On the Money

I’m flattered that you thought enough people would be interested in my character’s income to include Ed the Sock in your “Who Earns What” feature [June]. There’s only one problem: your figure is four years out of date. But I’m actually writing to thank you. I’d rather my income be under-reported than inflated in case any tax officials are reading Toronto Life!
Steven Kerzner, Executive Producer, Ed’s Night Party

Neither Camilla Gibb, nor we her agent, nor her publisher Doubleday Canada offered your journalist any information for “Who Earns What,” and so it is not, perhaps, surprising that the figure you have supplied for her is entirely off the mark. We knew that Toronto Life published a fiction issue every summer, but we didn’t realize you published fiction in every issue.
Anne McDermid, Anne McDermid & Associates

Baby Talk

I have an alternative suggestion for “parenting guru” Beverley Cathcart-Ross on how to respond to a child throwing a tantrum on a supermarket floor [“House Rules,” June]. Instead of sitting patiently on the windowsill, I recommend she remove the child from the store as quickly as possible. Why should other shoppers be subjected to this child’s bad behaviour? This type of self- indulgent parenting in public places shows a total lack of consideration for others.
Leonard Willschick, Toronto

As a parent educator and mother of four teenagers, I have seen how Alfred Adler’s philosophy (which Beverley Cathcart-Ross follows) has improved our family’s relationships and my children’s behaviour, aca­demically and otherwise. Having A-plus students who are unhappy or whose self esteem is conditional upon their success is surely not anyone’s goal for their child. The role of the parent is to explain the age- appropriate consequence to the child, and let him make an age-appropriate choice.
Doone Estey, Toronto

Driving Idea

Daniel Stoffman’s article on the taxi industry was informative but failed to look at broader options. If a company could provide clean cars with courteous, knowledgeable drivers at competitive prices, who wouldn’t seek out its cabs? The city has created a crisis through over-regulation. If they got out of the way and let the cab companies compete in an open market, the industry would sort itself out.
Ryan Davey, Toronto

Court Battles

Hockey will always be king in Canada. But basketball has its place in this city, buoyed by a growing base of young, ethnic Torontonians. In “Way of the Dinosaur” [June], Jay Teitel rails about the legitimacy of basketball, with phrases like, “We’re just too out of tune with the sport…” Which “we” is he referring to? The middle-aged, white, RRSP-maxing-out we? What about the huge percentage of Torontonians who aren’t middle-aged or white? What of the hordes of youth in this city who relate to basketball, and hip hop, on a cultural level? This is the demographic that will keep the Raptors a profitable franchise for years to come, not pensioners drinking Labatt 50 and watching reruns of the ’67 Leafs on ESPN Classic. The bias of over-ripened sports writers will be the only thing going the way of the dinosaur. Basketball, in all its slam-dunking glory, is here to stay.
Alistair Kyte, Toronto

Oops!

Apologies to Maggie Cassella, who was misquoted in July’s Toronto Poll. We mistakenly reported that she is opposed to same-sex marriage when she herself is, in fact, married to her same-sex partner. Toronto Life regrets the error and any embarrassment it may have caused.

Apology

In the August issue of Toronto Life, in an article entitled “Down in the Dumps,” we stated that a sludge hauler was involved in an accident that took the life of two Michigan men. In fact, the truck involved in the accident was a trash hauler, not a sludge hauler, nor was the truck owned or operated by Terratec Environmental or any of its employees. Toronto Life apologizes for this error and regrets any harm that may have been caused to Terratec Environmental or any of its employees.