Parents in Ontario can take some solace that school shutdowns here aren’t related to widespread fears among students. Thousands of students in the Detroit area are out of school because at least two Michigan counties decided to cancel classes because of talk surrounding the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and rumors connected to the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world. Five districts in Lapeer County and 20 districts in Genesee County posted announcements Wednesday evening cancelling classes Thursday and Friday. “Given the recent events in Connecticut, there have been numerous rumors circulating in our district, and in neighboring districts, about potential threats of violence against students. Additionally, rumors connected to the Mayan calendar predicted end of the world on Friday have also surfaced,” a letter from Matt Wandrie, Superintendent of Lapeer Community Schools said.
700 Ont. teachers filled “incomplete” report cards
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The issue of incomplete report cards has been brewing under the surface of the teacher’s dispute for weeks. Now the Globe and Mail says some 700 teachers have been identified by their principals for not submitting complete report cards. The Globe says the teachers are accused of insubordination for the incomplete cards, even though they were following their union’s orders. Principals asked teachers who only wrote one line on report cards, to elaborate further. Those that didn’t, could receive a permanent letter of discipline which will make it tougher for them to move between schools, or into a higher ranking position.
Sweet! Cupcake Girls land on Laird Drive
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There is a kind of be-still-my-heart quality to the excitement building over the imminent arrival of the Cupecake Girls shop at the Leaside Village on Laird Drive. Two attractive, successful businesswomen with a giggly product, a syndicated cable television program and so much fun in their hearts that the cupcakes may not even have to be good. But they are, we’re certain. The above video recounts the collaboration of Victoria, B.C. schoolgirl pals Lori Joyce and Heather White who just decided one day to throw over everything and make cupcakes. You got to love it. Along the way they employed a promotional flare that is admirable. One video opening shows Heather bopping Lori in the face with a cupcake. Did we say they loved fun? Now, the building is almost finished over at Leaside Village. It’s the place just across the main entrance from the CIBC. It will be open in the New Year.
Artisan Bakery opens at Yonge and St. Clair
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The Artisan Baker at Yonge and St. Clair is profiled in the Toronto Life blog. It’s the passion owner and chef Bruno Beaudoin. Toronto Life
Stunning non-surgical procedure at Sunnybrook
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A non-surgical brain procedure performed this very day at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has eliminated tremors that have cursed the life of a Canadian engineer for more than ten years. It is an inspiring story revealing once again the amazing advances being made in internal medicine without the use of a scalpel. National Post
“Rouge” is Air Canada’s new discount carrier
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Air Canada held a news conference this morning to announce the creation of a new discount carrier named Rouge. The new carrier will focus on holiday destinations in Europe, the U.S. and the Caribbean. The first flights aboard Rouge will take place next July 1, 2013 with two Boeing 767s and two Airbus A319s borrowed from Air Canada’s main fleet. More destinations will be added later. Eventually, Rouge will expand to 50 planes as Air Canada begins to take delivery of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2014. Reuters
Toronto public elementary teachers strike day
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Teachers picketed public schools throughout South Bayview today. Most of the contingents were a small representation of the total staff. About a dozen teachers carried signs outside Rolph Road Elementary School for example. Elsewhere pickets said they were glad to be fighting for bargaining rights but some also said they would be happy to return to class tomorrow. At the office of former cabinet minister and Liberal leadership candidate Kathleen Wynne (inset) on Eglinton Ave E just west of Laird Dr a large group of noisy pickets heard speeches and waved to drivers who honked support. Notices on elementary school websites are commiserating with parents. This is the text of the notice on the Maurice Cody site: Dear families of Maurice Cody,
There have been many questions regarding the impending one day strike/walkout by Elementary Teachers of Toronto. The local media reported last night that Tuesday, December 18, 2013 schools in the Toronto District School Board will be closed to all students. Please go to the TDSB website for additional information regarding the one day strike. Many thanks for your patience and understanding through the labour action. Happy holidays to all and warm wishes for a very healthy and Happy New year.
Why not send urgent medical records by 9-1-1?
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The federal body that regulates smart phones and myriad other linked devices is holding a hearing in Ottawa this week to plan how to make 9-1-1 emergency services function in all the applications of the digital present. Can 9-1-1 service be enhanced so that it will transmit useful emergency information to police, fire or EMO staff? Many people think so. The prospect that an iPhone for example might be able to send emergency medical records to EMO staff using the patient’s own phone seems quite likely.
