MCMAHON’s TOXIC COVER-UP IN BEACHES
September 10, 2012
By J.J.
WARNING! DANGER! WARNING!
Would you live in a location that was constructed directly above a former gas station? Unless you enjoy getting sick for attention (Munchausen Syndrome), your answer is an emphatic “NO”!! When the Ward 32 E.I.D. (Environmental Investigations Division) began researching the development at the North-East corner of Queen and Woodbine, we uncovered more than we had bargained for. Noxious vapors emanating from a deep pool of ground-water mixed with gasoline and chemicals immediately overwhelmed the crew. Over a hundred industrial toxins associated with a service station, including benzene, were also a concern.
After donning protective gear, samples of the deadly soup and contaminated soil were collected at night and carefully indexed for analysis. By day, photographs were taken of the ecological plunder…and just in the nick of time! The literal ‘cover-up’ began an hour later as the oozing pit of toxic brew was quickly filled in by heavy machinery (out of sight, out of mind?)
The former gas station and Coffee Time at Queen and Woodbine has been targeted by developers like so many other unrealistic locations in the Beaches. We’re quite sure the developer would love to move tenants on to this property immediately and just build around them. Unfortunately for the developer, it will be many years before this location is safe for humans to inhabit. The leukemia-causing benzene is not something that caring Beachers would wish on anyone. The big “C” has touched all our lives in some way.
Many people have asked us, “Why does your Ward 32 newspaper exist”? Heck, that’s like asking, “Why are ugly women opposed to beauty pageants”? Some questions have obvious answers. We are the only news entity that is asking the hard-hitting questions that are required to expose the circumstances surrounding the travesty that is testing the strength of the moral fabric of our community.
So, here are a few questions worth pondering: Isn’t it funny that the health of citizens due to environmental hazards hasn’t been considered news-worthy in quite a while? And isn’t it funny that most media outlets seem more interested in the Kardashians and the TomKat divorce than the wanton destruction of pristine areas for profit? And isn’t it also funny that developers are getting away with murder, nationally and locally? It’s so funny we forgot to laugh!!! When Ms. Brockovich’s office responded to our desperate pleas for advice, it was made clear to us that motivating the citizenry to get involved in ecology, pollution and conservation issues is difficult these days. It’s not really fair to say that people are more self-involved than in the past, because to-day’s personal and societal challenges can be overwhelming due to a constant and confusing barrage of issuesThree facts are perfectly clear: 1-All politics are local. 2-We love our Beaches.3-We locals can save our Beaches.
Further development in the Beaches can only bring disease, death and disaster. The Woodbine and Queen situation is an oozing example of things to come if we don’t act now. One last question: What kind of person or should we say socialpath would knowingly endanger tens-of-thousands of human lives? Answer: The kind that will make tens-of-millions in profits.
Your Ward News 
September 14, 2012 at 11:35 am
The question “why are ugly women opposed to beauty pageants”, is discriminating and derogatory toward all women in general. The fact you publish such terms on the main article of your paper is an insult to all Torontonians! Please be more community sensitive in future editions, thank you.
September 14, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Linda you have been sniffing the TOXIC fumes the statement you refer to is just an analagy somebody else created it we used it as an example you highlighted it what is really insensitive is the TOXIC coverup quit smelling the fumes as they may also lead to halucinations and possibly cause you severe Drame Bramidge so put that in your pipe and smoke it
February 17, 2018 at 8:53 am
No Linda is right. It doesn’t matter that someone else created it. You choose to use it in your article showing your true misogynist colors. You also don’t do the research you claim to do. If you did you would know that an environmental clean up of that area was done and it has been dreamed safe to live. Let’s see these so called tests you conducted. You also talk about these findings you have or research that you did but never put any of the details in your articles so for all we know you just make up those facts like you make up all the other crap in your articles.