A $50-billion plan to alleviate gridlock and improve public transit in greater Toronto calls for the construction of new subways, light-rail lines, busways, highway lanes and cycling paths over the next quarter century, wrote the National Post Sept. 24.
The vision unveiled by Metrolinx would build transit links to congested Pearson International Airport from four directions, extend the Yonge-Spadina subway line north [through York University’s Keele campus] into York Region, add express GO Transit service along the busy Lakeshore corridor and create rapid transit lines along Sheppard, Finch and Eglinton avenues, all within 15 years.
- Despite fears the provincial Metrolinx transport authority would propose road tolls in its landmark report issued yesterday, it didn’t, wrote The Toronto Sun Sept. 24 in a story that noted one key to the authority’s plan is the Spadina subway extension to York University and beyond Toronto’s borders to Vaughan Corporate Centre.
Queen’s Park has already pledged $11.5 billion to transit projects and that will be enough to get shovels in the ground as early as next year on ventures like expansion of the Spadina subway through York University to the Vaughan Corporate Centre.
- Toronto City Councillor Doug Holyday said big-shot announcements like yesterday’s are becoming known for their pageantry rather than their follow-through, like the series of high-profile ones surrounding the almost-mythical York University subway extension, wrote The Toronto Sun Sept. 24. "I don’t know where all the money’s going to come from," Holyday said.
- The Metrolinx story and mention of the extension of the Spadina subway through York University’s Keele campus was also reported by CBC Television, CTV, Citytv and CP24
Single-issue candidates are surrogate representatives, says MacDermid
Single-issue candidates have won elections before, wrote the Toronto Star Sept. 24. "Some people have called this a type of surrogate leadership," said Robert MacDermid, a political science professor in York University’s Faculty of Arts, in a story about Brent Fullard, who has waged a battle against the Conservative government’s flip-flop on income trusts for two years. "For instance, (former New Democrat MP) Svend Robinson kind of represented the gay rights constituency. To a certain extent, that’s what (Fullard’s) doing here. He’s being a surrogate representative for people concerned about the income trust issue."
Although it’s a legitimate form of representation, MacDermid said many people would also argue that a representative should be connected to his or her constituency.
Danish newspaper reports phishing e-mail targeted at York students
Some students of York University while checking their e-mail accounts may find fraudulent e-mails that claim to come from individuals of the University but try to obtain sensitive personal details, as per the recent warning from the university officials, wrote Copenhagen, Denmark’s SPAMfighter News Sept. 24, quoting a story in York’s Excalibur student newspaper.
Chris Russel, director of IT Infrastructure in York’s Computer & Networking Services, says spammers have a strong demand for esteemed e-mail accounts like those from Yorkmail because they manage to bypass the Yorkmail users’ built-in spam filters with relative ease [compared to] the filters set up for free accounts.
Meanwhile, it is not clear as to how many people in the university have been affected; however, no private details of faculty and students have leaked as the reply IDs are redirected, according to the officials.
On air
- Andrea O’Reilly, professor in York’s Atkinson School of Arts & Letters and founder & president of the Association for Research on Mothering at York University, spoke about US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, on CBC Radio’s “Ontario Morning” and “Metro Morning” programs Sept. 23.
- Laurence Packer, biology professor in York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, spoke about the mysterious disappearance of bees around the world, on Discovery Channel’s “Daily Planet” Sept. 23.