Early morning fire hits home on Whitewood Road

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A fire at 27 Whitewood Road, one street west of Bayview Ave. between Davisville Ave and Millwood Rd. has caused an unknown amount of damage. No one was hurt. A neighbour said the owner, who was not home at the time, has been renovating the two-storey house. Firefighters were called to the two-alarm blaze after someone noticed the smoke at about 3 a.m. Fire crews forced their way into the house and encountered flames in the basement and on the first and second floors. City News said that a  second-floor ceiling joist was compromised and the first floor was sagging. Because of unsafe conditions, all crews were ordered to exit the house and they battled the fire from the exterior, a fire official said.  Photos Sue Byford,  Tony Smyth

CO detectors to be required in all Ontario homes

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John Gignac and lost relatives

The Ontario Legislature has voted unanimously to require homeowners to install carbon monoxide detectors in their homes. The private member’s bill received rare universal approval on the wisdom of such a precaution. The crusade to enact the law was driven by a family tragedy. In 2008, OPP Constable Laurie Hawkins, her husband Richard and their daughter and son, Cassandra, 14, and Jordan, 12, died of carbon monoxide in their Woodstock home. The apparent cause was a faulty gas fireplace. At right is a composite picture of John Gignac, an uncle to Laurie, with the family that died. He has campaigned for the law to try to honour the family’s memory. The legislation is called the The Hawkins-Gignac Act  Carbon monoxide (CO)  is colourless, odourless and tasteless, making it very difficult to detect. CO is commonly understood to be a threat where car engines run inside a garage. It is probably less widely known that furnaces and other open flame equipment generate CO and require correct ventilation. The new law will allow the fire code to be changed so that all homes are required to have CO detectors, said Progressive Conservative MPP Ernie Hardeman, who pushed for the changes for five years. At present, only residences built after Aug. 6, 2001 are required to have CO detectors installed. Yukon was the first to make it mandatory, Hardeman said. Now that Ontario has passed this rule,  it may spread to other provinces. 

This “hybrid” vehicle runs on your common sense

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Toronto police have picked up on an eye-catching reminder to drivers that they should not drink and drive. Their “half police car, half taxi” is a Toronto version of useful device that is used widely in the U.S. It’s  a new wrinkle on the annual  Choose Your Ride program. The Toronto car has a lot of information about fines and the life-altering (and life-ending) consequences of drunk driving. The cost of taking a cab is set at a mere forty bucks. Good value. It will probably cost you less if you live in South Bayview, so nice and handy to downtown.  By the way, the taxi half of the TPS Choose Your Ride hybrid is a Beck Taxi. The social media hashtag for this event is #Choose Your Ride.

Wednesday was clean up day at 313 Manor Road

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This was the day designated for city health and standards employees to begin cleaning out the contents of the boarded up home at 313 Manor Rd.  The authority to enter was granted by a judge following a period of time set for the owner to clean up the home on his own. The premises is owned by Dennis Cibulka. Mr Cibulka has been living on his crowded front porch since he was evicted for health and safety reasons. In a letter today Josh Matlow (Ward 22) indicated that Mr. Cibulka has been assisted by and is working with a public health nurse in hope of rationalizing his situation and gaining him “treatment” he is said to need. Mr. Matlow said that if in due course Mr. Cibulka is not allowed to live at 313, the councillor will do what he can to find the man suitable accommodation. Previous post.

The Dufferin Bridge comes down this weekend

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The Dufferin Bridge will be to be removed this weekend  The old overpass to the CNE gates will be replaced. As a result of this work, pedestrian access over the bridge will not be permitted from Friday, November 30 at noon to Saturday, December 7. Pedestrians can cross the railway tracks between Liberty Village and Exhibition Place via the GO Station tunnel at Atlantic Avenue. Motorists can enter Exhibition Place from any of the entrances on Lake Shore Boulevard or from Strachan Avenue. Go Train service will be affected as a result of this work.  A temporary pedestrian bridge will be installed and is expected to be opened by December 7. Two temporary bridges for vehicles will be installed and opened by February, 2014. 

