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10 ways to make Toronto a better city in 2019

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Expectations for Toronto in 2019 are low, but for once let’s be optimistic. Let’s throw caution to the wind and dare to hope for the best. How can we make the city a better place in the year ahead? For what’s it’s worth, here are a few suggestions:

1. Get on with Rail Deck Park: The proposed 21-acre green space over the railroad tracks west of Spadina is one of the best ideas of recent years. So what’s happened to it? True, Mayor John Tory called it a personal priority during the last election campaign, but so was SmartTrack. Let’s give the project to citizen philanthropists. If the city got the zoning, engineering and design competition organized, a public committee could do the rest, much like what happened at the Bentway, which marked a breakthrough in private-public partnerships. And what about a park at Lawrence Heights?

City council must make the King Street Pilot Project permanent in 2019 and show that it cares about improving service on busy routes, Christopher Hume writes.
City council must make the King Street Pilot Project permanent in 2019 and show that it cares about improving service on busy routes, Christopher Hume writes.  (Lucas Oleniuk / Toronto Star file photo)

2. Make Toronto a city that embraces winter: Speaking of the Bentway; it reminds us that Toronto is a winter city. Regardless, we treat winter as a huge inconvenience that slows traffic and makes us late for work. Our aversion to cold weather tells us how disconnected we can become when we spend too much time in the car or on the couch.

3. Act on climate change: The United Nation’s International Panel on Climate Change gives us 11 years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or face devastating and irreversible consequences. Yet neither the mayor nor council seem aware. Isn’t it time to say and do something? Toronto isn’t immune.

4. Urbanize Yonge: A 2017 city report recommended civilizing Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch. That wasn’t the word the authors used, but they wanted six lanes reduced to four, trees planted, bike lanes added and sidewalks widened. In short, the report proposed turning this nasty stretch of urban highway into a neighbourhood main street. Naturally, John Tory and his allies objected. For them, more interested in parking than parks, cars take precedence over people. In March, council deferred the matter to 2019; now’s time to do the right thing.

5. Clean up the city’s ravines: From a distance, Toronto’s ravines look great. They’re green, full of trees and babbling brooks, but up close, they’re a mess. Ignored, neglected and degraded, they have become garbage dumps overrun by invasive species from dog-strangling vine to garlic mustard and Japanese knotweed. Though celebrated as Toronto’s most distinctive geographical feature, our ravines need rescuing.

6. Save pedestrian lives: Given Toronto’s appalling record of pedestrian and cyclist deaths, 2019 would be a great year for the city to get serious about road safety. The stumbling block is our reluctance to inconvenience drivers. That’s why Toronto’s Vision Zero road safety program, a.k.a. the Zero Vision plan, has failed. If other cities can take bold steps to reduce car use so can we.

7. Remake Doug Ford’s Toronto remake: Some say the premier was right to cut Toronto city council in half, others argue he didn’t go far enough. They feel Ford should also have cut terms and imposed term limits. Instead of four-year terms, the mayor and councillors should be restricted to two, maybe three, two-year terms. That would eliminate careerists and reduce the tendency of politicians to confuse their interests with the city’s. It might also encourage Torontonians to rely on more than name recognition when voting.

8. Smarten up about public transit: Is there anything the city and province have messed up more than transit? Though we’ve gotten adept at building subways to nowhere, putting stations in empty fields and running lines through places where nobody lives or works, basic service remains mediocre. That’s why the King Street Pilot Project must be made permanent in 2019. City council wimped out weeks ago and ordered another report due in July. Another deferral or worse still, rejection, will tell us everything about Toronto’s ability to meet the future.

9. Walk the walk: There was a time, before John Tory and Rob Ford led Toronto into its Dark Age, when the city entertained ideas that would get you laughed out of the room today. Pedestrian-only areas are an example. The need is greater than ever. But how can we walk the walk if we don’t talk the talk?

10. Make NIMBYism respectable: Thanks to DoFo, Toronto is under threat as never before. No wonder residents are organizing and preparing for a fight to protect their collective backyard. In 2019, civic activism will move beyond stopping halfway houses to protecting basic services. John Sewell are you ready?

Christopher Hume is a former Star reporter who is a current freelance columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @HumeChristopher

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Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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