How Much Do Ward 18 Councillors Cost Us?
City Hall website has expense reports online for all councillors. To view at this link
Of peculiar interest is that Ana Bailao expensed $1022.40 for Christmas cards on Dec 31, 2010. Peculiar because there was some (valid) outrage at her predecessor, Adam Giambrone, doing the same when he knew he was leaving office.
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So far Ana's expensing pales in comparison to big spender Adam Giambrone: (2010 filing)
These are just a few (low) highlights...
* $1,559.40 for Christmas cards July 7, 2010 (Note: TTC paid 50% of this expense, does not include postage later expensed)
* $35.62 ??? Christmas cards- cutting July 30,2010
* $236.25 to print 50 copies of Dyan Marie's Bloor Magazine July 22, 2010
* $2,299.50 French training
* $ 150 Gala Ticket for Abrigo
* $30 for Dream Team fundraiser
* $60 Ticket for Chilean Relief Fundraiser
* $500 donation to GTA Canadian Italian Youth
* $50 Ticket to Sri Lankan gala
* $125 Ticket Portugese Gala Dinner
* $ 4.90 Office supplies Grand and Tory
* $23.19 Toronto Life magazine subscription
* $1,050.56 almost all spent on taxis
* $1,175 for gardening services at constituency office, expensed in October, 2010
.... Has anyone looked at his constituency office? Outside is about a 6x6 foot area, mostly gravel, with a small bench and some ratty looking weeds.
Also of interest is the geographic locations of services chosen. Adam picked:
Zap Courier 400 Creditstone On L4K 3Z3
Reliable Flyer Distribution Services 66 Laird Drive
Media Works (to print newsletters) 2010 ellesmere Rd Scarborough
Imperial Graphics (Christmas cards) 30 Eastern Avenue
.... Shouldn't a local councillor shop locally?
Here are Adam Giambrone's 2010 expenses: Amounts shown are net of GST.
Staff Salaries & Benefits Budget Overage $ 0.00
Office Equipment and Supplies $ 804.32 Invoices
Transportation, Kilometrage & Parking $ 1,050.56 Invoices
Printing, Postage & Courier $ 14,340.29 Invoices
Telecom Services $ 0.00
Constituency & Business Meeting $ 158.95 Invoices
City Hall/Civic Centre Rent & Constituency Office Expenses $ 11,114.84 Invoices
Advertising & Promotion $ 500.77 Invoices
Professional & Technical Services $ 1,359.76 Invoices
Office Travel $ 9,686.29 Invoices
Other Expenses $ 9,846.00 Invoices
Donations Received for Community Events $ 0.00
Other Recoveries $ -2,876.70 Invoices
Expense Using Personal Funds $ 0.00
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NOTE: This does NOT include anything Adam expensed via the TTC ! Odds are that Adam was the biggest spender on city council.
City hall policies on Councillor expense is HERE
During his last four months in office, ex-TTC chairman Adam Giambrone spent an obscene $9,307.08 jetting around the world attending seemingly obscure transit conferences....Giambrone ran up $135,504 tab before quitting TTC
Showing posts with label Giambrone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Giambrone. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Why We Need to Banish Adam Giambrone
Definition of BANISH
transitive verb
1: to require by authority to leave a country
2: to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance
3: to clear away : dispel
— ban·ish·er noun
— ban·ish·ment \-nish-mÉ™nt\ noun
Examples of BANISH He was banished for life. The dictator banished anyone who opposed him.
-------
Here we are about a year after Mr. Selfish Raw Ambition, ADAM GIAMBRONE, self-destructed (caught in his self-serving public lies by a city who couldn't care less about his sex life) in his bid to run for Mayor of Toronto. He soon thereafter publicly stated he would not run again for ward 18 Davenport City Councillor (much to the delight of most of his constituents) ..... and still we keep hearing of his brazen actions to bilk the city of every possible dime, jetsetting around the world pumped up by his own inflated ego, like some middle east dictator-for-life.
The latest?
Giambrone ran up $135,504 tab before quitting TTC weblink Toronto Sun
"Outgoing chairman Adam Giambrone racked up $135,504 in travel, staff, phone, texting, and self-promotion costs on the TTC dime before he stepped down from his duties at the Red Rocket last November, say documents obtained by the Toronto Sun.,,,In actual fact, Giambrone went over his chairman’s little-known budget of $125,000 by $3,344.92 — a concern pointed out by chief general manager Gary Webster in a Feb. 23 memo to the current slate of commissioners...All of that travel occurred during Giambrone’s final four months in office. He also left his duties as councillor with a $58,111 severance cheque:
And the Toronto Star story on this in which new TTC Chair Karen Stintz (probably in vain) hopes to recover some portion of his overspending.
What a comfort to those few still blindly Giambrone acolytes that he was not suffering financially while he tweeted from exotic locations about how the new city council should fix the TTC - which he drove into the ground in many ways himself with his blind love of technology and deaf ears to customer service concerns.
Angry? Yes I am. I campaigned for this bozo in his first election because I thought that his coming from an NDP background meant he might have some sympathy and compassion for the many people on low income in his relatively poor ward. I was wrong - so very, very wrong. In the next election, having experienced his total lack of concern for low voting areas of his ward and his office's non-response to mundane concerns like garbage collection - I asked him why I should vote for him.
"Because Miller will make me Chair of the TTC", was his verbatim response to me.
Incredulous, I asked how that would help me or his constituents in the ward. He babbled on about how great David Miller was and didn't answer the question. (A clue: The man might hear but does not listen, he was often called someone with a 'tin ear' by others).
Following that election in which he won easily over a poor campaigner in Simon Wookey ("Let the Wookey Win" slogan was the only highlight of that disasterous campaign), Adam became - if possible - even more inflated with himself. I went to seek help in bylaws related to feral cats and animal control. His answer:
"That's not my area. I'm the TTC". Actual fact. Verbatim.
