Month: May 2015

Easy question: Is Civic election campaign too long?

Mainstreet Technologies has produced a local poll about the Civic election process. It is notable for the question which asks if local campaigns are too long. (Gosh do you think so?)  What’s not said is why people feel so pummeled. The drum beat of 24-hour news, which lives largely by news conferences, and social media. It is another case where the media is seen to be oblivious to its influence. The effect has evolved. Great metropolitan newspapers like the Star have been propping up and knocking down issues as a source of interest for decades.without much (any?) acknowledgement that this is their business.  CP24

Bank robber guy appears to be wearing white heels

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Police have released video and pictures of two men  who robbed a TD Bank at Leslie Street and Finch Ave. on Thursday, April 9, 2015, at 7:50 p.m. The method of operation seems fairly standard but one of the men appears to be wearing white high heels. They approached a teller and showed a hold up note which indicated they were armed and demanded cash  The produced a green recycling bag and the teller placed a quantity of cash inside the bag Both men fled the scene.The descriptions are: #1: brown, 20s, skinny build, and clean-shaven. He was wearing sunglasses, a white hat, a long overcoat, and white shoes. #2: Asian, 5’4″ – 5’7″, 20s, round face, medium build, and clean-shaven. He was wearing a blue ski jacket, grey pants, and black shoes.

TTC motorman charged with careless driving on St. Clair

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The operator of an eastbound TTC streetcar is charged with careless driving after an 80-year-old man was struck and fatally injured while trying to cross Arlington Ave. The motorman is also charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian. It is a long stretch from north to south on St. Clair. It’s made more dangerous by the absence of a safe place in the centre. Streetcars don’t permit anything like that. The accident happened in March. The 27-year-old streetcar driver has not been identified.

Loblaws earnings, revenue a nice surprise for investors

Loblaws is reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue today (Wednesday, May 6, 2015) driven largely by its retail operations (food and pharmacy) and raised its dividend by about 2%. Revenue beat the C$9.45 billion analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. The company also bolstered its quarterly dividend payout to 25 Canadian cents a share from 24.5 Canadian cents. “Although the grocery industry remains highly competitive and health care reform continues to challenge our pharmacy business, we are maintaining stable business performance, gaining incremental efficiencies, delivering synergies on schedule, deleveraging the balance sheet and achieving continued earnings growth,” Executive Chairman Galen G. Weston said in a statement.

Getting kicked by the Kickstarter free-money scheme

Maclean’s asks what the backers of a failed effort on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter will do now that the project and their money have gone nowhere The South Bayview Bulldog likes “Smarten Up” as a quick bit of advice. The entire online concept of sending money  on impulse — especially to start a company about which you know nothing — is evidence of a society with more money than brains. ZPM Espresso claimed its Nocturne coffee maker was the world’s first smart espresso machine for the home because of a programmable control chip, more common in commercial machines, that would allow consumers to create the perfect shot of concentrated java by precisely controlling water pressure and temperature. Uh-huh.

 

Useful summary of what NDP Alberta win may mean

Who is Rachel Notley? Her stunning emergence as a political powerhouse in Alberta has been a while in the making. She born two years after her father Grant helped founded the Alberta NDP. She was four when her father, Grant, became the tiny party’s leader. He died in 1984 in a plane crash but his hard-working daughter will now honour his memory in spades. Rachel. Notley 

Karen Becker to run West Coast Kids on South Bayview

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Karen Becker — not goodbye

Karen Becker, the dynamic owner for so many years of Moms-to-be-and-more, will operate the seventh location in Canada of the children’s chain West Coast Kids. Ms Becker confirmed this news to The South Bayview Bulldog Tuesday (May 5, 2015). West Coast Kids will take space at the corner of Bayview and Manor Rd. E where Moms has operated.

The West Coast Kids website reflects a considerable similarity to the wide range of inventory carried by Moms.  Ms. Becker’s announcement also appears in an online forum although the news hasn’t quite made it to the windows of her store, which has yet to finally close.

“I am thrilled to announce that they will be bringing you a new shopping experience to Toronto!” she says. West coast Kids (which also calls itself WCK) has six other locations in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Longo’s Leaside will host Nutella Crêperie May 18-24

Longo’s Nutella promotion will roll into Leaside at the Laird Drive store during the week of Monday, May 18 to Sunday, May 24. This is an itinerant kitchen and happy gang of crêpe makers who are visiting all the Longo’s stores in Ontario this Spring. Nutella has a valuable and time-honoured trade name. It is good at promoting it too. A couple of weeks ago we had Nutella doughnuts at Tim Horton’s.  The fact is the recipe is quite simple and President’s Choice and others have been able to put hazelnuts and chocolate together too. It may be madness, but some people have been known to make it at home. Anyway, this Crêperie should be worth a visit to the good people at Longo’s