It’s the last Council meeting till October, and as you’d expect, the agenda is packed. There’s a ton of shelter- and housing-related items, the aftermath of this spring’s floods, banning penguins, terrible motions from Cllrs Ford and Mammoliti, and more. Watch the livestream or follow my tweets.
Category: politics
The Cheat Sheet: May 2017 City Council
I’m back, bitches! On a site where I can say “bitches”! I’ll try not to go overboard. Here’s everything worth caring about on this month’s City Council agenda. Watch the livestream or follow my tweets.
Just a Quick Announcement
I’m moving on from Torontoist.
I’m incredibly grateful I had the opportunity to contribute to a great publication. Torontoist’s editors (and I mean copy editors too! ilu guise) have improved my writing immensely. And a shout-out to the many Torontoist Flickr pool photographers whose work has enriched my articles.
However, I deserve to be paid fairly. And Torontoist doesn’t have the budget for that.1
I’ll be reaching out to other publications that may be a good home for my municipal politics coverage. In the meanwhile, my City Council previews (and everything else) will appear here.
- As you know from Who Pays Writers, Torontoist pays freelancers $15 per article. I believe a fair amount would be about $150-300 per article (depending on length and work involved) and $20 per hour of liveblogging. ↩
Just a Little Sunday Afternoon Rant About Racism In the Media
Because I’m really tired of the clever arguments and coy dancing around double standards, even from my own “side”:
These are the facts as I see them. I am not here to “start a conversation” or provide balance or engage in debate. These are the principles that guide my thinking.
The leading lights of Canadian media are obnoxiously racist. Continue reading Just a Little Sunday Afternoon Rant About Racism In the Media
The Cheat Sheet: April 2017 City Council
If March’s fierce transit debate had you feeling “perced to the roote”, April’s City Council meeting agenda will provide a sweet shower of refreshing new items.
Toronto City Council Agenda Preview: March 2017
Photo by Jae Yang from the Torontoist Flickr pool.
City Council convenes this week for yet another Scarborough transit debate. But there’s much more on the agenda, including energy drinks, the Great Lakes, landlord licensing, the inexorable spread of Shoppers Drug Mart, and more. Read on for our picks.
Read more at Torontoist.
Why I Haven’t Been Writing Lately
…I’m really depressed. Yeah, that’s about it. Yes, it’s taken me several months to get around to writing this, and sorry for any sloppiness because I’m just dashing this off before going to Tim Horton’s because the faint hope of winning a free coffee is the only thing that can get me out of the house today.
Toronto City Council’s 10 Worst Motions of 2016
So I ranked Council’s 10 worst motions from 2016. Check it out at Torontoist.
Toronto City Council Preview: December 2016
From road tolls to water rates, we read Council’s agenda so you don’t have to.
The rate-supported budget—water, waste, and parking—will be passed this meeting. But it’s a regular Council meeting, too! Try to contain your excitement! The Big Ticket The water, waste, and Parking Authority budgets get passed today. (These are separate from the tax-supported budget, which comes to Council in mid-February.) Read our discussion of the rate-supported budget. […]
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What You Need to Know About Toronto’s 2017 Water, Waste, and Parking Budget
Toronto actually has multiple City budgets! Think of this as the secret one that no one talks about.
When people talk about the City budget or the budget process, they usually mean the tax-supported budget. But there’s another budget—or, rather, there are three. The water, waste, and parking budgets are funded by people paying fees for the services they use (and only the services they use). They make up the rate-supported budget, which […]
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