Today was a busy day. More work from my apartment broker client, and then a lot of work getting the house ready for a shrimp boil. We hosted over a dozen people this evening and I think the gathering was a great success. Good food, and good friends. It doesn’t get better than this.
I was going to write more on this blog today, but I received an interesting anonymous tip from a Transit Toronto reader. That reader had managed to get ahold of some pictures of a mockup proposed TTC LRT vehicle (not the public legacy streetcar mockup that was unveiled in November this year), and which they shared them with me. It’s an interesting design that shares some similarities with the legacy streetcars, but also some clear differences, and I posted these pictures over at Transit Toronto.
Also interesting on the transit front was a clearly retaliatory move on the part of the Ford Administration to try and fire TTC General Manager Gary Webster, following council’s decision to favour LRTs over Ford’s unfunded subway plan. I continue to shake my head over Ford’s approach, here. It is remarkable in its bullheadedness, vindictiveness and in how self-defeating it is. Whether Ford likes it or not, Toronto councillors took their seats after winning a popular vote, just as Ford himself has done. And whether Ford likes it or not, council and the mayor’s office share power, and if Ford wants to pass his agenda, he has to build a majority out of these free-thinking individuals who have almost none of the party discipline you typically see at Queen’s Park or in Ottawa. I think that any rational person can see that one of the least effective means in trying to build a working majority out of this council is to bully it into submission. If Ford continues his antagonistic approach, council will harden against him, and he will have no one to blame but himself. His own approval numbers suggest that the public are seeing this and understand this as well.
I learned of this news on Twitter on Friday, and it’s being discussed at length over at Steve Munro’s blog. It’s well worth a look, as I think Steve has a good handle on how this could play out if Ford continues to be bullheaded, and council builds on its newfound spine.
Anyway, back at home, today was a good day. The house is clean, we’ve had good company, and the kids are happy and asleep. And I think I need to head in that direction as well. Till tomorrow, then.