When schools are less safe than strip clubs
The manager of Filmores Gentleman’s Club could pass for Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce in disguise, but the latter continues to defend a back-to-school plan that avoids mandatory shots. And while the Blue Jays have returned to Toronto, announcer Buck Martinez reportedly continues to do Sportsnet play-by-play from Florida because he remains unvaccinated.
A week of election speculation
Adam Vaughan says he’s done with running for office after six years as a Liberal MP, which followed eight years on Toronto city council and a journalism career. Also opting out of Team Trudeau is Ottawa MP Karen McCrimmon, citing health reasons. And their colleague William Amos won’t seek re-election after two undressed incidents.
Bill Davis dead at 92. The premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985 is fondly remembered for blandly driving the Big Blue Machine for the Progressive Conservatives. Patrick Brown, the current mayor of Brampton, was among the protégés paying tribute. Davis’s authorized biographer, Steve Paikin, delivered an in-depth obituary.
A new kid’s publishing mogul
The succession drama at Scholastic Books made great copy after the sudden death of sole owner Dick Robinson Jr., who left his ex-wife and two sons out of his will in favour of his low-key romantic partner Iole Lucchese. It’s led to more digging into how Lucchese went from a Toronto-based book club associate editor to owning it all:
Cineplex has brought pronouns to bylines. Margaret Atwood (she/her) and Atom Egoyan (he/him) are part of Star Cineplex, a reboot of the movie magazine unveiled with a membership program. The stories are homegrown, whereas the Star Week TV guide was recently the subject of complaints to the public editor for highlighting U.S. Olympians in its cheap imported content.
Finally, the world’s hottest garb
Tokyo 2020 was forecast as potentially embarrassing for Canada based on the similarly delayed attention to Levi’s jean jackets designed for the closing ceremony. But the Hudson’s Bay product ended up raising more concern due to the stifling heat, as these Canadian tuxedos ultimately drew rave reviews with help from the wearers:
