NY university names David Miller a city-building fellow

CTV Toronto - NY university names Miller a city-building fellow - CTV News
From One Toronto:
Rob Ford, a Mayor without Vision
Toronto residents should be proud to have our former mayor, David Miller, recognized as a city builder. From Transit City, to cleaning up the city, to working on poverty reduction to sustainability, Miller had vision. Contrast that to our current mayor Ford who, as he promised during the election, has worked to dismantle almost every part of Miller’s vision for a sustainable city.

CTV Article:

Former Toronto mayor David Miller has been named to a prestigious
post by a New York university that hopes to harness his city-building
expertise.

Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) announced
Tuesday it had named Miller, Toronto's mayor from 2003-2010, as a Future
of Cities Global Fellow.

"Mayor Miller’s unique insight will guide us as we explore the
interplay between intelligent city infrastructure and economic,
environmental and social sustainability," NYU-Poly Provost Dianne Rekow
said in a statement.

The engineering school, which is an affiliate of New York University,
said Miller will deliver lectures, design courses and provide strategic
advice.

NYU-Poly spokesperson Kathleen Hamilton said Miller will also be
working with New York University, which has its own urban studies
programs, to ensure the two institutions' efforts are properly
integrated.

Miller will continue to be based in Toronto, she said.

 Miller said in a statement that the school is uniquely placed "to
help its students – and the world – find solutions to pressing urban
issues that can improve livability, prosperity and opportunity for all."

While serving as Toronto's mayor, Miller led the C-40 Cities Climate Leadership Group from 2008 to 2010.

During his term, Toronto made many steps forward to reduce its carbon
emissions, such as green roofs for transit stations and recladding
older highrises to conserve energy.

Toronto received a low-carbon leadership award from the C-40 and other honours, noted the NYU-Poly release.

Since leaving office, Miller has returned to his original career as a
lawyer. He practices with Toronto's Aird & Berlis LLP, where he
specializes in international business and sustainability.  Miller had
been a partner in the firm before entering municipal politics in 1994.

He has worked as a consultant on creating green urban jobs and has been appointed to an advisory role with the World Bank.

Can we have our old mayor back please!?

Where's the Gravy Train Now, Rob?

Toronto posts $275 million surplus - thestar.com
Mihevc credited the windfall to Miller’s restraint program.

“One thing it shows is that the fiscal management of the Miller administration has been good,” he said.

“Despite the many comments during the election about how city hall
is being mismanaged, we did have a hiring freeze in place and we
directed department heads to manage in a tight way. This shows that city
hall is operating efficiently and effectively.” - unlike what Rob Ford keeps saying - liar.

David Miller: Proud of what we've accomplished

David Miller ‘proud of what we’ve accomplished’ - The Globe and Mail
Contrary to opinions of Ford, Smitherman, Rossi and most reporting in the mainstream media, David Miller has done a lot of good for Toronto. Read the link for more.

Joe Pantalone is the only mayoral candidate that is planning on building and going forward from this point on what Miller has accomplished. The other candidates want to take us back and tear it all down. Vote for Joe to continue forward.

More links with info on David Miller's legacy:
Toronto Star - Miller's Exit Strategy

OneToronto.ca - Toronto is our home. Don't Trash Talk It.

Toronto Mayoral Race: Continue To Improve or Tear It All Down

Ivor Tossell blog: David Miller's Toronto

Toronto Mayoral Race: Miller endorses Pantalone

This morning Mayor David Miller proudly proclaimed his support for Joe Pantalone as the next mayor of Toronto. Miller told an excited audience in Scarborough that "people want this city to evolve. Joe Pantalone is the only candidate prepared to face our challenges and address our need for public transit and community services. He's the one who's going to help people build a 21st century city for themselves and their families."

Yesterday PricewaterhouseCoopers declared that Toronto is now the most livable major city in the world. Toronto is today known as the greenest city in North America.

The progressive Miller-Pantalone administration has seen remarkable achievements. Major new projects are underway: work has finally begun on the Waterfront and the West Donlands, Regent Park is in the process of being rebuilt, BMO Field has opened and proved a great success, and a subway is finally going to reach York University. Still to come is Transit City, a European style network of light rail lines that will revolutionize transportation in our city.

Miller noted that in sharp contrast to the "candidates who want to tear this city down" Joe has spent a career working with people from "every political belief and every neighbourhood" to build consensus and improve our city. Joe is the only candidate that has the vision and skills to build the Toronto we want.

Miller endorses Pantalone in race for mayor, Mihevc endorses Smitherman - 680News
Excerpt:
"I've watched this mayoral race with incredible frustration and distress
because what I've seen is candidates who want to tear this city down,
and that's not what we need in Toronto," Miller told reporters.

