Breaking stories before a summer break

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Jul 21, 2022

A newly-filed U.S. civil suit claims Daryl Katz, the billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers, paid a teenage ballet dancer $75,000 in exchange for "her sexual favours." Katz denies the allegations.

cbc.caCivil suit accuses Edmonton Oilers owner of paying teenage ballerina for sex | CBC NewsA new U.S. civil suit alleges that Daryl Katz, the billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers, paid a 17-year-old ballerina for “sexual favours.” Katz denies the claim, and says the $75,000 was for a film project the dancer was pitching to his Hollywood production company.

Sage Humphries is the central character in a civil court counterclaim from a dance teacher and his former-ballerina wife, who’ve been accused of sexual abuse by multiple women. The pair are admitting to a consensual “throuple sexual relationship“ with an 18-year-old Humphries, but they’re alleging that the Edmonton Oilers owner paid her $75,000 for sexual favours when she was 17. (Daryl Katz says the money was for a film project.)

The price of his independence

The Canadian Press Politics @CdnPressPoli

Toronto MP Kevin Vuong fined for failing to report sex assault charge to Naval Reserve bit.ly/3RPcDwS via @jacobserebrin

bit.lyToronto MP Kevin Vuong fined for failing to report sex assault charge to Naval Reserve | Globalnews.caNaval Reserve spokesman Lt. Robert Moore says Vuong at a summary trial in Montreal admitted to the charge of failing to report an arrest.

A fine of $500 for Kevin Vuong was due to him not disclosing to the Royal Canadian Navy that he was charged with sexual assault in 2019. While those charges were withdrawn before he ran for the federal Liberals in Toronto, the party dropped Vuong—but then he won nonetheless.

They’re putting the Polish back into the name of a Toronto street festival. After an outcry over the Ronscesvalles Village BIA eliminating the ethnicity from its September event name, pressure from sources including Poland’s consulate general led to a reversal. “Polish” will rise again from small print.

A show-stopper gets stopped

Canadian Actors’ Equity put producer Garth Drabinsky on its “Do Not Work” list after the U.S. union took the same measure upon the Broadway closure of Paradise Square. The story of what went wrong, published by Variety, includes lawsuit details like a crew member severing their finger. But the Civil War musical is still hoping to go on tour next year:

Evan Solomon @EvanLSolomon

Our dear friend @ryhicks insisted we see @ParadiseSquare in NYC-sadly closing Sunday. It’s remarkable, stunningly relevant, powerful and the audience was rapturous. We met the writer Larry Kirwan. Produced by Canadians and now facing legal issues—still, it deserves a longer run👏

“Why I had a facelift at 80: BARBARA AMIEL argues she can live out her winter years however she damn well pleases… She just had to convince a surgeon the op wouldn’t kill her!” Only the Daily Mail does headlines like these, atop a piece that coincides with the U.K. paperback release of her 2020 memoir.

Finally, some bronzing for Bookie

Dave Bookman is now the focus of a Heritage Toronto plaque set for unveiling outside the Horseshoe Tavern. It was funded with donations to mark his legacy at the club, where he booked acts concurrent with being on the radio. Indie88, where Bookman worked for six years before he died in 2019, made this video: