The Prince of Pot returns
Marc Emery walked across the Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge and back into Canada Tuesday, August 12, after a five-year stint in a U.S. prison for selling pot seeds. He crossed the border at literally 4:20! Medpot advocate Matt Mernagh reports that reefer-induced madness ensued as Emery was welcomed by wife Jodie (pictured) and dozens of friends and supporters.
Yorkville lynching chic
American actor/singer Rhona Bennett, visiting Yorkville on the weekend, noticed a storefront display at Eton of Sweden and posted a photo of it on Facebook with these words: “Ummm… Do you see??? What are they advertising for the Eton shop in Toronto, Canada??” A shirt sits in a suitcase between two rope nooses, surrounded by cotton plants. The Urban Alliance on Race Relations called the shop window “nothing short of a lack of sensitive consideration for the brutal, exploitative and destructive legacy of plantation slavery.” Eton issued an immediate apology, which read in part: “That our Canadian team did not immediately recognize that the display could in any way be associated with such a sensitive subject reminds us that training is needed for our team in order to avoid anything like this again in the future.”
Photo by Rhona Bennett
Digital currency exchange
Toronto becomes the bitcoin capital of the world after Calgary-based CAVIRTEX launches BTMs (that’s ATMs for bitcoins) in six Gateway Newstand locations.
The week in numbers
$367,000
Police Chief Bill Blair’s payout when he leaves the force next April. According to media reports, the provisions of his contract are such that he would not be entitled to the compensation unless he applied for an extension. So did he really want to keep the job when he asked for the extension? “Even if he wanted to continue as chief but thought he might be turned down, applying for the extension was to his benefit, even if the turndown was a significant slap in the face,” is how one policing observer puts it.
$25,000
Fine handed the Raptors by the NBA for alleged tampering by the team’s global ambassador, Drake, during his OVO Fest show. The NBA says Drake’s comments about Oklahoma City Thunder bball star Kevin Durant, who was at the show, amounted to a public recruiting pitch. Drake’s peeps are keeping mum: “No comment at this time, but will certainly let you know if anything changes.”
27
Number of motor vehicles spotted in the new bike lane on Adelaide – nine of them actually moving – by NOW’s Ben Spurr during a 45-minute field study on Thursday, August 7. On Tuesday, the city announced it would do as council originally directed and put up flexible-post barriers along the lane.
Compiled by NOW Staff with files by Matt Mernagh and Ben Spurr