City budget headed for a 2% increase: writer
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Paul Moloney writing Monday night in the Toronto Star says that Toronto’s property taxes are going to rise a bit more than earlier proposed, to add a few spending items and account for the impacts of reassessment and council tax policy. He writes that after originally pegging the increase at 1.95 per cent, the budget committee Monday boosted that to an even 2 percent. The difference is enough to raise an extra $1.15 million that will provide:
• $500,000 in increased grants to community service agencies.
• $300,000 more to local arts organizations.
• $75,000 to Toronto Botanical Gdns, which ended 2011 $198,000 in the red.
• $30,000 to help lawn bowling clubs.
• $17,800 extra for student nutrition.
• $227,200 still to be allocated.
Abducted kids returned from Zimbabwe
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A mom has finally been re-united with her two children after they were apparently abducted by a relative of her husband while they were on a vacation trip to Zimbabwe in April. Today Biatra Muzabazi, the children’s mother, appeared at a Toronto Police Service news conference and thanked all those who assisted in the return of the children, Rene, 7 and Shane, 4. Many Canadian agencies assisted in the international effort to return the children and the story is told in the police video at the right taken at the news conference.
LRT might impact Eglinton condo foundation
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Remarks which were emailed Sunday night to members of the Leaside Property Owners Association say that concerns have arisen about protecting the foundation of the Scenic on Eglinton condominium complex if the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT tracks follow their original overland route approved in 2010. In a previous post The South Bayview Bulldog reported that Metrolinx, the Ontario Government planning body responsible for construction of the LRT, had decided to tunnel the line all the way from Laird Drive to Don Mills Road. In the 2010 plan, trains were to exit the tunnel at Brentcliffe Rd. The change requires trains to travel under the Don River. The emailed remarks, said to have been authored by Carol Burtin-Fripp, vice president of the LPOA, say that residents who attended a meeting on December 11, 2012, were told of “new property constraints” related to the Scenic on Eglinton, which is still under construction. It is said that the original overland route, exiting the tunnel at Brentcliffe, would require temporary shoring to protect the foundation of the condominium. Other matters raised in the remarks were the inconvenience created by the elimination of two stops (Leslies and Ferrand Drive), congestion at Laird and Eglinton if Leslie-York Mills commuters are bused to Laird station and the additional cost of the longer tunnel. Million stories behind 30-year history of President’s Choice
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Galen, Amanda House and Trader Dave
There are a million stories behind the 30-year campaign of the Loblaws chain to extend its private brand, President’s Choice, into a household term representing thousands of products. In the process, Loblaws went from being merely a bunch of grocery stores in the 1980s to a huge manufacturer and creator of many of the items on its shelves. Amanda House and her complaint that Loblaws failed to deliver on buying her yogurt treat is just the latest tale. She says that Loblaws didn’t carry through on undertakings it made to buy and sell her pro-biotic product. Loblaws then produced a product of its own which Ms. House says looks a lot like hers. Her $20-million lawsuit with Loblaw Companies Ltd., and an especially sad plea on YouTube for Loblaws to do the right thing, have earned her a meeting with the Loblaw chief this week.
Trader Dave
Ms House said no settlement offers came out of the hour-long meeting with Loblaw executive chairman Galen Weston Jr. But she was hopeful that communication will remain open between her company YoPRO Treats Inc. and the supermarket chain. “It was a step in the right direction,” said 35-year-old Ms. House, who attended the meeting at Loblaw headquarters in Brampton with her lawyer. The thing is, Loblaws can readily argue that it has done nothing wrong here. It just decided not to buy the YoPRO product and instead do what it’s been doing since the day of the fabled Loblaws President, Dave Nichol, and make its own. It was Nichol, kindly known by many customers as Trader Dave, who engineered the first jaw-dropping scheme to make Loblaws very own soft drinks.
A million stories
In the process, he kicked Coca-Cola to the back of the store. Did we say there are a million stories about President’s Choice? You have to know that every big brand name firm from Kraft to Maple Leaf got indigestion over Loblaws private label program. In the end, however, success sells. The public has embraced this concept even though some customers continue to complain that time-honoured brand names have been removed from Loblaws shelves for good. In the meantime, we can only hope that there is sympathy at Loblaws for Ms House and her colleagues. They seem like decent people.