The Bulldog

DVP opens after clean-up of dump truck rollover

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The Don Valley Parkway has reopened between Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road following a dump truck rollover Tuesday (October 28, 2014). The truck was travelling north when it somehow rolled over, spilling its contents into the southbound lanes at around 1:30 p.m. Both lanes were reopened shortly after 6:30 p.m. Traffic was funnelled off the DVP onto other roads, mostly Bayview Ave. during the closure.

Down the Canadian rabbit hole with a 7Up

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The Supreme Court of Canada has heard the case of a serial litigator that his rights were violated because a unilinguial flight attendant on Air Canada served his wife a Sprite instead of a 7Up. She ordered the 7Up in French and it appears the attendant did not know what she was talking about.  The other possibility (that there was no 7Up on board) is not explored in the story. The case has been bouncing around for years with various awarding and denying of monies. The flight was from Charlotte N. C. to Toronto. The top court ruled by a five-to-two margin Tuesday that the airline violated Michel and Lynda Thibodeau’s French-language rights but also found they did not qualify for monetary damages. 

1929 Royal York Hotel sold for $186 million

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What this may herald for the grand old hotel is anybody’s guess. It has been lost on the city’s skyline since the building boom of the 1960s but before that was the marquee structure for those arriving here since its construction in 1929. Kingsett Capital, a large Canadian private equity real estate investment business. will hold 60 percent of the property. KingSett is also a participant in the construction of the “Whole Foods development” at 1860 Bayview and Broadway Ave. in South Bayview, Metro

John Parker: Why was 2-term member defeated?

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John Parker

There are tweets Tuesday (October 28, 2014) thanking John Parker for his eight years of service as the Councillor for Ward 26.  There are also tweets expressing surprise the quiet-spoken lawyer and resident of central Leaside was the only incumbent to be defeated last night. What was it that caused voters to turn against Mr. Parker? It may have begun during his first term, 2006 to 2010. In the 2010 election Parker  was challenged  by two strong opponents, Mohamed Dhanani and Jon Burnside. Mr. Dhanani came a close third. His accomplished business career and attractive family seemed to commend him to his dream — being the first Muslim Councillor on City Council.  As it turned out, he split the opposition vote with second place Jon Burnside, the man who went on to defeat Mr. Parker in 2014. Together, Dhanani and Burnside polled a large majority of the ballots. Mr. Parker’s plurality saw him to victory. So the people were restless in 2010. It seems that for all his quiet and carefully spoken ways, Parker could be quite direct. Members of the Thorncliffe Park Tenants Association said this about him. According to their published criticism, Parker as much as told them to clean up untidy public spaces themselves. It may or may not seem fair but it was a source of irritation to the tenants. In Leaside itself, the festering issue of the industrial park was not one where the Councillor made much ground. Many say the expectations of residents about this early-20th century factory farm are unreasonable. The only redevelopment possible on lands polluted with chemicals and industrial waste is commercial. But that means big developers and big box stores. And traffic. The Leaside Property Owners Association certainly had no interest in that. Parker was condemned for not being tough enough with Smart Centres and other developers. It was bruited about that he had missed out on getting a large settlement available from the developer for some political peace. We do not know if this is true. But it became part of the lore of Leaside. At a personal level, Parker could be charming. If however one was a supplicant the answer often seemed to be polite indifference. The outrageous left-over bylaws from East York deserved to be thoroughly ignored — if not publicly attacked — when it came to granting small businesses a license to operate. Quite often the bylaws seemed to triumph, or at least delay, the opening of a business. It was a natural opportunity for Jon Burnside to say that he would be “on your side” in such matters. 

Voter turnout: Vanilla vs fruit loops on fire

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Voter turnout was low in Ottawa — just 39.7 per cent of eligible voters bothered. In Toronto on the other hand, more than 60 per cent of electors stirred themselves and went to the polling station. It is an easy calculation why. In Ottawa, it seems the scene was “vanilla” as the Citizen put it.  In Toronto, to extend the metaphor, the scene was like fruit loops in fire.

