A superior court judgement has backed the STM’s desire to open its bid for new metro cars to foreign bidders in the face of Bombardier-Alstom’s insistence that no one but them be allowed to bid.
Radio-Canada’s done a nice thing here: it’s linking back to earlier stories on the issue, and it’s even posted the full text of the court judgement on the same page as the story. This is how to do online news!
Now, can we get those new metro cars built before the existing ones crumble to dust?
Possibly useful list of things open and closed for Canada Day. Also via Rue Frontenac.
In pondering yesterday’s killing of Agostino Cuntrera Daniel Renaud reminds us that Paolo Renda is still missing. Both men were known to be part of the Rizzuto clan. More about the clan and yesterday’s shooting.
One of the people rounded up in the U.S. this bizarre Russian spy story took the identity of a Montrealer who died as a small child.
Last minute to tell the city what you think they should do with the old Empress cinema (Cinema V) in NDG. In a different part of town, a cinema of similar vintage is also starting to crumble.
Where are the private developers? Both these theatres are potential gold mines and if this were a big American city, someone would have turned them into trendy martini bar theatres. There is no vision in this city in the private sector, probably linked as well to an ignorance and possible even self-loathing of the value, both financial as well as cultural of this old architecture.
Meanwhile, the city spends 8 million dollars on an underground vacuum / garbage collecting system in the Quartier des spectacles and no one says a peep. There’s plenty of municipal money out there, it’s just being spent in one place.
So where is this supposed vacuum-based garbage collection system of which Carlos speaks anyway? It’s the second season of the newfangled QdS and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it yet. The last I’d heard, implementing the system would’ve required the cooperation of Complexe Desjardins for the “compacting room” (or some such thing), and their cooperation was not forthcoming. Know anything about this, Kate?
A chef from Pied de Cochon is bringing more Montreal food attitude to New York, specifically to Queens. NYTimes link.
Possibly useful house moving checklist for the many folks changing address this week.
When it rains heavily, sometimes raw sewage still gets into the river. The city’s going to be constructing four massive holding tanks to stop this from happening.
West Island mayors want to see better train service to their towns given priority over an expensive airport shuttle. I’m with Jason Prince on this: why not do both at the same time?
A Saint-Léonard shootout has killed one and injured another. Nothing else is out yet about the incident, which took place an hour and a half ago.
Later note: Two men died, and they appear to have connections in the underworld.
Despite denials it turns out that two funnel clouds seen over town yesterday were indeed baby tornadoes and it’s lucky they didn’t get any bigger.
On the other hand, I can think of a few prominent folks here who could use a brain or a heart.
Quebecor has just quit the Quebec press council, which is more or less journalism’s professional guild here. It’s tantamount to saying that we should no longer regard any of their media content as news.
The city plans more bike racks for Berri-UQÀM but I’m wondering who leaves their bike all day to the tender mercies of the folks who frequent that area. There are also meant to be lots more Bixi docks in the area.
Do you think the person who wrote this travel piece ever set foot here, or was just told to rephrase a PR handout from Tourisme Montréal?
Later note: Fagstein tells me the writer actually went to school here.
“agstein tells me the writer actually went to school here.”
Ya, but did they learn anything?
It’s incredibly annoying to read about the arrogance with which Westmount mayor Peter Trent is refusing to allow access to the MUHC’s Glen project via the Westmount side. Ever.
I suppose Westmount residents will expect to use this hospital once it’s completed?
Projet Montréal is also concerned about pedestrian access to the new hospital. From what I heard on CBC, once you’re outside Vendome metro station, as it stands, you’ll have to trudge across a parking lot to get to the building.
Later note: Background and diagrams from Andy Riga.
After reading that Gazette piece, could there still possibly be anyone out there who thinks the forced mergers (which were 50 years overdue) were a bad idea?
Time to anchluss Westmount.
I hope this loser isn’t representative of all Westmounters. Whats a douche…
The big weather we just had has brought down power lines and trees and caused some blackouts and flooded some streets.
Councillors from the Plateau and Rosemont say they’re in favour of a legal level crossing over the tracks between their boroughs. The petition mentioned is here.
It looks pretty definite that SNC-Lavalin will be making a rigid roof for the Olympic Stadium for a tasty $300M.
Interesting. SRC had a report last night – Roger Taillibert was in town as they’re making a documentary about his work, and he vehemently decried the plans, stating that the structure simply isn’t designed to carry the load of a fixed metal roof. Unless the roof is supported by some other means (a probably-ugly cantilevered external structure, or creating new independent steel columns that go straight down through the stadium’s O, blocking sightlines) I don’t see this happening as easily as the OIB people thing it can be done.
Radio-Canada offers two walking tours to go with the Miles Davis exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Andy Riga notes the hundredth anniversary of the first powered flight over the city, and the exhibition of a replica of the plane that was used. Above: a clipping about the plane from the Montreal Standard (via the Bibliothèque’s Massicotte albums site).
Heritage and architecture boffin Luc Noppen says we’ll have to think up new uses for our many unwanted church buildings if they’re not all to fall to the wrecker’s ball.
Spacing looks at Montreal through a skateboarder’s eyes.
Ever lived on a street where skateboarders like to practice their moves? 2003 ruling or not, the repeated crash of the board against the ground can be annoying. On the other hand, I think the city has to back off and allow more boarding around places like the Parc de la Paix. Skateboarders are using the park, not misusing it, and there should be more such places and more tolerance.
Authorities complain (reasonably) that too many young people are fat and idle, but then try to shut down skateboarders. That’s just not reasonable.
Note to Spacing: I can’t think of anything much more futile than trying to sell Toronto suburb buttons on Spacing Montreal.
Your note to Spacing is hilarious :)
Well, if they don’t want them, it’s their loss.
An exhibit on the project to bury electrical cables in Montreal – a project that started a century ago and still isn’t completed – opens tomorrow at the Pointe-à-Callière museum. It’s a reminder that, on a certain scale, some civic projects have to be given time.
Metro gives us their list of the best ice cream spots but they don’t include Sorbetto (on de Castelnau) or Ripples across from Schwartz’s or Les Glaceurs on Saint-Sulpice…
I don’t even eat ice cream. But all the good places also have sorbets these days, and the guy at Sorbetto also has espresso and World Cup soccer games.
Low river levels are a danger to pleasure boaters but also put shipping at risk.
naftee 09:24 on 2010/06/30 Permalink
“Good day for bangs” ?? As in, good day for banging? Who thinks up these titles :(
Kate 11:38 on 2010/07/01 Permalink
I want to blame Fagstein but I don’t know whether that’s fair.