[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Ontario Place, Scarborough, homelessness, LCBO

• Jennifer Pagliaro at the Toronto Star writes about the history of Ontario Place, intended from the start to be forward-facing.
• The Scarborough subway extension may be delayed by new private funding mandated by the Ontario provincial government, the Toronto Star notes.
• CBC Toronto notes how the City of Toronto has given residents of a homeless encampment under the Gardiner at Spadina the order to vacate.
• Peter Biesterfeld at NOW Toronto reports on how the tragic death of Crystal Papineau in Bloorcourt has encouraged many activists to call for better policies for the homeless, starting with improving the shelter system.
• This r/Toronto thread starts with one poster’s observation about a successful raid on the LCBO by two bold thieves.

[URBAN NOTE] Four Toronto links: Doug Ford, marijuana, Airbnb, Lower Don Trail

• Doug Ford is running for mayor in 2018, hoping to continue Rob’s legacy. (Doug was the more functional of the two.)
• Toronto has cracked down successfully on a property owner in Cabbagetown using their buildings for Airbnb.
• The Lower Don Trail is scheduled to reopen later this month, one year later than originally scheduled.
• The LCBO will be the authorized seller of marijuana in Ontario. I think I largely support this: regulation matters.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• blogTO notes that Disney forced a Toronto lightsaber event to change its name.
• The Dragon’s Tales examines cryolava on Titan.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money notes a new book examining sexuality in the United States during the Second World War.
• The Map Room Blog links to a map of Edmonton by building age.
• The Power and the Money’s Douglas Muir argues that nothing has changed to make him think that the Syrian civil war will end earlier.
• Savage Minds notes some Israeli anthropologists who support the idea of a boycott.
• Torontoist hosts a debate about the LCBO’s future.
• Window on Eurasia notes Russian criticism of Western suspicion of Putin.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• blogTO lets us know about planned subway closures and reports about Sam the Record Man’s sign.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly talks bravely about her recent failures.
• Centauri Dreams speculates about the future.
• Crooked Timber examines the strength of the labor movement within the Democratic Party even if it wanes in the United States at large.
• D-Brief notes a Chinese mechanical chameleon.
• Language Hat shares Winnie the Pooh in multiple languages of the North Caucasus.
• Steve Munro notes the collapse in Union-Pearson Express ridership.
• The Planetary Society Blog updates us on Curiosity.
• Progressive Download’s John Farrell notes a simulation suggesting black holes could be gateways after all.
• Torontoist uses a photo of mine to illustrate an article on the LCBO.
• Towleroad recommends Key West.
• The Volokh Conspiracy notes Amazon Web Services’ support in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

[URBAN NOTE] “LCBO should have pot monopoly, too: union boss”

While I approve of the idea of marijuana legalization, and even think that government licensing is a good idea, I am not at all sure about the suggestion, as reported by Sarah-Joyce Battersby, that the LCBO should be given a monopoly over marijuana sales in Ontario. I am pretty sure the users I know would not approve of the disruption of their links with their existing suppliers.

Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it’s more of the same prohibition.

In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it.

“If they do legalize it, then it’s a drug,” Warren (Smokey) Thomas told the Star. “So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled.”

Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said secure warehouses and staff trained to check ages are some of the reasons the LCBO should be the sole source of legal pot in the province, as it is with most alcohol.

The scheme would also generate revenue for the government to combat the potential social costs. But marijuana advocates say those social costs and the spectre of public danger are overblown, and government-run sales would continue a prohibitionist regulatory approach.

[PHOTO] Absolut Vodka at the LCBO

Happy Pride!

