Toronto in review for the week ending April 27, 2012
Welcome to the 'Toronto in review' podcast, a weekly roundup of interesting events and news out of City Hall.
Earlier today, Mayor Rob Ford and Councillors Denzil Minnan-Wong, Paul Ainslie and Vincent Crisanti launched two mobile apps that allow residents to report potholes to the City quickly and easily. The 311 mobile apps capture location information and allow a picture to be included as part of the reporting process. The mobile apps route the service request through the Open311 Application Programming Interface direct to the Transportation Services division.
It has been a busy ceremonial week for Toronto Fire Services...
On April 23 and 24, over a period of two evenings, the Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine presented 650 Cardiac 'Save' Awards to City of Toronto Firefighters. From August 2009 to December 2011, these 650 Toronto firefighters contributed to the successful resuscitation of 197 patients who were initially reported as "vital signs absent". The only hope of surviving a cardiac arrest is with quick cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation intervention. Thanks to Toronto firefighters, survival has improved. In collaboration with the Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine and the RESCu research team at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto Fire Services continues to participate in medical research.
On Wednesday, April 25, Toronto Fire Services held its annual Rescue and Merit Awards, to recognize civilians and firefighters who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Among the recipients are a young girl who was eight years old when she ran to call 9-1-1 as her father tried to put out a burning vehicle in an underground parking area, and two school teachers who used a defibrillator on a student when he collapsed in the gym. As well, a firefighter and a dispatcher involved in emergency responses to a fire at 35 Shoreham Dr. will be recognized, as will a firefighter who, while off duty, came to the aid of an injured Toronto Police constable.
On Saturday, Councillor Norm Kelly (Ward 40 Scarborough Agincourt), Chair of the Parks and Environment Committee, and about a thousand volunteers will plant native trees and shrubs in Toronto's Milliken Park. This event is part of Trees Across Toronto, the City of Toronto's annual tree and shrub planting event. Toronto has approximately 860,000 ash trees and it is expected that the Emerald Ash Borer beetle will kill most of them by 2017. Ash trees currently make up about 8.4 per cent of the city's tree.
There is just over a week left to nominate a fellow Torontonian for a City of Toronto Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards. If you know someone who is improving opportunities to participate in the social cultural economic, recreational and political life of Toronto, consider nominating them. The five categories are: Aboriginal Affairs, Access, LGBT Issues, Women's Issues and Race Relations.
In this bicentennial year of the War of 1812, Fort York National Historic Site will commemorate the 199th anniversary of the Battle of York with a series of family events on Sunday, April 29. Activities will occur throughout the day, including the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps performing period displays of a naval shore gunnery drill and 19th-century seamanship, drill and musket demonstrations.
Meetings coming up at City Hall next week:
- the Board of Health meets at City Hall on Monday
- the Sign Variance Committee and the Civic Appointments Committee both meet at City Hall on Tuesday, as does the board of the Toronto Transit Commission
- the North York Community Council Arena Board Nominating Panel and the Bid Committee meet at City Hall on Wednesday, and
- the Budget Committee will meet at City Hall on Thursday
- there are no meetings scheduled on Friday
Weekend road closures
There are no scheduled weekend road closures.
Finally, there is still time for residents and business owners to provide input into the City's public consultation on holiday shopping hours in Toronto. The current regulations in effect in the City of Toronto were adopted in 2006 as a temporary measure. City Council is now seeking to develop a long term policy.
Thanks for listening to 'Toronto in review'.
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