Month: September 2014

Moore Park residents work to save old lamp posts

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

Residents of a Moore Park neighborhood are fighting to save the nearly 90-year-old architectural lamp posts that adorn a short length of Rose Park Drive. Electricians were working Tuesday to repair again one of the old street lights but they have warned homeowners that the wiring system needs to be replaced. The wires are made of lead and the lamps do not meet code. City staff has recommended that the lamps be retro-fitted but this can only happen if they are in good enough condition for this work. A big safety concern is that none of the poles are grounded. There are ten of the lamps on Rose Park between Welland Ave and Hudson Drive. The Moore Park Rate Payers Association and Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam have been asked to throw their weight behind the effort to save the lamps. In other parts of Toronto, like Rosedale’s Chestnut Park Drive, historically correct replacement lamp posts have been installed. They make a magnificent contribution to the neighborhood. Previous post

Woman hit by streetcar on St. Clair right of way

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

CTV Streetcars with a destiny to kill

Hey Joey, will this old bank be a Local Pub?

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

Work is going ahead at the old CIBC building at 180 Laird Drive with the expectation that an established restaurant and bar will take the location in the near future. A building application which was accepted on August 27, 2014 shows the name Local Public Eatery under the heading for “description”. That’s not where one would expect to find the applicant’s name on a City permit but it is the name hanging over five trendy dining and drinking establishments in B.C., Alberta and Toronto’s Liberty Village. The Toronto Local says on its website that its “kind of like your living room, with better food and people to serve you beer, fanatical about craft beer and rotating new selections, passionate about great food and the best ingredients.” Back at 180 Laird Drive however workers at the old bank building say they’ve been told the tenant will be a Joey restaurant. Joey, as dining cognoscente will know, is a lush, chandeliered and inventive dining place with valet parking at several locations here. Curiously, Joey also has a very strong western presence and its owner, a dynamic businessman named Jeffery Fuller, is headquartered in Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. It has some locations in Washington State too. The little two storey building on Laird is smaller than many Joey restaurants. It was built in the heyday of industrial Leaside by the Imperial Bank of Canada before it merged in 1960 with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to form the CIBC. Many changes are required to fit it out as a restaurant. One document at City Hall reveals that a “retractable cover for a second floor patio” is under review. In any case, the large interests behind the plan are not not readily available to explain just what name will go on the building when it is done. The owners, First Capital Realty, did not respond to an inquiry by post time. Photos from top: 180 Laird as seen in 2012 before the bank moved to Leaside Village, construction on the east face of the building now and the elegant Imperial Bank crest over the front door.

“Mid-air Skypark” in new offices, GO bus terminal

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

Sky park links towers

Metrolinx and real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge say there will a new development over the GO rail yard west of Bathurst Street which includes a new GO bus terminal. The project involves an office centre with two towers to be known as 45-141 Bay Street, a larger GO terminal and an elevated park above the rail corridor. The new elevated “Skypark” will link the fourth floors of two new 48-storey office buildings constructed on the north and south sides of the rail corridors, and connect to Union Station. The terminal is said to boast more options for commuters and tourists alike traveling across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The project will be built in partnership with real-estate firm Ivanhoe-Cambridge and through Metrolinx. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2015 and completed in three years.

“A bit of mud” on tracks created subway chaos

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

One of the largest passenger backups is occurring this afternoon on the Bloor subway between Keele and St. George stations because of what was first called “a bit of mud and water” on the tracks. amazingly, TTC officials said they had no idea how it got there. This down under the street in a place not accessible to the public. The line was shut down with “no expected clearing time” stated. Several stations were reopened by 9:30 a.m., though service was still suspended between Keele and Ossington stations. TTC spokesperson Jessica Martin said a subway operator reported debris on the tracks at Dundas West station, leading transit control to cut power and send investigators to the scene. Investigators found “a bit of mud and water” on the tracks, Twitter is crammed with complaints about what seems like a piddling reason to stop the trains but also with beefing, as always occur, of so-called shuttle buses that was unable to deal with the crowds. More like scuttle butt buses.

The invasion of the orange bucket-truck aliens

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

It may not have what it takes to be a Hollywood Armageddon movie but as a spectacle its pretty good. Five bucket trucks and hordes of orange-jacketed workers have taken over Belsize Drive today (Tuesday, September 30, 2014) to “protect you from another ice storm,” in the words of the foreman. Well alright then. Scene is at Gresham Rd.

Poll gives John Tory a 10-pt. lead over Doug Ford

by The Bulldog • September 30, 2014

A Forum Research poll out Tuesday, September 30, 2014, shows John Tory with public support at 43%. This finding by Forum brings it into closer alignment with the findings of the other large research firm Ipsos Reid. The poll gives Tory a 10-point lead over Doug Ford, at 33% and a 23-point lead over Olivia Chow 20%.

Brooklyn tells daddy she “saw a lion” in cornfield

by The Bulldog • September 29, 2014

CBC report chronicles the disappearance and discovery of Brooklyn Honderich. She told her father that she saw a lion while lost in local cornfield. Previous post

Sober-spoken Ford finds motherhood in the arts

by The Bulldog • September 29, 2014

The ArtsVote mayoral debate revealed a Doug Ford of much more subdued behaviour Monday afternoon at the TIFF Light Box. It was a surprise to see Mr. Ford there much less hear his sobre support for this motherhood issue. In fact, no one is against the arts per se. The only issue is how much public money will be spent and where. In any case, the rather boisterous host of the debate, Damian Abraham, was more reminiscent of Ford Nation than anyone else in attendance. From reading BlogTO we know he is the lead vocalist of a group whose name can’t be printed in stuffy publications like The South Bayview Bulldog. Its vulgar shock schtick is to be found in BlogTO however. Proof again you can say anything in polite company as long you claim its the name of a musical group. The candidates included more than the TCF (Tory, Chow, Ford) bunch. Pleasant outliers Ari Goldkind and teen-wonder Morgan Baskin, a woman mature beyond her years, were also there. One of our favorite Leaside people, Rudy Limeback was present and said the following. “It was the most civil debate so far this year. Even Dougie was on his best behaviour. Tory tried hard, didn’t register. Olivia lost a lot of points when in her summation she whipped out a napkin with Tory’s transit plan sketched out on it, showing the mistakes. Ari made many points that scored well with the audience. Morgan, in my opinion, had the best performance.” You can see that embarrassing ploy by Ms. Chow at 1.28 on the tape — Ed. ArtsVote is a volunteer coalition of non-partisan artists, arts workers. The YouTube video below catches the flavour of the event.

Holt Renfrew says it plans men’s-only store

by The Bulldog • September 29, 2014

You’ll have to take it for what it’s worth but Holt Renfrew is going to open a men’s-only store on Bloor Street this week to compete with, well. whomever. It will be located next door to Harry Rosen’s place. Those who watch Holt Renfrew have long given up on the “discount store” concept named hr which was announced two years ago but has not been heard from since. Globe and Mail What happened to Holt’s “discount store”?