NEW: NYC office shooter's gun purchase under investigation
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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
As Toronto aims to ban motorized watercraft at popular beach, some blame 'bad actors'
Toronto has moved to ban motorized watercraft from one of its busiest beaches by next year due to concerns over unsafe operators and illegal rentals, but one rental company says the city should instead focus on regulations that weed out "bad actors" in the industry. City council passed a motion last week requesting that PortsToronto ban boats and personal watercrafts such as Jet Skis within at least 150 metres of the shoreline at Woodbine Beach in the city's east end by June 2026. The motion also condemns "illegal" rental business practices at the beach and nearby Ashbridges Bay, such as using and storing watercraft without proper boating permits and operating them unsafely. 'I'm relieved that this was passed because job No. 1 of local government is to keep our residents safe,' said Coun. Brad Bradford, who introduced the motion and represents Ward 19 Beaches — East York. Bradford said the ban request was spurred by concerns over unlicensed rental companies that operate and park their watercraft along the beach, and "reckless" drivers that put swimmers, kayakers and paddleboarders at risk. 'They're a menace to the community,' Bradford said. 'It's a matter of time before somebody gets injured or killed." Earlier this summer, a motorized watercraft exclusion zone was introduced at Hanlan's Point Beach on Centre Island, extending 200 metres off the shore as part of a pilot project for this year's boating season. Some residents of Etobicoke in the city's west end have also started petitions calling for a similar exclusion ban in Humber Bay. Earlier this month, Toronto police carried out an enforcement blitz targeting illegal watercraft rentals and unsafe boating practices in the city, issuing more than 50 tickets for provincial offences and dozens of bylaw charges. 'These guys come out, pay the fine, and just go right back out into their operations and they're making so much money on it,' said Bradford. Police said in an emailed statement that they respond to as many as 10 complaints per day related to unsafe watercraft rentals, including riders steering too close to shorelines and entering designated swim zones. Toronto police say another "huge concern" is that many personal watercraft operators don't have proof of competency, as required by Transport Canada. For people renting a boat or a Jet Ski, that means running through protocols and signing a safety checklist with the rental company. Those operating Jet Skis and similar watercraft within Toronto's harbour from Humber Bay to Ashbridge's Bay also require a permit from PortsToronto known as a 'powered vessel operator's permit,' said Mike Riehl, the authority's director of harbour operations. But some watercraft rental companies say despite following all the rules, they are being lumped in with a few 'bad actors' that are ruining operations for the rest through unsafe business practices. They are urging city council to reconsider the latest ban along Toronto's shores. Raj Mehta, one of the founders of rental company Jetti, said that while he supports cracking down on unsafe and irresponsible operators, watercraft bans at city beaches also penalize businesses like his that operate safely. 'We're at the ramp and on the water almost every day and we witness the safety issues the city is bringing up,' he said. 'There are some operators that should not be operating.' Jetti sends its watercraft out of Humber Bay West, an area outside of PortsToronto's jurisdiction, he said. Mehta said his company follows safety regulations by having insurance, GPS-based speed controls on Jet Skis to respect no wake zones, and issues proof of competency through rental boat safety checklists. 'We use the public dock but we don't actually leave any watercraft in the water … when they come back, we pull them onto trailers and they're out of here,' he said, adding that many other operators leave their watercraft along the shore. 'Anyone can go buy a few Jet Skis and call themselves a rental company and start renting these out because there is no regulation,' he said. 'These are the guys causing the safety issues, these are the people that are not respecting public space.' Mehta said he is willing to work with the city to figure out a solution that would focus on regulation, such as setting up designated launches for personal watercraft away from public beaches and boat launch areas, or leasing space from the city. Despite reaching out to a local councillor and the mayor's office, Mehta said he has not received responses to his proposals and requests. Companies looking to work with the city can reach out and make proposals but 'none of that's happened,' Bradford said, adding that an amendment to his motion to create a stakeholder advisory committee could include rental companies. While Bradford recognizes the entire industry isn't breaking operational and safety rules, based on his observations at Woodbine Beach he believes rental companies aren't interested in working with the city. He said they could look into leasing boat slips across the waterfront if they want to continue their operations. Mehta said his company has already explored renting space from marinas but there are a 'whole bunch of issues' with that option as marinas in the inner harbour fall under PortsToronto's jurisdiction, which requires boaters to have specific permits that would be difficult to obtain for short-term renters. 'Jet Ski usage tends to negatively impact boaters and the boating experience in the harbour, so marinas are unlikely to want to cater to Jet Ski companies,' said Riehl from PortsToronto, adding that no marina in its jurisdiction rents space to such operators. Mehta said he still hopes the city can figure out a solution that prioritizes safe and fair access to the waterfront and doesn't push away those who are trying to follow the rules. 'We just want to get some attention to this because I think it's kind of reached a boiling point and everyone wants something done,' Mehta said. "A lot of our customers are local and a lot of them are also tourists, so there's a lot of impact if this industry is shut down." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025. Vanessa Tiberio, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Guns are the problem: Four are dead in New York because a gullible public laps up the same toxic myth about guns
