Starbucks in the US (and probably Canada) will hire thousands of refugees in an apparent response to Donald Trump. Wow. The figure mentioned is 10,000 over five years. This is the most recent jab from Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz after his letter to Trump condemning the travel ban orders was met with the Twitter hashtag #BoycottStarbucks. Starbucks drinkers and friends hijacked the hashtag to reverse its intention.

ROLL UP THE RIM

This is non-political. Tim Horton’s has brought back the Roll Up The Rim contest. The coffee giant teased the return of the contest on Twitter on Tuesday, and made it official Wednesday morning. Those who purchase coffee or other hot beverages at participating locations will have the chance to win one of more than 49 million prizes. Prizing this year includes 40 grand prizes of the new 2017 Honda Civic Coupe EX-T, as well as 150 55″ LG 4K UHD Smart TVs, 100 $5,000 CIBC prepaid cards, 24,000 $100 TimCards and millions coffee and food prizes. Tim Horton’s also noted that Wednesday marks exactly 150 days until Canada’s 150th birthday.

ADS TARGETING KIDS?

And the Heart and Stroke Foundation is calling on the federal government to restrict online marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages aimed at children and teens, saying that high-volume promotional tactics are setting up young people for obesity and lifelong health problems. The foundation is calling for the elimination of marketing of all food and beverage products to children and youth under age 17.

Indigo Books

Rusting remains at Wicksteed and Laird

Brick discussions mentioned

Gerry and Heather

The choice corner of Laird Drive and Wicksteed Ave. is the source of widespread local interest. For decades it was the junkyard and fix-it-up home of the venerable Ricci brothers, now moved to their alternative location on Canvarco Road where there is a grand selection of 70s cars. The property was sold last summer for $10.7 million to owners who are really not acknowledged anywhere. One principal is said to be a local man who attended Leaside High whose family business hopes to build a commercial-retail centre there. Further whispers say that among those who have sat at the table as prospective tenants in recent days are the Indigo Books operation and mattress bosses The Brick. Nothing is settled of course but in matters of enormous public interest people will be people and talk. They would like to know. Certainly an Indigo store would be an attractive addition to South Bayview.  We can just see the sign on the corner. Nothing like a sign on the street to grab business. Indigo is operated by Heather Reisman, wife of Gerry Schwartz, the unimaginably wealthy (and philanthropic) owner of Onex, a private equity investment firm and holding company. They are Rosedale denizens. Indigo is, in a way, a gift to the community too because the perennially money-losing firm could not be sustained by just anyone. No doubt there are accounting considerations. We’re rooting for an Indigo.

There was an amazing turnaround in the plunge into privatized garbage collection for Scarborough at City Hall Tuesday. The seemingly unstoppable plan to put the job up for bidding which electrified local politics two weeks ago has been stopped dead. Instead, Mayor Tory and his supporters found that the likelihood of Council voting to approve the proposal passed by the Public Works Committee was very chancy. News stories Tuesday are vague about names but there is said to be resistance to privatization from both “left” and “right” supporters to privatization. The reasons may differ. Some just don’t like the idea of non-union service period. Some on the right are undecided over whether contracting out will really save money. The City has received reports which seem to contradict each other. One insight emerging today is that the union employees, member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, have become more efficient since privatization of collection west of Yonge in 2012. It now seems this subject is dormant until after the 2018 election. Committee opens bidding for private collection in Scarborough  CP24

For lease sign down

Hope for a Spring revival

We can hope

Sometimes hope for the renewal of Spring hangs on little things like the disappearance of the For Lease sign in the former Tori and Cates shop in the 1500 block of Bayview Ave. We tried to chase down the landlord but no luck so far. Let’s hope.

There will be a “celebration dinner” for the Thorncliffe Park Ministry charity on February 23, 2017 at 6 p.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church, at 1399 Bayview Ave. It will be an evening of music, good food, silent auction and story telling. Tickets are $50 (a $25 tax donation receipt provided).

Thorncliffe Park dispatch

Neighborhood taxi

Tweets talk diversity

Beck Taxi, long at war with the Uber livery monolith, is finding new inspiration in a decision by Uber’s CEO to act as an adviser to Donald Trump and the subsequent anger over presidential travel restrictions orders. Beck’s Twitter account is now full of tweets like the one above lauding diversity in general and Beck’s multi-national makeup. @BeckTaxi

Dr William Humber

East York Historical Society

East York Historical Society meets in its regular last Tuesday of the month at the Walter Stewart Library at 170 Memorial Park Ave. tonight. The feast speaker is  Dr. William Humber, director of Seneca College’s ECO-Seneca Initiative, the event will also include a performance by guitarist Rick Pearson and pan player Mervyn Charles. The meeting is billed as a chance to honour three great Canadians — but you will have to wait to see who they are. Meeting begins at 7.30  Information: email eyhs@eastyork.org, or call 416-429-7821..

Congratulations to the Wildcats PeeWee A (Harlow) champions of the East division with a record of 16-2-4. pic.twitter.com/ZYmJNvr7GY

— Toronto Leaside Wildcats (@TorontoLeaside) January 31, 2017

Congrats to the Wildcats PeeWee BB (Andy Kerr) Champions of Central East Division with a record of 16-3-3. pic.twitter.com/NeuZuWbCww

— Toronto Leaside Wildcats (@TorontoLeaside) January 31, 2017

CBC

Toronto Sun

Does not like short pants

Toronto her creature

Mayor Tory is talking tough about the provincial government of Kathleen Wynne. He is demanding, more or less, that the Liberal government sit down with him and make a plan for funding now that the Premier has shut down Toronto’s plan for rod tolls. Tory said Monday he and Wynne spoke “constructively” about the issue during a meeting at Queen’s Park early in the day. Later he said the road tolls dispute had changed the dynamic of his conversation with the premier. “Last week, the nature of our City’s understanding with the province fundamentally changed. Those events meant that it couldn’t just be business as usual. Toronto City Council took a clear position on our chosen path forward and put forward a plan to pay for the projects our citizens badly need. Denied the power to make those investments, the province now needs to do more for Toronto and for its nearly three million citizens,” Tory said. Just what he can expect remains unknown. As generation Canadians learned in school: “The cities are the creatures of the provinces.” That sums it up. Ms  Wynne can do — or not do — whatever she wants. There is political risk of course.

Jameson Watermulder

Carn salad

Tortiere

Candies

Ryan with savory pie

The first day of business at Jameson Watermulder’s new shop at 408 Summerhill Ave. in Rosedale has been busy. The style is much like Summerhill Market down the street where Jameson was chief cook for many years. The selections are different however. Certainly worth a visit.