Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Crime Reporting: Sex Assault in Scarborough Knob Hill Park
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| Toronto Police released this photo of Devon Steven Simpson, 32. |
Sex Assault in Scarborough Knob Hill Park
A park that is often used by children and parents as a short cut to and from school is now seen as dark, tainted, and unsafe.
On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, at roughly 3:30 p.m., it was alleged that a 13-year-old girl was walking through Knob Hill Park after school in the Brimley Road and Graylee Avenue area, which also connects to Danforth Road, when she was approached by a man and sexually assaulted.
According to a news release from Toronto police on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, it mentioned that the man “engaged her [the 13-year-old girl] in conversation” and assaulted her once “they approached a secluded area”.
The Toronto police and news media outlets described the accused male as “5’6, 160 lbs., with short, brown hair and brown eyes.”
The man fled the scene at the time but “through investigation, the suspect was identified and a warrant was issued for his arrest and he turned himself in,” Det.-Sgt. Steve Foden said.
Through thorough investigation, and DNA results, police have identified the suspect as 32-year-old Devon Steven Simpson who walked into a police station on the following Saturday evening and turned himself in.
Simpson is currently in police custody and “he is charged with sexual assault,” confirmed Det.-Sgt. Foden.
Det.-Sgt. Foden of 43 Division was not able to say much in regards to the incident and the victim because it is currently in the hands of detectives in the Sex Crimes Unit.
“It happened in 43 Division but now it is not our case, it’s the Sex Crimes Unit who’s in charge,” stated Det.-Sgt. Foden.
When asked if there were any accounts by eyewitnesses, Det.-Sgt. Foden said, “The victim did report it to someone afterwards but there was nobody there that witnessed it, there was no other person than the victim and the accused.”
Officials confirmed that the 13-year-old’s mother called 9-1-1 once she got home and was immediately rushed to Sick Kids Hospital to receive medical attention.
“She reported to the police, we took the information from her and with all sexual assault victims, we take them and they get medical treatment,” Det.-Sgt. Foden said.
The 13-year-old victim was reported to have been treated and released from hospital. Updates on her condition are with sex crimes detectives. “If there’s any contact with the victim, it’s with the sex crimes detective,” confirmed Det.-Sgt. Foden.
Det. Kim Hencock of the Sex Crimes Unit was unreachable but officials at 43 Division have said this incident is under an ongoing investigation.
Knob Hill JR. Public School is located right by Brimley Road and Graylee Avenue area where the sex assault case took place in broad daylight. It is understood that the 13-year-old victim walked passed the school right before she reached the park and was approached and assaulted by 32-year-old Devon Steven Simpson.
“It is one of the concerns for my community,” said Sharon White, principal at the Knob Hill JR. Public School who spoke on the incident. “But the fact that it’s located that close to a school doesn’t change the fact that it’s a serious incident that happened in a community and affected a community,” continued White as she went on to explain that just because the incident happened so close to the school, it didn’t affect the school a whole lot but safety measures were regarded.
Once White was aware of the sexual assault incident, she took immediate precautions and had more supervisors out in the field during the children’s recesses the following day.
“Generally we have very good supervision, there are many teachers out there. However, we did send a letter home to our community informing them that an incident happened nearby and just reiterating street safety tips and making sure that there’s appropriate supervision for children,” said White with a soft-spoken, diligent voice.
White continued to explain the safety measures and regulations the school follows when adults and strangers enter the school property.
“Whether it was this person or not [referring to the 32-year-old suspect, Devon Steven Simpson] our general supervision for teachers are that anybody who enters the school property has to check in at the office first- whether in the field or coming into the building directly,” White said. “If there are adults on the field that my teachers don’t know then they approach them and ask them if they can help them and then they’ll direct them to our school office,” continued White.
White explained that (for example) if a stranger looked suspicious and was not cooperating with the staff, or if the suspect from the sexual assault case was present in the yard and made the school community feel unsafe, she mentioned that she would then put the school on lockdown.
“A lockdown is a very serious thing that happens when there’s an immediate threat to the safety of the people in the building,” White said.
When asked if she was immediately notified of the incident and if she heard anything from witnesses, parents, or students, White stated, “No, I personally was not [notified of incident immediately]. I don’t know when the incident happened, I just know that the media reported that it happened then but I don’t have the information and I haven’t heard anything from anyone.”
