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the latest on this ..
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Club plan sparks infighting
Lawsuit within Ontario liquor licence regulator argues for removal from entertainment district
August 22, 2007
john Goddard
staff reporter
The government liquor licence regulator took itself to court yesterday in a bizarre case pointing to escalating nervousness over the downtown club district.
One branch of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario went to court against another to try to stop the opening of Circa, a spectacular nightclub and arts facility with a 3,000-person capacity due to open in two weeks.
The club got its liquor licence July 31 and is booked as a Toronto International Film Festival party venue starting Sept. 7.
But in a rare internal procedure yesterday, lawyers for the commission's registrar branch argued that the commission's licensing board failed to consider the havoc a giant new club could cause in a neighbourhood already stretching police resources.
"It can't take one more," the registrar's lawyer Richard Kulis told divisional court. "(The city) would not be able to effectively police the area."
In granting the licence, Kulis said, the board restricted itself to narrow criteria, taking the view that only city hall could decide whether the club district has too many clubs. Kulis was seeking a suspension of the liquor licence pending a full appeal in November.
The board did not defend itself in court. That job fell instead to Circa lawyer Thomas Heintzman, who said an 11-month licensing process, including a six-week board hearing, indeed addressed wider issues.
"(Even critics said) that this is a high-end, well-operated location that would not pose a threat to public safety," Heintzman told Justice Sandra Chapnik, who said she'd take a few days to make a ruling.
On summer weekends, up to 50,000 party-seekers descend on the entertainment and club district, spanning eight city blocks centred at John St. between King and Queen Sts.
Alcohol- and drug-fuelled rowdiness and violence often follow, although shootings are down 40 per cent this year over last, police say. In June, a fourth rapid-deployment police unit was created to help contain bad behaviour, beefing the force to 72 from 54 officers.
City Councillor Adam Vaughan, who represents the area, has proposed such control measures as selling club owners a permit for lineups on public sidewalks.
Into this controversial atmosphere steps Circa, proposed club of clubs, its owner no less a personage than Peter Gatien, the storied 1980s king of the New York City club scene.
"This is a good product for Toronto," he said outside court yesterday, "an institution the city will be proud of." Gatien has spent $5 million in the last year and a half to create the club, including $2 million in rent, the court heard.
Lawyer Heintzman defined Circa as "not just a nightclub – it's a cultural, artistic and musical venue," and produced support letters from leading cultural institutions.
"A unique cultural venue," wrote the Royal Ontario Museum.
"A welcome addition," said the Toronto Arts Council.
Located at 126 John St., Circa boasts 53,000 square feet of floor space over four storeys, with themed bars and a dance floor big enough for 1,000 people. It also features art galleries, a recording studio and a film-screening room.
As the one-time owner of New York's giant Limelight, Tunnel and Palladium nightclubs, Gatien brings glamour to Toronto's club scene, along with a less savoury past. He once beat a New York drug trafficking charge, but was fined and briefly jailed for tax evasion.
The licensing board ruled the events did not disqualify Gatien from getting a liquor licence.
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source:
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/248642
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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow
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By the time my brothers and i hit our late teens/early 20s we were over the whole must-get-drunk-to-have-a-good-time attitude. 
