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July 3, 2013 by Steve
The Scarborough Subway Vs LRT Debate, Again (Updated)
Updated July 3, 2013 at 11:20pm:
TTC Chair Karen Stintz, as reported by the CBC's Jamie Strashin on Twitter, claims that Minister of Transportation Glen Murray has put $1.4b of the planned $1.8b SRT conversion cost on the table as a contribution to a subway project.
Jamie Strashin @StrashinCBC
TTC Chair Karen Stintz tells me she just met with Provincial Transportation Minister Glen Murray. 1/2
2/2 Stintz: Murray indicated that if city shows clarity around subway option, province would be "open" to freeing up $1.4 slated for LRT.
There has been no confirmation from Murray whether this is true, or if Stintz/Strashin have misreported a conversation. Such a proposal would violate claims about provincial support for a subway extension that were made in the Metrolinx letter to the City of Toronto. Given Murray's past history of freelancing on government policy, we will have to wait for clarification of what is really on the table from the provincial point of view. An informed debate at Council requires that this be stated publicly and unambiguously from the Premier's Office.
Meanwhile, Stintz offers her own version of the situation on her blog, but with no reference to her conversation with Minister Murray. She repeats the canard that a four-year shutdown will be required to replace the SRT with LRT in the same corridor. Moreover, she adds a sweetener about using the existing SRT right-of-way to expand trackage for the GO Stouffville corridor, something which is not actually necessary.
Mayor Ford has announced that he has asked the City Manager to report to the July16 Council meeting on the Scarborough subway option. How definitive this report will be remains to be seen, especially if the TTC and Metrolinx cannot come to an agreement on cost estimates and the penalties involved in ending the LRT project.
The original article follows below.
Once more we see Metrolinx and City Council engaged in the eternal question of whether the Danforth Subway should be extended north to Sheppard, or the Scarborough RT converted to an LRT line.
I have written about this at some length before (May 2013, January 2013, October 2012, July 2012 , December 2010 among others) and will not belabour previous arguments.
After the recent Metrolinx Board meeting, during the press scrum, I asked how many responses had been received to the Request for Qualifications on the Eglinton-Crosstown project seeing that the closing date was mid-May. CEO Bruce McCuaig was elliptical in his reply offering only that the names of the respondents would be published in due course.
It didn't take long for us to learn that the uncertainty regarding Toronto Council's intent on its signed agreement to support an LRT for Scarborough was upsetting the bidding process. In a letter to the City Manager and others, McCuaig states:
To ensure value-for-money, we need to attract high quality bidders to our procurements, and this cannot be achieved if there is uncertainty about City Council's support for the projects.
[Full text of letter]
This implies that the process to date has not been particularly successful, and Metrolinx is placing the blame on the City's indecision.
All of this started because of an ongoing campaign by some politicians to portray Scarborough as somehow hard done by, fobbed off with a "streetcar" when everyone else, especially those downtown elites, have subways. The fact that this "streetcar" would operate at close to subway speeds on a completely separate right-of-way is just one of the casualties of the misinformation campaign.
Part of this comes from the Ford faction and the premise that nothing but subways will do. Part comes from Scarborough Councillors, notably Glenn De Baeremaeker, who sense a threat to their political survival in supporting anything but a subway. Then there are the mayoral aspirants at least some of whom declare "My Scarborough includes a subway".
Arguing for LRT in this context is a steep uphill battle.
What Does an LRT or Subway Give Us?
If the line is built as LRT, it will serve more potential riders directly as walk-in customers, notably the Centennial College campus, but also a future extension to Malvern Centre, than a subway would. Demand models show more people choosing to ride the subway because the models favour a faster route with fewer stops and the elimination of the transfer at Kennedy Station.
The LRT would run almost as fast as the subway, and would extend further into Scarborough, but the transfer at Kennedy cannot be avoided. However, the design for the new Kennedy Station places the LRT line on the same level as the ticketing mezzanine (the level between the bus loop and the subway trains). Riders would walk from the new LRT platform directly into the existing station and down one level to the subway. Current subway to SRT transfers involve a three-level change and a high probability that one or more escalator/elevator may be out of service. It is unclear which degree of penalty was used in the demand model.
The subway will give a direct ride for Bloor-Danforth passengers through Kennedy to stations mainly on McCowan leading up to Sheppard. An important design issue, as yet unanswered, is the connection to Scarborough Town Centre as the new station would probably be under McCowan, not within the mall as the SRT station is today. This will be good for people in walking distance of the east side of STC, but worse for everyone else. McCowan Station is not the busiest place on the TTC's network.
The alignment of the subway is such that an extension to Malvern will never happen.
How Much Will This Cost?
Many numbers have been cited for the cost of the LRT and subway proposals. At one point, the subway was pegged at over $3-billion, but this included provision for a new yard and expansion of the subway fleet. Neither of these is needed for an extension of the Danforth subway as I discussed in a previous article. In January 2013, the subway estimate was set at $2.8b by the TTC in 2011$, but quite recently they have discovered that this value included inflation. When that is corrected, the subway is down to $2.3b.
The same January 2013 report claimed that the LRT line would cost $2.3b, and this led to the claim by subway supporters that their option would only cost half a billion more. (That was when the subway still cost $2.8b.) However, the LRT estimate included $500m for its own carhouse and yard, a leftover from the plan when Mark II Skytrain technology was on the table. Correcting for this brings the LRT line down to $1.8b. This also happens to be the Metrolinx estimate (in 2010$) for the project.
So far, we have the commonly reported half-billion dollar spread ($1.8b vs $2.3b). The fact that both estimates were off by a huge amount might give one pause in believing any of the numbers in this debate, especially considering the importance of the discussions for which the original estimates were prepared.
Metrolinx, however, has additional costs that abandoning the LRT project would bring:
The design costs for the LRT fleet for the (now) four LRT lines has been allocated among the budgets for each line. The Scarborough line's share is $21m and this would be transferred to the other project budgets, not be reclaimed for a subway project.
Planning and design work on the LRT line has cost $41m to date, and a further $23m has been spent on program management.
Bombardier would likely invoke a penalty clause for a reduction in the LRV fleet order especially considering that the TTC does not need any more subway cars for the BD line that could be used as a trade-off.
A new subway would not likely open until at least 2021. The TTC estimates that it will cost $60m to keep the SRT running for the extra period.
The existing structures will have to be dismantled at an unknown cost.
The biggest single charge relates to cost sharing with the Eglinton-Crosstown project.
Metrolinx has chosen to book the entire cost of the new interchange between the Eglinton, Bloor-Danforth and Scarborough lines at Kennedy Station to the Scarborough project's budget in the sum of $320m. Why they have done this is not clear, as with a lot of Metrolinx accounting, but this cost does not disappear if the Scarborough LRT is replaced by a subway extension. Some work at Kennedy Station will still be needed for the Eglinton LRT line. How much is a point of debate between the TTC and Metrolinx.
By Metrolinx estimates the difference between the LRT and subway proposals could be over $925m, money the city would have to find on its own hook and which would likely displace many other projects. To put this in context, the rehabilitation of the western half of the Gardiner Expressway is about $500m.
Now we come to another piece of Metrolinx accounting. When Queen's Park took total control of the Transit City lines and funding, they did so in a way that allows them to defer the cost on their books and thereby bring the date of a "balanced budget" forward. (All governments use this sort of trickery and while it might be satisfying to blame it all on former Premier McGuinty, he is not alone in the practice.) Here is how it works.
In a conventional transit funding scheme, a subway tunnel, say, is paid for by various governments but winds up as a municipal asset. (The Spadina extension is a good example of this.) When this happens, audit rules require that the subsidies be expensed in the year when the money changes hands because Queen's Park (or Ottawa) receives nothing in return to balance off the payment.
If the province holds title to the subway, then it shows up on their books and can be depreciated as a capital asset. On paper, although the same money has gone from the Treasury to the builder, the difference is that there is something on the books to show for it beyond the fleeting goodwill of municipal politicians and voters.
For the Scarborough LRT, Queen's Park was to be the owner through Metrolinx, but this arrangement will not work for a subway extension that would be operated and maintained as an integral part of the TTC network. Trading in the Scarborough LRT money for a subway creates accounting challenges, and Metrolinx mutters darkly that the City may have to pony up some of its own money to paper over this problem.
That's not a convincing argument because it had far more to do with Premier McGuinty's desire to push transit expenditures into the distant future than with expanding the transit system. The same consideration is responsible for the long delays in completion of the first Transit City lines. An accounting dodge to keep the Provincial Auditor happy is no way to run a major transit project.
We have a "new" Liberal administration at Queen's Park, and it should revisit and jettison this sort of hocus-pocus. Are we going to spend money on transit or not? Something is out of whack if we have to agonize over the bookkeeping.