Then, as most of Toronto who was paying attention, there was the Lansdowne narrowing fiasco in which Adam just did what he pleased with no consultation. Fact. I live there. Despite hordes of local constituents who, probably or the first time in their lives, took to the street to protest - It didn't faze him in the least. Later several of these constituents took the bold and ultimately fruitless step of taking the city to the courts in an attempt to get someone to listen to concerns. With limited constituent financial resources versus a multi-billion dollar city set of lawyers, it was hopeless. Yet, residents did get a last kick of the can at an "after the fact" consultation meeting of sorts.
And let's not forget the other Giambrone created disaster in ward18 - Taking away Dundas Street parking, which damaged people and businesses in the area. It was only recently restored by new ward18 City Councillor Ana Bailao, who got on board a little late on the issue - announcing she would do this September, 2010 in the last days ofthe election campaign. (Better late than never and the right thing to do)
Weblink to story
Later on, similar to the "As Rome burned, Nero fiddled" analogy, when the ire of the general public about poor TTC customer service and reliability came up, Adam spent his time crooning over technology and travelling around the world to learn about transit (Again: why is the TTC still seen as a place to can put your political friends who have zero transit experience?... but I digress).
To the point: INTEGRITY is a quality of character and a word Adam Gambrone clearly does not understand. When anyone with an ounce of respect for others knows he or she is not going to continue in the job, they stop bilking the system and making significant plans with impacts and consequences that others will have to deal with. You don't poison the well after you've had your fill.
Yet that is what Adam (and David Miller) did in the final days of their reign of power. Contracts with expensive cancellation fees that committed the city to a course of action that was still being debated in an election campaign were signed. The city was left on the hook for the Giambrone-Miller wishlists.
TTC Lease "...leaving the transit agency on the hook for up to $2-million to break the deal"
Stintz trying to renegotiate deal (Another's comment: Personally, I feel it was unethical and akin to "scuttling the ship" when the departing TTC Chair (Adam Gee-I-am-a-boner) inked this deal.
Now Adam is on sabbatical in various exotic locales across the planet (not entirely true as he is doing his archeologist job no doubt drawing pay for that to go along with his City of Toronto Cash Windfall), and some political pundits say he will yet make a comeback, perhaps at another level of government.
Where in the World is Adam Giambrone Dec 2010 Toronto Star article.
Oh, how I wish we could pass an old style banishment decree for this dangerously deluded man.
---
Something I blogged in March 2010: Given that our current councillor has had his judgement called into question numerous times now on a whole range of issues (lies to the media and public, expensing taxi rides when as TTC Chair he should be promoting public transit, getting caught expensing a personal taxi ride as council business, utilizing city resources to put on his own "On The Rocket" show (is it a campaign on the city dime?*), failure to focus on addressing enormous customer dissatisfaction about TTC service... what am I missing? ... why should his abandoned constituents support any bid for his re-election?
---
And Free French lesson for Giamborne paid by taxpayer Over $6,000 news story
---
And November 8, 2010 this came out Quit Early Still get paid
---
Another example of Adam Giambrone's total lack of respect and his couldn't care less nature: His website is still active, even today, saying he is still the ward18 City Councillor. I and others have sent him emails asking him to take it down or change it, with no response. Perhaps this is a matter for the city integrity commissioner or ombudsman or city lawyers?
---
No doubt I am missing some other examples of Adam Giambrone's total disregard for constituents (like his using TTC resources as his own self-promotional TV show or his overuse of taxis to confirm the TTC slogan "Take The Car"), but his biggest legacy is how he set the stage for the return of the conservative right to city hall with the Fordites and "Respect for the Taxpayer" that pretty much echoes what Giambrone did not have.
As I posted back in early 2010 about Adam:
Mr. Giambrone didn’t answer a question about whether he intends to reimburse the transit agency in his message, which came from his old City of Toronto e-mail account. His signature still says he is chair of the TTC and councillor for Ward 18, despite his not standing for re-election last fall after lying about an affair."
... Seems to me he is continuing to play the system. Why hasn't city hall shut down his accounts and done something about his still claiming to be Ward 18 City Councillor? Is this guy delusional (still) ?
So maddening thisis!
"Mr. Giambrone had three different pots from which to draw money: The $125,000 TTC budget he overspent; his $50,445 councillor budget; and a separate budget for TTC corporate travel."
Pigs at the trough come from the NDP too I guess.
* Update: TTC to formally ask Giambrone to pay for going over budget "The Toronto Transit Commission is writing to its former chair, Adam Giambrone, asking him to repay the $3,344.92 he overspent on his annual $125,000 office budget....It shows that the former city councillor for Davenport spent $71,917 on staffing, $9,152 on his voice and data plans on his BlackBerry, $2,891.75 on ground transportation and $2,097 on renting an office at City Hall. He also spent $20,807.64 on his glossy “Chair’s Report” and $16,175 on an accompanying video. Mr. Giambrone spent more. than $5,000 on other items, such as newspaper subscriptions and hosting a delegation from Milwaukee...Mr. Giambrone, who did not seek re-election, spent an additional $7,159 on business travel, including a trip to San Antonio for the American Public Transportation Association three weeks before the election. "
transitive verb
1: to require by authority to leave a country
2: to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance
3: to clear away : dispel
— ban·ish·er noun
— ban·ish·ment \-nish-mÉ™nt\ noun
Examples of BANISH He was banished for life. The dictator banished anyone who opposed him.
-------
Here we are about a year after Mr. Selfish Raw Ambition, ADAM GIAMBRONE, self-destructed (caught in his self-serving public lies by a city who couldn't care less about his sex life) in his bid to run for Mayor of Toronto. He soon thereafter publicly stated he would not run again for ward 18 Davenport City Councillor (much to the delight of most of his constituents) ..... and still we keep hearing of his brazen actions to bilk the city of every possible dime, jetsetting around the world pumped up by his own inflated ego, like some middle east dictator-for-life.
Hip Hop and Squeals From "BOOM" to....
"BUST" - Career nosedives: Lessons from Adam Giambrone Feb 12 2010 Globe and Mail
A link to Adam Giambrone's Apology and also a Toronto Sun storyCaught by His Own Deceits
---The latest?
