Rob Ford's Toronto

[pattycakes]

I would imagine it's is related to liability. If the City of Toronto (through Ford) endorses someone who then goes on to commit a crime, is it not possible that,depending on the circumstances, the city could be found liable? I think so.

I don't think it's just the liability the City is worried about. When you present a reference letter from the mayor to a court of law, it could be perceived that the Mayor's office is attempting to influence a decision. I wonder how many letters he's written over the years that HAVE influenced sentencing. His buddies always seem to get fairly light sentences. I don't know if he wrote a letter for Scott McIntyre - his sister's ex - but I read that he was involved in a request for a reduced sentence. Trying to keep all those mouths shut must be quite exhausting.

 

[adma]

Incidentally, given all these letters-of-support, I'm sort of wondering if some of those malvern2 and HaveLove pro-Ford-posting characters have a history of vice, and maybe a still-active one...

Thinking further, the "I'm supporting Ford because he kept me out of jail!" cheering-squad theory *does* sound plausible. Of course, whether said characters actually *earned* their way out of jail is another matter--but it may explain that mush-mouthed way of thinking and articulation among the cheering squad. Because other than their being "enabled" by Ford, there's no there there, Gertrude Stein-ianly speaking.

Yeah, Ford's approach to all of this is like someone running a medical school for those who flunked out of more "reputable" institutions; yeah, he's sticking up for the downtrodden "little guy", but he's creating a network of Dr. Nick Rivieras in the process. Or, it's like those "Bad credit??? No credit??? No problem!!!" used car hucksters.

 

[FraudNation]

I had exactly the same thought. On a related matter, do we know anything about the Mr. Johnson who married Elena Basso and made her Elena Johnson?

Speaking of relates, did the "Jasmine" angle ever get verified?

 

[Dubster]

Speaking of relates, did the "Jasmine" angle ever get verified?

There are many loose threads that haven't been sorted out or picked up on by the media I'd like to believe that this is because newspapers are being careful and double confirming things, but I've heard things about Doolittle which lead me to believe she's not the Woodward-esque brilliant investigative reporter she's making herself out to be. But she has a book coming out so there's that...might be keeping some of the best bits to sell more books.

 

[zang]

-Flat-lined the budget saving Toronto $Billions in the years to come.

The budget has always been balanced. It's law.

-Extending the Subway into Scarborough (instead of Vaughan!)

a) Shovels aren't in the ground yet, and the province hasn't signed off on the city's plan.

b) It has less station coverage than the current SRT, meaning more buses on the streets. In addition, not enough ridership to cover the costs of the maintenance of tunnels, stations, staffing, utilities. In other words, the same kind of fiscal legacy as the Sheppard Line. He may well be known for the long-term bankrupting of the TTC.

-Eliminated the Vehicle registration fee saving taxpayers $Millions

Actually, he only saved car owners money. Those taxpayers who don't drive (~60%) end up paying more in taxes and reduced services.

-Eliminated the 5 cent plastic bag fee (although most retailers are still charging the fee )

Except the point wasn't to create revenue, as none of that money went to the city. It was to encourage consumers to use reusable bags (which it has). It also reduces waste, thus potentially reducing city garbage costs.

Assuming the average Torontonian uses an extremely liberal number of 50 bags a month. That's $2.50 a month. It's less than the cost of a coffee and donut at Tim's, and a reasonable burden for ALL socioeconomic classes. This was nothing to do with money but is pure anti-environment, neo-libertarian ideology. Blind ideology rarely leaves a positive legacy.

-Increased Toronto's profile worldwide through media coverage of his antics (outside of Canada he is the most famous Canadian politician of all time! )

If by profile you mean the pity and empathy of cities around the world, sure. But Ford is not seen in a positive light at all. He's a buffoon and a danger to common sense.

These are just a few things that I can think of off the top of my head.

And none are positive, IMO.

