICE for a project that was a long time in coming.