New

Old

So here are pictures of the new planters which will grace Yonge St. as tweeted by citizens and re-tweeted by Josh Matlow (Ward 22)  Go here to read the many comments about them. Most are upbeat but Urban Dreamer seems skeptical: “I somehow doubt these new planters will last more than a decade, much less 30+ years like those cool brutalist ones.” Nor is it clear when the jack hammers will remove the old ones because clearly they can’t just be picked up and thrown on the back of a truck. The original concrete number looks like those lining the west side of Bayview Ave.

Mike Crawley of the CBC says four months ago the Premier was really cool to the idea of an immediate $15-an-hour minimum wage. In fact, she didn’t like it. CBC

Plan for 21 Mercer St.

De Niro and Matsuhisa

Robert De Niro and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa were flicking away concerns about a Toronto real estate bubble at a news conference Tuesday for their collaboration with Madison Group’s 660 unit condo venture on downtown Toronto’s darkest Mercer Street. Canadian Press doesn’t say where the event occurred but the building, when it gets started, will be at 15 Mercer, a side street between John St and Blue Jays Way south of King West. De Niro has real skin in the game along with Chef Nobu, a celebrity cook of some importance it seems. But in the end, few hearts will bleed for this well-heeled and enterprising bunch as they roll the dice that interest in high-end vertical living in Toronto will sustain, driven by the Japanese chef’s reputation and De Niro’s Hollywood clout, says CP. Can’t wait.

Gil Meslin, east on Bloor Street

Sean Coffey

Surya Jeba/CBC

Stephen Hendrick/Aircraft “flies through” rainbow

Ian Godfrey at Ramsden Park

Many photographers caught the dinnertime treat. See them all at this search

Don’t you want to shop at Metro instead?

Shoppers sign for Rexall customers

Biggest Rexall around

Overlooking Sunnybrook

If you can get there

The Shoppers Drug Mart is open inside the new Whole Foods centre at 1860 Bayview. Even though Shoppers is owned by Loblaws we’re sure WF could not be happier to see them. Traffic on Bayview heading either way is a rare form of torture. Is anybody going there to shop? What better place to put a Shoppers sign than overlooking the Rexall Pharma Plus in Sunnybrook Plaza. Then there is the Metro sign — excuse us the My Metro sign — prominently above the Bayview car wash giving potential Whole Foods shoppers cause to pause perhaps.

https://twitter.com/veeroneeka/status/869669211190292482

https://twitter.com/tweetabletalk/status/869675421956231172

Fire has damged the Eggsmart restaurant on Yonge Street south of Sheppard Avenue Tuesday shortly before 5:30 p.m. It appears there was work being done on the roof when the fire began.

The BIA on Danforth between Donlands and Woodbine is trying hard to get some attention. For starters, they’ve got that big, fat Greek BIA to the west sucking up all the attention. We shall see.

There are number of road closures next weekend but the most important will be the Gardiner Expressway from Carlaw Avenue to the Humber Bridge and the Don Valley Parkway (complete) 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 4 to accommodate the Becel Ride for Heart event. Release

Here’s more information on the Sidewalk Sensation to take place onSouth Bayview. There will a percussion type band playing on the corner of Hillsdale and Bayview. Hit those drums. It’s happenng Saturday, June  17 between 11 and 5. See you there.

Police are trying to turn these excellent pictures from robberies at two Leaside banks into an arrest.  Hold up detectives have chosen to call him the Crosstown Bandit although he is known to have robbed banks at Laird and Eglinton — the Scotiabank at 880 Eglinton Ave. — and the TD Bank at Laird and Vanderhoof Ave. Detective Mike Earl said he entered both banks wearing what is believed to be a wig and jean jacket and approached tellers with a hold-up note. The man indicated that he was armed with a gun and demanded cash before fleeing the scene. He has been described by investigators as a brown male in his mid-to-late 20s or early 30s and is approximately five-foot-nine with a slim build. Det. Earl held a news conference today to discuss a number of bank robberies. It can be seen here.  LOCKDOWN: Holdup at TD Bank at Laird and Vanderhoof

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in the US say a breakthrough antibiotic may promise an effective treatment of super bug infections within five years. Early results with a re-engineered version of an old antibiotic has proven “magical” they say in killing super bugs. The new version of vancomycin is much more effective at fighting Enterococci bacteria, which is found in hospitals and can cause dangerous wound and blood infections. To the right, horrifying video of a raft loaded with refugees from Africa blowing up off the shore of Spain. Rescue services from Spain and Portugal were at the scene. And get ready for an NDP-Green Party government in British Columbia. It sets the stage for a huge road block to the Kinder Morgan pipeline. This is the project intended to help Canada sell oil to China. But who needs that, right? Also, work in Calgary on a leak-proof pipeline.