Giambrone ran up $135,504 tab before quitting TTC weblink Toronto Sun
"Outgoing chairman Adam Giambrone racked up $135,504 in travel, staff, phone, texting, and self-promotion costs on the TTC dime before he stepped down from his duties at the Red Rocket last November, say documents obtained by the Toronto Sun.,,,In actual fact, Giambrone went over his chairman’s little-known budget of $125,000 by $3,344.92 — a concern pointed out by chief general manager Gary Webster in a Feb. 23 memo to the current slate of commissioners...All of that travel occurred during Giambrone’s final four months in office. He also left his duties as councillor with a $58,111 severance cheque:
And the Toronto Star story on this in which new TTC Chair Karen Stintz (probably in vain) hopes to recover some portion of his overspending.
What a comfort to those few still blindly Giambrone acolytes that he was not suffering financially while he tweeted from exotic locations about how the new city council should fix the TTC - which he drove into the ground in many ways himself with his blind love of technology and deaf ears to customer service concerns.
Angry? Yes I am. I campaigned for this bozo in his first election because I thought that his coming from an NDP background meant he might have some sympathy and compassion for the many people on low income in his relatively poor ward. I was wrong - so very, very wrong. In the next election, having experienced his total lack of concern for low voting areas of his ward and his office's non-response to mundane concerns like garbage collection - I asked him why I should vote for him.
"Because Miller will make me Chair of the TTC", was his verbatim response to me.
Incredulous, I asked how that would help me or his constituents in the ward. He babbled on about how great David Miller was and didn't answer the question. (A clue: The man might hear but does not listen, he was often called someone with a 'tin ear' by others).
Following that election in which he won easily over a poor campaigner in Simon Wookey ("Let the Wookey Win" slogan was the only highlight of that disasterous campaign), Adam became - if possible - even more inflated with himself. I went to seek help in bylaws related to feral cats and animal control. His answer:
"That's not my area. I'm the TTC". Actual fact. Verbatim.
Then, as most of Toronto who was paying attention, there was the Lansdowne narrowing fiasco in which Adam just did what he pleased with no consultation. Fact. I live there. Despite hordes of local constituents who, probably or the first time in their lives, took to the street to protest - It didn't faze him in the least. Later several of these constituents took the bold and ultimately fruitless step of taking the city to the courts in an attempt to get someone to listen to concerns. With limited constituent financial resources versus a multi-billion dollar city set of lawyers, it was hopeless. Yet, residents did get a last kick of the can at an "after the fact" consultation meeting of sorts.
And let's not forget the other Giambrone created disaster in ward18 - Taking away Dundas Street parking, which damaged people and businesses in the area. It was only recently restored by new ward18 City Councillor Ana Bailao, who got on board a little late on the issue - announcing she would do this September, 2010 in the last days ofthe election campaign. (Better late than never and the right thing to do)
Weblink to story
Later on, similar to the "As Rome burned, Nero fiddled" analogy, when the ire of the general public about poor TTC customer service and reliability came up, Adam spent his time crooning over technology and travelling around the world to learn about transit (Again: why is the TTC still seen as a place to can put your political friends who have zero transit experience?... but I digress).
To the point: INTEGRITY is a quality of character and a word Adam Gambrone clearly does not understand. When anyone with an ounce of respect for others knows he or she is not going to continue in the job, they stop bilking the system and making significant plans with impacts and consequences that others will have to deal with. You don't poison the well after you've had your fill.
Yet that is what Adam (and David Miller) did in the final days of their reign of power. Contracts with expensive cancellation fees that committed the city to a course of action that was still being debated in an election campaign were signed. The city was left on the hook for the Giambrone-Miller wishlists.
TTC Lease "...leaving the transit agency on the hook for up to $2-million to break the deal"
Stintz trying to renegotiate deal (Another's comment: Personally, I feel it was unethical and akin to "scuttling the ship" when the departing TTC Chair (Adam Gee-I-am-a-boner) inked this deal.
Now Adam is on sabbatical in various exotic locales across the planet (not entirely true as he is doing his archeologist job no doubt drawing pay for that to go along with his City of Toronto Cash Windfall), and some political pundits say he will yet make a comeback, perhaps at another level of government.
Where in the World is Adam Giambrone Dec 2010 Toronto Star article.
Oh, how I wish we could pass an old style banishment decree for this dangerously deluded man.
Something I blogged in March 2010: Given that our current councillor has had his judgement called into question numerous times now on a whole range of issues (lies to the media and public, expensing taxi rides when as TTC Chair he should be promoting public transit, getting caught expensing a personal taxi ride as council business, utilizing city resources to put on his own "On The Rocket" show (is it a campaign on the city dime?*), failure to focus on addressing enormous customer dissatisfaction about TTC service... what am I missing? ... why should his abandoned constituents support any bid for his re-election?
---
And Free French lesson for Giamborne paid by taxpayer Over $6,000 news story
---
And November 8, 2010 this came out Quit Early Still get paid
---
Another example of Adam Giambrone's total lack of respect and his couldn't care less nature: His website is still active, even today, saying he is still the ward18 City Councillor. I and others have sent him emails asking him to take it down or change it, with no response. Perhaps this is a matter for the city integrity commissioner or ombudsman or city lawyers?
---
No doubt I am missing some other examples of Adam Giambrone's total disregard for constituents (like his using TTC resources as his own self-promotional TV show or his overuse of taxis to confirm the TTC slogan "Take The Car"), but his biggest legacy is how he set the stage for the return of the conservative right to city hall with the Fordites and "Respect for the Taxpayer" that pretty much echoes what Giambrone did not have.
As I posted back in early 2010 about Adam:
* Update March 1st: : Giambrone Rebuffs Calls to Reimburse TTC for Blown Budget
Former TTC chair Adam Giambrone is slamming as “politically driven” the transit agency’s move to make him pay back the $3,300 by which he overspent his $125,000 budget last year.
“I’m not in Toronto and do not expect to have further comment … on the politically driven decision by elected officials on the Board of the Commission,” Mr. Giambrone said by e-mail.
Mr. Giambrone didn’t answer a question about whether he intends to reimburse the transit agency in his message, which came from his old City of Toronto e-mail account. His signature still says he is chair of the TTC and councillor for Ward 18, despite his not standing for re-election last fall after lying about an affair."
