The amazingly buoyant Toronto re-sale home market continues to soar. The Toronto real Estate board says home sales here city climbed 15.4 per cent in June from a year earlier, to 10,180. The average price rose 7.4 per cent over the same period, to $568,953. Globe and Mail
BIA meet votes 52 to 25 to proceed to final ballot
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A meeting to decide on the creation of a Business Improvement Area for South Bayview has seen a vote of 52 to 25 in favour the proposition. This means a formal vote will be taken among registered merchants and property owners in the designated area which will decide the final outcome. The vote will require 50% plus one ballot of a minimum 30% of those eligible to vote for the project to move forward. The lively meeting at St. Cuthbert’s Church on Bayview Ave. saw many people speak about their reservations and doubts. Neil Mcneil of Frame Designs was doubtful about the return on investment of $650 in BIA fees. “Think about how much more you’re going to have to sell,” he told the assembled merchants. Joanne Lee, owner of Patisserie de Cigogne spoke of how little she felt her firm received for its $1,100 annual fee at her location in the Mosaic BIA on Danforth Ave. Catherine Lapsley of Breath Pilates Studio spoke with concern about how business has declined in recent years. “We have to do something,” she said. The meeting was chaired by Mike Major, Manager of the City’s BIA office. He spoke informatively on how costs occur in the BIA and the formula for the assessment which is sent to property owners in the BIA. The annual sum is added to property taxes, he said. The BIA assessment is a combination of the area’s and property assessment plus the BIA budget, which is approved by the member merchants. The meeting heard from John Parker (Ward 26), Josh Matlow (Ward 22), Grant Allardyce of the Source menswear shop and Trae Zammit owner of Smokin Cigar. Allardyce and Zammit lead the BIA steering committee. All the men spoke in favor of creating a BIA and the need to establish an identity for the shopping district. The discussion touched on the successful BIAs along Bloor Street. There was no mention however that these places are supported mainly by the subway. There will be no subway in South Bayview and the TTC hardly seems to be aware of South Bayview. The 11 Bayview passes through the district but it is not a destination on bus signs. Nor is there a bus from neighborhoods like Moore Park, Bennington Heights and South Leaside to South Bayview. Many people there have said they would prefer to take the bus to their preferred shopping district on Saturday rather than try to park. Lawn club pres. served with shareholders demand
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Eight shareholders of the Glebe Manor Road Lawn Bowling Club have sent a letter to the president of the club, Phillip Foubert, demanding that he convene a meeting to discuss alleged shareholder rights violations. The move comes in the wake of a move by Mr. Foubert and members of the board of directors of the club, to sell the club’s land at 196 Manor Rd. to a developer. According to concerned resident Derek Tilley there are as many as 872 outstanding shares in the club. He says that in the 91 year history of Glebe Manor Lawn there are unknown numbers of shares in estates. Indeed, some owners may not know they own such shares. The issue broke on South Bayview in May when Mr. Tilley became aware of the plan, originated last November. He spoke to The South Bayview Bulldog and other media. The letter demanding a shareholders meeting was given personally to Mr. Foubert yesterday (Wednesday, July 2, 2014) and states the expectation of a reply within three business days. Otherwise, says Tilley, shareholders will seek an injunction to stop any sale. The case is fascinating for its legal curiosities. The full foundation on which a sale might have been possible without the permission of shareholders is a puzzler. Another unusual wrinkle surfaced at a public meeting called by Josh Matlow (Ward 22) last month. A former president of the club, Wally Rayner, said the articles of incorporation of Glebe Manor Lawn Bowling Club Limited require the club to return the property to either Glebe Manor Presbyterian Church, from which it came as a gift in 1923, or to the City for a nominal sum.
Meeting tonight at St. Cuthbert’s regarding BIA
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A critical public meeting on the prospects for a BIA for the South Bayview business district will be held tonight (Thursday, July 3, 2014) at 7 p.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Church at 1399 Bayview at St. Cuthberts Rd. This and other meetings flow from a request from the Bayview Leaside Steering Committee to the City for such consultation. A Toronto news release says that with the assistance of Councillors John Parker and Josh Matlow, the Steering Committee was formed in June 2012, and held four meetings to establish a boundary for the proposed BIA and identify how a BIA might benefit local businesses. The Steering Committee believes a BIA will provide opportunities to improve area streetscaping and appearance; establish a brand or image for the area; promote festivals and events; and advocate for off-street municipal parking lots in the area. Thirty-seven business and commercial property owners attended the sessions. On May 28, 2014, members of the Steering Committee did door-to-door canvassing from 1489 to 1639 Bayview Avenue to advise businesses in this area of a proposed public meeting to be scheduled for July 3, 2014. The canvassers also provided background information on the City of Toronto’s BIA program. The majority of the businesses contacted seemed “very much in favour” of proceeding with a formal public meeting.