Residents of the area are in shock that the sexual assault incident had happened so close to them. Many parents are shaken because their children and the children in their community all attend schools within the area- many of which attend Knob Hill JR. Public School.
“I can’t believe that could happen! It’s always busy with parents and children after school around 3:30 when it [the sexual assault incident] happened! I have friends in the building who walk their children past there in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon,” said Susan B. a resident at a nearby building.
Residents around the Toronto east-end park are now safe from 32-year-old suspect, Devon Steven Simpson as he remains in police custody with a pending bail hearing.
CC24 DAILY NEWSPAPER by Yours Truly...
Why CC24 DAILY?
Well, I figured that since this is my own newspaper that I designed, it was only fitting to name it after myself. CC being my initials (Christina Cheng) and the number 24 meaning my newspaper will consists of updated news around the clock everyday on a ‘daily’ basis.
NEWSPAPER STYLE: The style and look I tried to design for this newspaper was to stay classic and clean cut. I kept the layout and design fairly simple and straightforward just like many newspapers today. I tried to create a classic yet modern touch to my newspaper so I didn’t add too much colour or too many busy designs. I hope you enjoy!
Page 1: Front Page
Page 2: News Page
Page 3: Feature Page/ Sports Page
Page 4: Partial Page
Page 5: Editorial/Opinion Page
Page 6-7: Two-Page Photo spread/ Entertainment Page
Page 8: Column of Briefs
CP24 CHUM CHRISTMAS WISH DAY!
Saturday, December 11, 2010 marked the CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish Day where they celebrated their 44th annual CHUM Christmas Wish with hundreds of people who stopped by the CP24 news station at 299 Queen St. West. The CHUM Christmas Wish has provided toys to over 74,000 children but financial donations have seemed to decrease over the past few years. Many people supported the good cause from 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to help give the less fortunate kids a Christmas by bringing in new unwrapped toys and/or cash donations while in return, they were able to get an all-access behind-the-scene tour of the studio. The viewers were able to see the sets of MuchMusic, eTalk, BNN, and of course, CP24. They were also able to meet and greet with the on-air personalities.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Magazine published work.
Here are a few of my published work from The Industry Magazine. Enjoy!
I was the journalist, editor, and fashion columnist.
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| Kim Davis interview for the August 2009 issue |
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| Serani interview for the August 2009 issue |
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| Fashion Column for the Dec.09-Jan '10 issue |
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| Fashion Column for the April-May (Spring) 2010 issue |
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| Fashion Column for June 2010 issue |
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| Fashion Column for August 2010 issue |
Feature Story: Is TTC an Essential Service?
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| Photo by, Maryam Musharaf Shah |
It’s 7:30 on a Monday morning; the hustle and bustle of the morning rush has begun. Newspaper stands are half empty. There’s not a seat on the subway, let alone standing room. Hundreds of people are packed like a can of sardines in each subway car; shoulder to shoulder, back to back trying to get to work or school in time…
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) system is the country’s largest public transit system providing service to over 1.3 million people a day in Toronto. The TTC moves the people of Toronto, and it is vital to the economy; many Torontonians rely on it to get through their day-to-day lives.
With labour negotiations set to begin in February, commuters could face yet another strike as early as April 1. Many transit riders are looking at Mayor elect Rob Ford to protect them from the kind of chaos that erupted in 2008, when transit workers abruptly went on strike. But it seems other city councillors are already taking action.
According to the Toronto Star last week, councillor Cesar Palacio of Ward 17 announced that he plans to reintroduce a motion to make the TTC an essential service before the current TTC labour contract expires early next year.
“I feel very confident the motion will pass,” he said earlier this week with an interview from the Star.
Palacio’s executive assistant, Mike Foderick said that he and his team feel extremely optimistic that the motion to making the TTC an essential service will surely pass this time because it is something that they have been hearing and other councillors have been hearing loud and clear from the people at the doors during the election.
After long debates, the Toronto city council rejected a proposal in 2008 to ask Queen’s Park to allow the TTC to be an essential service. The vote turned out being a tight one with 23 to 22 against the motion. The results left many councillors and commuters in shock; some disappointed, and some relieved. If the TTC were made an essential service, it would result in employees not having the right to legally strike, and at the time, Mayor David Miller, the Toronto Transit Commission’s management and the Amalgamated Transit Union defended the current model.