How Long Will This Take?
For the subway option, a rough estimate from the TTC and Metrolinx is at least eight years from the point of project approval. There is no detailed engineering for the subway, no Environmental Assessment, none of the interminable process of haggling over where the stations will go (and you can be sure that some will be added at $150m a pop before the project is finished). Preliminary design, EA and final design leading to construction will take three years. Building the line will take another five. This means an opening date in 2021 at best, and another eight years of dealing with the declining fortunes of the SRT.
For the LRT option, the construction period is expected to be under three years according to Metrolinx, and they would like to get it down to 2.5. Meanwhile, subway advocates (including TTC Chair Karen Stintz in a Tweet a few hours before this article was completed), claim that there will be a four-year shutdown of the SRT. This longer period was based on two claims that were, generously speaking, misinterpreted:
At one point, the SRT project was spoken of as starting in late 2015 and being completed "by 2019". In a worst case interpretation, that's four years.
In the original construction plans, the time needed to build the extension was included in the shutdown, but obviously this is not required. Metrolinx plans to built the north end (McCowan to Sheppard) before shutting down the SRT and this shaves time off the shutdown period.
Without question, 2.5 years of a replacement bus service will be no picnic for Scarborough. (Although I live downtown, I worked at STC from 2000 to 2009 and know well the joys of the SRT and its frequent replacement by bus shuttles.) The question, then, is "can the shutdown be justified as a tradeoff for a less expensive replacement line that directly serves more riders and is better positioned for extension".
That is both a planning and a political decision, one made all the more difficult by Mayor Ford's subway monomania and the concerted effort to sell the subway to Scarborough by convincing them that nothing else comes up to their aspirations of civic grandeur and respect.
Some members of Council, including the Mayor, are at least consistently for subways, and there is a pro-LRT faction that is even a tad more radical than I am. These I can respect for consistency, if not for the content of their positions.
Meanwhile, we have TTC Chair Stintz who has been both pro-LRT and pro-subway as it suits the season. She sold LRT with fervour when it meant wresting control of the transit agenda from the Fords, but then decided that buying votes in Scarborough was more important and flipped to the subway camp. Her position, and that of others supporting the subway option, is a bit vague thanks in part to the uncertainty of the dollar value of a subway decision.
The irony here is that the very people who ridiculed Rob Ford for paying for a subway network with "pixie dust" now have the same vague promises of how they will fund a Scarborough subway. What other projects will fall off of the table? What else in the municipal budget will be pillaged to pay for a subway extension? Will Liberal members of Council and the Queen's Park caucus sing the government's tune on staying the course with LRT, or will they play to their Scarborough constituents hoping that a higher power (The Premier) will rescue them from having to deliver?
Once again, transit plans may be tied in knots in Toronto thanks to the delays of Mayor Ford and Premier McGuinty. "Momentum", the sort of thing one needs in large scale plans, is not the word of the day, and Toronto risks losing out completely depending on political winds at the municipal and provincial levels.
Postscript: What Would I Build?
If, in fact, Toronto wants subways and nothing but subways, we need to have a very serious discussion about where and when these will be built and how we will pay for them. The much touted "private sector" has lots of money, but they want to invest, not to simply hand out cash for corporate goodwill. The bloom is off PPP's (private public partnerships) at least in part because politicians awakened to the fact that investors want to be paid back, and the overhead of managing a third-party owner-operator is not trivial.
All the talk of reducing congestion and improving transit will be meaningless if we cannot agree on and afford to build a network. Talk of "only" $2b a year in new taxes has not been received warmly "out there" by the folks who would benefit, and it must be remembered that the most expensive parts of The Big Move are the subway lines within the City of Toronto. If we really do want "subways subways subways", then Toronto should be prepared to tax itself to pay for the extra cost of building and operating them.
I am often asked "so, Mr. Big Shot Critic, what would you do here". My answer is quite simple, although the problem is a challenging one: build an LRT network. The fundamental problem with Toronto's transit planning has been the premise that subways will go on forever and ever. We simply cannot afford this, and at some point there must be a transition to less expensive, lower capacity modes whose network can be more spread out.
The hardest decision is to say "this is where the subway ends". Somebody will always be beyond the last station, and LRT (or BRT if capacity permits) must take over where the subway leaves off. That boundary should not mark the end of high-quality transit, so often the experience that makes people yearn for subways at any cost.
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103 thoughts on "The Scarborough Subway Vs LRT Debate, Again (Updated)"
Keith | July 11, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Addendum to last. TTC says 12 minute savings from MTC to Kennedy. That's not worth the pain that the transfer. And people intuitively know that.
Extending the subway should also simplify Eglinton. It can now be run as a through service. I would rather not even see it leave the road. Run it right through to Kingston Road. Would do wonders for Southeast Scarborough.
Steve: I agree that through running Eglinton past Kennedy would be wonderful, but that line isn't even in the "Next Wave" list at Metrolinx and so isn't up for consideration for close to two decades. As for that transfer, do you refer to the existing three-level transfer at Kennedy, or the proposed one-level LRT to Subway one roughly comparable to Spadina Station but with more room?
Mikey | July 11, 2013 at 10:19 pm
I haven't clearly stated my opinion on the LRT versus subway for Scarborough, but I've made up my mind now:
The only advantage of the subway extension over the LRT is the elimination of the transfer from Kennedy/Eglinton (as has been pointed out, that transfer will simply shift further northeast). Speed is pretty much the same for both LRT and Subway. Interim operating costs during the shut-down can favour either options (depending on whether it's more expensive to operate replacement buses or extend the ICTS's lifetime). Capital costs, long-term operating costs, route length (number of stations), and everything else that matters all favour the LRT.
It's a wash. LRT is the way to go.
Steve: To be fair to subway advocates and their concern about transfers, they point out that they now ride a bus, likely to STC, transfer to the RT, and then transfer again to the subway at Kennedy. They may still have a bus to subway transfer somewhere, but the Kennedy transfer vanishes. That said, I would like anyone who complains about the Kennedy arrangement to specify which version of the station they are talking about because the new LRT station will be under the north side of the bus loop and only one level above the subway, not unlike the arrangement at Spadina Station.
Brendan H | July 12, 2013 at 9:52 am
If the subway does go ahead, how will that affect the Sheppard East LRT? Will there have to be a new EA for the connection at McCowan? Would you expect any new delays?
Steve: I have deep suspicions that the Sheppard LRT would not survive a Ford re-election or a change in government at Queen's Park. McGuinty pushed its completion date so far off, and Metrolinx added to this, that it's now 2021, and there is plenty of time for the project to self-destruct. I do not believe a word coming out of Queen's Park or Metrolinx right now. QP because they're making it up as they go along, and Metrolinx because their claims/opinions are worthless in the face of political machinations.
Phil Piltch | July 12, 2013 at 11:55 am
Transportation Minister Glen Murray was on Metro Morning this morning to speak to this debate. It seems he talking out of both side of his mouth. He favours the current plan to convert the SRT to LRT but seems to give the impression that he would go with a subway extension if there was a good case to do so, stating his decision would be "evidence based", whatever that means. I guess if Council discovered that pot of magic fairy dust and said that would cover any added cost of a subway extension then Murray might be persuaded to go with a subway extension. The subway extension does have some advantages to an LRT conversion of the SRT, but I'm not sure in the balance of things they justify a subway extension, especially given the unknown added costs. Steve, any indication that in the debates at council anyone has mentioned the higher operating costs of subway? Or is that not even on the radar?
Even as a Scarborough resident, I still see the relief line as a higher priority – removing the inconvenient and awkward transfer at Kennedy does nothing to reduced the crush at Yonge & Bloor. I now ride my bike as often as possible, not the least because I do not enjoy the crush transferring to the Bloor line, sometimes bypassing 1 or more trains to find one with enough space to squeeze on (my travel time on bike also routinely beats that on the subway).
Steve: Glen Murray has a cock-and-bull story about building transit that can be self-supporting through new development. This totally ignores the fact that we have four decades of development that already exists without transit to serve it, and the kind of density he wants isn't likely to arise. His dithering on this file gave Stintz & Co. long enough to start the march to a subway-oriented plan.
Leo Gonzalez | July 12, 2013 at 2:21 pm
Another problem with the subway option that is being overlooked, as far as I can tell, is what we would do with all of the existing SRT infrastructure once the subway is built. We can't just leave the el and all the stations abandoned, so who would pay to tear that all down? And what about STC station? It currently accommodates not only the RT, but TTC, GO and Greyhound buses. Where at McCowan and Progress would all that be relocated? In the mall parking lot?