... Seems to me he is continuing to play the system. Why hasn't city hall shut down his accounts and done something about his still claiming to be Ward 18 City Councillor? Is this guy delusional (still) ?
So maddening thisis!
"Mr. Giambrone had three different pots from which to draw money: The $125,000 TTC budget he overspent; his $50,445 councillor budget; and a separate budget for TTC corporate travel."
Pigs at the trough come from the NDP too I guess.
* Update: TTC to formally ask Giambrone to pay for going over budget "The Toronto Transit Commission is writing to its former chair, Adam Giambrone, asking him to repay the $3,344.92 he overspent on his annual $125,000 office budget....It shows that the former city councillor for Davenport spent $71,917 on staffing, $9,152 on his voice and data plans on his BlackBerry, $2,891.75 on ground transportation and $2,097 on renting an office at City Hall. He also spent $20,807.64 on his glossy “Chair’s Report” and $16,175 on an accompanying video. Mr. Giambrone spent more. than $5,000 on other items, such as newspaper subscriptions and hosting a delegation from Milwaukee...Mr. Giambrone, who did not seek re-election, spent an additional $7,159 on business travel, including a trip to San Antonio for the American Public Transportation Association three weeks before the election. "
Friday, December 17, 2010
TTC SAFETY WOES
Toronto Transit Commission - Safety Record Dead?
I'm so old that I can remember when an accident involving the TTC was a surprising rarity. Like those industrial factories that had signs posted proudly proclaiming " 489 Days Without Accident" or some such, the old TTC boasted of its great safety record. Safety was Job #1.
However, since August 11, 1995 when there was the Russell Hill Subway Incident , the TTC's much mentioned great Safety Record has plummeted, getting much, much worse over the past year. Streetcars hitting each other, colliding with cars, cyclists and pedestrians, TTC subway workers having fatal accidents while doing maintenance work in tunnels, all sorts of delays in the subway, etc. All this happening at the same time that the other 2 governments (province, federal) were coughing up huge amounts of money to help Toronto transit improve. The latest news:
Since about 1997, we've also seen the alarming - though thankfully few - incidents of random people being pushed onto subway tracks by those with mental illness. The TTC has considered off and on adding very expensive modifications to platforms, but so far all have been too costly.
And it's not just accidents and random strangers that TTC riders have to worry about:
The TTC did get "Special Constables" in June, 1997 and there are about 90 of them that patrol the system. Prior to this, Toronto Police did very random (and few) patrols on TTC properties and veghicles.
Backgrounder link
In June, 2009 the Police Services Board voted unanimously to take control of the TTC Special Constable. On October 21, 2010 the Police Services Board voted in favour of cancelling the TTC Special Constable program on February 1, 2011. Some of the bad press that contributed to this decision is:
TTC Constables Overstep Authority
Something that happened even after this (Dec 13, 2010) is being investigated by ward 18 Davenport City Councillor, ANA BAILAO. Toronto Sun - Alleged TTC Beating which certainly confirms the decision to cancel the Special Constable program.
*** One thing that should be asked is why TTC Chief General Manager, Gary Webster, allowed this to happen on his watch!
Background History of the TTC:
(A full history can be found at This Link ) Some highlights (or lowlights)
1892 First electric streetcar (on Church Street)
1899 ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union) Local 113 was founded
1912 With a city of 400,000 the first studies mentioned the need for a subway
January, 1946 Citizens voted 10 to 1 to get a subway started.
September 8, 1949 Construction started on "Canada's First Subway"
1952 TTC endured 19 day strike
1954 TTC becomes sole provider of public transportation in Metro Toronto, taking over various private bus companies
1970 TTC endures 12 day strike
1974 TTC endures 23 day strike * First time province used back-to-work legislation to force end to strike
1978 TTC endures 8 day strike
1984 TTC strike during Pope Paul's Visit
1988 TTC assumes responsibility for Wheel Transportation Service
1989 TTC service disrupted during 41 day labour dispute (work to rule?)
1991 TTC endures 9 day strike
- 1998 Amalgamation of Toronto forced by Mike Harris provincial government
1999 TTC endures 2 day strike (legislated back by province)
- December, 2006 Adam Giambrone appointed TTC Chair by Mayor Miller, replacing Howard Moscoe
2006 TTC endures 1 day strike (May 29)
2007 The current TTC General Manager, Gary Webster, was appointed
2008 TTC endures 1 1/2 day strike (the wildcat illegal one that started at 12:01am)
May, 2008 Miller Council considers making TTC essential service. Motion defeated by only 1 vote.
2008 The TTC safety culture transformation was officially branded: Work Safe, Home Safe
- Nov 30, 2010 Adam Giambrone is out as TTC Chair, New TTC Chair is Karen Stintz
December 16, 2010 New Ford Council passes motion to ask province to declare the TTC an essential service by a vote of 28 to 17.
Other Points of Note:
1998-2007: 150 people committed suicide by jumping in front of subway trains. Since 1954 when first subway built, 1,200 people have attempted suicide by TTC (both failed and successful included).
More TTC information and statistics are HERE
* Update: A CBC radio special The Current on January 13, 2011 says there are 4,000 sucides a year in Canda, more than there are homicides, yet very little piublic attention is on it.
...
I'm so old that I can remember when an accident involving the TTC was a surprising rarity. Like those industrial factories that had signs posted proudly proclaiming " 489 Days Without Accident" or some such, the old TTC boasted of its great safety record. Safety was Job #1.
However, since August 11, 1995 when there was the Russell Hill Subway Incident , the TTC's much mentioned great Safety Record has plummeted, getting much, much worse over the past year. Streetcars hitting each other, colliding with cars, cyclists and pedestrians, TTC subway workers having fatal accidents while doing maintenance work in tunnels, all sorts of delays in the subway, etc. All this happening at the same time that the other 2 governments (province, federal) were coughing up huge amounts of money to help Toronto transit improve. The latest news:
And it's not just accidents and random strangers that TTC riders have to worry about:
The TTC did get "Special Constables" in June, 1997 and there are about 90 of them that patrol the system. Prior to this, Toronto Police did very random (and few) patrols on TTC properties and veghicles.
