Closures to come after June 24 school board meeting
By Kris Scheuer
Four school pools have been thrown a lifeline. And 13 are safe. Sixteen others are on the critical list. Another seven have been pronounced dead.
That’s the picture being painted by a Toronto District School Board report released today. School trustees will decide the fate of the 40 pools tonight at a board meeting.
LIFELINE
Four pools recommended to be added to safe list:
North Toronto CI
Malvern CI
West Toronto CI
George S. Henry Academy
SAFE
13 pools the board voted to save back in April:
Allenby PS
AY Jackson SS
Deer Park PS
Glenview PS
Harbord CI
Keele PS
Lawrence Park CI
Newtonbrook SS
Northern SS
RH King Academy
Riverdale CI
Stephen Leacock CI and
Westview Centennial SS
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Blue flags taken down from city’s seven cleanest beaches
By Kris Scheuer
The city’s beaches are open to help beat the summer heat. But beware: water testing has been suspended as a result of the city strike.
“We are not testing water at the beaches,” Lisa Tjoeng, a City of Toronto spokesperson, confirmed June 23. “They can swim at their own risk.”
There are lifeguards on duty at the beaches, she said.
On June 10, the city officially opened 11 designated beaches for the season, including seven with international Blue Flag ratings.
The seven Blue Flag beaches are: Kew-Balmy, Cherry, Woodbine, Hanlan’s Point, Gibraltar, Centre Island, Ward’s Island.
But those flags will not be flapping during the strike because some key criteria is not being met, according to Environmental Defence, which monitors the Blue Flag program in Canada.
“Blue Flag certification requires that, amongst other criteria, washroom facilities are available on beaches, garbage is picked up frequently and water quality tests are conducted at least weekly,” states a June 23 press release from Environmental Defence. “Currently, beach water quality testing is not being performed, public washrooms are locked and garbage removal is reduced.”
The labour disruption that began at midnight the morning of June 22 impacts not just water testing at beaches, but also daycare, summer camps, garbage pick-up and pools run by city workers.
For more information on what is and is not open during the strike visit http://www.toronto.ca/labour-relations/index.htm.
(Originally published online June 24 at http://www.mytowncrier.ca) |
Kris Scheuer 