 

[guitarchitect]

There are many loose threads that haven't been sorted out or picked up on by the media I'd like to believe that this is because newspapers are being careful and double confirming things, but I've heard things about Doolittle which lead me to believe she's not the Woodward-esque brilliant investigative reporter she's making herself out to be. But she has a book coming out so there's that...might be keeping some of the best bits to sell more books.

Journalists don't report on hearsay - they write and report about things that can be verified to be true by multiple sources. They are not speculators.

For example, someone might reek of being corrupt - but without verifiable evidence to prove that they're corrupt, you won't hear about it in the paper. With the exception of "Opinion" pieces, newspapers are a vehicle for journalists and the standards of journalism are very high. They could very well be researching all of these stories and more, but you won't hear about them until they can demonstrate them to be true. Look at how long the Globe took to put together the Doug Ford story, despite the fact that it was an open secret that Doug Ford was a drug peddler in high school and despite all of the eyewitness accounts and anecdotes stating such. It was over 18 months and they still went to press earlier than they wanted to!

And of course, there are exceptions - the crack video wouldn't have been reported on, when it was reported on, if it weren't for Gawker blowing the lid off it. Which isn't to say they would not have reported what they saw, but just that the timing would have been different along with the context in which they were reporting the story.

All of that being said, there are plenty of stories that journalists chase the lead to dead ends, and the research/partial reports just get filed away and never see the light of day. It's common practice. From getting a cold call saying "Rob Ford did X" to being able to write in a paper saying "Rob Ford did X" and being able to demonstrate that it's true takes a lot of work. It's a months-long process, and if that months-long process casts enough doubt then you really can't do much with what you've got. Even if you have one guy saying "I was there and I saw it", often times that just isn't enough. And if you can't track down another witness, that's the end of it.

 

[Lansdude]

Nice list, Peepers. Are you trolling us? rofl brother. I sure am glad those bag fees are sitting in my bank account where they belong!

 

[guitarchitect]

-Extending the Subway into Scarborough (instead of Vaughan!)

Which will cost us $1 billion +, instead of a fully-funded LRT line that would serve more people. The ultimate irony is that you won't even be able to eliminate the surface bus transit because of the distance between stations!!

-Eliminated the Vehicle registration fee saving taxpayers $Millions

I'm pretty sure that's $300million + per year that we could have used for things like, say, a billion dollar subway. The property tax increase would be lower if the VRT was kept. In other words, Money doesn't come from nowhere.

-Increased Toronto's profile worldwide through media coverage of his antics (outside of Canada he is the most famous Canadian politician of all time! )

Even though there's no way to verify this, if he is - it's for all the wrong reasons. I don't give a shit about Calgary or what happens there, yet I know who Naheed Nenshi is. Before his election I could have never named the mayor of another major Canadian city despite the fact that I read a lot of newspapers... aside from Ford he's probably the most well-known mayor in Canada, and for all the right reasons - not because he's a blowhard bully involved in one scandal after another. Shouldn't we aspire to the same for Toronto? Or is notoriety really enough, no matter the cost?

These are just a few things that I can think of off the top of my head.[/QUOTE]

 

[Dubster]

Journalists don't report on hearsay - they write and report about things that can be verified to be true by multiple sources. They are not speculators.

For example, someone might reek of being corrupt - but without verifiable evidence to prove that they're corrupt, you won't hear about it in the paper. With the exception of "Opinion" pieces, newspapers are a vehicle for journalists and the standards of journalism are very high. They could very well be researching all of these stories and more, but you won't hear about them until they can demonstrate them to be true. Look at how long the Globe took to put together the Doug Ford story, despite the fact that it was an open secret that Doug Ford was a drug peddler in high school and despite all of the eyewitness accounts and anecdotes stating such. It was over 18 months and they still went to press earlier than they wanted to!

And of course, there are exceptions - the crack video wouldn't have been reported on, when it was reported on, if it weren't for Gawker blowing the lid off it. Which isn't to say they would not have reported what they saw, but just that the timing would have been different along with the context in which they were reporting the story.