He
said Pantalone is the only candidate who stands apart from the others,
who he said are campaigning on the same platform -- negative campaigns
that suggest Toronto is broken and needs to be fixed.

Miller said
Pantalone is the only city-builder among the candidates and the only
one who can lead the city in the right direction.

Toronto Mayoral Race: Continue to improve or tear it all down?

NOW Magazine // News // David Miller’s living legacy
Contrary to what the mainstream media, Rob Ford or his wannabes want you to think, things improved in Toronto with David Miller as mayor.
This article in NOW reviews some of those improvements.

So, come election day ask yourself this: Do you want to undo these improvements and make things worse in Toronto? - then vote for Rob Ford or one of his wannabes (Smitherman, Rossi or Thomson). Or, do you want to keep these improvements and build on them, continuing to make improvements? - then vote for Joe Pantalone.

UPDATE
The Conference Board of Canada released a report reinforcing the fact that Toronto is doing well and rebounding quickly from the Recession:
Following a 2.3 per cent decline in real gross domestic product (GDP) last year, Toronto’s economy will bounce back with growth of 4.7 per cent in 2010. Manufacturing output, which had been declining since 2005, is expected to post double-digit growth in 2010. At the same time, the city’s construction sector has benefited from government stimulus spending and strong housing starts. Retail sales, which posted a rare decline last year, are on track for solid growth this year.
David Miller is quoted in the Toronto Sun, responding to the report:

“This is very positive news for Toronto,” Mayor David Miller said Wednesday.

“Through business-friendly city policies like our official plan, low development charges and cuts to commercial taxes, Toronto is undergoing an unprecedented building boom.”

G20 Toronto - City council shames themselves and the city by commending the brutal, illegal and inappropriate police work

City council commends “outstanding” police G20 work - thestar.com
The worst of the bunch was mayoral candidate Rob Ford who said that there should be no review of the police actions at all:

“I don’t think there should be an inquiry or review,” of police
actions, “none whatsoever,” Ford said.

“Our police force was more than polite, more than accommodating

with the protesters,” in the face of taunts and worse, he added.

“If I was chief, I would have moved in Saturday afternoon and

cleaned house,” instead of waiting until Sunday to make mass arrests,
Ford said. “I think our police were too nice. I would have had a
zero-tolerance approach,” he said, adding he realizes councillors can’t
tell the police chief what to do.

Summary of police actions (that the council just commended):

Saturday - police were ordered to stand down and allow about 100 vandals smash windows and burn police cars, and to let the cars continue to burn for a long period of time; basically allowing unchecked property damage into the thousands if not millions of dollars, and to allow the safety of the public to be threatened by allowing police cars to burn for long periods of time.

Saturday & Sunday - after the vandalism, the police brutally assaulted hundreds of innocent, peaceful demonstrators and illegally arrested and detained them. While detained, many were not allowed a phone call, water, or food or medical assistance. They also robbed these people of personal property.

It's time to re-think re-electing any of these blind fools on the council come Fall.

UPDATE SEPT 1, 2010
Here is a list of the councillors who voted in favour of "To commend the outstanding work of Chief Bill Blair, the Toronto Police Service and the Police Officers working during the G20 Summit in Toronto (MM51.10)": Ainslie, Ashton, Augimeri, Carroll, Cho, De Baeremaeker, Del Grande, Feldman, Filion, Ford, Grimes, Hall, Heaps, Holyday, Jenkins, Kelly, Lee, Lindsay Luby (Chair), Mammoliti, Milczyn, Miller, Minnan-Wong, Moeser, Moscoe, Nunziata, Ootes, Palacio, Pantalone, Parker, Perruzza, Rae, Saundercook, Shiner, Stintz, Thompson, Walker

Further reading:

Toronto
Council Votes to Silence Dissent

Clowns
to the Left & Jokers to the Right: the G20, the Police & Civic
Democracy

Sorry Fillibluster, your comment was eaten by Blogger errors.

Here it is:
"I have emailed my city councillor expressing my dismay at this shameful
endorsement of brutality. I would urge anyone who live in Toronto to do
the same. All city council emails are here:"
http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp

14 Essential G20 Videos as displayed by Torontoist

The Fourteen Essential G20 Videos - Torontoist
Visit the link, watch the videos.

G20 Toronto Protests - Government in Denial About the Police Brutality and Illegal Arrests Over The Weekend, and Protest right now against Police Brutality @ Nathan Phillips Square

Torontoist:
David Miller and our need to know
Torontonians woke up this morning wanting answers. Most of the protests this weekend were peaceful. Most of the
protesters this weekend were peaceful. And yet. Mass arrests. Detainees denied water for hours and kept in cuffs for
more than a day. Assaulted journalists. Toronto's first ever use of tear
gas.
...

