The City has taken possession of a large piece of land on Manor Rd. on which it will build a park. Here we see Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22) neighbor Derek Tilley and Lucas Barredo, son of neighbors Sandy and Frank Barredo holding a freshly sawn off sign placed there by the previous owner. The land is the former Manor Road Lawn Bowling Club property which came into the possession a contractor. This was the result of a disputed transaction carried out by former executives of the club. The developer wanted to build homes across the width of the frontage but was forced into negotiation by the City, which wanted it as a park. The saw-off compromise permits one home on the east end of the property while the rest will become a park. Councillor Matlow said that in the fall he will hold meetings to discuss with residents how this park, and another new park at Manor and Foreman Rd.will be configured. One may be more kid-friendly while another is designed with benches for sitting.

The former head of the TTC Michael Warren has written another op-ed in the Toronto Star excoriating Mayor Tory for his commitment to the one-stop Scarborough subway. The link was tweeted by Josh Matlow, Ward 22, a determined opponent to this project. Previous link: Matlow declares Tory remarks sad, desperate and shameful 

Time for Mayor John Tory to be ‘honest’ about transit https://t.co/lN4YdFOquZ

— Josh Matlow (@JoshMatlow) June 30, 2016

U.S. President Obama rolled out the flattery for Canada in his remarks to the House of Commons Wednesday. No doubt it got the MPs thoroughly chuffed up, at least on the government side. There was a mild shot about money, specifically how little Canada contributes to NATO. It is a common failing among NATO members. At the Granite Club, Canada would be expelled for being in arrears

The elected governments of member EU states have had to come to grips with the non-democratic decisions of the huge bureaucracy that has been built up over the decades in Brussels. In legal declarations both sweeping and insufferably intrusive, the EU functionaries have regulated everything from the curvature of bananas to be sold in European markets to trade with Canada because of the seal hunt.

A revolutionary six-tonne piece of machinery will be lowered through the roof of Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre and into a specially constructed radiation treatment bunker. It will be a huge undertaking – the equipment is so massive the roof is the only way in. But the effort will be worth it because the new diagnostic device (known as an MR-Linac) will permit the precise targeting of even the most elusive tumours with high-powered radiation. The MR-Linac is manufactured by the Swedish firm Elekta and Phillips. It carries out high-definition imaging of tumours in real-time during radiation therapy. This will allow Odette Cancer Centre specialists to target tumours with extraordinary precision – even as a tumour moves inside the body – and to quickly see the radiation’s effect on the tumour. Sunnybrook Health Matters — edited. 

East end outage update: boundaries reduced to Danforth/Queen/DVP/Coxwell. Crews on site working as quickly and safely as possible.

— Toronto Hydro (@TorontoHydro) June 30, 2016

Empire Co. Ltd., the parent of Sobeys, has taken a $1.3 billion impairment charge over its disastrous acquisition of Safeway in western Canada three years ago. The hint of serious problems arose last fall when Empire announced massive difficulties integrating Safeway stores into its sales and inventory systems. Empire shares plummeted close to 10 per cent Wednesday as the firm conceded there is much work to be done in order to remedy problems in its supply chain, rationalize private labels and try to squeeze a profit out of the disappearing margins of the grocery business.

INSTRUCTIVE STORY

It is an instructive story for those wondering why Whole Foods isn’t just keen as can be to open a store at 1860 Bayview. In a word, it is a rough business and the competition isn’t getting any easier.  “It’s not simple promotional fixes that will get the job done,” Empire CEO Marc Poulin told analysts. “It’s more fundamental changes that will adapt the business for our customers.” Empire, second largest grocer after Loblaws, has suffered amid stiff competition from lower-priced discount chains such as No Frills and Walmart.

As a clue in Monday’s explosion, it seems like a long shot. But neighbours of the Hickory Drive home in Mississauga which blew up Monday afternoon are telling the CBC that they have found notes and letters which seem to apologize in advance for the actions of the writer. That’s the interpretation of either the neighbors or the writer. There are no such words quoted. Police have taken the papers as evidence. The CBC story says no one so far can tell in which home these letters were written. “There’s nothing to connect it to the actual house,” police said. “As you are aware, there are a lot of damaged homes. So we’re working on connecting it to wherever it belongs. We’re not specifying what’s on the paper, what the documents are. We’re just asking if you do find something, turn them over.”  Residents who read the notes told CBC  The letters say the describe being in pain and ask God for help. A second letter shown to CBC News also mentions health challenges and includes an apology for the writer’s inability to keep up with home maintenance and cleaning.