Six recognized for excellence in bike friendliness

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We love our bicycles and Toronto has recognized six companies for their excellence in bicycle friendliness. They are:

  • Best Bike Parking: Stone Canoe 
  • Bicycle Commute: Intelliware Development Inc. 
  • Best Small Business: McLeish Orlando LLP 
  • Best Large Business: ING Direct 
  • Best Skills Development: Pedalheads Bike Camps 
  • Best Overall: Energy @ Work

Shape of 308A and 308B Rose Park Drive

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Today’s snow may slow down the steaming winter building season which has seen these two homes on Rose Park Drive go from scratch to half built in just a month. These two homes replace an original 1920s Moore Park home which sat on a 70 foot frontage. 

Police take cutting torches to Chinese barbecues

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The running war between the city government and the Chinese barbecue lovers has come to a head as the “BBQ police” are using cutting torches to dismantle the capital’s many smoky outdoor grills. It is a thorny issue because the Beijingers love their charred pork and fish. But the anti-pollution policies of the government have over-ruled angry residents. 

It’s a normal commute and a face full of snow

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Good morning South Bayview. Here we go again with the shovels and the road salt. In fact, aren’t we glad to live in the inner city where there’s only a couple of centimeters of snow to clear.  Residents are finding a slightly slower commute caused mostly in the walking. Buses and subways are running fine, says the TTC. Rain and wet snow falling overnight formed a kind of spray paint for these trees in Bennington Heights. The curious pooch got  a faceful of snow too.Porter Airlines, which operates out of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, issued a weather advisory Wednesday morning for travel to and from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax. Passengers are asked to check their flight status before heading to the airport.

NHL kisses off Bell, demotes CBC, bags billions

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Talk about Standing Up to the Big Guys. We may never know who miscalculated at Bell Media’s TSN. But you can be sure that if the right to be the Big Boss of hockey broadcasting in Canada is worth $5.2 billion to Rogers Media, it is absolutely worth that much to Bell. So what happened? Did Bell even get a chance to counter-offer and or did it foolishly think that the NHL would have to come back to Bell regardless? If this deal was the result of an auction — and that seems for sure — did Bell get over-confident about its pre-eminent position in Canada? One thing is clear, the NHL was big enough in its own right to stand up and say we’re going with the other guy. The fallout at Bell is yet to come. The company has written a gracious statement congratulating Rogers but you have to know that at the top, the Bell Big Guys do not like this. Remember how they chased the CRTC all over Canada after they were turned down for Astral Media? But now they are faced with less than the crumbs as the rest of Canada tries to analyse this seismic re-ordering of hockey broadcasting (and streaming) which even the experts are struggling to comprehend. The best information and some educated guessing comes from Cassandra Szklarski  of the  Canadian Press 

New 140 Dinnick Cres. is a huge asset to the neighbourhood

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A fine new mansion is nearing completion on the wooded lot at 140 Dinnick Crescent in Lawrence Park. This highly-detailed and elegant residence is the work of designer Lorne Rose. It will become the home of a couple who were almost denied the use of the property. Tim and Charlotte Stanley bought the 1930 home on the site in 2011 after careful checking that they could demolish it. It was a run-down and poorly cared-for place that was barely fit to live in. But the day after the Stanleys were given a permit to knock the place down, North York Community Council snatched it back and called the property a heritage building. There was very little basis for this arbitrary and unjust act. The Ontario Municipal Board dismissed the preservationists’ claim and ordered the city to issue a demolition permit. Certainly, the appearance of the home that the Stanleys have built is a justification of their good taste and a big bonus for neighbors, who will doubtlessly see an increase in the value of their homes with the addition of the new 140 Dinnick.

Couche-Tarde spinning money, Sears fires 800

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It’s the up and down of business. Couche Tarde, the corner store and gas bar phenomenon from Montreal, continued to spin out money like they own the printing presses. Couche Tarde posted a Q2 profit of $1.21 a share, up from 97 cents a year earlier. Adjusted earnings climbed to $1.32 a share from 91 cents, beating expectations. The convenience-store operator also raised its dividend 14.3%. Meantime, Sears Canada seems to cursed to misery. It announced Tuesday afternoon that it is laying off 800 people at head office and in service departments today. This comes after stories are told that Sears Canada is being shopped around for sale by Edward Lampert, the CEO of Sears Holdings, which continues to own a 51 per cent stake in the firm. Sears Canada has already sold the leases to its best properties, including the Eaton Centre, unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars which is being returned to shareholders as Sears tries to find itself in a ever more complex retail market.