Month: February 2017

Profit at the combined Burger King/Tim Hortons business rose 2.8 per cent in the fourth quarter ended December 31, a testament to the tight-fisted policies of the new ownership at Tim Hortons. The parent firm, Restaurant Brands, saw costs fall about 16 per cent to $619.8-million US while total comparable sales at Tim Hortons rose 0.2 per cent in the quarter. A notable case in point is the Tim’s outlet scrunched into the ground floor of the condo on the southwest corner of Eglinton East and Bayview Ave. In 2015, the new owners of Tim’s quickly dumped the enormous place in the Metro plaza at 609 Roehampton which had been especially built for them. That building is now occupied by Tosto Quickfire Pasta Pizza.

ANDY BYFORD NOT LEAVING TOWN

TTC chief executive Andy Byford is not leaving Toronto to take a job at Queensland Rail in Australia despite a media report out of Brisbane that claimed the move was imminent. This has been confirmed by Brad Ross at the TTC who said Byford had been approached about the job but had declined it. Byford is a native of the UK and worked for an Australian railway before coming to the TTC in 2011.

WYNNE PONDERS HYDRO

The Ontario cabinet is said to be considering changes called a “global adjustment” to perhaps get the crushing cost of hydro electricity a bit lower. The CBC story linked takes work to decipher but it appears global adjustment (which sounds like something the Russians have done to us) is just an Ontario tax. It costs money to carry Ontario’s $300 billion debt.

Grey fox at work

Queen and Augusta

50 to 60 years

Police are asking the public’s help in identifying this natty gentleman who we will call the grey fox. We see him inside someone else’s business place last Thursday near Queen West and Augusta Ave. He took a quantity of cash from the safe  He is described as 50-60, 5’8″ – 5’9″, 170 lbs., clean-shaven, wearing a 3/4-length winter jacket and a toque.

They say this really happened

Plow into pole on Spadina

Plow into pole on Spadina

Better than potato wedges?

A Colorado “low-blow” played a dirty trick Sunday, leaving behind 15 to 20 cm of snow depending on your geography. The forecast Saturday was for 5 to 10 cm but it just kept on coming.  By Sunday evening, much of the Greater Toronto area picked up 10 to 15 cm of snow, with an additional 5 cm in the forecast as the snow tapered off. In South Bayview, the snow has stopped and the night is clear at 9.30 p.m. The high Monday is set at minus 2 and the high Tuesday at 4, all with negligible precipitation.

Bacon roses?

Or a Kit Kat bowl?

It’s a bird, it’s an apron!

None of this should be taken seriously and Valentine’s is so close that if there is no plan in place you have more or less blown it already. But, it is fun to ponder how any girl or sentimental mom might respond to a Manila restaurant’s idea of bacon roses. Fill her heart and her stomach is the romantic suggestion. Or, the beautiful and heartfelt Kit Kat Bowl with what appear to be Smarties on the top is another suggestion. For the men, if you have contacted Amazon early enough, a Superman apron may make him love you more or shrink in embarrassment.

Grammy-winning jazz singer Al Jarreau, who transcended genres over a 50-year career, died at a Los Angeles hospital Sunday, just days after announcing his retirement from touring due to exhaustion. His official Twitter account and website said he died surrounded by his wife, son and a few other family members and friends. He was 76. Jarreau was hospitalized earlier in the week and was said to have been improving slowly. The cause of his death was not revealed. His son said Jarreau had serenaded a nurse with his hit Moonlighting, from the TV show of the same name, on Wednesday. The Milwaukee native won seven Grammys over the course of his half-century in music. His biggest single was 1981’s We’re in This Love Together from the album Breakin’ Away. Jarreau was also a vocalist on the all-star 1985 track, We Are the World — CBC