There's also that second exit that the builder of the condo directly south of STC station had to build. All told, it just seems like a ridiculous waste to throw away all of this existing infrastructure to build a subway in a corridor that already has rapid transit. It would be better to spend any extra money getting a new rapid transit line started elsewhere, such as the DRL.
Steve: If the subway option goes forward, I foresee all sorts of changes to the alignment at great expense so that the subway can make a better connection with the "centre" of STC. That $1-billion extra needed for the subway will grow very quickly. Don't forget, by the way, that it's 2010$ and inflation will add a lot by the time anything is actually built. Whether contributions from Queen's Park and, maybe, Ottawa will inflate as well remains to be seen. On the Spadina project, there is an absolute dollar cap, and the city has to eat cost overruns or trim project costs to fit available money.
L. Wall | July 12, 2013 at 5:11 pm
Interesting to note in the "Scarborough Rapid Transit Options" report released today there was this point buried near the end under the project scope:
Connection at Kennedy Station that does not preclude through running with Eglinton Crosstown LRT
Also in one of the tables it says the 2031 projected peak hour/peak direction ridership to be 8,000 for the LRT option and a rather large 9,500-14,000 range for the subway option. How it got to that I have no clue.
I should add that it does state that they made assumptions in their assessment but does not go into any major detail other than assuming that a DRL is in place for the model. Oh and the addon costs. We love the addon costs. There's talk about ATC, Bloor-Yonge expansion and other goodies added on to accommodate a Scarborough subway extension. I'm surprised a new subway yard didn't sneak its way on to there.
ron | July 12, 2013 at 9:53 pm
What is going to happen is that these lrt lines, if this debate continues, will not get built because the want for a costly subway will be approved be the city then a the Liberals get defeated and the PCs will cancel the subways because they want to make cuts. Just like what happen when Mike Harris was in power with the Eglinton subway. Torontonians need to start being anti-lrt. Ford really has a lot of people thinking that the newer lrt are streetcars.
Steve: I am not sure you mean to say that Torontonians should become anti-lrt as you argue the opposite.
When I visited SF last year, I was impressed on how MUNI's lrt lines ran especially under Market street and Third street line. It showed me how Toronto would be when our LRT lines are completed and running. Some anti-lrt Torontonians should visit SF and see how they run. Subways are nice but I believe that they should be built where it can be justified properly. Scarborough east end can't really justify a subway.
This debate is a very dangerous one. The people of Scarborough want a subway but they may or may not get their wish.
Steve: If you ask Santa for a pony, and he can't afford it, hope for at least an orange, because otherwise it's an empty stocking or a lump of coal.
Moaz Yusuf Ahmad | July 13, 2013 at 12:03 am
Brendan H. said: If the subway does go ahead, how will that affect the Sheppard East LRT? Will there have to be a new EA for the connection at McCowan? Would you expect any new delays?
Steve replied: I have deep suspicions that the Sheppard LRT would not survive a Ford re-election or a change in government at Queen's Park. McGuinty pushed its completion date so far off, and Metrolinx added to this, that it's now 2021, and there is plenty of time for the project to self-destruct. I do not believe a word coming out of Queen's Park or Metrolinx right now. QP because they're making it up as they go along, and Metrolinx because their claims/opinions are worthless in the face of political machinations.
I'd agree with you there, Steve…especially since the City Manager+TTC CEO's report talks about asking the Federal Government to transfer $330 million from the Sheppard East LRT project to pay some of the extra cost of the Scarborough Subway over the Scarborough LRT.
L. Wall said:
That is the City Manager and TTC CEO hedging their support for a Scarborough Subway … the report also talks about the need for massive growth along the corridor and at STC to justify the higher capital costs and unused capacity of the subway. It also points out that McCowan is a stable neighbourhood up to Lawrence and there is little to justify the Lawrence East station except the Scarborough Hospital (presumably buses would head to Ellesmere/STC). Also interesting is the call for a terminal at Sheppard. We may only end up with a two station extension (Lawrence East & Ellesmere/ STC with no Sheppard or Ellesmere/STC & Sheppard with no Lawrence East) … won't that be something.
I dunno … maybe with a subway going to an area that has already had rapid transit for 30 years, and is seeing development … and needs massive development to justify the capital costs of a subway … maybe developers might finally 'get on board' with Ford's subway(s) plan … or the city might have to hit them up for increased development charges … I won't hold my breath though for that money to actually be able to pay for anything substantial.
Steve: I find it amusing that the development industry has been railing against the proposed doubling of Development Charges for a variety of current projects, never mind the additional DCs and property tax revenue needed to carry the city's share of the Scarborough Subway.
All those Councillors who just can't bring themselves to vote for new taxes may very well repeat their past performance of approving a subway, but not approving any way to pay for it. What will Queen's Park do then?
And, of course, where is all that evidence-based planning Glen Murray prattles on about? It is clear as you say that the now-higher projection for demand on the subway depends on development at an intensity that may not be practical in the affected area. This sort of cooked demand number is the same trick that "justified" the Sheppard subway.
Build it and they will come | July 13, 2013 at 1:37 am
Money can be found for the Scarborough subway by cancelling the Sheppard LRT. Also, do all cut and cover under Eglinton to Danforth, then north along Danforth to McCowan. Only deep bore under 401 to Sheppard. Stops at Eglinton/Danforth, Lawrence/McCowan, STC, McCowan/Sheppard. Plan for future westbound turn at McCowan/Sheppard into Sheppard subway, and future Eglinton lrt east of Kennedy. If motorists and businesses complain about cut n cover tell them to suck it up, they are getting a subway for crissakes. Cut n cover should save big $ over deep bore and stations will be cheaper and users won't have to descend as many stairs.
Calvin Henry-Cotnam | July 13, 2013 at 8:30 am
Build it and they will come wrote:
Plan for future westbound turn at McCowan/Sheppard into Sheppard subway…
This same idiotic curve was part of the wants of the crowd that wanted the Sheppard subway extended, which naturally is the same crowd once again.
As much as these folks love subways, they seem to have little knowledge or awareness of the physical requirements of them. A subway-carrying curve connecting a line on Sheppard with a line on McCowan simply cannot turn within the constraints of the intersection of those two streets.
The radius of such a curve needs to be 700 metres, so get out your Google maps folks and take a look at what this means: no station at McCowan and Sheppard: the line has to begin leaving Sheppard as far west as Brimley and cannot join McCowan until just north of the 401. More importantly, just how many homeowners in that area who are now all for subway over LRT are all gung-ho about tunneling directly under their neighbourhood?
Ed | July 13, 2013 at 9:40 am
This is like a dysfunctional family getting more dysfunctional. Separated parents, young children shared between them.
The kids are getting old enough for pets. One parent says, "We'll get you some goldfish and you can take care of them. I'm sure you will do well. Then we can go looking for a nice puppy."
The other parent tells the kids, "Goldfish? Puppy? That's nothing. The only real pet is a pony. You are being ripped off!"
So now the kids are screaming, "I don't wanna goldfish! I don't wanna puppy! I wanna pony! I wanna PONY! PONY! PONY! PONY!"
The first parent gives in, because otherwise the kids will hate them. Hate them for withholding the right to have a pony. Everyone deserves a pony.
Of course, there is no indication that the kids can take care of a pony, and the cost of a pony, well, there's no money for that either. It's all shaping up to be a big disaster.
I don't know who deserves to be sent up to their room without supper and TV more: the Scarborough residents who are behaving like a bratty seven-year-old, or the parent who cynically manipulates the kids for their own gain, or the parent who gives in to the kids' screams without any sort of notion of how to actually afford and support a pony.
Steve: There are actually some Scarborough residents who know they will be well into their adult lives, not kiddies any more, by the time that pony arrives, and that many others in Scarborough won't even get a goldfish.
Brian | July 13, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Missing in this discussion is the actual connection to STC. There has been a direct connection at STC to the SRT for the past 30 years, and I assume it is taken as a given. Then I see the alignment for the BD extension, and it does not connect to STC. It seems to go up McCowan, with a dot on McCowan Road near STC.
Now one problem with the current Kennedy interface to SRT is going up 3 staircases or escalators, and having to transfer trains. The BD extension ends that inconvenience, but creates a different one. If I offered to drive you to STC, you would expect to get dropped at the curb, not at McCowan Road, past the outer edge of the parking lot.
Since there has not been an EA yet, these details are probably not yet clear, but I think the actual connection to STC is a big deal, and we should clarify right now what sort of connection to STC is included in the TTC cost estimate.
Or am I off base here?
Steve: No, you're completely correct to ask this question. The scheme presumes a shift of the "centre" of STC east to as-yet unbuild development around the station at McCowan. But don't distract folks in Scarborough with this detail. Remember they they are trying to get to downtown Toronto, not to STC itself. The only reason many trips go there today is that it is the transfer point for the bus feeders.
