Blog Posts by Marc Weisblott

Toronto Mayor Rob FordCould the biggest city in Canada survive without public libraries, parks or zoos?

The questions shifted from the stuff of partisan rants to political reality this week as a series of reports commissioned from consulting firm KPMG on core services in Toronto were released, which prompted waves of online hysteria until the critics went numb.

Mayor Rob Ford, who promised an expenditure reckoning would follow after he was elected in October, avoided direct commentary on the suggestions of which areas Toronto could most realistically cut.

Instead, he stayed on message for the three days of the monthly council meeting, which included being the only politician in the room who consistently voted against all community grants.

Municipal labour costs are four times higher than they need to be, suggested Ford on Friday, along with the assertion there isn't enough municipal work to justify current budgets.

Buyout packages are reportedly in the process of being offered to 17,000 city workers in

Soda pop hasn't received the best publicity across Canada in recent years. Municipal governments and school boards have increasingly targeted the sale of soft drinks in vending machines.

Rather than trying to put up an argument for the nutritional value of their products, Coke and Pepsi have turned to other strategies to make drinkers feel better.

7UP has touted its new EcoGreen bottle, which will be made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, rather than the six million pounds it had used in the average year. A reduction of up to 30 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions and more than 55 per cent in energy use will result.

And connecting environmental efforts to 7UP, a soda already synonymous with the colour green, can't be a coincidence on the part of its Canadian bottler, Pepsi.

Coca-Cola would have a trickier time if it tried to link its signature product to physical health. But there's always the mental kind.

A survey of 5,000 Canadians, presumably reached through a Coke-related email

Oprah Winfrey has taken command of her namesake cable network. Lacklustre ratings since its New Year's Day debut in the U.S. left her little choice.

But what else was she going to do after leaving her daily talk show behind?

The story might be different in Canada, where Oprah Winfrey Network franchisee Corus Entertainment boasted of its revived fortunes on Thursday.

An advertising rebound benefitted its TV division most of all, Corus chief executive John Cassaday reported to shareholders, which more than compensated for a shortfall in its radio division. And the company has the power of Oprah to thank.

The delayed launch of OWN in Canada built anticipation for its arrival after the U.S. version posted impressive ratings on its first day.

Audience numbers for its celebrity reality shows and therapeutic programming plummeted by the time it launched north of the border in March. But that two-month window was apparently enough time for faith in the venture to grow.

Corus reported a 15 per

Stephen Harper poses with the cast.Citytv has placed a bet on the July 20 episode of "Murdoch Mysteries," which will feature a cameo appearance from a fan of the show, Stephen Harper.

The prime minister's small part as a bumbling desk sergeant has gained a new round of attention for the fourth season of the series, set amidst the murderous climate of late 1890s Toronto, even if it was hardly a secret when it was filmed last October.

Since then, Harper helped steer the Conservatives to a majority government that seemed elusive at the time. Now, it seems more ironic his hockey fan character doesn't recognize Liberal prime minister Wilfrid Laurier when he walks into the police station.

Canadian drama has never been more popular with TV viewers. The three most popular scripted shows in the country last week were all shot in Toronto.

But the popularity of "Combat Hospital," "Rookie Blue" and "Flashpoint" has a lot to do with the fact the better-viewed U.S. shows are in summer reruns. Each show has also benefitted from

The fight for the right of absolutely everyone in Ontario to walk around without a shirt started 20 years ago.

But has the public perception of female breasts really changed as a result?

Gwen Jacob was charged with committing an indecent act on July 19, 1991, the hottest day of that year in Guelph. The $75 fine was overturned at the end of 1996.

Top Freedom Day of Pride, a second annual commemoration of the verdict, has been scheduled for the city's Riverside Park on Aug. 20.

While the first such event took place last summer in the downtown St. George's Square, organizers decided to change the location after some women who wanted to participate expressed a preference for a more secluded spot.

University of Guelph students Lindsay Webb and Andrea Crinklaw were initially motivated to promote the event on Facebook after they felt liberated by a swim in the river with limited textiles.

Still, they were apprehensive about following through in a crowd after they found themselves surrounded

• Calgary is the second most expensive city in which to park a car in North America, according to a Colliers International survey that placed it right behind New York City,  while rates have continued to climb in Vancouver and Kitchener-Waterloo. (CNW)

• Prince William should be crowned the next king rather than his father Charles, according to 60 per cent of Canadians polled by Ipsos Reid, which found that the royal newlywed visit did its part to convince 81 per cent that the monarchy was still relevant. (Postmedia News)

• Joe Fresh has announced for new stand-alone locations in Ontario and Quebec, as part of the effort by Loblaw to expand its apparel brand beyond the supermarkets, one of which will be incorporated into the new Maple Leaf Gardens arena makeover in Toronto. (CNW)

Howie Mandel."Canadian Idol," which was put on hiatus in 2008, might have lasted longer if more viewers were drawn to the judges.

But its panel of music industry insiders, Farley Flex, Jake Gold and Zack Werner, never changed in six seasons. Sass Jordan, the singer of the group, was never going to have the legacy of "American Idol" saviours Jennifer Lopez or Steven Tyler.

Now, with "Canadian Idol" production company Insight on board with Rogers Media to bring "Canada's Got Talent" to Citytv, the window of opportunity has arrived to develop an entirely different cast.

Still, some overlap between "Idol" and "Got Talent" could be inevitable, given how co-creator Simon Cowell, journalist Piers Morgan and renaissance woman Sharon Osbourne have bounced between one incarnation of these talent shows and another.

The success of the American and British versions, along with franchises around the world, has made "Canada's Got Talent" one of the most anticipated shows of the coming year.

With its expansion

Toronto garbage collection.A hot and humid Toronto woke up Tuesday morning to the news it was now the most expensive Canadian city in which to live.

The recommendation the city cut a wide range of services to compensate for a looming $774 million budget deficit didn't help morale. Word of a buyout being offered to 50,000 municipal workers led many to wonder who'd be left to run the city.

Mayor Rob Ford then voted against all of Toronto's community grants programs at a Tuesday morning council meeting, in contrast to the 43 city councillors, who generally believed dollars should continue to flow to community groups and events.

Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, only dissented from the pack when it came to money for services geared toward "vulnerable, marginalized and high-risk communities."

Could it be the gravy train the mayor pledged to stop in his landslide election victory last fall has seen its brake pads overheat?

The review from KPMG consultants, which examined water, solid-waste, transportation and