95 citizens named to join the Order of Canada

by  • 

Rideau Hall in Ottawa has announced this year’s nominations to membership (or elevation within) the Order of Canada. The list totals 95 Canadians of both high and low estate. Well-known names include former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, hockey broadcaster Bob Cole, NHL player Sheldon Kennedy and CBC host Eleanor Wachtel.  These are fine representatives of the country but many Canadians will know members of the order who, frankly, might not have been their first choice. But then there are those who come from the anonymous ranks of worthy Canadians. Among 2014 nominees, Thomas Jon Harle, Brenda Clark and Diane Morin, will receive the full praise of their fellow citizens. Dr. Harle gives free dental service to homeless and vulnerable people in Ottawa and around the world, Ms. Clark is the illustrator of the widely acclaimed Franklin the Turtle books and Diane Morin has devoted her life to psychology research in aid of people with intellectual disabilities. Governor General’s complete list  Globe and Mail  National Post 

Celebrity cafe conflagration “suspicious” says TFS

by  • 

Toronto Fire Service sent out a repeat notice Friday morning (Boxing Day) that the fire at Spuntini Ristorante  and its downstairs companion place Sotto Sotto had suspicious origins. The old restaurant seemed as dry as tinder last night as flames mushroomed through the roof at the location on Avenue Rd just south of Davenport Rd. in the Annex. The eating spots are famous for celebrity patrons and there is much sadness among notables. The Italian word sotto (softly) suggests an intimate hideaway. Kevin O’Leary tweeted his sorrow at the loss of a second home. No one was hurt in the four-alarm fire. Damage is estimated at more than a $1,000,000 according to some reports although this amount seems conservative given the location of the property. These two “ristos” have hosted  Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) soirees. Among the hotshot diners: Oprah Winfrey, Matt Damon, Mary J. Blige, Bill Murray, Elton John, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Smits and Ewan McGregor, Brad Pitt, Lauren Graham, Edward Norton, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Jack White, Jimmy Page and U2. The owner of the restaurants, Marisa Rocca,.promised in a statement today to rebuild and “come back stronger than ever.”

Coffee, politics and the Eglinton LRT in 2015

by  • 

Predicting the future is usually not very rewarding but as 2014 wanes and the weather stays nice, The South Bayview will stay optimistic and chance a guess on three items. The spacious Second Cup shop at 1585 Bayview Ave. will “go corporate” in 2015 as popular former franchisee Hong Ngo will depart for other fields. No doubt there is a major face-lift coming for this location as head office takes over. A Bulldog flashback link summarizes the fortunes of three local Second Cup shops. The year 2015 will see political boundaries re-drawn that may rattle a few cages. They are quite historic. For the first time in maybe 150 years, Bayview Ave. will cease to be the federal dividing line between Leaside (and East York) and that part of the the city known as Davisville Village. This decision by the federal redistribution committee eliminates the federal riding of Don Valley West and lumps most of it into the riding of Toronto North. Equally ground-breaking, the riding of Toronto Centre will be broken up, detaching Rosedale and Moore Park. The riding name will survive however for those parts to the south of Rosedale Valley Rd.  Moore Park and Rosedale will find their way into what will surely a political unknown to be called University Rosedale. U-R, as the new riding is being called, seems to be a compromise place. It was created when opposition to a proposed new riding of Mount Pleasant was revealed. Among the ferocious opponents of that idea was St. Paul’s MP Carolyn Bennett. It is important to keep in mind that these are federal changes and it remains to be seen whether they will be adopted for provincial and municipal boundaries. The Mike Harris government unified the Ontario and municipal boundaries along the same lines as federal boundaries as an efficiency. And finally the LRT.  By the end of 2015, it is the undertaking of Metrolinx that the Eglinton Ave. E. tunneling will be at least half way from Brentcliffe Rd. to Yonge Street. Construction may begin on some of the stations. 