In a stunning moment of denial, a stunning moment of incomprehension,
or a stunning failure of courage, David Miller betrayed Toronto today
by failing to call for an independent inquiry into security and police
procedures during the G20.

Calling for a inquiry is not a confession of wrongdoing but an
admission that there is are pressing matters—matters whose significance
extends beyond specific individuals involved and to the broader
community—which demand concerted, coherent, independent, and public
investigation and analysis.
...

Mayor Miller: "I thought the Toronto Police Service acted with admirable
professionalism in dealing with those violent protesters," Miller said
this morning. And they did. That says nothing about how police (perhaps
of several services) dealt with entirely non-violent protesters. From
all appearances police exercised far less restraint Sunday than they did
Saturday, which is striking because the violent protest was on
Saturday, not Sunday. Police actions on Sunday appear, from the outside,
to have been pre-emptive and motivated by fear rather than any imminent
threats.
...
Dalton McGuinty is
refusing to answer questions about the expanded powers police were
granted for the summit. That's why we need an inquiry, which will help
us all better understand what happened, and will help both politicians
and police authorities understand what changes may need to be made in
security procedures for the future.

Amnesty
International is calling for one. Street medics
who provided care this weekend are calling for one. So is the Toronto
Star.

Torontonians woke up this morning wanting answers. Torontonians
deserve answers, and we deserve a mayor who will fight to get them.

See also:

Toronto Star: Call Inquiry on G20 Mayhem

Protest against Police Brutality

And, the police brutality and disregard for the law (illegal arrests and inhumane treatment) and civil rights over the weekend has given rise to a new protest today outside the Toronto police headquarters at 40 College St. What began at about 5:30 as a few hundred, has grown to about 1,000+ people by 6:30pm

The protesters marched from the police station on College, down University, along Queen to Nathan Phillips Square.

From Toronto Media Coop:

At Nathan Phillips square #g20report http://tweetphoto.com/29728810 Monday June 28 2010 7:54pm

A person just got snatched behind me the entire rally just stopped and
demanded his release #G20report (he got released) Monday June 28 2010 7:47pm

CBC showed up with their own security. #wtf? #g20 #g20report http://twitpic.com/20tuvm Monday June 28 2010 7:46pm

http://twitvid.com/S35TP - A quick
video clip of the crowd protesting police brutality #g20 #g20report #fb Monday June 28 2010 7:34pm

Toronto Star: Hundreds Rally Outside Police Headquarters

Activists Naomi Klein and Judy Rebick are expected to speak at the rally

Banked Sick Days Frozen, Toronto To Save $Millions (MSM Misleads Public In Toronto On Issue of Banked Sick Days)

TheStar.com | GTA | Banked sick days in city offer
The title, todays poll on the Star's site, and the article seems to stress the point that workers will continue to bank sick days. This is very misleading.
In the article, you can see that new workers will not be able to bank sick days and that current workers will have their banking of sick days frozen to what they have already. This means that they will no longer be able to bank any more sick days from here on. The Star reported on the freeze of sick days yesterday as well

Here is the quote from the article:
New employees will not have the option of banking unused sick days. Current employees can cash out their banked days at a discount and move into a new short-term disability plan, or may have their sick bank frozen to draw on for days that may not be covered by the new plan.

And the Globe and Mail completely leaves out this point and claims that they can continue to accrue credits

The MSM has been attacking the unions stance and the mayor David Miller's handling of the issue from day one. They don't like the mayor and they would like to see a more conservative person in the mayor position. So, they are doing all they can to smear the current mayor. But, he has done a good job in handling the strike. The city has been far cleaner than during the last summer garbage workers strike (which went on for a shorter period). And, the city has managed to stop the workers from continuing to bank new sick days - which is what the city wanted all along. This will save Toronto millions of dollars.
The headline, more realistically should have been Banked Sick Days Frozen, Toronto To Save $Millions

UPDATE
Okay, so the details are finally released.

Current employees can either continue to collect and bank sick days (the collecting is not frozen at this point for these people, contrary to what was reported in the Toronto Star over the past 2 days)
Or
They can cash what they have in now and switch to the new short-term plan (which does not include banking sick days)

New employees will be enrolled in the short-term sick leave plan and will not be able to bank sick days.

Here is a link to the agreement.

Still, this phases out the banking of sick days and it seems like a number of current employees will opt for cashing out and joining the short-term plan.

Prior to the strike, the unions did not offer this, nor, would they agree. If the strike had gone to binding arbitration (like, if the workers were legislated back to work by the province - which probably would have happened with a more conservative mayor), the city would not have gained this phasing out of sick day banking, but would have been stuck with it for all employees, current and new.

So, hats off to Miller and his team for accomplishing this phase out for the city.