William z | July 13, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Hello Steve, if the city votes to do the subway instead will they consider building it cut and cover? There's enough room to do it along Eglinton to the Brimley Danforth Road McCowan triangle without causing much of a disruption. Eglinton is wide enough for this and McCowan is mostly residential from Eglinton to Ellesmere. This could cut costs from tunneling. It would also be smart to do a 4 track structure to Brimley triangle so the Eglinton LRT could run beside it when they ever extend it east, running on the south of subway tracks. A stop must be built at Brimley triangle to accommodate future development along that corridor, there's lots of potential to increase density on Eglinton by Brimley.
I can handle even a 50$ increase in property taxes if that's what it takes to build it.
Steve: It is precisely because McCowan is residential that cut-and-cover is highly unlikely. No politician is willing to foist that on their constituents.
As for your $50 generosity, I look forward to your appearing in a public meeting somewhere far from Scarborough where you can explain why people there have higher property taxes to pay for the new subway. Unless we tax and build city-wide, we risk Balkanizing support for transit everywhere.
Jon Johnson | July 13, 2013 at 4:30 pm
I have deep suspicions that the Sheppard LRT would not survive a Ford re-election or a change in government at Queen's Park.
If the Sheppard subway is extended to Victoria Park and the Bloor line is extended to Sheppard, the Sheppard LRT will become redundant. Most people will be within a short ride from two subway lines and a GO station. Plus cancelling the redundant Sheppard LRT will provide the funds necessary to fully finance the outstanding balances of both projects.
The real issue here is that the subway option does several things very well: (1) it quells political polarization (a major win), (2) the political win opens opportunities for the province to impose development charges and, (3) the development along the new subway lines will force the debate on the downtown relief line.
My suggestion would be to use the political and financial tools that can be gained through the subway compromise to aggressively pursue a Downtown Relief Line from Eglinton and Don Mills to St Andrew station. The DRL has arguably the highest net present value of all the transit options and should be well within reach if the politics are handled properly. The DRL is key to economic competitiveness and productivity growth in Toronto. This is an opportunity that should not be missed.
Regarding STC and downtown commuters – the situation is a bit more complex than just rush hour commuters. I live in Scarborough, use the TTC to commute to work, and use STC a lot. My teenagers use STC as a meeting. We all use it as a shopping spot and place with numerous restaurants and movies. It really is the heart of Scarborough's "downtown", and is a destination as well as a transfer point.
I commute to work at North York Center from Scarborough. I estimate that 25% to 30% of the passengers that transfer at Bloor-Yonge go north rather than south. The Eglinton LRT should add some relief to the BD line when it is operational. Currently the Eglinton 34 bus is my "Plan B" when the subway is down. There is only about a 10 minute differential between the bus and the subway when I can go straight east-west, rather than going south to get north. The LRT lines are badly needed alternatives to our single subway lines.
Steve: I agree that a greater flexibility in travel that is not core oriented is essential. I am also intrigued that the whole issue of shifting the transit alignment east of STC has received so little discussion.
Build it and they will come | July 13, 2013 at 7:22 pm
The radius of a subway curve has to be 700 metres?
There's no way the turn from Union to King has a radius of 700m. Or even St. George to Museum.
Steve: That number should be feet, not metres. I should have caught that when the original comment came through. Even so, a curve from McCowan into Sheppard more or less precludes a station right at the intersection.
"Steve: To be fair to subway advocates and their concern about transfers, they point out that they now ride a bus, likely to STC, transfer to the RT, and then transfer again to the subway at Kennedy. They may still have a bus to subway transfer somewhere, but the Kennedy transfer vanishes."
Fair enough, I wasn't clear on this argument before. But they should still be honest on how great the utility of one less transfer is to our city. I find a lot of comparisons in transit debates lack perspective on the greatness and importance of different benefits.
L. Wall | July 14, 2013 at 12:20 am
It would be ironic if the people complaining about the "nonsensical" and "unfair" Kennedy transfer (you know the ones) end up with an even worse transfer at STC.
Maybe in 30 years we will hear people complaining about how Scarborough got screwed by the rest of the city and nasty downtown councillors like Stintz who foisted the subway on to them with the horrible transfer at STC.
I see it going up one level, 5 minute walk east to McCowan, down 3 levels to subway or if they're lucky, they'll do a cut and cover passage along the bus roadway.
Even with the correction, we won't be seeing curves like that ever built again. The new design paradigm is for larger curves that allow for higher speeds and lower maintenance requirements.
Isaac Morland | July 14, 2013 at 3:30 am
"I am also intrigued that the whole issue of shifting the transit alignment east of STC has received so little discussion."
The whole issue of using a different route is glossed over, generally. Even the "Scarborough Rapid Transit Options" report released on Friday has maps that refer to "Conversion to Subway" and "Conversion to Light Rail Transit" (page 16). Admittedly, right under these headings are maps clearly showing dots in completely different locations, but I for one would never refer to the subway option as a "conversion" because that suggests substantially retaining the existing routing.
Table 3 is also interesting, although not at all surprising to anybody who has been following along. According to that table, the number of people within walking access of stations is twice as high for the LRT (existing) route. Meanwhile the technology capacity is ample for even the slightly higher projected subway ridership.
If there is ever a case where the anti-LRT case is simply idiotic, this is it. I understand, although obviously disagree with, the idea that LRT on Sheppard, for example, is "in the way" or slow or ugly or whatever. But none of the usual objections apply to the Scarborough RT case with its completely isolated right-of-way.
This is like the discussion of the Trident nuclear missile in "Yes, Prime Minister". "[Trident] is quite simply the best. And Britain should have the best". Who cares that it costs £15,000,000,000, that there are better uses for the money, and that "the best" is a complex concept.
Incidentally, I saw the Bombardier Flexity Freedom mockup at Waterloo Regional headquarters today. Very nice. I was interested to note that the marketing stuff claims a maximum capacity of 30,000 people per hour, which I believe is based on 4-car trains every 2 minutes. This is the same as the subway capacity given in the report I was discussing and double the LRT capacity that it gives. I'm not sure whether I should believe Bombardier's marketing though. I can think of two reasons for the difference — one is that their marketing may assume super-crush loading that nobody would really want to use, and another might be platform length available on the Scarborough RT right-of-way. Of course, the kids are all enthusiastic and want our system to open tomorrow. I promised them that would we would go and watch the construction if it happens. They said if they were voting they would definitely vote for the project. Of course, for them it's because it's cool. For me it's because it's cool and because the numbers make it clear it would be very good for the city.
terry g | July 14, 2013 at 8:19 pm
To me this illustrates the difference between the B-D/LRT debate and status of the DRL. I think the LRT option is dying if not dead, but what this really shows is that politics trumps all. Over time this subway had or gained support from politicians at all levels in Scarborough, as well as from other parts of the city, and eventually enough critical mass was created to move it to the top of the agenda. Timing, in this case the upcoming by-elections, plays into this, but that's all part of the political process.
Meanwhile the DRL has seen only limited progress for half a decade despite being Toronto's highest operational transit priority. Especially troubling is the lukewarm interest at best shown by most politicians in the core. If they don't lead the fight for it, exactly who will?
Calvin Henry-Cotnam | July 14, 2013 at 10:32 pm
Build it and they will come questioned my point:
I am terribly sorry, 700 metres is not correct.
The minimum specification for operation at up to 80 km/h is 750 metres, according to the Subway Operations Report written back in 2006 for the Spadina Extension.
A tighter curve is possible with speed restrictions, but doesn't that counter the rapid benefits of a subway that are gained by having fewer stations?
Steve: It is important to distinguish between the curve radius that can technically be operated at low speed and one designed for 80 km/h. The slower speed to which you refer would only apply to operation around the curve (think of Union to King), not to the entire line.
Where (if any) are the "fast" (though maybe not 80km/h) curves in the system? I can think of gradual curves between Old Milk & Jane, Sherbourne & Castle Frank, Queen's Park & Museum, and College and Wellesley … but I've no idea how "fast" they are. I just know they're not as slow or as noisy as Museum-St. George-Spadina and St. Andrew-Union-King.
Steve: The College to Wellesley curves are not 80km/h and are controlled by timing signals. The long curve east of Victoria Park is operated at full speed, but even that is time controlled westbound because of the grade. Years ago, when the M-1 cars still operated, they would sometimes overrun the timing signals because they were faster than the H-series trains. The subway does not operate at 80km/h. One reason the TTC has resisted moving to "high rate" is that this would require better track maintenance.
Calvin Henry-Cotnam | July 15, 2013 at 6:04 pm
I agree that not every point on the line must run at 80 km/h nor does this slow down the entire line, but there must be some other technical reason for this to be the design specification.