Liberals offer spending plus a balanced budget
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The new government at Queen’s Park will unleash the Throne Speech today. As set out by the skeptical Toronto Sun, the Liberals are offering us our cake to keep forever and to eat and enjoy as well. Many comments follow the story from fairly literate (and polite) fiscal conservatives that we are on the way to economic perdition.
Memo to CP24: Stop interviewing Rob Ford
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When Rob Ford says as he did today (and as he always says) “the only thing I can do is apologize” most reporters across the City sit and never say, “Well actually sir, it’s not exactly the only thing you could do. You could resign.” And if you think that’s just too impertinent for a reporter to speak, our advice to the media is to stay away from this discredited, self-pitying man. Stop interviewing him. TV can find something else to fill time. In the case of CP24, its poor tortured ethics have taken the station to an insane place. There is nothing the mayor deserves from the media, the City, the people or anyone else except guidance to the door.
Thornhill’s Raonic to face Roger Federer in semis
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Thornhill native Milos Raonic is the first Canadian in more than a century to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon. Now the hard-working Raonic must meet his nemesis, Roger Federer, at centre court. Federer has beaten Raonic in the court in the four times they’ve met previously. But today, Raonic defeated wild-card entry Nick Kyrgios of Australia 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4), finishing with his 39th ace on the fourth match point. CTV
Mandarin lineup stretched forever down Finch
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One of the more mind boggling Canada Day activities was waiting in line at the Mandarin Restaurant for a holiday special meal of some sort. We say people should do what works for them. But can you imagine being the last man in line at this enormous queue at the Mandarin at 1027 Finch Av. W?
Eugenie advances to Wimbledon semifinals
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Globe and Mail Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard has defeated Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-4.
Video: How Eugenie stays strong (click picture)
Pot clinic choosing space at Yonge-Eglinton
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Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star with the latest on local marijuana clinics. One just opened on the Danforth near Broadview Ave. and another is getting ready to set up near Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. E.
Grandparents forced to leave their home
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The mystifying case of little Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents, Alvin Liknes, 66, and Kathryn Liknes, 53, continues to shock the city of Calgary. this morning (Monday, July 2, 2014) the boy’s father, Rod O’Brien, has suggested he may offer a $100,000 reward for the recovery of his son. The boy, who is five, was on a sleepover at his grandparents. When his mother arrived to pick him up about 10 a.m. yesterday she found the home empty. Calgary Police issued an Amber Alert and the search has continued since. Police say evidence found in the Parkhill home suggests their disappearance may be suspicious. It appears the grandparents may have been forced to leave their home. They had been in the process of an estate sale at the residence. “When we went to the address and after speaking with family members, the home was not in the condition it typically would have been left in,” said Kevin Brookwell from the Calgary Police Service. He has blond, curly hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing peach-coloured shorts and a striped-blue hoodie. Global News
Rain-soaked E. York parade part of our greatness
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The full rich spectacle of East York’s chaotic rain-soaked Canada Day Parade is surely part of what make this land so great. TPS mounted police, motorcycle cops, the 236th Scout Troop of East York, Mayoralty candidate John Tory, sober Rob Ford and many other politicians, a Toyota dealership, helmeted, scarlet-trimmed and bicycle bell-ringing cyclists, the East York Historical Society, Mercy Marchers for God, Model T car owners and the East York Shriners driving little Shriner cars. There were kids, cats, canines and Maple Leaf flags just everywhere. And so it was that for the 57th consecutive year on Cosburn Ave. beside Dieppe Park the Canada Day parade was marshalled. Today the happy green space again belied the sorrowful battle of 1942 from which it gets its name. Last minute contingents or “units” as the parade marshall Christopher Salmond called them, herded their members from spot to spot as they tried to fit into the line already in place. “I’ll get ye in somewhere,” Salmond barked at a young woman representing who we’re not sure. It was a surprise to see Mr. Salmond present in this apparently traditional role. In recent weeks he has written online that his services were no longer wanted by the East York Canada Day Planning Committee. They had arbitrarily ended his term as “East York Canada Day Ambassador” he said. But there he was, as big as life. The parade and its revellers, headed off to Stan Wadlow Park for the day’s events in a drenching downpour that struck about 10.15 a.m. It is hot out there so to all those who celebrate our 147th year in that humidity, our best to you and Happy Canada Day from The South Bayview Bulldog. You make us great. Photos: top: bell-ringing cyclists, Mercy of God Church, Roller Girls consult, 236th Scouts. bottom: John Tory and friends, meet the (Ford) nation, Rob Ford, Parade Marshall de facto Christopher Salmond and supplicant