Backgrounder link
In June, 2009 the Police Services Board voted unanimously to take control of the TTC Special Constable. On October 21, 2010 the Police Services Board voted in favour of cancelling the TTC Special Constable program on February 1, 2011. Some of the bad press that contributed to this decision is:
TTC Constables Overstep Authority
Something that happened even after this (Dec 13, 2010) is being investigated by ward 18 Davenport City Councillor, ANA BAILAO. Toronto Sun - Alleged TTC Beating which certainly confirms the decision to cancel the Special Constable program.
*** One thing that should be asked is why TTC Chief General Manager, Gary Webster, allowed this to happen on his watch!
Background History of the TTC:
(A full history can be found at This Link ) Some highlights (or lowlights)
1892 First electric streetcar (on Church Street)
1899 ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union) Local 113 was founded
1912 With a city of 400,000 the first studies mentioned the need for a subway
January, 1946 Citizens voted 10 to 1 to get a subway started.
September 8, 1949 Construction started on "Canada's First Subway"
1952 TTC endured 19 day strike
1954 TTC becomes sole provider of public transportation in Metro Toronto, taking over various private bus companies
1970 TTC endures 12 day strike
1974 TTC endures 23 day strike * First time province used back-to-work legislation to force end to strike
1978 TTC endures 8 day strike
1984 TTC strike during Pope Paul's Visit
1988 TTC assumes responsibility for Wheel Transportation Service
1989 TTC service disrupted during 41 day labour dispute (work to rule?)
1991 TTC endures 9 day strike
- 1998 Amalgamation of Toronto forced by Mike Harris provincial government
1999 TTC endures 2 day strike (legislated back by province)
- December, 2006 Adam Giambrone appointed TTC Chair by Mayor Miller, replacing Howard Moscoe
2006 TTC endures 1 day strike (May 29)
2007 The current TTC General Manager, Gary Webster, was appointed
2008 TTC endures 1 1/2 day strike (the wildcat illegal one that started at 12:01am)
May, 2008 Miller Council considers making TTC essential service. Motion defeated by only 1 vote.
2008 The TTC safety culture transformation was officially branded: Work Safe, Home Safe
- Nov 30, 2010 Adam Giambrone is out as TTC Chair, New TTC Chair is Karen Stintz
December 16, 2010 New Ford Council passes motion to ask province to declare the TTC an essential service by a vote of 28 to 17.
Other Points of Note:
1998-2007: 150 people committed suicide by jumping in front of subway trains. Since 1954 when first subway built, 1,200 people have attempted suicide by TTC (both failed and successful included).
More TTC information and statistics are HERE
* Update: A CBC radio special The Current on January 13, 2011 says there are 4,000 sucides a year in Canda, more than there are homicides, yet very little piublic attention is on it.
...
*** QUESTION: December 17, 2010 Why DOES Adam Giambrone still have his website up saying he is ward 18 city councillor and chair of the TTC??? Arrogant disrespect, Adam, as usual.
SO.... I look forward to seeing if the new TTC powers that be recognize that passenger safety might be more important than station cleanliness or a new fare system - Link
* Update: The TTC safety record gets worse and another great tragedy January 11,2011
... all the while Toronto Councillor and TTC Chair Karen Stintz talks about the TTC priorities as being 'cleanliness' and Torontonians wring their hands over a possible 10 cent fare increase. Where are our priorities?
Update: Pedestrian Killed by Bus Jan 21, 2011
Update: Third Pedestrian Fatality for TTC in 2011 (Not even past January yet!)
A TTC bus fatally injured a pedestrian early Saturday morning at Bloor St. and Concord Ave.
(JOHN HANLEY PHOTO) Toronto Sun
* Update: TTC Turning Into Mass Madness System Rosie Dimanno, The Star "Forget the Summer of the Gun from 2005. This is turning into the Winter of the Killer Conveyance" Jan 31, 2011
* Update: Teen Struck by TTC bus Feb 1, 2011
Update: Pedestrian Killed by Bus Jan 21, 2011
Update: Third Pedestrian Fatality for TTC in 2011 (Not even past January yet!)
(JOHN HANLEY PHOTO) Toronto Sun
* Update: TTC Turning Into Mass Madness System Rosie Dimanno, The Star "Forget the Summer of the Gun from 2005. This is turning into the Winter of the Killer Conveyance" Jan 31, 2011
* Update: Teen Struck by TTC bus Feb 1, 2011
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sour Grapes by Ex-Councillors
If They Quit Early, Why Should They Be Paid ?
http://tinyurl.com/26s6pzw
Both Adam Giambrone's constituency office at 1232 College Street and his City Hall office are empty and nobody's there. I guess Adam must be busy spending the last of his office budget on French lessons and whatever else so he can ding the taxpayers for all he can get.
No wonder associating himself with Kevin Beaulieu cost Kevin the election. Giambrone shows his continuing lack of integrity and shafts his constituents yet again! http://www.adamgiambrone.ca/
The newly elected councillors do not take office until December 1st. Yet so many of those not re-elected are bailing out early and leaving their wards essentially unrepresented. Wouldn't it be nice if someone started a class action suit against them for not showing up for work?
sigh.... yet another reason why taxpayers voted in Rob Ford.
http://tinyurl.com/26s6pzw
Both Adam Giambrone's constituency office at 1232 College Street and his City Hall office are empty and nobody's there. I guess Adam must be busy spending the last of his office budget on French lessons and whatever else so he can ding the taxpayers for all he can get.
Update: Nov 8 Adam's seldom used constituency office is now a discount store
No wonder associating himself with Kevin Beaulieu cost Kevin the election. Giambrone shows his continuing lack of integrity and shafts his constituents yet again! http://www.adamgiambrone.ca/
The newly elected councillors do not take office until December 1st. Yet so many of those not re-elected are bailing out early and leaving their wards essentially unrepresented. Wouldn't it be nice if someone started a class action suit against them for not showing up for work?
sigh.... yet another reason why taxpayers voted in Rob Ford.
Update: Nov 9 - And here's another reason (Developers love Ford?)
Still up on Queen West at Triller... think he'll get fined?
