Where to start????

I fear this blog might never end given the plethora of meaty topics today on the show. Judging by the amount of calls, you felt the same way.

There were two big issues, well 3 actually: taxis, organ donation and this new anti-gang strategy for youth. Oh yeah, and we had a big hockey star in too!

Let's get that out of the way first: Brad Marchand is all class. As Rick said, the kid has his head screwed on straight. He was shorter than I thought he would be, but he's strong. It was almost a Mayor Kelly like handshake, except Brad knows when to back off, unlike the Mayor who nearly broke every finger in my hand that one time I made the mistake of shaking his hand! I want to wish Brad the best of the luck with the Mooseheads and I want to wish all the Hotline listeners the best of luck in trying to procure a ticket! I have a feeling most of the games are definitely going to be sold out for the rest of the season!

This organ donation issue is truly appalling. I first read about it on Facebook this morning. One of my friends posted an article from the paper and mentioned how it was kind of funny this directive is coming out under the Harper government rule. Medical professionals, like Dr. Stephen Beed, think it's ridiculous and that lives will be lost because of it. I think it's homophobia, pure and simple. Speaking of, don't you love it when people say "I'm not homophobic, but..." and then utter something completely homophobic? Drives me nuts! I can't believe that I could get an organ from a single woman who has had sex with lots of different men, but I couldn't get one from a married gay man. Unreal.

The deregulation of taxis was another major issue with several taxi drivers calling in to voice their opinions today. I definitely agreed with Rick when he suggested different shifts for taxi drivers, most people have to work shifts, I don't think it's crossing the line to suggest taxi drivers do it too, especially when they claim their service is so important. Some people were really slamming taxi drivers today, but there are so many good ones out there. There was one guy who picked me up downtown one night and he was the funniest person I ever met - I was dying of laughter the whole way home. I've only had 2 negative experiences and they weren't really all that bad in the grand scheme of things. I swear, one driver was incredibly out of it and was really speeding and I actually was gripping the seat handle praying I wasn't going to die...and the ride was literally 4 minutes long. That was terrifying, but I talked to some other cabbies and they confirmed that guy was crazy. Another time, a cabbie tried to give me 3 dollars in change in all nickels and I didn't want that and he got ticked off...but that's about it. I would encourage everyone who takes a taxi to get the roof light number and remember it, just in case. Remember in the summer a woman was sexually assaulted by a driver....on the other hand, you can commend good service if you know the number. Steve Adams told us the public hearing on this issue will probably be in February and he'll be on the show on Monday, so this topic isn't going away anytime soon.

It doesn't look like this fog is going away either - the curse of warm January weather. It looks like it's causing more delays at the airport too, so if you're travelling - good luck to you!

Liberal leader Stephen MacNeil is in tomorrow....I offered up some praise of him in December, let's see if he impresses me tomorrow with some actual ideas for change!

Cheers!

Amber