[BLOG] Some Friday links

• Antipope Charlie Stross announces his support of Scottish independence on political grounds. Marginal Revolution’s Tyler Cowen takes issue with him.
• The Broadside Blog’s Caitlin Kelly writes movingly about self-critical voices.
• The Cranky Sociologists’ SocProf shares sociology-related World Cup infographics.
• The Dragon’s Gaze links
• The Dragon’s Tales notes that Homo erectus picked up the herpes virus from chimps.
• The Financial Times‘ The World blog notes that German attitudes towards the United States and the United Kingdom have cooled in recent years.
• Joe. My. God. notes the election of out lesbian Kathleen Wynne as premier of Ontario.
• Language Hat notes the increasing prominence of languages other than English in India, particularly in mass media.
• Marginal Revolution suggests that the economic effects of recessions make people in recessionary economies more inclined towards racism.
• Torontoist notes that many employees of the provincially-owned Beer Store chain have been active on social media in arguing against allowing convenience stores to sell beer.

[BLOG] Some Monday links

• blogTO shares the story of the first LCBOs opened in Toronto after Prohibition. The procedures involved were rather bureaucratic.
• The Dragon’s Tales links to a paper that tries to answer the question of whether Titan’s different seas and lakes are connected by subsurface aquifers.
• Languages of the World’s Asya Perelstvaig recounts the history of Russians in the San Francisco area.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money engages with David Graeber’s left-wing critique of Thomas Piketty.
• Marginal Revolution’s Tyler Cowen doesn’t like Scottish separatism.
• James Nicoll of More Words, Deeper Hole finds Donald Moffitt’s late 1970s novel The Jupiter Theft somewhat better than he feared.
• Personal Reflection’s Jim Belshaw explores (1, 2) the consequences of changes to funding in Australian higher education.
• Peter Rukavina shares an excerpt from a typeset edition of Milton Acorn’s “Poem for the Astronauts”.
• Window on Eurasia notes that Russian moves against Belarus or Kazakhstan are still possible if either country disappoints, and wonders if the Eurasian Economic Union will encourage Armenia to promote Karabakh independence rather than to seek to annex it.
• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell criticizes economists who work without reference to facts.

[LINK] “Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak pledges easier access to booze but not lower prices”

The push to allow alcohol sales outside of provincial government-owned liquor stores that I mentioned in July recently got high-profile support from Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak. As the Toronto Star‘s Richard J. Brennan and Robert Benzie describes, the plan isn’t getting support for other political parties in Ontario, many of which are concerned about the financial consequences for the province if it no longer has a monopoly on sales of alcoholic beverages.

The sale of beer, wine and spirits in corner stores and supermarkets would give Ontarians more freedom of choice, but not necessarily lower prices, says Tory Leader Tim Hudak.

Hudak told reporters Tuesday a Progressive Conservative government would “end the LCBO and Beer Store monopolies” without forgoing the revenue from hefty provincial taxes.

“Let’s let the private sector into the alcohol business, let’s have some more competition,” he told reporters outside an LCBO outlet in Toronto’s Liberty Village that refused to let him hold his news conference inside.

[. . .]

In 1985, then Liberal premier David Peterson promised beer and wine in corner stores but could not get the measure passed through the legislature. In 1995, then Tory premier Mike Harris pledged to sell the LCBO before backing off due to the billions in annual proceeds.

Last year, the LCBO contributed about $1.6-billion to provincial coffers.

Hudak addressed social concerns that some — like MADD Canada — might have with easier accessibility to booze, by noting there aren’t “riots in the streets” in other more liberal jurisdictions.

The Beer Store’s Jeff Newton said while consumers assume such changes would mean lower prices, Ontario’s high tax rates on alcohol prevent that.

“Their assumption is automatically that means prices are going down based on their experience from shopping in the corner store … in Florida or Buffalo,” he said.

[. . .]

MADD Canada, which crusades against drunk-driving, fears dire consequences if booze is easier to obtain.

“We have always been opposed to it simply because the more availability there is to alcohol, the more the consumption and the higher the risk of alcohol-related harm,” said MADD’s Carolyn Swinson.

[PHOTO] Inside a LCBO

Inside a LCBO
Originally uploaded by rfmcdpei

If you’ve ever wondered what the inside of a LCBO store–the only chain allowed to sell alcoholic beverages in Ontario, and its affiliates–here you go.