Just What The City Needs

A Gentile Mel Lastman! Although in retrospect maybe things would be better if he spent more time in greeting celebrities and marching in parades the city might be better off.

Bo knows ... The mayor
By ROB GRANATSTEIN

Tomorrow is one of those rare occasions when a number of Sun readers -- at least those with a fetish for 1979 films -- will wish they were David Miller.

Miller will welcome actress and star of the movie 10, Bo Derek, to Toronto to for a press conference to raise awareness about the illegal animal parts trade.

Not a perfect 10!

I'm sure Miller will make a trip to his high-priced stylist to get those blond highlights redone for the meeting, right after he returns from Calgary with his band of merry men and women -- 16 politicians in all -- who spent the weekend gabbing and gorging.

Miller revels in being mayor -- and he should. It's a position held by very few over the years, comes with great responsibility and great opportunity.

In a few short years, Miller has had numerous opportunities to do really cool things, like skating with the Toronto Maple Leafs at a team practice, swinging the wrecking ball to start the tear-down of Regent Park, hobnobbing with various celebs, appearing on stage with Martin Short and the like.

Being mayor of Toronto is a great job. I wouldn't want it, though. Not with that council.

A PERFECT 10?

On Friday, Toronto's new urban waterfront playground, HtO Park, will open and I'm really interested to see the finished product and gauge the reaction. One of the key features is a concrete beach that steps down to the water so you can dip your toes in Lake Ontario -- something you can't really do downtown.

Found directly south of the Rogers Centre, this park has been in the works since 2003. It was supposed to be finished in 2005, according to the city's web site, but what's a couple of years in this city, anyway?

Designed by Janet Rosenberg and Claude Cormier, there are six different elements to the $9.5 million, 4.5 acre park. At the beach you'll find umbrellas cast in concrete to shade you from the sun, and beach loungers should be available. There are walking and cycling paths and, yes, even grass, plus fancy lighting to make the park and the water come alive at night. Best of all, there are spectacular views of Porter Airlines planes taking off and landing at the City Centre Airport.

BUSH LEAGUE

Speaking of terrible ads, has anyone caught CBC's advertising for the Under-20 World Cup of Soccer? If we're going to look so amateur, why are we inviting the world to see it? Those ads are something Ryerson students would flunk for. Kids standing alone in front of a weak wood fence set showing off some soccer moves, while saying names of countries coming for the tournament. Why embarrass the kids that way?