Leaside lawyer disbarred by Ontario Law Society

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Lawyer Michael Ingram,  69, of Leaside, has been disbarred by the Law society of Upper Canada. The governing body of lawyers in Toronto called Mr. Ingram’s conduct in taking $3 million of clients’ money, most of it bound for charity, egregious. The Law Society says it revoked the licence for professional misconduct after finding that Mr. Ingram misappropriated money from client trust funds, including taking $101,000 from a client and giving it to his own brother to buy real estate. That real estate purchase was also funded with $182,000 that Ingram took from a charity he helped oversee, the law society said. The discipline panel found that Ingram had been siphoning money from trust accounts and doling it out to other people, including his brother and his wife, then shifting money around between various other accounts to try to replace the funds. It began in October 2005 and ended in May 2008, amounting to $3.1 million in unauthorized transfers, the law society said in its decision late last month. The Canadian Press   Previous post.

Hostess in U.S. seeks bankruptcy protection

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Hostess Brands in the U.S. says it will seek bankruptcy protection with permission to liquidate if striking workers do not return to work by the end of today. The crisis once again places the future of such iconic brands as Wonder Bread and Twinkies in jeopardy n the U.S. It’s believed that the names are held separately in Canada.  The baking company says it is shutting down plants in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati at the cost of 627 jobs due to the strike. 

Discount pop-up at former Liv location

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A discount retailer called Brands 4 Less has taken the large space at 418 Eglinton Ave West recently vacated by Liv. It will be a pop up location until the owner finds a more permanent tenant. The store is filling up now with women’s clothing, children’s clothes and toys, DVDs and a variety of other goods. This building has long been a challenge for retailers who have leased it because of its size. No 418 is located a few doors west of the Eglinton Grand Event Centre.  

Lights for Valley Park Green Cricket Field

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A worthy cause is revealed in a letter to the South Bayview Bulldog from Lisa Grogan Green. co-chair of the  Valley Park Green Cricket Field. She is asking for help from all area residents to raise money for lighting at the field.  Here is what she wrote: “We would so appreciate it if you would ask your networks to support us. We are trying to win outdoor sports lighting for the Valley Park Go Green Cricket Field Project from the Aviva Community Fund, (Avivia Insurance — Ed). Please help kids stay active in Thorncliffe Park and the Priority Neighbourhood of Flemingdon Park. Register today through our website and then vote for us every day from November 12-26 to help us win $100,000 to $150,000 from the Aviva Community Fund. It’s one vote and one email per person for 15 days, and you cannot vote by proxy for another person. This means that we have to set up a strong chain of votes. Please vote for us and ask your family and friends to do so also. Go to www.gogreencricketfield.ca and hit the “Vote Now” button. It will link you to our special page at Aviva. In the top right-hand corner of our page is a spot where you must register once and set up a private password. Do that the first time, and then you can easily vote for us every day through our website. Construction on Phase One of our project starts this month, and the field will be ready for play next summer 2013.”    This seems like a very good cause.

Victorian touch at Laird Dr. and Broadway Ave.

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This is an update on an earlier post in this spot about the rather special home going up at the the corner of Laird Drive and Broadway Ave.  Our update shot here shows the stonework going onto the Victorian corner bay window which will give the residents of the home a 180 plus degree view of the corner. The belt line of limestone and full stone tower is a throwback to the romantic construction of the 19th century. The builder was there when we went by and spoke with pride about his creation. He says it will be a landmark in the neighborhood and we believe him. 

Glass falls from Trump Tower at Bay and Adelaide

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Police have blocked off the intersection of Bay and Adelaide in downtown Toronto after glass fell from a high rise building Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say the glass originated from the 18th floor of the Trump Tower just after 4 p.m. and no one has been injured. Toronto Fire Services said construction workers were installing glass when it slipped and then crashed into the side of the building. Several cars were damaged as a result of the debris.

Pepsi Special said to “block fat” — in Japan

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In Japan, Pepsico will release Pepsi Special a soft drink that contains dextrin, an indigestible fibre known to block fat absorption in the body. According to ABC news, the product is marketed to those who wish to maintain a slender body while having a Pepsi or any kind of fatty food. Although fat-blocking Pepsi is legal in Japan it is not coming to shelves in the U.S. or Canada any time soon. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration  (FDA) makes it illegal to fortify soda and candy with nutrients. Dextrin is considered a nutrient by FDA standards. A similar prohibition applies in Canada. For now, it seems  our obsession with obtaining a svelte body without any of the work will have to wait while the Japanese get a chance to try fat-blocking Pepsi.

Lorrie Goldstein laid off at the Toronto Sun

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Well known editorial writer and Toronto gadfly Lorrie Goldstein is among the most prominent of the 500 or so people laid off yesterday by Sun Media. Together, the layoffs hit papers in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and printing facilities in Kingston and Ottawa. Associate Editor Goldstein was a 34 year stalwart at the Sun and in his heyday was a must-read for anyone inclined to challenge a lot of what passes for wisdom in our town. Toronto Sun Blog

Owner of Metro, Mac’s reports profit growth

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Eglinton and Bayview
The company that owns the big Metro grocery store at Bayview Ave. and Eglinton East is announcing strong revenue and profit growth in the third quarter. Net income was up 75.9 per cent compared with the year-ago period, rising to $145.1 million or $1.46 per share from $84.4 million or 83 cents per share. Part of that increase was due to its investment in the Alimentation Couche-Tard convenience store group (they own the Mac’s right across the street). Many will recall when Metro — then called Metro Richelieu — bought the Eglinton and Bayview store from Loblaws and the change of name which happened about ten years ago. The location was famous for being the busiest grocery store in Toronto and may well still hold the title, although it now has much more competition.

A Green Sign of Christmas on Bayview

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1531-1533 Bayview Avenue

They were putting up the Dollarama sign at the soon-to-be-opened store at 1531-1533 Bayview Tuesday  The big green and gold letters certainly herald an early opening for the discount emporium. And from what we hear there will be clear sidewalks on South Bayview this December as Environment Canada says there will be very little snow anywhere this year. They say it’s an occurrence not seen on such a national scale since Environment Canada began measuring snowfall levels 56 years ago. “It’s not going to feel and look like Christmas,” the EC forecaster said. “People are going to have to work hard to create the mood that sometimes weather creates.”   

Leaside High back to an 8.40 a.m. to 3 p.m. day

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Students at Leaside High School will have to forgo the flexible hours known as delayed/late start. The change is required because of work action taken by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, according to Principal Jeanette Plonka in a letter to parents. Until further notice the school will follow a uniform day beginning at 8.40 am. and ending at 3 pm. Other schools are making similar adjustments as the OSSTF begins what it has called “strike actions” at 20 boards across Ontario including Toronto. For her part, Education Minister Laurel Broten is threatening to prevent  teachers from dropping out of many of their duties. One in particular, the taking of attendance, is seen as an important safety measure. A bargaining bulletin on the OSSTF website says that among other actions, teachers will not attend staff meetings, communicate with parents outside school hours or fill in for absent colleagues The teachers are defending sick day retirement payouts, which the Legislature has voted to eliminate,  by arguing the Ontario government offers a more generous goodbye to government employees. The OSSTF has highlighted the government severance packages in its battle to save “retirement gratuities” which allow most teachers and many education support staff workers to cash out up to 200 unused sick days at retirement. The government says the plan, which pays out a maximum of $47,000 to a retiring teacher, must be scaled back because the cost is too high with $1.7 billion in accumulated sick days now on the taxpayers’ tab.