Bank of Nova Scotia will sell its shares in CI Financial in order to invest the money within the bank. An underwriter will take 72 million shares of CI at $31.60 each for proceeds of about $2.275 billion. And Apple has purchased Beats Electronics, maker of headphones and its Beats Music subscription service for $3 billion. Nice payday for Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and rapper Dr. Dre.
Sarah Jordan nominated for Me to We Award
by •
 |
| Sarah Jordan |
Sarah Jordan, the 11-year-old Leaside girl who inspired the annual local food bank initiative, has been nominated for the Youth In Action Award (12 and under) sponsored by the Me to We organization. Me to We is a social enterprise inspiring young people to good work. It is part of a community of organizations including the Free the Children charity which was created by Canadian brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger. A message sent by Sarah’s father Mark Jordan says she stands to win $3,000 which will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank. You may vote here Me to We. The award asks voters to honour a young person who is making Canada a better place to live and is uplifting the lives of other Canadians
Reader sees “one lucky deer” cross Eglinton
by •
 |
| Behind 1750 Bayview Ave. |
Reader Bob Arsenault has advanced the Glebe Manor deer story with a picture he took of what is almost certainly the same animal crouching in the greenery at the rear of 1750 Bayview Ave. Bob quickly snapped the picture (inset) before the deer took off and ran across Eglinton Ave. E. (and Bayview) and went behind Sunnybrook Plaza. “As you can imagine, the motorists were quite shocked to see the deer running across this busy intersection. How he/she came to the rear of our condominium building is anyone’s guess. This is one lucky deer”.Previous post
CAA stink list of roads names Bayview Avenue
by •
Bayview Ave. is once again on the Canadian Automobile Association’s stink list in the annual survey of the ten worst roads in Ontario. Rotten and rocky as Bayview has been this Spring, however, any Grade Nine math student could tell you there are lots worse. The reason Bayview gets included is because it’s used by so many people. No people, no problem. Either that or the Bulldog didn’t pass Grade Nine. And in fairness, the wretched potholes down near Moore Ave. and the bumpy pavement in the business district have now been re-surfaced. So take it for what it’s worth. The whole stink list: That old non-favorite, Dufferin Street, followed by Stanley Avenue in Niagara Falls, Kipling Avenue in Toronto, Finch Avenue West in Toronto and Burlington Street East in Hamilton, Carling Ave. in Ottawa, Markham Road, Lawrence Avenue East and Wilson Avenue. Footnote: Just a common sense note about the media interpretation of how Toronto has the worst roads than anywhere. It’s the Grade Nine issue again. Toronto has typically bad roads like everywhere else but it has zillions more people than other places with typically bad roads. That’s how we win the prize every year. It’s arithmetic not roadwork.
Homefront signature lines now at 70% off
by •
Homefront, the old and well-known home furnishings store, is in the final days of its closing sale. As previously, announced, the remaining and original shop at 371 Eglinton Ave. West will close Saturday, June 28, 2014. Today Homefront has placed the remaining stock of several signature lines at 70% off the regular price. These include pieces from Julia Knight, Simon Pearce, Emma Bridgewater, Mary Jurak and Lampe Berger. Homefront is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Deer seen on Glebe Manor Bowling Club green
by •
Maggie McGovern reports seeing this fine creature on the green of the Glebe Manor Lawn Bowling Club Tuesday morning (May 27, 2014). That’s at 196 Manor Road just east of Mount Pleasant. It was there for a moment and then disappeared behind the club house. A few people have expressed concern for the deer. There does not appear to be a lot of uninhabited space for it to leave the area. Tom Podelec of CTV has tweeted that police were alerted to a deer on Eglinton E. near Laird Drive. It might have been same animal heading home to the valley. 