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Bits and Bites of Council News
What is Happening.... and what is not
Adam Giambrone's constituency office is closing up. Not that it was ever much open, particularly since Adam's self-destruction last February... I often walked by when there was supposed to be open office hours and no one was there. During the election, Adam's former staff - Kevin who was running for the crown and Marjolein, were busy with other things (their failed election bid). Now I see furniture stacked up ready to be moved out.
... by the way, Adam is still our sitting councillor and will continue to be paid to November 30th.
Adam Giambrone in the news again for his questionable spending of the taxpayer funded office budget. Over $6,000 being spent on French lessons? http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/885601--giambrone-continued-french-studies-on-his-way-out?bn=1
Guess he knew he wouldn't be needing, say Portugese in his former ward? But then we can all be comforted knowing he will be back in 2-3 years to run provincially or federally. Entitlement know no bounds I guess (I always thought that was a Liberal thing).
Post election analysis tells us ward 18 voted (40%) for Smitherman for Mayor, not Ford. But it was the divided Toronto where all the wards surrounding downtown voted Ford in.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/city-votes/who-voted-for-whom/article1777025/
So who will be the new TTC Chair? The Star has anointed Karen Stintz or Peter Milczyn as likely prospects. http://www.thestar.com/news/transportation/article/883695--who-will-be-the-next-ttc-chair
Wouldn't it be nice is someone with real experience in the industry was in that big job? Maybe someday we will have a separately elected TTC Chair who comes with the qualifications. Doesn't look like that will happen soon.
And the agenda for the TTC may be in jeopardy too: http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/cityhall/article/897429--what-s-in-store-for-the-ttc-s-new-chair
The Star's Royson James makes apologies of sorts for how the polls gotthe close race thing so wrong: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/885516--james-time-to-put-election-polls-in-their-place
A better conclusion would be that we need to prohibit polls for the month before voting day. But that won't happen soon.
Ford plans to lower office budgets to $30,000 http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/11/04/15954761.html
Guess Rob will save us some pennies out of the $9.28 BILLION budget, but how much will it cost when the TTC strikes on April 1st? (nope, not an AQpril Fool's joke, a real possibility)
Ford also will have a fight on his hand for his plot to cut council size in half (yet again, following his idol, Mike Harris): http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/883393--reforming-council-cut-it-in-half-or-elect-it-at-large http://www.thestar.com/news/article/883477--ford-faces-stiff-fight-on-council?bn=1
Adam Giambrone's constituency office is closing up. Not that it was ever much open, particularly since Adam's self-destruction last February... I often walked by when there was supposed to be open office hours and no one was there. During the election, Adam's former staff - Kevin who was running for the crown and Marjolein, were busy with other things (their failed election bid). Now I see furniture stacked up ready to be moved out.
... by the way, Adam is still our sitting councillor and will continue to be paid to November 30th.
Adam Giambrone in the news again for his questionable spending of the taxpayer funded office budget. Over $6,000 being spent on French lessons? http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/885601--giambrone-continued-french-studies-on-his-way-out?bn=1
Guess he knew he wouldn't be needing, say Portugese in his former ward? But then we can all be comforted knowing he will be back in 2-3 years to run provincially or federally. Entitlement know no bounds I guess (I always thought that was a Liberal thing).
Post election analysis tells us ward 18 voted (40%) for Smitherman for Mayor, not Ford. But it was the divided Toronto where all the wards surrounding downtown voted Ford in.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/city-votes/who-voted-for-whom/article1777025/So who will be the new TTC Chair? The Star has anointed Karen Stintz or Peter Milczyn as likely prospects. http://www.thestar.com/news/transportation/article/883695--who-will-be-the-next-ttc-chair
Wouldn't it be nice is someone with real experience in the industry was in that big job? Maybe someday we will have a separately elected TTC Chair who comes with the qualifications. Doesn't look like that will happen soon.
And the agenda for the TTC may be in jeopardy too: http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/cityhall/article/897429--what-s-in-store-for-the-ttc-s-new-chair
The Star's Royson James makes apologies of sorts for how the polls gotthe close race thing so wrong: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/885516--james-time-to-put-election-polls-in-their-place
A better conclusion would be that we need to prohibit polls for the month before voting day. But that won't happen soon.
Ford plans to lower office budgets to $30,000 http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/11/04/15954761.html
Guess Rob will save us some pennies out of the $9.28 BILLION budget, but how much will it cost when the TTC strikes on April 1st? (nope, not an AQpril Fool's joke, a real possibility)
Ford also will have a fight on his hand for his plot to cut council size in half (yet again, following his idol, Mike Harris): http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/883393--reforming-council-cut-it-in-half-or-elect-it-at-large http://www.thestar.com/news/article/883477--ford-faces-stiff-fight-on-council?bn=1
So... Did Davenport Get Any Better Yet?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
DEVELOPMENT in Ward 18
DEVELOPMENT - What does it really mean for residents?
Sitting in a Tim's coffee shop the other day, I got into a discussion of what the often mentioned topic of "Development" at debates really means, and how do we put it in words that really mean something to both voters who want to know what the real results will be and candidates who try to communicate platforms in a few punchy words that grab attention.
I realized many of us do not have the same understanding and it is one of those topics that sounds important and is a 'good' thing, but can be really messed up in practice.
So, being an internet type, I googled it:
Development: noun, 1. A significant event, occurence or change; 2. A fact, event or happening, especially one that changes a situation; 3. Act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining; 4. A process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage, especially to a more mature or advanced stage.
SUSTAINABLE Development: meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (In other words, don't screw up the future for our children)
While searching, I also came across this little tidbit from the last City Councillor election campaign from November 4, 2006 by Matthew Blackett of Spacing: http://spacing.ca/votes/2006/11/04/giambrone-attacked-in-poster-campaign/ It talks about Adam Giambrone's then campaign manager, Kevin Beaulieu responding to this poster from an irate business owner and shows how angry businesses can get at city interference...
Another candidate for councillor in this year's election, Ana Bailao, is the subject of some controversy as in the 2003 election, only 7 of her campaign donors lived in the ward and most of them from outside were in the construction and development industry( http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/08/drinks_with_the_candidates_for_ward_18/ )
All of this begs the question:
Just what do candidates mean when they talk of development ?
