Giant Sloths


Today’s sloths rank highly among the most surprising creatures of the animal kingdom: living suspended to the Amazon rainforest’s trees, they move about extremely slowly, as if from a world where time flows differently. Yet, only a few thousand years ago, the Sloths family gathered even more extraordinary members, reaching the size of an elephant and weighing over four tons!

Snow Removal
The complaints are piling up at city hall: Toronto residents are angry that the various snowfalls, so far this winter, haven’t been cleaned up as quickly as they hoped. Days later cars and buried on side streets, sidewalks are impassable and many narrow roadways are reduced to single lane traffic. Ice-covered streets have made walking an adventure. For some, a simple walk to the corner store ended in a trip to the emergency room. The city says its getting to the side streets, but not quickly enough for some. What’s your view? Have city crews in Toronto, and across the GTA, done a good job? Should Toronto spend more on new equipment? Should the city get tougher on people who don’t shovel their walks? Send us your thoughts.

Black-focused schools
A proposal to create Canada’s first black-focused public school was approved by Toronto District School Board trustees Tuesday night. They have recommended the creation of an alternative school that features a curriculum and teaching environment oriented around black history and culture. The vote took place after an evening debate on the controversial proposal, which critics believe is a plan for segregation, while supporters believe it could keep more black students in school. Trustees heard from a number of delegations including academics, parents, teachers and students. Some parents have said they want to try something new because the current system isn’t working. As many as 40 per cent of black students don’t graduate from Toronto high schools. Do you think Africentric schools are the right approach? What’s your view?

Climate Change
Now that climate change is an accepted, if inconvenient, truth, how are we coping? David Suzuki takes a first-hand look at how climate change is affecting Canadians where it really hurts: in their ability to make a living.

TTC strike deadline
The union representing almost 9,000 TTC workers has set a strike deadline for Monday morning. Bob Kinnear, president of the union, says talks will continue but unless there’s a deal on the table by 4 p.m. on Sunday, the wheels will be put in motion to shut down public transit in the city in time for the Monday morning rush hour. “We haven’t taken this decision lightly,” union leader Bob Kinnear said at a news conference on Thursday morning, “but, we also cannot continue to subsidize this transit system …” The main obstacle from the union’s perspective is wages and benefits. “We have a substandard benefit package in comparison to, not only city of Toronto workers, but other transit systems within the GTA,” said Kinnear. “There is still time for the mayor to stop this action – everybody knows the mayor calls the shots when it comes to the TTC settlement. He did so in 2005 and he will do so again in 2008.” The TTC carries more than 1.5 million passengers every weekday. In anticipation of a strike, those transit users will now have to make alternate plans for Monday morning’s commute. What’s your view? How do you view the strike? Have you made alternate plans?

rangerrob50: Can I get web traffic fast?
rangerrob50: Can I get web traffic fast?