Wildcats await call to ice

While Chloe sings

Leaside Jr. Wildcats battled to a 2-1 win at East Bayfield Arena in Barrie Sunday over the noon hour. It was a split win-loss weekend for Leaside after losing to the Canadettes 3-4 in Brampton Saturday night. The game leaves Leaside in the mid-range of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. As the weekend began, they sat 10th in the 20-team conference. Barrie was 17th. Captain Kristin Della Rovere scored both goals Sunday in the first period. She was assisted by Madison Heeney and Chloe Gonsalves and by Mariah Hinds and Gonsalves again on the second. Assistant Captain Gonsalves was caught in a tweeted locker room picture “singing her head off” as the post had it. Such stuff may be the work of Head Coach Kim McCullough or others on the coaching staff. It appears however that singing, while good for the soul, is also fine for hockey. The game ended in nip and tuck fashion with a Leaside penalty at 17.28. Avery Andrew scored for Barrie 18.16. The box score does not mention a power play for Barrie but it appears there must have been at least one.

A poll released Sunday by Forum Research says that the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals are tied at 35% and 34% respectively support in the survey.  Forum Research 

Jenny Santos with twin sister Amanda

Oculus in Manhattan

A woman has died when she fell 30 feet from an escalator at the new Oculos transportation hub in Manhattan early Sunday. Police say Jenny Santos was with her twin sister Amanda about 5.30 when Amanda’s hat flew off and over the side. Jenny is said to have tried to grab the headpiece but lost her balance and fallen.

A fight between three or four women seems to be the cause for the knife injuries suffered by one of them at Sherbourne and Carlton Sts in the early hours of Sunday. The victim has facial injuries but is expected to survive. Three women are sought.

SNOW OVERNIGHT

Snow has fallen as predicted. Most parts of the City had a good layering by sunrise at 7.20 a.m. More may fall through the day.

WEST END RESCUE

Three people are in hospital after a rollover collision at Steeles and Islington Aves. Saturday night. Three vehicles tangled at this location with the responsibility yet to be sorted out.

Busy in East YorTown Centre

Closed since May to check safety

The linked Metro story about three GTA No Frills stores (each in a neighbourhood distant from the others) is worth a read. It chronicles the shopping lifestyle of low-income shoppers ($900 a month in one case)  and the hardship of not having a low-price grocer handy. One man is said to ride his scooter (not the $900/month  fellow) to Dollarama for canned goods and then to Loblaws (not No Frills) for bread and milk. The No Frills closings inspired an unproven conspiracy theory that Lobaws was shutting low-end stores to sell off the land. It denies this and there is no evidence except thin circumstance in some cases. The Rocca No Frills at 286 Coxwell Ave. was closed last May for supposed safety issues but it still hasn’t opened. When the Loblaws at 301 Moore was turned inside-out for expansion a few years ago the place was closed for barely an hour or two because of the work. For the most part, customers stumbled over construction workers to shop. Who knows. A very busy and good cut-rate food store is the Food Basics (owned by Metro) in the East York Town Centre. It was recently renovated (and did not close). It is very busy with Thorncliffe Park traffic. Metro  Coxwell No Frills closed to make sure building is safe

A call to Bayview Ave. and Blythwood Rd. regarding a stabbing was briefly considered an unsubstantiated call Saturday night. But, subsequent tweets from TPS Operations indicate a victim was found (possibly in Stratford Park on the northwest corner) and taken to hospital. That would be a short trip to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre across the street.

Bayview and Blythwood

UPDATE – STABBING
Bayview Ave and Blythwood Rd we have now located a victim, being transported to hospital, #264831 ^cb

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) February 12, 2017

The special weather statement for Sunday calls for snow in amounts of up to 10 cm.  Snow, heavy at times, will start early Sunday morning and end Sunday evening. Local blowing snow will also be a concern Sunday evening. Hazardous winter travelling conditions are expected, as untreated roads will become snow covered and slippery, and visibilities will be reduced. Motorists should allow extra time to reach their destination. A high of five degrees is predicted for Tuesday.