John Tory wins despite Ford’s surging campaign

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John Tory has won a tough battle to become mayor. At the age of 60 he has come back from a long string of defeats to claim the prize he lost a decade ago to David Miller. Speaking in victory on Monday night  Mr. Tory was the gracious, educated and charming man we know him to be. So much more finished and presentable than Rob Ford. So much more capable, as the mantra of his campaign had it, of bringing the city together. John Tory will be the very model of a big-city mayor and with any luck he will build us a transit system too.  Nonetheless, Doug Ford, the man who came second, was surging toward the end and he came closer than many thought he might. The quick count shows Tory taking 395,141 votes (40 percent), Mr. Ford 331,020 (33 percent) and Olivia Chow 227,096  (23 percent). There were 981,179 ballots cast so between them the three top candidates took more than 95 percent of the votes.  Why didn’t John Tory win with more than 40 percent of the popular support? Even though Olivia Chow ran  third it is an easy take on Ms. Chow that she is a political force whereever she appears. She was over her head this time but not without impact. It is the really quite unique quality of the Ford brothers when it comes to money that drove the substantial vote for Doug Ford. And it has to be said first that Doug Ford is different from his brother. Some will say he is just plain smarter. He is certainly more articulate. And yes, he can be combative, nasty and mean. But his belief in the value of money lives outside of his petty conduct. Forget Ford Nation. There are thoughtful voters who supported Doug Ford who don’t give a damn about the Fords personally. The Ford brothers have suffered not from bad politics but from bad behaviour. In the end, most people found they disliked the hideous conduct of Rob Ford enough that they elected John Tory. We do not know how many of Tory’s supporters might have preferred a tougher discussion about money. But for many of them, it seems, the election was a case of better safe than sorry when it comes to the Fords. We do know that the quite conservative Jane Pitfield worried publicly about John Tory’s capacity to stop sloppy waste. She may have nothing to be concerned about but it is a clue as to why Doug Ford came as close as he did. Photo: John Tory and wife Barbara Hackett greet happy workers — Twitter. 

Jon Burnside “humbled” by support of so many

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John Burnside told supporters tonight that he is humbled by the support of so many people across Ward 26. The residents of the ward elected the young former policeman to replace Councillor John Parker in today’s election.  He was greeted by dozens of supporters at the Leaside Pub on Laird Drive and is seen with his mother, who is 88, and friend Charlene Kew at the venerable local establishment. “I’m excited, this is my passion but on the same token, Burnside said.  “I’m taken aback in a good way. People’s faith in me, whether it’s the voters and all the people who worked on my campaign, you think it’s just a one- or two-person show, but it’s not.” .As reported earlier, John Parker travelled to congratulate Mr. Burnside and made a gracious statement of concession on Twitter. 

Burnside, Wong-Tam, Matlow, Robinson victors

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The supporters and friends of Jon Burnside are celebrating his victory at the Leaside Pub on Laird Drive this evening. It is said on Twitter that John Parker, now defeated in the ward, went to the pub to offer congratulations and he also sent congratulations by Twitter. City of Toronto automtically updated results  Ward 22  Ward 25 Ward 26  Ward 27

John Tory prevails against a surging Doug Ford

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John Tory is being declared the winner of the mayoralty election winning (at 8.30 p.m.) close to 39 percent of the popular vote against Doug Ford’s nearly 36 per cent. The closeness is reflective of the latest polls prior to election day which showed Mr. Ford surging. But in the end, John Tory, his campaign and his lead were unassailable. Tory organizers say they expect his lead to grow as the evening passes. 

Burnside romping to win over John Parker

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Results show Jon Burnside a triumphant victor over John Parker as councillor for Ward 26.  At 8.45 p.m. with 100 percent of the votes counted, Burnside has 43 percent of the votes compared to Mr. Parker’s 28 percent.  Kristyn Wong-tam has emerged a popular candidate, re-elected by at much as 62 percent of the ballots. Megan McIvor has come second in Ward 27 with 17.59 percent. In Ward 25 Jaye Robinson has been re-elected with some 82 percent of the popular vote and Josh Matlow, as fully expected, is re-elected with perhaps 85 percent of the vote.