Former Leaside resident and media insider Ian Slack has written to report on the mass changes at the upper levels of Bell Media. He includes the rather chilly memo (see link) from Bell Media President Mary Ann Turcke setting out details. Most notably for CTV Toronto followers is the removal of Paul Rogers as Senior Vice-President. Wendy Freeman, President, CTV News, survives it seems and a long-time assistant, Joanne MacDonald, will now manage the day-to-day news operations of CTV News Toronto and CP24. Who’s in and who’s out.
New York chain restaurants must warn against dreaded salt
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Accused in North York park stabbing turns himself in
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Marcus Richard Lee, 21, of Toronto, has turned himself in to police in response to a warrant for the stabbing of Russell Sahedeo in North York’s Noble Park last week. Another man, Ton Quoc Hoang (Tommy) Ngo, 20, remains at large. He is described as Asian, five-foot-seven, with a slim build, short black brush-cut hair that is possibly spiked on the top.
Province cuts funds for police anti-violence program
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Ontario will cut the neighborhood anti-violence program known as TAVIS approximately in half. That will take the funding of Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy from $5 million to $2.63 million The minister, Yasir Naqvi, says his ministry believes “that the best way to prevent crime and keep our communities safe is to work with local groups and prioritize community-based crime prevention and youth engagement – by giving communities the ability to allocate funding where it’s needed most” Anyone may interpret that as he wishes. Inevitably, the decision will; be seen in the context of Ontario’s pressing provincial debt.
Toronto creates surprise body of volunteer planners
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The City has sent letters to 12,000 residents across the City from which it says, by press release today, that it will pick 28 people to volunteer as members of a “Planning Review Panel”. It isn’t stated how the addresses were chosen. These 28 individuals will “learn about city planning and offer input on a wide range of issues” the news release says. The panel will be “randomly selected” and yet at the same time will have “equal representation of both men and women, as well as people of all ages, homeowners and renters and people who identify as visible minorities. The panel will also include at least one Aboriginal member.” Citizens can read the whole
release here.
GO system west shut down by “package” sitting on tracks
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The GO Transit system to the west has been essentially shut down as police investigate an unidentified package sitting on the tracks at Exhibition station, police say. The “bomb robot” has been called in although there is no evidence that this package is a bomb. In the meantime, many thousands of people are being inconvenienced.
Tosto Quickfire Pasta Pizza moves in at 609 Roehampton
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It looks very much as if Tosto Quickfire Pasta Pizza will move in at 609 Roehampton Ave. where the newly-built store was left at the altar by Tim Horton’s earlier this year. There is an application on the window of the large premises next door to the Beer Store at Roehampton and Bayview Ave in which Tosto fulfills the requirement to alert the neighborhood that it will operate with a liquor license. The deadline for submissions is October 4, 2015. Tosto has one store in Toronto on Bay Street north of College St. Tosto says on its website that it offers franchises. The Roehampton address was built with Tim Horton’s in mind but the coffee chain, under new management, decided to pull out of occupancy there and locate instead on the southwest corner of Bayview and Eglinton Ave. E.
What on earth happened to this Boeing 777 on takeoff?
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Rules relating to head lice as children are back to school
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The CBC has produced this informative report on school board rules relating to head lice.
Arson fires set overnight in Danforth and Coxwell area
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On Strathmore Blvd — Linda Ward/CBC via Twitter
There has been a series of arson fires overnight in the area of Danforth Ave. and Coxwell Ave. These apparently occurred within about a two-hour period in the dead of night — perhaps 3 to 5 a.m. There was a porch fire on Oakdene Crescent, a car fire on Strathmore Boulevard, a garbage fire at 646 Coxwell Avenue and two waste bag fires at 608 and 618 Coxwell Avenue. And once again there is recall of the sinister unsolved fires in Bennington Heights in May last year. Person of Interest in Bennington Heights arsons
Flavours of Thorncliffe to fill Burgess Park this Friday
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The 6th annual Flavours of Thorncliffe Food Festival featuring the community’s famous tandoor oven will take place Friday, September 11, 2015 from 3 to 8 p.m. in R.V. Burgess Park. (Incorrect times were published earlier). Sabrina Ali of the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee says there will be delicious food and fresh tandoor bread. For children, there will be a jumping castle, face-painting and similar fun. The wood-fired tandoor oven is used to make many dishes but most famously varieties of flat bread such as Tandoori Naan. Below is an enjoyable video of bread being made for the tandoor oven in Burgess Park.
Departing Starbuck’s manager pens note to South Bayview
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The manager of Starbuck’s on Bayview Ave. at Belsize Drive has penned a warm note to customers and to the community on her transfer to the Collingwood shop. Lindsay Jeffery said in her note, now pinned to the shop’s bulletin board beside the South Bayview Bulldog monthly newsletter, that in four years with Starbucks in eight locations she has never worked in a store where there was so much “love, generosity and sense of community.” In what is clearly a heartfelt sentiment Ms Jeffery said it had been an honour to work on Bayview. She is moving to be with her husband-to-be who is employed in Collingwood. Anyone up that way may say hello to Lindsay at the Starbucks at First and Pine Streets.