Since I can only speak for myself, here is what I mean:
* Development WILL happen. It is a given. Change is what we do in our lives and in city building.
* Whether it is GOOD development or BAD development can only be decided upon by the people who have to live with that change. No expert planner, bureaucrat, politician or self-styled visionary can accurately decide what is good for others. People with lived experience outside our neighbourhoods cannot possibly know what is needed or wanted, and often can do more damage than good. This is why it is essential that early consultation happen - residents and business owners are told what is possibly going to happen, and then are given an opportunity to have significant input.
* This means the process must always include people in the area affected by the change.
In my view the kinds of development needed in ward 18 includes:
1. Maximizing the use of dormant lands and properties, like this one: 
1006 College at Havelock
Abandoned since before 2003 -Yet we still have affordable housing issues and homelessness?
There are many more examples. Empty lots, land being slowwwwwly reclaimed from toxic conditions.
2. Small Business Renewal: There are sections within the ward that have been neglected for far too long. Some areas have BIA's that represent members well and are heard, others have sometimes been ignored (eg. Dundas BIA and parking). Some areas like right along College from the Dundas crossoverto Dufferin are in shoddy shape (no BIA there). We still see too many emty storefronts and they can't all be art galleries. People live in the area and need restaurants, support services and supply stores. That there are a lot of thrift stores and pawn shops speaks to the degree of low incomers and poverty in the area. Yet I worry about poor planning around GENTRIFICATION... another set of definitions:
to GENTRIFY - means making a neighbourhood conform to middle class aspirations; usually increases income for developers while decreasing family, culture and evicting low income groups; it raises the status of some at the expense of others; often starts with artists, ends with speculating developers.
3. We need to CONTROL development: This is the job of city and neighbourhood builders, which includes key roles of elected City Councillors and the Mayor. But these roles must only be the facilitators. Decisions on development directions must come from residents and business owners in the area. City bureaucrats whould contribute to the process, but not in any way direct or lead it.
These are my thoughts on DEVELOPMENT... something we should all be involved in because...
DAVENPORT DESERVES BETTER !
Saturday, September 25, 2010
TRANSIT: AN ELECTION CORE ISSUE
"A DIZZYING ARRAY OF PROPOSALS" :
is how an excellent Inside Toronto editorial puts it: http://www.insidetorontovotes.ca/2010/09/editorial-putting-transit-debate-into-proper-perspective/
In the 40+ Mayoral debates (40 more to come?), and the ongoing media coverage of that top level position, as well as some of the local councillor races, TRANSIT/TTC is always a top issue.
In our ward 18, it boils down to just two local things, in my view:
1. SERVICE: The Better Way is not as better as it used to be, for one main cause:
Heavy traffic/gridlock: Despite incumbent councillor Giambrone's claims of "traffic calming" and providing residential streets that are safe for cyclists and pedestrians, we still see our roads as "freeways for people outside the ward" (as candidate Frank de Jong put it so well at the first debate). This ongoing situation not only pollutes our environment, it dramatically slows and interferes with public transit. Inconsistent service - short turning streetcars, construction delays messing with schedules and routes and generally poor customer service is what people experience. I saw somewhere that 46% of us rely on transit to get to and from work, a pretty high percentage that shows ward 18 needs good transit.
2. COST: Given that one third of our ward lives on incomes of less that $30,000 a year and that there are many low incomers with far less, the $3 per ride fee is an impediment for many. If we want to free up our roads, get people out of their cars, encourage healthy cycling and allow citizens to connect with the rest of Toronto - we need an AFFORDABLE TTC. (It is strange that the TTC has opened the door to reduced monthly TTC passes for students in only certain post-secondary education, yet does nothing for those on low income, disabled. Value and devalue citizens, I guess?)
The whole transit debate from the high level view - the city-wide and regional view - is something that the next Mayor, the full city council , the province and the federal government need to be involved in, not to mention expert urban planners and highly skilled transit gurus. Truly a 'dizzying array' or participants.
In another story in The Villager, it puts things in perspective: http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/cityhall/article/877083--transit-city-remains-a-go Transit City is still a go; light rail along Sheppard by 2014; on Finch by 2019; along Eglinton by 2020; with a Scarborough Rapid Transit line by 2020. Things are proceeding, and all the noise we hear from mayoral candidates is just that. Nothing else approved or properly costed out.
In my view, candidates at local council levels should indicate their support generally of transit plans, but not be too specific. We need to remember that what is decided upon will be with us for decades and will involve a high cost, both in taxpayer dollars and construction disruption. Let's let the intelligent decisions evolve in the right forum. Subways or Light Rail? Underground freeways? Scrapping streetcars? This are big city-wide complicated issues that require rational debate after all the information is in. I get frustrated with the mayoral candidates who just throw numbers out without facts being checked. This is a bandwagon I don't want to jump on - and part of what makes it so hard for me to pick a mayor I would vote for.
IDEA: If we are really going to talk vision, how about researching and planning now for FREE TRANSIT within 25 years?
We need informed decisions, not desperate planning.... because...
is how an excellent Inside Toronto editorial puts it: http://www.insidetorontovotes.ca/2010/09/editorial-putting-transit-debate-into-proper-perspective/
In the 40+ Mayoral debates (40 more to come?), and the ongoing media coverage of that top level position, as well as some of the local councillor races, TRANSIT/TTC is always a top issue.
In our ward 18, it boils down to just two local things, in my view:
1. SERVICE: The Better Way is not as better as it used to be, for one main cause:
Heavy traffic/gridlock: Despite incumbent councillor Giambrone's claims of "traffic calming" and providing residential streets that are safe for cyclists and pedestrians, we still see our roads as "freeways for people outside the ward" (as candidate Frank de Jong put it so well at the first debate). This ongoing situation not only pollutes our environment, it dramatically slows and interferes with public transit. Inconsistent service - short turning streetcars, construction delays messing with schedules and routes and generally poor customer service is what people experience. I saw somewhere that 46% of us rely on transit to get to and from work, a pretty high percentage that shows ward 18 needs good transit.