Winners of 2014 Window Wanderland announced

by  • 

Mount Pleasant Village BIA has announced the results of its Fourth Annual Window Wanderland Contest. This is the inventive occasion in which participating stores create holiday show windows which altogether, make a wonderful experience for all those neighborhood friends who come shopping on Mt Pleasant between Eglinton Ave. E. and Davisville Ave. It is a friendly competition which benefits the entire street. There were more than 3.000 votes this year in a balloting period that ran from December 1 to December 19. The BIA has announced the winners today (December 24, 2014). Pictures top to bottom: 1st Place: Jacaranda Tree and Co. 2nd Place: Madison Beauty Studio 3rd Place: Moksa Day Spa.   Congratulations to these three participants, and congratulations to the other 25 participating businesses that created exceptional store windows. All the windows are shown on the BIA’s website. Some turkey-stuffed residents of Davisville Village and the Glebe may want to walk off their meals Thursday and the Window Wanderland shows will be there to see. There are 28 windows in all. If you do go out it will be windy but there is a good chance of some sun. The rest of the week looks pretty good with mostly sunny conditions through Saturday. New Year’s Eve is predicted to be a mix of sun and cloud with a daytime high of minus 5C.    

Scramble to grab spilled cash in Hong Kong

by  • 

There is a serious outbreak of finders keepers on this Hong Kong Street as pedestrians and motorists scramble on their hands and knees to grab bank notes spilled from a van involved in an accident. It’s all quite illegal but no word on that aspect of events as authorities say that as much as $15 million Hong Kong dollars disappeared. That’s about $2.5 million Canadian.  

What a rush! Christmas Eve on Bayview Ave.

by  • 

Bayview Ave. was jumping this Christmas Eve morning and the action never looked better. Mind you, that 20-minute wait outside at Cumbrae’s for the pre-ordered turkey may have put off some customers. One man muttered about having paid in more than one way for his bird. The top three shots here show the lineup around the corner and up to nearly the lane way on Manor Rd. But spirits were generally high with wonderful Gateau St. Honore (cakes) specially ordered emerging from Rahier and all the shops very busy. There was a lineup at COBS (bottom picture).  Lady carrying the flowers has just come out of Passion Fruit. Merry Christmas everyone.  

Cops drive Merton/Mt Pleasant accident car to collect facts

by  • 

Police drive accident car/Bulldog

Toronto accident reconstruction police remained at the corner of Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Merton Street Tuesday night putting a 2010 Cadillac STS through tests to see what happened when an elderly woman was run down about 4.30 p.m. Above, an officer stops the car in mid-intersection and colleagues (left) come to see the visibility. Police have accessed the car’s black box and taken photographs through the windshield of the Caddy in an attempt to see what the driver saw in the critical seconds before the woman was hit. She is in Sunnybrook Hospital with a serious head injury. Witnesses in the big Esso On-the-Run station on the northeast corner said the victim was bleeding profusely at the scene. They said they did not think that she had been run over by the car but had been knocked down. The vehicle was eastbound on Merton. It made a left turn onto northbound Mt. Pleasant, striking the woman somewhere closer to the east side than the west.

Accident occurred before dark

Police would not confirm that the woman was crossing from west to east. The George Barker Manor home for seniors sits on the northwest corner but no one was able to say whether the woman lived there.  The accident closed Mt Pleasant from Balliol Street to Moore Ave. Merton Street was closed from Pailton Cres (west of Mt. Pleasant) to Cleveland Street to the east. The accident occurred just before sunset. Traffic was backed up on Mt. Pleasant and the 74 Mt. Pleasant bus was diverting east at Moore. Cars and trucks normally forbidden from entry into Moore Park and across to Bayview were piled up by the thousands in that neighborhood. At Sunnybrook Hospital, the woman, 75, was said to have a “serious head injury.”

Steak house owner creams snatch and grab thug

by  • 

These are videos posted today on YouTube by steakhouse owner Arron Barberian after he fended off a snatch and grab thug outside his restaurant. The incident is said to have occurred Monday (December 22, 2014) and was recorded on the surveillance camera of a sandwich shop Barberian owns. He operates Barberian’s Steak House and the sandwich shop called TLP (short for “three little pigs”) both on Elm St., near the Toronto Eaton Centre. He was carrying a till full of cash from the steakhouse to the sandwich shop in broad daylight on Monday morning when the robbery attempt occurred.