Monday news roundup: Municipal mash-up

So the big news today comes from yonder, just west of us on the 401: Rob Ford, the exemplary mayor of Toronto, has been removed from his post following the brilliant assertion that he wasn’t responsible for repaying more than $3,000 in dubious donations to his football foundation. Due to the administrative strain of forcing the top guy from office (who would have thought?), he’ll actually be out in 14 days. Where his sterling career will go from here is anyone’s guess.

Closer to home, our own municipal drama continues to unfold, with a certain high-ranking mafioso who just did a stretch in American jail and who likes golf is reportedly being summoned to testify before the Charbonneau Commission — which, to our great disappointment, is soon going on public hiatus until next year. But come Monday, Jan. 21 or shortly thereafter, we’re looking forward to hearing Vito Rizzuto’s stories of how the proverbial fast life intersects with that of the humble civil servant.

Also on the Charbonneau front, it was revealed that federal tax money footed part of the bill for the inflated construction projects in our little province, specifically for sewer work in Montreal. We are all, you know, shocked. Are they sure it wasn’t also for the twice-dug St-Laurent debacle from a few years ago?

But hey, everyone loves Applebaum. Or at least more than half of us have deemed him a satisfactory leader — surely, we imagine, to his satisfaction. ■