2. COST: Given that one third of our ward lives on incomes of less that $30,000 a year and that there are many low incomers with far less, the $3 per ride fee is an impediment for many. If we want to free up our roads, get people out of their cars, encourage healthy cycling and allow citizens to connect with the rest of Toronto - we need an AFFORDABLE TTC. (It is strange that the TTC has opened the door to reduced monthly TTC passes for students in only certain post-secondary education, yet does nothing for those on low income, disabled. Value and devalue citizens, I guess?)
The whole transit debate from the high level view - the city-wide and regional view - is something that the next Mayor, the full city council , the province and the federal government need to be involved in, not to mention expert urban planners and highly skilled transit gurus. Truly a 'dizzying array' or participants.
In another story in The Villager, it puts things in perspective: http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/cityhall/article/877083--transit-city-remains-a-go Transit City is still a go; light rail along Sheppard by 2014; on Finch by 2019; along Eglinton by 2020; with a Scarborough Rapid Transit line by 2020. Things are proceeding, and all the noise we hear from mayoral candidates is just that. Nothing else approved or properly costed out.
In my view, candidates at local council levels should indicate their support generally of transit plans, but not be too specific. We need to remember that what is decided upon will be with us for decades and will involve a high cost, both in taxpayer dollars and construction disruption. Let's let the intelligent decisions evolve in the right forum. Subways or Light Rail? Underground freeways? Scrapping streetcars? This are big city-wide complicated issues that require rational debate after all the information is in. I get frustrated with the mayoral candidates who just throw numbers out without facts being checked. This is a bandwagon I don't want to jump on - and part of what makes it so hard for me to pick a mayor I would vote for.
IDEA: If we are really going to talk vision, how about researching and planning now for FREE TRANSIT within 25 years?
We need informed decisions, not desperate planning.... because...
DAVENPORT DESERVES BETTER !
* Update: TTC Chair Adam Giambrone back on YouTube video - this time its his TTC Chair video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1emO_zZTHAk
Report at: http://www.movingtransitforward.ca/ Lots of big plans without funding, it seems.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
WILL HE OR WON'T HE ?
IS ADAM GIAMBRONE RUNNING IN WARD 18 AGAIN ?
NOW Magazine article for this week by Enzo Di Matteo questions "Giambrone's Big Exit? Kicked Around, Councillor Contemplates Dropping Out" http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=174244
Reading the article, the only thing that seems clear is that nothing is clear.
He says "I haven't made a decision yet", while at the same time he muses about leaving politics altogether, noting that there are "lots of opportunities internationally" to do something else. "It's not at all a given he will seek re-election in Davenport, although one close colleague on council thinks he will run" says the article.
"Giambrone suggests that his fall from grace didn't make him any new enemies but just galvanized those already opposed to him". He still claims to have great support.
Given that our current councillor has had his judgement called into question numerous times now on a whole range of issues (lies to the media and public, expensing taxi rides when as TTC Chair he should be promoting public transit, getting caught expensing a personal taxi ride as council business, utilizing city resources to put on his own "On The Rocket" show (is it a campaign on the city dime?*), failure to focus on addressing enormous customer dissatisfaction about TTC service... what am I missing? ... why should his abandoned constituents support any bid for his re-election?
* http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/giambrone-back-aboard-his-streetcar-but-show-could-be-derailed/article1510085/ "Toronto's election rules forbid candidates from using city resources for self-promotion during campaign season"
Just some of the media references calling on Mr. Giambrone to quit are:
http://stevemunro.ca/?p=3295
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2704589
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ttc/article/782671--dimanno-time-for-adam-giambrone-to-get-off-bus
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/sueann_levy/2010/02/10/12829346.html
http://www.lfpress.com/comment/2010/03/19/13294266.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/adam-giambrone-has-a-jittery-date-with-destiny/article1491951/
Let me be clear. Adam is an intelligent man of great energy, but a man who has exhibited chronic poor judgement and arrogance. Contrary to how he may try to dismiss ward opposition as a few disgruntled residents, the fact is Mr. Giambrone has alienated more than a few segments of the ward. Remember -
No parking on Dundas? - the Lansdowne narrowing fiasco?
All I can say to Adam is:
NOW Magazine article for this week by Enzo Di Matteo questions "Giambrone's Big Exit? Kicked Around, Councillor Contemplates Dropping Out" http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=174244
Reading the article, the only thing that seems clear is that nothing is clear.
He says "I haven't made a decision yet", while at the same time he muses about leaving politics altogether, noting that there are "lots of opportunities internationally" to do something else. "It's not at all a given he will seek re-election in Davenport, although one close colleague on council thinks he will run" says the article.
"Giambrone suggests that his fall from grace didn't make him any new enemies but just galvanized those already opposed to him". He still claims to have great support.
Given that our current councillor has had his judgement called into question numerous times now on a whole range of issues (lies to the media and public, expensing taxi rides when as TTC Chair he should be promoting public transit, getting caught expensing a personal taxi ride as council business, utilizing city resources to put on his own "On The Rocket" show (is it a campaign on the city dime?*), failure to focus on addressing enormous customer dissatisfaction about TTC service... what am I missing? ... why should his abandoned constituents support any bid for his re-election?
* http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/giambrone-back-aboard-his-streetcar-but-show-could-be-derailed/article1510085/ "Toronto's election rules forbid candidates from using city resources for self-promotion during campaign season"
Just some of the media references calling on Mr. Giambrone to quit are:
http://stevemunro.ca/?p=3295
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2704589
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ttc/article/782671--dimanno-time-for-adam-giambrone-to-get-off-bus
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/sueann_levy/2010/02/10/12829346.html
http://www.lfpress.com/comment/2010/03/19/13294266.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/adam-giambrone-has-a-jittery-date-with-destiny/article1491951/
Let me be clear. Adam is an intelligent man of great energy, but a man who has exhibited chronic poor judgement and arrogance. Contrary to how he may try to dismiss ward opposition as a few disgruntled residents, the fact is Mr. Giambrone has alienated more than a few segments of the ward. Remember -
No parking on Dundas? - the Lansdowne narrowing fiasco?
All I can say to Adam is:
"Stand not upon the order of your going, But go at once"
- Shakespeare's MacBeth
because...
DAVENPORT DESERVES BETTER
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