Maybe someone more in the know might be able to clarify this, but is there a minimum curvature for bored tunnels? I suspect there is a limitation that is more restrictive for bored tunnels than what can be built by cut-and-cover, where tunnel width can be increased for sharper curves.
Steve: Actually, in discussion about the tunnel boring machines the TTC and Metrolinx has owned for various projects, the question of building a wider tunnel to allow for curves on the Spadina line did come up. There is a point where it is not practical to build an entire line "wider" just for a few curves, and these should be done cut-and-cover if possible. Much depends on the overall geometry and terrain to be covered.
If anyone knows the technical limits of curves on bored tunnels, please add to this thread.


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Home Editorials The 25th anniversary of the declaration of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence
The 25th anniversary of the declaration of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence
Sep 2, 2016: 4:27 pm
September 2nd is the 25th anniversary of the declaration of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. I have accumulated a lot of material after my visit to the NKR, and would like to share them with the resources which I am constantly cooperating with. I hope that the excerpts from the interviews and conversations that were scheduled or happened spontaneously will help readers feel the spirit of the people that live in Karabakh, understand their aspirations, increase protest against the military action and raise sympathy towards the inhabitants of the unrecognized and indomitable Republic.
The situation before the declaration of the independence
Aram Khachatryan
Aram Khachatryan, a retired lieutenant colonel, social activist, journalist and chief editor of the Internet resource "Center for support of the Russian-Armenian strategic and community initiatives", holder of military awards, a man with boundless energy full of sincerity and honesty. He speaks emotionally, sometimes jumping from one subject to another because his overflowing emotion. It was him who told me that everyone who comes to Karabakh, leaves their heart there, because it is a very special land. Karabakh is a really special land where mountains covered by curly woods, where the fragrant alpine meadows extend, and the sky is unusually clean and blue. But also, there are dead villages, the houses with empty eye-sockets that were hollowed out by shelling. There is pain from wounds received from the war, an extraordinary unity and willingness to be the last shield for their land and for the people living on it.
I asked Aram what the situation was like in Nagorno-Karabakh before they declared their independence.
– Azerbaijan has always pursued a policy of assimilation of the Armenian population in Karabakh. In addition, they began gradually cutting back the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Formally it was a creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region with Stepanakert, Shushi, Askeran district and Martakert district, and they began slowly passing the villages under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan. Then they began to prohibit the teaching of the Armenian language. Armenians could not enroll in prestigious universities of Azerbaijan, because whether we like it or not, Azerbaijan has always had nationalism as part of its policy.
Ashot Beglaryn
Ashot Beglaryn, journalist, writer, The Assistant of President of NKR, the participant of the first Karabakh war, the holder of military awards and literary prizes
– Now Azerbaijan tells us that we can have broad autonomy. Well, we already had autonomy and remember what it meant. If there was no independence movement, then everything would end up with the last Armenian leaving everything and going out of Karabakh. Here, in this region, the Armenian locality started being surrounded by newly created by Azerbaijan. By the way, the Meskhetian Turks from Central Asia were moved and resettled in Khojalu. They were brought down there to increase the population. They were then to become victims later. They were completely set up. This was a very subtle and at the same time a very harsh game.[1]
Albert Sarkisyan, artist, sculptor, the participant of the first Karabakh war, the holder of military awards and winner of various art competitions
– Azerbaijan conducted a policy of discrimination against Armenians when Karabakh was part of it. Everything was done in such a way to make life for Armenians harder and to create better living conditions for Azerbaijanis.
Ashot Beglaryan
– There were not too many Azerbaijanis in Karabakh, 20-25 percent, but our universities had special departments for them. The students from Aghdam and even from Baku came here to enroll in the universities and colleges. The Azerbaijani government tried to increase the Azerbaijani population here.
Albert Sarkisyan
– I live at the edge of Stepanakert. Before these events, first people threw rocks, just as hooligans. We had to set up night duty watches at the beginning. We didn't have any weapons, nothing. Just the neighbors got together and decided that it was necessary to watch out at nighttime, because anything can happen. The city of Shushi is right here, although essentially it is different cities, but you can walk there in half of hour [2]. So, it was easy to organize any provocation. First, it started without weapons, and then it became more and more violent, little by little.
It usually started like this: one village was mostly populated by Azerbaijanis, and next to it was an Armenian village. If somebody had to go from one Armenian place to another one he had to go through the Azerbaijani place, and they threw rocks at him. Then we started to do the same. It was like this all the time. First, they started using weapons, then we did. Machine guns was used by them first, then we did the same. Then they used Alazan [3], after that it was the same thing with artillery, they had and then we had.
– By the way, it could be noted, that during the Great Patriotic War, when Karabakh was part of Azerbaijani SSR, their authorities drafted an excessively large percentage of men from Karabakh. It turns out that they wanted to get rid of the young people from here. Many were gone, my grandfather was gone too, hundreds, thousands of people disappeared during that war.
"The Great Patriotic War was a good reason for the destruction of the Armenians of Karabakh. Almost 1/3 of Armenians of Karabakh, the 45,000 of 150,000 were sent to the front. As a consequence of this and other events there is no Armenians in Lowland Karabakh. The same fate was awaiting the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. "
About the Azerbaijani refugees
There was a comment on « A few words about the recent "four day war" in Nagorno-Karabakh» in RINF newspaper:
"One thing I would like to clarify about how the Azeris were treated in the 1991-1994 war, which was touched upon in this article but not fully explored. The refugee Armenians that are from Azerbaijan living in Karabakh today did not actually have it easy like the Azeris who were living in Armenia and thus their plight is not comparable. The Armenians were subject to massacres in Azerbaijan, the Azeris were not subjected to such crimes in Armenia. In fact, where Armenians in Azerbaijan lost everything and fled for their lives, the Azeris in Armenia sold their belongings and properties and moved to Azerbaijan. Here is the difference between Armenian Culture and Azeri-Turkish culture."
After I read it I tried to find out more information about this issue.
– After the war, many Armenians were returning to Soviet Armenia. These were the descendants of survivors of the Genocide. Then part of the Azerbaijanis moved of their own free accord to Azerbaijan.
Today, many Azerbaijani scientists say that it was the forced relocation of Azerbaijanis. But actually, it was not. Those who moved out got paid for their houses and for their cattle.
– Tell me more, please, since there is lots of speculation regarding this. I have read that Armenia suppressed Azerbaijanis, I saw the heartbreaking photos of refugees. But at the same time, I know that they were allowed to sell their property, and they moved out peacefully.
– The first refugees were Armenians, after Sumgayit and then after Baku's pogroms. There were 500,000 to 600,000 Armenians in Azerbaijan. Only in Baku 340,000 Armenians lived. And when they began to expel Armenians, it became clear that the Armenians could not remain there. At the same time Azerbaijanis began to move out to Azerbaijan. I'll tell you about the earthquake in 1988 [4]. Residents of the Azerbaijani villages in the Shirak region, where the earthquake happened left two days before this terrible event, just as if they received a warning. [5] Do you know how they left? I have a neighbor, Sandro, he lives in the same building as I do in Moscow. He bought a house from one of the Azerbaijanis in one of those villages. He told me that all Azerbaijanis sold their houses, loaded their stuff and peacefully left. He saw it with his own eyes. Everything was done according to the law. Some of them returned later, after the earthquake, and received compensation for destroyed homes.
Of course, it was not so easy for those who were forced to leave their houses because of the war. I have asked Ashot Belgaryan about those refugees. He was a military correspondent in that war and witnessed many events.
– Ashot, tell us about Azerbaijani refugees during the war of 1991-1994. I saw many destroyed houses in the villages in which they lived.
– War is war. The city of Agdan is now completely destroyed. The shelling of Stepanakert was carried out there. I have it in my articles, I personally witnessed it. And I wrote about it right away, in hot pursuit. Azerbaijanis fired long-range guns from Agdan. Their core group for the attack on Stepanakert was concentrated over there. They turned that city into a military base and the population was used as a human shield. Maybe they thought we would not dare attack. Well, this is war. If they shoot from there, then we shoot back. The aggression came from there and we managed to suppress that act of aggression. Of course, no normal person will remain in the village, if there is such a fierce war. It was a war zone, and the people voluntarily or forcibly had to flee.
When our military forces took the city of Shushi we found 10 thousand Grad shells in the Armenian Church there in the city. So, Azeri, being Muslims, made our Armenian church a warehouse for lethal weapons. So, if Armenians attacked their weapon storage, they would have blown up their own church.
– People lived in the basements In Stepanakert, women gave birth in the basements. There was no water, there was no light. People were killed while out trying to find water. A Russian journalist who was in Shushi at that time, wrote that at night drunk Azerbaijani soldiers could shell the residential houses in Stepanakert just for fun. They used missiles, while they're laughing, but people were dying. Then a very skilled military operation was initiated to liberate Shushi.
