He’s the honourable gentleman from Toronto-Centre (Rosedale and points south). He’s led a very eventful life of 69 years (so far) and it’s not presumptuous to say he wants to cap his career  by becoming prime minister. And while that seems unlikely to us, it seems equally probable that Robert Keith (Bob) Rae will indeed be the next leader of the Liberal Party. Some might say, who else have they got?  More than that, however, the rankest of the Liberal rank and file, have been well punished for their “anybody but Rae” antics at the last two leadership conventions.  Even if a fresh face appears before the convention, ordinary Liberals will be wary of falling in love the way they did with Mr. Ignatieff.  Of course, if he assumes the leadership it’s just possible Mr. Rae will beat Stephen Harper at the next election. But that seems like quite a long shot. The Conservatives will wage a  withering campaign against the fomer Premier of Ontario, recalling his profligate spending of the early 90s.  In the next federal election, the challenge for the Liberals will be regaining the role of Official Opposition.   

The Toronto Sun   reports that the oldest teenage son of Paul Hindle, the man accused of killing his girlfriend Lisa Lebitka, says he and his father always had a close relationship. But that all changed when Evan Hindle-Tennant, 18, found out through news stories online that his dad’s girlfriend was found dead in their Airdrie Road home and his father was in custody. The death has shocked residents of the quiet community.

The Green Mermaid (Starbucks to you) is busy in our neighborhood. As we reported recently a new outlet will open at the corner of Eglinton Ave. E. at Laird in the former TD Bank building on the northwest corner. Work has also now begun on a Starbucks at the southwest corner of Mt. Pleasant Rd and Soudan Ave. It’s a former pastry shop which apparently got aced out (rent-wise) by the Mermaid when the lease expired. Across the street in the Briton House retirement home there is a  Timothy’s Coffees of the World. It’s trying to figure how to cope with the arrival of the Mermaid. They both make good coffee. 

Residents of Thursfield and Rykert Crescents in the quiet northeast corner of Leaside are waking up to a new view to the south.. The three towers of the Sceenic on Eglinton condominiums are rising on the other side of  Eglinton Ave. E. It is the price of development in the open lands to the south. 

Toronto’s seven member budget committee will impose a 10 per cent cut on Toronto’s libraries despite protests that it can’t be done without slashing hours. The Globe and Mail reports on a rancorous budget committee meeting during which Councillor Chin Lee was the only one to vote against the motion,  Budget Chief Mike Del Grande insisted that the library board’s proposed cut of 5.9 per cent was not nearly enough and passed a motion to carve an extra $7-million from the Toronto Public Library budget. Members of the committee are Michelle Berardinetti, Mike Del Grande (Chair), Frank Di Giorgio, Doug Ford Chin Lee Peter Milczyn and John Parker of Ward 26. Here is a previous story in the Globe and Mail from last July which intimated that Leaside’s Public Library (inset) on McRae Dr. will not be threatened by cuts because of its high use. But it isn’t known if this assessment will apply.

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Elantra was named North American Car of the Year and Jaguar Range Rover Plc’s Evoque won truck of the year, as the largest U.S. auto show began in Detroit. The Elantra beat Ford Motor Co.’s Focus and Volkswagen AG’s Passat, the Automotive Press Association announced today at the North American International Auto Show. The Evoque won out over Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s X3 and Honda Motor Co.’s CR-V. Jaguar Land Rover is part of Tata Motors Ltd. Bloomberg