Bedford Park kids all safe in New York bus collision
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The principal of a Toronto school is tweeting from New York’s Lincoln Tunnel where an excursion bus with 25 Grade Eight students from Bedford Park Public School was rear-ended. Everyone is okay. The principal is Kevin Battaglia @kevinbattaglia1 on Twitter and in his first message called the rear end accident “a little excitement.” Bedford Park School is at 81 Ranleigh Ave. Ryan Bird of the Toronto and District School Board confirmed these facts and said it appears the Bedford-leased bus is quite operable and will be on its way shortly. Mr. Battalgia is being swamped by media tweets requesting interviews as can be seen by checking his account above. His report does not agree with information from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which operates the tunnel. This body is saying that as many as 18 people were hurt, but not in a serious way. These injuries may have been on the New Jersey transit bus which hit the Bedford bus.
Alice in Wonderland a stage triumph at Leaside’s CGS
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Every spring at Children’s Garden School, the Senior Kindergarten through Grade 3 students stage a full-scale musical production. Past productions have included Annie, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This year the children loved adapting the story of Alice in Wonderland. A musical director and choreographer are brought in from the Toronto-based Arts Express each year to produce the show.
The children rehearse for three months and throw their heart and soul into the show. This year was no exception. The Performance Arts curriculum at CGS is an exceptional vehicle for those children who are already motivated to be on the stage and for those children who are shy, it is a great way for them to challenge themselves and try something new. Students are already looking forward to next year’s show, Shrek The Musical! More pictures at CGS blog
The Director of Admission is Kelly Scott who may be contacted at kscott@cgsschool.com and (
Eglinton to be closed at night from Brentcliffe to Leslie
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The closure of Eglinton Ave. E. between Brentcliffe Rd. and Leslie Street will take place in the middle of June, according to Metrolinx. The work will go from 10 p.m to 6 a.m. seven days a week. The construction is designed to strengthen and smooth the surface of the street although it does not appear to be explained where this work fits into the construction of the LRT. The most obvious alternate route east to Scarborough will be O’Connor Drive. Metrolinx notice
Solomon disclosed art business to CBC “earlier this year”
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Evan Solomon has released a statement on his dismissal from the CBC. He says through his lawyer tonight (Tuesday, June 9, 2015) that he never intentionally used his position at the CBC to promote a private business partnership he was involved in. Solomon said he formed the partnership with a friend in 2013 to broker Canadian art. He said the business involved only two clients and that he disclosed the business to CBC earlier this year. “I did not view the art business as a conflict with my political journalism at the CBC and never intentionally used my position at the CBC to promote the business,” he said. “This month, following a difficult dispute with my partner, I took steps to end our business relationship.” Mr. Solomon said he was “deeply sorry” for any damage his activities had done to the trust CBC, its viewers and its listeners put in him. “I have the utmost respect for the CBC and what it stands for,” he said
Hardly working: “Job action” finding lots of things not to do
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Education Minister Sandals says she has heard that Ontario elementary teachers will not complete report cards but instead will send home a letter with each student telling parents whether the child passed or failed. The education minister has this advice: Parents should get a meeting with their kid’s teacher and try to persuade him/her to reveal something about the true progress of the student in various areas. The union representing Ontario elementary school teachers has previously said that they will not provide comments for report cards as part of province-wide work to rule action. Now apparently it’s no cards at all. Unlike a strike, a work-to-rule continues to pay teacher salaries. Ms. Sandals admits the worst. A pass or fail missive to mom and dad seems likely. Elementary school teachers across Ontario began job action on May 11. As part of the work-to-rule, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario says that teachers are not participating in Ministry of Education meetings, workshops or meetings with principals. Teachers are also not administering standardized tests or booking field trips for the 2015-2016 school year.
Fingers crossed as Ontario sets rules to save honey bee
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The Wynne government has introduced rules to cut the use of certain pesticides by 80 per cent in two years in an effort to ensure the health of the province’s honey bees. As this is done, one may wonder if legislators have their fingers crossed that they know what they are doing. There is deeply contradictory information about the issue. Beekeepers have been nearly hysterical in their concern that the honey bee is potentially facing extinction. There was a 34 per cent death rate last year, it is said. Farmers and pesticide makers point to Statistics Canada figures that bee hive numbers rose by 38 percent between 1994 and 2014. The implications of a honey bee die-out is profound for nature and all we expect of it in growing food. The linked story makes you want to cross your fingers. Globe and Mail
Can this be right? Man “too old” to get pension he earned
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Fascinating case of a hard-working 78-year-old denied pension money because he’s too old. CBC’s Mark Harvey is in Edmonton.