From the same comment in RINF: "Now its true that the Azeris who lived in the region of Karabakh didn't have it as easy as the Azeris from Armenia, but then why should they when Azerbaijan initiated a war against Karabakh and tried to starve the Armenians and thus commit genocide? The aggression of Azerbaijan was what caused Azeris to flee Karabakh, by necessity."
– There was an Article in the old Constitution of the Soviet Union that stated if any republic exits from the USSR, and if it had any autonomy provinces, they could also hold a referendum to secede from the republic. [6]
Nagorno-Karabakh got out from Azerbaijan, in accordance with the existing Constitution. It was totally legal.
In addition, the new Constitution of Azerbaijan says that Azerbaijan is not a legal successor of the Soviet Azerbaijan. They declared that they are a successor of the first Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, which lasted one and a half – two years. But Nagorno-Karabakh was not part of Azerbaijan at that time.
It turns out that in terms of jurisprudence the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh has all legal rights to its independence. Azerbaijan, from the point of view of their own documents commits aggression against the neighboring state.
[1] In 1992, the Armenian armed forces with the support of heavy equipment have implemented the seizure of Khojaly. As result, hundreds of civilians, including women and children were killed. Armenians warned about the storm of Khojaly a month before in order for Azerbaijani side to be able to withdraw the civilian population, which was not done. The most of the population were Meskhetian Turks there.
[2] The distance between Stepanakert and Shushi is approximately 14.6 km (8 miles).
[3] Alazan is anti-Grad unguided missiles, which can be also used just like an artillery system.
[4] On December 7, 1988 an earthquake happened in the Armenian city of Spitak. It reached 12 on the Richter scale, and as result of it the whole city with its own infrastructure, many buildings, and people was destroyed in just 30 seconds. 25 thousand people were killed, 500 thousand people were left homeless.
[5] There is a version that the earthquake occurred due to military trials, the preparation and conduct of which were well known by the Head of the Soviet Government Judas-Gorbachev.
[6] In April 1990, The Supreme Council of the USSR passed a law that regulated the process of exit any republic of the Soviet Union. According to Article 3 of this law, if a republic wishing to secede from the Soviet Union republic had autonomous entity within its structure, that autonomy had the right to hold a referendum to decide their status. When the "Republic of Azerbaijan" in August 1991, withdrew from the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh was declared a republic (NKR) in the structure of the USSR, and then, after the USSR collapse, the NKR trough the referendum, declared its independence.
Aram Khachatryn

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Fall weather brings out the cook in me along with some scrumptious ingredients for one pot meals. I love to play around with the different combinations of herbs, spices, vegetables and legumes to create new dishes. Between my little backyard garden and my CSA (community supported agriculture) there is quite a variety of fresh produce at this time of the year.
This week I was reacquainted with an old favorite herb, sorrel. A member of the oxalis family, sorrel is used widely in European dishes. I was first introduced to sorrel when working with two wonderful herbalists in Branford Connecticut. I've mentioned these women in a previous blog post and it occurs to me each time I am reminded of them how much they positively impacted my life. One of my jobs was to run the day to day operations of their herb gardens and shop. I loved getting paid to be in the cutting and formal herb gardens. Sorrel was a favorite herb of mine at the time and so I learned how to prepare it. Since then I have learned more about it's health benefits and potential risks for certain people.
Sorrel is a good source of iron, potassium, vitamin A and C. Health benefits of sorrel include aiding good eyesight, strengthen the immune system, stimulate the liver, aid digestion and it can increase circulation and energy level. However, due to it's oxalic acid content people with kidney stones, gallstones or with rheumatic conditions should use it moderately if at all.
I adjusted this recipe from Mother Earth News http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/sorrel-soup-recipe-zmrz1301zmat.aspx#axzz3FHXPZbNK, I swapped out butter for Earth Balance.
I served this hot as a first course with ginger glazed salmon and wild rice to follow. I was lucky to have fresh tender sorrel greens available through my CSA, but you can keep this recipe tucked away for spring if you'd like when the new tender growth is readily available.
Roots and herbs she gathers, morning, night and noon, by raising dog star underneath the moon.
In her fragrant kitchen while the lost world sleeps, Gentle midnight priestess, she mixes and steeps.
Poppy leaves and wormwood, Peony petals split, dreamy hop flowers added for a headache quilt.
Hands only made for healing, nostrils made for smell, forehead wide and yearning, eyes fixed in a spell.
With the loose prescriptions floating through her head, Such are prayers she mutters ere she goes to bed.
This entry was posted in Cooking for Health, Gardening, Health Coaching, poetry, Whole foods cooking and tagged gardening, gratitude, health, Health coach, Herbs, Institute of Integrative Nutrition, New England, nutrition education, poetry, recipe, Sorrel, vegan, vegetarian, whole foods cooking classes. Bookmark the permalink.


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YouShoot: The HonkyTonk Man (2007)
as Joe Broni
Don't blink, but if you want to see Joe Broni tangle (via video) with The HonkyTonk Man, you will love YouShoot! In all reality, this is a freaking hilarious interview with HTM, regardless of whether or not you like me. Kayfabe Commentaries really has a gold series on their hands here.
Get YouShoot: The HonkyTonk Man on DVD!
Posted by David C. Hayes at 11:37 PM No comments:
Minute Movies (2004, Book Surge Press)
"The Latex Grail"
Buy Minute Movies in paperback!
If you enjoy the movies and reading fun books, you will get a big kick out of Minute Movies. Minute Movie is a new book that is made up of seven short screenplays. All the stories are fanciful and imaginative. It makes great reading. It is a compilation of seven scripts written by three different authors, Byron Snyder, Sarah Price and David Hayes. Each story has its own uniqueness and style along with some unforgettable characters. Scary Stories to Dramatic surprises awaits filmmakers to interpret their versions of these original stories. Walk with the Devil or even laugh at an unusual circumstance is just a few of the plots that Minute Movies offers. A young writer finds his future in an old typewriter that was owned by the Hemingway in The Ghost Writer. A young man goes through a life changing experience while stuck with a homeless couple on Christmas Eve in Latex Grail. The Elevator from Hell is the story of a hit man escaping from his life of crime when he enters a building with an elevator that has a mind of its own. A weekend getaway turns into a haunting experience when newlyweds find themselves stranded in a mountain town and forced to spend the night at The Vineyard House. A young woman discovers the truth about her boyfriend while on their way home after a party in Unknown Circumstances. A ghostly campfire story at a Boy Scout camping trip changes into one of its own Scary Stories. A wife with an abusive husband finds gratification in a side-splitting accident in Unusual Justice.
EXW Xtreme Tuesday 12/7/10
How do we end 2010? In a bloodbath of course!
EXW Xtreme Tuesday 1/4/11
Extreme for a new year! Joined by Ryan Castellucci, listen to the aftermath of EXW's Bad Inentions!
Seasons in the Abyss (2011, Bloodbound Books)
"Chaste"
76 Stories. 4 Seasons. 1 book. Welcome to the Abyss! If you stay awhile, you'll find that horror is always in the forecast, regardless of the time of year. This anthology of flash fiction will be available on Feb. 1, 2011.
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Visit Bloodbound Books for more information!
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Serial Killer Magazine #8 featuring "The Cleveland Torso Murders"
"The Cleveland Torso Murders"
David's profile of the notorious Cleveland Torso Killer from the 1920s is featured in this issue of Serial Killer Magazine!
SERIAL KILLER MAGAZINE is an official release of the talented artists and writers at SerialKillerCalendar.com. It is chock full of artwork, rare documents, FBI files and in depth articles regarding serial murder. It is also packed with unusual trivia, exclusive interviews with the both killers and experts in the field and more information that any other resource available to date. Although the magazine takes this subject very seriously and in no way attempts to glorify the crimes describe in it, it also provides a unique collection of rare treats (including mini biographical comics, crossword puzzles and trivia quizzes). This is truly a one of a kind collectors item for anyone interested in the macabre world of true crime, prison art or the strange world of murderabelia.
Focal Point (2009)
Written and directed by Ernie Lausten, and starring Kevin Tye, Focal Point is a short film detailing the accidental ownership of a camera and just how bad finding something on the bus can be. For you viewing pleasure, the entire film is below.
Focal Point premiered at the 2009 Deadly Event as part of the 2009 International Horror and Sci Fi Film Festival.
Vampegeddon: Hilarious Review from OLP
This is absolutely genius!


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May 15, 2019 | Norfolk Ale |
We're thrilled that we have linked arms with another Norfolk artisan producer to create a brand-new product which celebrates the county's world-famous Maris Otter malting barley – inspired by the East of England Co-op's Sourced Locally initiative.
