The Week at Toronto City Hall #6

On the table at Toronto City Hall next week: Uber regulations, mini-robots, venomous snakes, a new tree emblem, the future of the ActiveTO bike lanes, 311 service levels, and more. Also, Jim Karygiannis’s campaign finance compliance audit is in. Let’s dive in!

Read the whole thing at City Hall Watcher.

The Week at Toronto City Hall #5

Note: forgot to post this when it came out >_<

Community Council week at City Hall brings lots of new developments, plus local traffic by-laws and falling walnuts. Also, the Planning & Housing Committee discusses laneway suites, the Yellowbelt, and the end of parking minimums (maybe).

Read the whole thing at City Hall Watcher.

The Week at Toronto City Hall #4

Toronto City Council meets next week! On the agenda: Inclusionary Zoning, keeping industrial lands industrial, the winter shelter plan, and your Tree Removal Permit Application of the Month, which sent me down a wild medical and botanical rabbit hole. Plus, meet an ubiquitous but little-known household insect in my Bug Report.

Read the whole thing at City Hall Watcher.

Arachnews: February 24, 2020

The latest Arachnews is up! In this week’s roundup of arachnid photos, art, news, and science:

  • research jobs! upcoming conferences and events!
  • new Zefrank video—and it’s on peacock spiders
  • what to do about mites on your tarantula
  • a wide range of ecology papers (arachnid vs. arachnid, arachnid vs. nature, arachnid vs. self)
  • newly described species, including freaky fossil spiders
    …and more!

Check it out on Medium.

The Cheat Sheet: July 2018 City Council

Livestream · Meeting Monitor

It’s the last Council meeting of the 2014-2018 term. Whew. Here’s a rundown of the sizeable agenda, including addressing recent gun violence, end-of-term concerns, plastic straws, affordable housing of all kinds, planning studies, and the newest addition to the PATH.

Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: July 2018 City Council

The Cheat Sheet: June 2018 City Council

Livestream · Meeting Monitor

Welcome to this term’s penultimate Council meeting! There’s quite a lot on the agenda, including a slew of Integrity Commissioner investigations, laneway housing, improving deadly intersections, and more.

Warning: there are even more swears and opinions than usual. Lately I just feel civility is overrated, you know?

Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: June 2018 City Council

The Cheat Sheet: May 2018 City Council

Livestream · Meeting Monitor

First of all, my apologies for getting this out late, especially because there is a lot of important stuff on the agenda. We’ve got a council appointment (and another departure), the Eglinton East LRT, #TOcore, new affordable housing opportunities, the Seniors Strategy, and more.

Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: May 2018 City Council

The Cheat Sheet: April 2018 City Council

Livestream · Meeting Monitor

This month’s City Council meeting looks like it’s going to be a bit of a clip show. On the agenda: SmartTrack, the Scarborough subway, gambling at Woodbine, a 350-year-old red oak tree, and more. Read on for my overview.

Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: April 2018 City Council

The Cheat Sheet: March 2018 City Council

Toronto City Council meets for the first time since passing the 2018 Budget. On the agenda: REimagining Yonge, winter shelter debriefs, BLOCKCHAIN!11!!!1, billboards, and more.

Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: March 2018 City Council

The Cheat Sheet: January/February 2018 City Council (Extra Special Low Effort Edition)

On this meeting’s agenda: waterfront transit, a Rail Deck Park development proposal, various TCHC issues, self-driving cars, cryptocurrency, a new revenue tool, and, of course, tree removal applications.

Several items were deferred from the last meeting; check my previous write-up. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: January/February 2018 City Council (Extra Special Low Effort Edition)