All of that being said, there are plenty of stories that journalists chase the lead to dead ends, and the research/partial reports just get filed away and never see the light of day. It's common practice. From getting a cold call saying "Rob Ford did X" to being able to write in a paper saying "Rob Ford did X" and being able to demonstrate that it's true takes a lot of work. It's a months-long process, and if that months-long process casts enough doubt then you really can't do much with what you've got. Even if you have one guy saying "I was there and I saw it", often times that just isn't enough. And if you can't track down another witness, that's the end of it.

These are great points. I think it's interesting how now with everything online and rampant social media that irresponsible speculation among outsiders generates this sense of impatience with the slow, careful movements of traditional media. I also think that there is increased pressure on the media to ramp up efforts in this case because there are major doubts on the earnest efforts of the police in investigating the mayor.

 

[Adjei]

I don't get all this crap about a subway to Vaughan. People make it seem like there's no stations in Toronto. Most of the extension including the stations are in Toronto. York Region also contributed money to the project, so it's not like they didn't put anything into it.

 

[sarnya]

I don't get all this crap about a subway to Vaughan. People make it seem like there's no stations in Toronto. Most of the extension including the stations are in Toronto. York Region also contributed money to the project, so it's not like they didn't put anything into it.

It's an oversimplified way for people to attack David Miller and make Rob Ford look like a hero. I think it was also meant to rile up feelings of jealously amongst people in Scarborough. "If Vaughan gets a subway, why can't we?" If Mammo is still around, I'm sure the opportunist in him will be around for the opening of the Finch West station.

It'll be an enormously positive change for York U students. I'm also curious to see if it alleviates parking chaos at Yorkdale or what impact it has on traffic on the 407 and 400, with a station right there.

 

[dforthandbview]

If Mammo is still around, I'm sure the opportunist in him will be around for the opening of the Finch West station.

I think that's a common trait amongst all councillors, not just Mammoliti. They like openings. They like their names on plaques. They like the spotlight. It's just the way it goes.

 

[ShonTron]

I think that's a common trait amongst all councillors, not just Mammoliti. They like openings. They like their names on plaques. They like the spotlight. It's just the way it goes.

Perruzza gets to have two stations fully within his ward (Finch West, York University) and two stations are just barely outside (Pioneer Village, which will mostly be in Vaughan, and Downsview Park, which will be mostly in Ward 9).

Mammo gets no subway stations!

 

[sarnya]

Perruzza gets to have two stations fully within his ward (Finch West, York University) and two stations are just barely outside (Pioneer Village, which will mostly be in Vaughan, and Downsview Park, which will be mostly in Ward 9).

Mammo gets no subway stations!

True, but hasn't Mammo ranted about wanting a subway along Finch West? He's enough of an opportunist to show up to the opening of the Y-U-S extension and claim he delivered a promise to bring the subway to Finch West.

 

[Franks2000inchTV]

Journalists don't report on hearsay - they write and report about things that can be verified to be true by multiple sources. They are not speculators.

For example, someone might reek of being corrupt - but without verifiable evidence to prove that they're corrupt, you won't hear about it in the paper. With the exception of "Opinion" pieces, newspapers are a vehicle for journalists and the standards of journalism are very high. They could very well be researching all of these stories and more, but you won't hear about them until they can demonstrate them to be true. Look at how long the Globe took to put together the Doug Ford story, despite the fact that it was an open secret that Doug Ford was a drug peddler in high school and despite all of the eyewitness accounts and anecdotes stating such. It was over 18 months and they still went to press earlier than they wanted to!

I would love to know what Robyn Doolittle and Kevin Donovan know but can't report. I'm willing to bet that Doolittle also has a ton of material on "deep background" for her book. Stuff that people won't allow her to publish until after something goes down.

I think the timing of her book is interesting, because I can't see this story being fully told until after things have worked their way through the justice system (i.e. arrests, or release of documents by the courts) so I think it's highly likely that there is a reasonable expectation that this will go down before April.