The new product is a malted ice-cream produced by Dann's Farm Ice Cream, of north Tuddenham, with a lot of Moon Gazer know how – all designed to give us a tasty reminder of just how great Norfolk's farmers are at growing barley.
Maris Otter barley is so important to our home county and beyond. Not only is it great that local Norfolk brewers have such a fine barley on their doorstep, but the fact that it is used by brewers all over the world – in over 20 countries – is something which is to be celebrated.
We were keen that people other than beer lovers could appreciate this success story and was thinking of ideas on how we could use Maris Otter barley in other products and not just our Moon Gazer ales and lagers.
The concept was inspired by a conversation with the team at the East of England Co-op, who spoke about their Sourced Locally initiative and mentioned Dann's Farm Ice Cream.
The idea was simple but having contacted Dann's it was clear that there would be certain challenges in the production but also in wanting to impart as natural and pure a flavour as possible. This is where the meeting of brewing minds and ice cream minds came together perfectly.
We knew that getting the maximum flavour out of malt is as much to do with science as craft, in that the malt releases the optimal level of sugars and flavours during very a precise process of quantity, timing and temperature.
We therefore realised to get the maximum flavour we would follow the exact same process as we do at the brewery but using milk instead of water.
The results were astonishing – not only was the flavour so deep and malty but it had an earthy naturalness we hadn't found in other malted ice creams.
Following a few taste tests at local food fairs, we were bowled over by the response, not just to the flavour, but also to the appreciation of its Norfolk heritage.
The experimental recipe has gone into production for launch during the East of England Co-op's Sourced Locally Fortnight which runs from 1- 15 June 2019.
Pop along to your local store for a tasting and enjoy the tasty combo of Norfolk Maris Otter, Moon Gazer ale and Dann's Farm. A big shout out also to all at Crisp Malting and Mark and his team at H Banhams Ltd for all that they do to keep this barley variety as strong as it is.
We love it and know you will too! Enjoy.


The Big Lemon operates Service 21A on a contract with Brighton & Hove City Council. The service operates one journey each Saturday between Whitehawk, Queen's Park, London Road Shops, The Old Steine and Brighton Station.
CitySaver tickets bought on Route 21A are valid on all buses on the Brighton & Hove network, and we also accept Concessionary Passes, Key Cards, Mobile Tickets and Saver tickets issued by Brighton & Hove Buses and Compass Travel.


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Senators Heinrich, Udall call for investigation into ICE detention centers
Politics - Government
by: KRQE Media
Posted: Nov 19, 2019 / 05:38 AM MST / Updated: Nov 19, 2019 / 05:45 AM MST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)- New Mexico's two senators are asking for investigations into ICE detention centers.
The Albuquerque Journal is reporting that Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall are seeking investigations into migrant conditions at all detention facilities. They say their request comes following continued reports of inhumane treatment of migrants.
They also singled out the detention center in Otero County in southern New Mexico. ICE has not commented on the investigation request.
Santa Fe museum announces Jesus art exhibit
The best pinballers in the state go full tilt in Rio Rancho
Mayor Tim Keller tackles city's most controversial topics during one-on-one interview
Aquarium hosts sea turtle event for whole family
Animal Welfare, Cub Scouts build doghouses for local pets
Albuquerque Comic-Con invades the convention center
📝 Report a Typo📮 Submit a News Tip📱Download the KRQE Apps
More Politics - Government Stories
by Allison Keys / Jan 17, 2020
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - On Friday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced her support for a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in New Mexico for adults 21 and older, citing the move as a major economy drive that would create thousands of jobs.
According to a news release, the proposed House Bill 160 is based on a report by the Cannabis Legalization Working Group that was appointed by the governor to study the issue last year. The group had public meetings and is said to have received over 200 pages of public comment from residents across the state prior to issuing a framework for public health, public safety, testing, and regulation.
Governor adds legalizing recreational marijuana to 2020 legislative agenda
by Rachel Knapp / Jan 16, 2020
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The push to legalize recreational marijuana has made the governor's call sheet for the upcoming legislative session, but will lawmakers pass it?
KRQE News 13 spoke with a political analyst from the University of New Mexico on this issue. He said whether it's left up to lawmakers or through the voters, this will be a highly debated bill.
New Mexico governor announces ambitious legislative agenda
by KRQE Media, Associated Press / Jan 16, 2020
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE/AP) - The governor is sharing her top priorities for this year's legislative session.
One of the hot items on the list — legalizing marijuana and the impact it could have on the state. Gov. Lujan Grisham says if the bill passes it will create 11,000 jobs. She also talked about putting $320 million towards early childhood education and making college free.


Snow falling across the empty fields we watch from behind the trees. The white winter sky falls into the fields and we are weightless. Letting go of each branch we fall into the sky. Over time we fall back into the fields.
With an apathetic look in tired eyes he turned away from the edge, hundreds of feet above the turbulent waters, and walked toward the forest, across the empty road absent of any traffic since the morning, into the cultivated fields, curiously empty, and sat next to the stone marker and finally wept.
Past physical limits. Out of fingertips reach. With eyes closed the world opens unto itself, consumes itself until the ground beneath feet is gone and we stand in the vast emptiness the space, black with eyes open, yet filled with light when closed and walk upon vibrating building blocks toward the middle.


Refurbish that flea market find or hand-me-down piece that just doesn't fit in with your decor with Americana Decor Chalky Finish. Send pictures of your project to us to enter to win fabulous prizes!
PHOTOS: A "before" photo, one process photo showing the Americana Decor Chalky Finish product, and a final, staged photo of your piece.
TUTORIAL: A document containing simple instructions for completing the project and a short paragraph about what inspired you.
BLOG LINK: If your photos and tutorial are published on your blog, email us the link. Winners will be required to email high-resolution, non-watermarked versions of photographs.
The sweepstakes will start at noon on May 21, 2015, and end at 11:59 p.m. August 31, 2015.
Eligibility: The contest is open to legal residents of the United States and void outside the United States, and where prohibited. Must be 18 years or older. Employees of DecoArt and their immediate families are not eligible to enter. The contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Selection of Winner: From all eligible entries received, the staff of DecoArt will select a single winner based on the application of Judging Criteria in their sole discretion. The winner will be notified by e-mail to obtain information at least one week after the drawing date. If the winner cannot be reached or does not acknowledge notification within seven days of the first attempt, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected as described above.
Rights to Materials Submitted: All submissions made as part of this contest, including the PHOTOS and the TUTORIAL, shall become the nonexclusive property of DecoArt. You hereby grant to DecoArt a nonexclusive right to publish the PHOTOS and the TUTORIAL submitted for this contest in print or online in whole or in part with or without attribution.


If the bank reconciliation has not been closed you should see a delete option at the bottom of the reconciliation. The delete option will allow you to restart the reconciliation process.
To change the date on a closed bank reconciliation it will need to be re-opened, deleted, and reentered. Depending on the permissions that your administrator has assigned to your login, you may have the ability to delete your bank reconciliation or you may need to ask your Church Administrator or diocese to do so for you.
Review the bottom of the bank reconciliation screen to see what permission you have.
Support is not authorized to reopen bank reconciliations when you are part of a diocese. You must go through the channels outlined above if your login does not provide this option.
Please note: When you delete the current bank reconciliation, none of your deposits, checks, or journal entries will be deleted, even if you entered them after starting the bank reconciliation. You will have to re-enter the interest income and bank charges.
Bank Reconciliation: Can I make a journal entry for a date that is in a closed bank reconciliation?


Learn Chinese phrases! Sometimes the best way to learn a language is not just with words, but also the Chinese phrases. Get some of the coolest vocab today from TutorMandarin.
How To Say "What Do You Do Today" in Chinese?


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Home / Joe Holiday
Joe Holiday
While not as well-known as Stan Getz, this tenor saxophonist has had a similar career, minus the psychological torture. Born Joseph Befumo in Sicily, Italy, on May 10, 1925, he was a hard bopper whose commercial career took off when he mastered and began recording a world music style, in this case the mambo. A single in this style, enthusiastically entitled "This Is Happiness," was a hit in 1951, a status that not surprisingly led to more recording opportunities, including a series of sessions for Prestige featuring top modern jazz players such as drummer Max Roach and pianist Billy Taylor.
Vocalist supreme Sarah Vaughan also did well recording Holiday's original composition "Serenada." His father was a clarinetist who moved his family to New York City when Holiday was about a half a year in age. Based out of Newark, the saxophonist began leading his own combos as early as the...