This time, the gun death came to New York. The same ridiculous fiction is being sold to a gullible public that was trotted out after Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Parkland, Buffalo and all the others: Guns don't kill people, people kill people. What's more pathetic than those who keep selling that myth is the ease with which so many Americans buy it. Four New Yorkers, Didarul Islam, Wesley LePatner, Aland Etienne and Julia Hyman, went to work in Midtown on a broiling hot Monday and were murdered. Mental illness didn't kill these four. CTE didn't kill these four. A supposed aggrievement in a suicide note didn't kill these four. A semiautomatic assault rifle, identified as either an AR-15 or an M4, killed these four and wounded a fifth, Craig Clementi. The motive of the dead assailant was not what destroyed four lives and ripped apart surviving families and friends. It was a high-powered rifle rapidly firing bullets. Absent the gun, and the victims would all be alive today. But there was a gun, a big gun, with lots of bullets and we are left with grief and the funerals for the four New Yorkers who were taken from us. But it wasn't only the gun, or the gunmakers, or the politicians who peddle the fatal myth. It's the people across our fraying nation who believe that there is somehow something patriotic about having the power to fire off 45 rounds a minute. The Second Amendment says nothing about unstable or sick people having weapons of war. How is that a constitutional right? New York has strong gun control laws, but we don't search people at the border bringing in guns from other states with more lax regulations. Only federal law can bring this insanity to an end, but politicians will decry the killing and do nothing. And tomorrow more people will die. And the day after that. Again. Again. Again. This time the gun death came to New York. Islam was a cop, a 36-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, pulling in some extra money for his wife and two boys and another baby on the way in a few weeks on what is called paid detail where a private business pays for off-duty uniformed NYPD officers to provide additional security. His wife is now a widow, his two sons fatherless and his new baby is coming into a world without a dad, because of a gun. The gun then killed LePatner, an executive at the big financial firm Blackstone, who was in the lobby at 6:30 likely heading home to her own husband, teen daughter and seventh grader son. Besides being a business whiz, LePatner was a philanthropist helping her kids' school and other charitable causes. She was on the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for not even six months. Now her life is over at age 43, because of a gun. Also murdered in the lobby was Etienne, one of the building's private security officers, a member of 32BJ, the union that staffs New York's commercial buildings. He was just 46 and had two school-aged children. Etienne went to work on Monday and never came home, because of a gun. Clementi was struck with a bullet, but would survive and help cops identify the man wielding the gun. The killer then took an elevator to the 33rd floor and killed one more victim, Hyman, who only graduated college five years ago. Her whole life was ahead of her. No more. Because of a gun. Monday morning, as the city got back to work, Didarul Islam, Wesley LePatner, Aland Etienne and Julia Hyman all converged at 345 Park Ave, at 52nd St., between St. Bart's and the Seagram Building. They all had a purpose for being there. But as the day ended, the gun arrived. It also had a purpose. Its purpose was to kill people quickly. And only the gun fulfilled its purpose on Monday evening. ___
CNN
21 minutes ago
- CNN
Local leaders to face Texas lawmakers today as questions linger about deadly July 4 flooding
Local leaders in Central Texas will face more tough questions Thursday as state lawmakers – and survivors – press again for information about the responses to July 4 flash flooding that killed at least 136 people. The hearing, at 9:30 a.m. local time, in hard-hit Kerrville follows a 12-hour special hearing last week that saw legislators scrutinize the state's safety preparations – and split over focusing on whether more should have been done before the storm or how efficiently life-saving efforts unfolded. Among those set to testify Thursday is an emergency response official who a colleague has said likely was asleep in the critical hours before the flood, when four months' worth of rain fell and forced the Guadalupe River to rise over 20 feet, sweeping homes, cars, campers and cabins downstream. Three people are still missing as the summer's tragic surge of deadly flash floods across the United States underscores the escalating volatility of the warming planet. Texas' Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding are scheduled to hear Thursday from Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. and City Manager Dalton Rice; and Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha and Emergency Management Coordinator W.B. 'Dub' Thomas. Thomas was likely asleep in the critical morning hours of the deadly flood, Leitha has told CNN. 'I'm sure he was at home asleep at that time,' said the sheriff, who acknowledged he also then was sleeping. Thomas, also a deputy sheriff, has not responded to CNN's repeated requests for comment and declined other such opportunities since the storm. Lawmakers are also set to hear Thursday from leaders of other affected counties and cities, as well as meteorologists, flooding experts and leaders of two mental health resource centers, followed by public testimony, according to the meeting agenda. Last week's hearing included testimony from officials in charge of managing the rivers of the region's 'Flash Flood Alley,' as well as the head of the state's Division of Emergency Management and members of the state's police force, the Department of Public Safety. CNN's Matthew J. Friedman and Rachel Clarke contributed to this reporting.