Retail shocker: Telus to close all Black’s stores in August
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Telus, the national communications giant, will close all 59 Blacks Photography stores in August, the firm announced today (Tuesday, June 9, 2015). This would include the location in the Sunnybrook Plaza. Telus said it has not been able to “realize profitable growth,” as Luiza Staniec, spokeswoman for the firm parent, put it. The shutdown of the stores, most of them in Ontario, will leave 485 employees without jobs, and Telus will try to find them positions at its other outlets, such as Telus and Koodo stores, she said.
BELL SOURCE ELECTRONICS
The Telus move leaves Bell Canada as the last man standing in the phone-conglomerate electronics business. It’s large store in Sunnybrook Plaza and others elsewhere will have been tough competition for Telus. The relationship between the two firms has been close. Some analysts have speculated they could see a merger of Bell and Telus someday. Telus tried to find a buyer for Blacks but wasn’t able to find a suitable suitor, she said. Telus bought Blacks in 2009 for $28-million, closed almost half the stores and invested in improving the outlets as the industry moved quickly to digital alternative Telus will report the financial consequences of shutting down Blacks in its next quarterly results release, expected in August.
Ella Ballentine to star in Anne of Green Gables TV movie
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Toronto’s Ella Ballentine
Toronto’s Ella Ballentine will play Anne Shirley when the timeless Canadian tale of Anne of Green Gables is re-made into a TV movie next year. The decision was announced last week by a production team created by YTV and headed by Kate McDonald Butler. Ms Butler is the granddaughter of the story’s author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. It has also been announced that Martin Sheen will play the role of Matthew Cuthbert. Ella Ballentine, who is now 13, has performed mostly in Toronto since 2010. The producers say the series will be shot not just in Prince Edward island where the story is set. Ms Ballentine showed a very early interest in performing and began to study classical ballet when she was just four. She would soon move onto other dance forms and then took vocal training. Her professional acting career began in 2010 playing Francis Perks in the Mirvish Productions’ The Railway Children, which was followed by a role that used her dancing talent when she performed in Jörgen’s The Nutcracker during its Toronto run. Ballentine then landed a lead role in Numbers at the Toronto Fringe Festival, for which she received a Best Performance in Live Theatre nomination for the 2013 Young Artist Award. More recently she played the Young Cosette/Young Eponine for Mirvish Production’s 25th anniversary version of Les Miserables at Toronto’s Princess of Wales theatre in 2013/2014. On screen she has appeared in leading and supporting roles on such high-profile projects as Atom Egoyan’s feature Queen of the Night which was released as The Captive. She also appeared in Jason Stone’s The Calling, as well as Mario Azzopardi’s video game and TV series, Time Tremor. Green Gables has a fabled history beyond its impact on Canadian children. It so charmed certain educators in Japan that the book was adopted for English instruction there, creating an enormous fan base of Japanese adults who now travel with their children to Prince Edward Island to visit the fictional home of Green Gables.
Roehampton Beer Store re-opens in new quarters
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The Beer Store opened its re-built location in the Metro grocery complex at Bayview and Roehampton Aves. on Monday (June 8, 2015). A note to customers that the store closes at 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A number of buyers were surprised by this closing hour.
Canadian brother and sister “held for causing quake”
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Naked climbers and (inset) Lindsey Petersen and sister Danielle
Two Canadians, Lindsey Petersen and his sister Danielle, are being held in Malaysia after a recent deadly earthquake as local officials blame a group of tourists for the natural disaster. A number of foreigners, the siblings included, apparently climbed Mount Kinabalu last week and some posed naked for a photo at its peak. Petersen’s Facebook page says the Glentworth Saskatchewan man has been traveling for several months in southeast Asia. Prior to leaving on his travels, his LinkedIn profile shows he worked as a farm hand and earned a Bachelor of Science in electronic systems engineering from the University of Regina. He has met up with his sister Danielle in a couple of countries during their travels. Authorities in Malaysia said the two may be charged this week.