Vocalist supreme Sarah Vaughan also did well recording Holiday's original composition "Serenada." His father was a clarinetist who moved his family to New York City when Holiday was about a half a year in age. Based out of Newark, the saxophonist began leading his own combos as early as the mid-'40s. Holiday's initial recording sessions were done for the King outfit at the outset of the subsequent decade. He featured percussion heavily on his recording dates, wisely making use of players from Machito's Afro-Cubans. Mambo Jazz, a set of his Prestige sessions, was reissued in 1994. Holiday also has great talent as an abstract painter, some of his canvases using jazz musicians as a theme.
Eugene Chadbourne -All Music Guide
Joe Holiday Albums
Holiday For Jazz + Bonus tracks
FSRCD 439
Albums featuring Joe Holiday
Testifying + Young Blues + Groove Street + Forrest Fire (4 LPs on 2 CDs)


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Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies - MAPS
Psychedelic Fundamentals
MAPS Public Benefit Corp
MDMA Therapy Training
Zendo Project
MAPS in the Media
MAPS Bulletin
MAPS Podcast
Participate in Trial
In Memoriam: Dr. Lyle Craker
It is with sadness that we share the passing of Dr. Lyle Craker on May 15 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.
Dr. Craker was a world renowned scientist and professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who studied medicinal plants, herbs and spices. Dr. Craker began working with MAPS in 1999 on a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seeking a license to grow marijuana for FDA and DEA-regulated medical marijuana research in order to end the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)'s monopoly on marijuana for research purposes. The lawsuit went to trial inside DEA headquarters in 2005, with DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Mary Ellen Bittner ruling in favor of Dr. Craker and MAPS, concluding that it would be in the public interest for Dr. Craker to be issued a DEA license. Unfortunately, the DEA rejected the recommendation of ALJ Bittner and managed to sustain the NIDA monopoly until 2021, after Dr. Craker was ill with Alzheimer's. Dr. Craker's efforts were key in helping to end the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)'s monopoly on marijuana for research purposes. A timeline of Dr. Craker's work with MAPS is posted on MAPS' website. Dr. Craker's willingness to devote much of his career to the study of plants, herbs and spices laid the groundwork for others in the field. Dr. Craker will be sorely missed, and we extend our condolences to his family.
Two Expanded Access Study Sites Now Open for Enrollment
April 2022 Giving Report: Donors Fund Psychedelic Research and Education With More Than $540,000 in Philanthropic Contributions
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Read the Latest March Issue of AOGME's monthly newsletter, OGME Now!
Get more information on recent updates and resources on the single GME accreditation system.
A listing of the AOGME activities planned during Educating Leaders 2019, the AACOM Annual Conference.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Board of Directors recently confirmed the appointment of Breanne Jaqua, DO, MPH, to serve on the ACGME Review Committee for Emergency Medicine.
Read the Latest February Issue!
In this webinar, Mr. Paul Johnson, Executive Director, Institutional Review Committee, ACGME, provided practical advice for designated institutional officials, institutional review coordinators, and others regarding the ACGME institutional site visits.
Read the Latest January Issue!
Read about recent updates and resources on the single GME accreditation system.
The AOGME will feature two webinars in February. One focused on building an Osteopathic Recognition curriculum for a pediatric residency program; the other on the ACGME Institutional Review Committee and the institutional requirements.
Read the Latest November Issue!
The webinar will be held on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 from 4:00 to 5:00 PM ET.
A highlight of the AOGME activities planned during Educating Leaders 2019, the AACOM Annual Conference and a review of the activities at the conference in 2018.
After residency training, starting the job search for the first post-training position can be a daunting process. This webinar provides information to help trainees understand the job search process and provide tips on when and how to get started. Webinar participants are better able to understand the timeline for the physician job search, understand the difference between in-house recruiters and recruitment firms, and navigate the job search process.
The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation is seeking applicants for the Macy Faculty Scholars Program, which is designed to identify and nurture the careers of promising educational innovators in medicine and nursing. An informational webinar for applicants will be held on Dec. 14 (the application deadline is Feb. 14, 2018).
Find the latest updates and resources on the single GME accreditation system.
AACOM and the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators (AODME) announce historic decision to provide united leadership for the full continuum of osteopathic medical education.
AODME Board Member Thomas Mohr, DO, MS, FACOI was interviewed for an article in The DO on the residency matching process.
Information was presented by the AAMC staff and selected Student Affairs deans from selected schools at the AAMC Boston November 2017.
Dr. Robert W. Hostoffer Jr. along with his Allergy-Immunology Chief Fellow, Dr. Brian P. Peppers, have developed an innovative research training program–Scholar Seven–that is now available to AODME members in a series of webinars.
AODME was honored to present the Special Lifetime Achievement Award to Abraham M. Jeger, PhD, FAODME, at the AACOM/AODME Joint Conference on April 27, 2017.
Lynn Mark, DO, MA, FACOFP, FAOCME was inducted into the AODME Collegium of Fellows on April 27 at the President's Reception in Baltimore, MD.
Interview with Dr. Ulrick Vieux on "Confronting Reality"
In the Confronting Reality two-part series, Ulrick Vieux, DO, MS, Eric Jarmon, DO, and Stephanie Kuntz, DO, will teach viewers how to identify at-risk individuals and offer strategies for addressing mental illness.
AODME Interview with Lisa Nash, DO, MS-HPEd, FAAFP.
CME during elective program to Island Nation provides invaluable insight for Malagasy Physicians.
For the first time, AODME and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) will partner to host the ACGME/AODME Pre-Conference for Osteopathic Programs and Institutions at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference.
AODME Interview with Rico J. Blanco, AOA Education Project Manager.
A short Q&A with Tiffany Moss, Executive Director, Osteopathic Accreditation at ACGME after her recent Webinar on Pitfalls of the OR Application Process.


Mr A. Gondola | A Normal God | Random Goal | Mr Do Analog | A Normal Dog | A Room Gland | A Gold Manor | Modal Rag No.
My first band that really toured was Baby Bartok and played hundreds of gigs all over the UK. We did Publishing deals with the famous CaVa studios in Glasgow... glorious but then blew up because of a difference of opinion on 'Public Enemy' and house music. During the 90's I was immersed in the Drum and bass scene in Edinburgh. Tablas and double time dnb beats mixed like water.
Put out 3 tracks on a compilation called Radio Wonderlust. I was called simply Drongo then. After I formed my own label Flying Mountain and went further afield to South India.
In 2003/4 I recorded and composed with top classical South Indian musicians in Kerala, India living there for two years. Two records came out of this - Scale and 100 Fields along well as two books on Indian music. The record features some of the best up and coming talent in South Indian carnatic/classical scene.
In Oct 2005 I worked with some rappers on the Elemental album from Oakland, California just after New Orleans had flooded. Azeem shines through as an emerging auteur on this record.
Crash landing back in Manchester I got together an electro punk band The Good Hurt. Short, glorious, bloody and full of electrcity - you can't get this in a power gym. Of an afternoon and night in Manchester I also produced a number of exciting projects with artists such as Louis Oak Anderson who I produced and performed with on the record "Up North in the Coalshed". TheWhatSupreme,Sensei C and many others.
At the end of 2007 I recorded Lucky Man Alive in Cario. 1 day in Cairo - I meet a percussionsit and violin player on the hop and do 7 tracks.
May 2009 - finished a soundtrack record called '1200 Miles As The White Crane Flys'. It features Ian Dixon the auter jazz and primitive flute genius of Manchester. 4 years later and my online collaboration with a friend Boofa in NZ sees the light of day.
Drongomala, Sinik & Tree : Aug 2009. the second 'lost' EP from the The Good Hurt of Manchester originally recorded in 2007 but mothballed after the band imploded.'. Check it out. It's even better than the first one.
Release of preacherman house single (When You Go You Take The) Garden With You from forthcoming Drongomala album titled This is The Way.
Released Goodbye Anoop - South Indian Folk (folk and classical) album with Vamsi Das dedicated to a lost friend.
Spanish language Album with top tango/jazz artists called Almas Buenas - recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina - in Spanish.


Join Xilinx Authorized Training Provider Hardent for a free 2-hour training session on best practices for achieving timing closure in the Vivado Design Suite.
This event will provide an overview of the FPGA design best practices and skills required to achieve faster timing closure using the UltraFast Design Methodology approach with the Vivado Design Suite.
We will explore the recommended process to improve design performance and reliability, and illustrate how you can reduce design and implementation time by following these guidelines. The presentation will be followed by a brief demonstration to illustrate the techniques of baselining.
Hardent's FPGA Power User Breakfast is designed to help attendees make the most of their time away from projects by providing technical information that can be used to maximize productivity back in the office. The event is free to attend and includes a question and answer session with FPGA specialist and trainer Reg Zatrepalek.