John Tory’s transit plan follows earlier report
by •
John Tory’s plan to build a surface level rapid transit system on electrified GO tracks follows appears to be based on a report issued late last year by the Neptis foundation. It called for essentially the same thing and said politicians were preparing to unnecessarily spend billions on transit. The plan seems to assume that motorists will turn to these lines and thus reduce traffic on the roads and that transit lines originating in the east and west will persuade commuters from crowding the Yonge line and provide some relief to that burdened system. Globe and Mail
Blue Jays extend winning streak to 8 games
by •
Mark Buehrle became the first nine-game winner in the majors, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind hit back-to-back home runs and the Toronto Blue Jays extended their winning streak to eight games, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 9-6 on Tuesday night. AP
“Get yourself a 6-pack of baggy pants, Kate”
by •
The Duchess of Cambridge is a grown woman and she can wear whatever she likes. She is however sufficiently notable that people will comment. Maybe there’s someone at Buckingham Palace who cares. We don’t know. But the latest example of what we call the flippy skirt capers has been published by the German paper Bild (here). It was caused by a helicopter. No surprise there. Critics in the U-K are now saying that there have been a lot of flippy skirts. Maybe too many. From the one on the tarmac at Calgary airport to the gusty arrival bounding down the steps of the royal jet in New Zealand. It prompted one well-known TV commentator, Sky News anchor Kay Burley (inset top) to suggest the duchess get herself “a 6-pack of baggy pants.” Burley is a flippy commentator herself. Another writer, Amanda Platell, observes that every woman — especially a public figure who is constantly photographed — knows that a lightweight fly-away dress and the merest threat of a breeze hardly marks the right occasion to wear the skimpiest knickers in your drawer.Sobeys matches Loblaws gas discount deal
by •
Sobeys has cooked up a deal with Shell Oil that seems quite similar to a discount program offered by Loblaws on gasoline purchased at Esso stations. In the Sobeys-Shell arrangement, customers will get a cent off the price of gasoline per litre for every $20 spent at Sobeys for groceries up to a maximum of 10 cents per litre off the gas. It may be worth it but for a lot of people it is not as easy or attractive as the points rewards for groceries now offered in many supermarkets. With grocery points the bonus is recorded on the store till and is instantly checkable. In the Loblaws-Esso case at least the user has to become a keeper of paper chits until he/she gets to the gas station. Then he becomes a searcher of chits. No doubt some organized people make this work well and ten cents off each litre of gas is attractive. It is probably more helpful to large families which can easily rack up $200 in grocery sales between fill ups. Here in South Bayview, the consolidation and disappearance of gas stations makes it tougher for a Shell customer to buy in. There is only one station handy (Bayview and Roehampton) whereas there are at least three Esso outlets (Mt Pleasant, Bayview and Millwood).
Wise guy thieves unmasked at Yonge-Eglinton
by •
Two wise guys who used a shotgun to scare staff at a jewellery store at Yonge St and Eglinton Ave. on Wednesday, May 1, 2014 are still at large but they have been unmasked by video. One of the men left (masked and unmasked) racked the shotgun twice as if he was ready to fire. Everyone had to get down on their knees. The other guy right (masked and unmasked) scooped up the goods from broken glass counters. The two removed their masks outside the store and a short distance away were captured again on what seems to be cell video looking like themselves as one of them made a phone call. Another good reason to install publicly-owned surveillance cameras on the streets. The first man is described as white, 5’9″, 25-30. The second man is described as brown, 6’0″, 25-30. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7350, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637), or Leave A Tip on Facebook. Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World.
Rose Park Dr. concrete-block home gets addition
by •
 |
| 142 Rose Park Drive |
The little well-cared for concrete-block home at 142 Rose Park Drive is a curious anomaly to the neighborhood and it no doubt has been since it was built heaven knows when. They just don’t build houses out of concrete blocks anymore. The front of 142 is nicely stuccoed and the gardening is top notch. But when Rose Park Drive was being developed in the 20s and 30s, the area was a hodgepodge of building styles, construction methods and antique bylaws. There are many homes around it in Moore Park which still have rubble basement walls. Rocks, rubbish and whatever the contractor had on hand was just dumped into the excavation with some cement to hold it together. But now it appears that 142 Rose Park will get an addition and deck at the rear. City of Toronto tree fencing is the tip off that the work approved last year is coming soon. Moore Park people who have read here in the Bulldog about plans to make Leaside a heritage zone of sorts will perhaps smile at the idea of a similar attempt to preserve the character of their Oak-treed home. Which character would that be? Which one of these heritages are we going to save?