This time around, “So many people were saying, ‘We don’t want anymore strikes! We don’t need anymore strikes!’” Foderick said. “We have all the stars aligned, politically speaking, and we are all optimistic that we’ll get the support from council. In part because after an election, it’s really fresh in councillors’ minds what the voters want and the majority vote this.”
According to Foderick, they haven’t engaged the transit workers directly on this topic because they know that they definitely won’t support this.
“If they didn’t support it last time, they won’t support it this time. I would be very surprised if the union reversed their decision on that,” he said.
Paul W., who is originally from the TTC Malvern Division refused to give his full name but he thinks Foderick is correct about how transit workers feel.
“Because it's not like we're police or the ambulance because if there's no bus there's taxis, bikes, and people can walk for miles. I'm from the (Caribbean) island and people used to walk for miles. So when you can walk and you are not stranded then it's not essential. Everything in North America is essential because we're spoiled,” he said loudly, gesturing animatedly with his arms.
Paul is currently working at the Scarborough Centre RT Station at the ticket booth due to a shoulder he injured on the job.
“I’m here because I had a surgery on my shoulder so I can’t drive. I’m in physio two times a week and benefits don’t cover enough. Nothing is free so for the last six months I’ve been paying on my own. The thousand dollars they gave me to cover for my physio is gone!” said Paul, as he rubbed his injured shoulder. “So when the contract comes, I want money towards physio.”
With a possible strike to occur in the coming year, Paul explained that, going on strike is a part of his job.
“As a union it’s your own way to get people to listen when everything else fails. It’s either you strike or for years to come your job is in smoke!” he said.
While the public might think the people in the TTC union are untouchable and that they make too much money for what they do, Paul insists that it’s not true.
“Have you ever been spat on? Abused at your job for no apparent reason?” he asked. “One woman in the union is now half deaf because of a rider who was having a bad day and decided to punch her in the ear continuously. So are you saying we have no right to strike for our safety? For our benefits?”
He understands that the TTC is an essential service to those who are elderly and those who suffer from low income but says the majority of riders have cars and it’s just cheaper to ride transit while they park their cars at stations.
Overall, the topic of whether TTC is an essential service or not is simply “a conflict of interest” from both sides, concluded Paul.
Although a recent experience from 2008 has shown that TTC workers now have the right to strike for only two days before they are legislated back to work by Queen’s Park, those days are very expensive and disruptive to many. It can cost the local economy an estimated $50 million a day.
“I don’t want to generalize but the polls show that those who take the transit are workers and so people can’t go to work, can’t make it to their shifts, and they’ll have to take their vacation days. This causes Toronto a ton of chaos,” Foderick says.
Vikas Gupta, a student at Centennial College, relies solely on the TTC.
“I totally depend on TTC for my convenience to school, to my job, and even for my weekend groceries,” he said sitting calmly on the 38 Highland Creek bus heading to school.
If the motion to make the TTC an essential service fails, and we fall into another strike, Gupta said there would be thousands of students like him who depend on the TTC and who will be left with no alternatives.
Gupta explained that without the TTC, he couldn’t even imagine himself attending school. He sees the TTC as his “lifeline”.
For Foderick, wildcat strikes that leave people in limbo are not the right way.
“Whatever form an essential service takes, whatever reduction takes place, you have to have a provision in there that says 48-hours notice so that people can plan their lives, make arrangements, whatever alternatives they need to do, we have to give them that warning!” insists Foderick, clearly frustrated.
According to Foderick, he explains that he can only speak on behalf of Torontonian’s perspective and he believes “making the TTC an essential service is the most pro-worker thing you can do because when transit shuts down, it literally grinds the city to a halt.”
During Rob Ford’s inauguration as Toronto’s new mayor Tuesday, he didn’t mention anything on the topic of a possible TTC strike in the new year. He commented on CP24 that he plans to work with the province to implement his subway plan. When confronted by a reporter on how easy it would possibly be for Toronto’s city council to stop Transit City, Ford reassured Torontonians that “a vote was never needed to implement it (new TTC plans)” so it wouldn’t be necessary to go on strike or for any projects to be scrapped.
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