Bayview shoppers generous at De La Mer BBQ

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Paige and Blake

De La Mer, the little fish and seafood shop at 1543 Bayview, is celebrating its fourth anniversary. To mark their success the owners held an excellent charity barbecue on the street with proceeds going to the #Movember mustache growing  phenomenon in aid of research into prostate cancer. Here we see De La Mer stalwarts Blake and Paige cooking up salmon burgers and salmon sausages. The Bulldog grabbed a sausage (yummy) and then popped into the store to pick up some crab and cheese stuffed mushrooms for the broiler. Business was brisk for the burgers and sausages and South Bayviewites were generous when it came to filling the donations tin. 

Ham carvers feed the hungry at Holly Berry

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Happy crowds of local residents and bargain hunters from afield as well jammed the annual Holly Berry Fair at Rosedale United Church Saturday. It is, as they like to say, a high class bazaar and the array of quality artifacts and home made goods was impressive. Many vendors were there selling goods of their own making. “This is my grandmother’s corn relish,” said one woman. Organizers of the Holly Berry are able to attract a number of independent vendors, giving the fair an eclectic and stimulating quality. In the basement cafeteria, a delicatessen-style lunch was available with at least two ham carvers going at the same time. The egg salad was sold out by 1 p.m. Inset below, a local man and wife examine a glass plate on sale in one of the large rooms. This one was dedicated to glass and books, it seemed.  There was  Holly Berry Knitting on the main floor, a beautiful selection of hand-made knit and crocheted items including, toys, blankets, hats, scarves and baby items to choose from. Proceeds from past Holly Berry Fairs have gone to support the work of the church including Local and International Outreach. The chairs of the Holly Berry Fair in 2013 are Caroline and Bob Duncanson. Rosedale United describes itself as “a dynamic congregation of the United Church of Canada located in a quiet neighbourhood in the heart of Toronto with 430 households from both our immediate neighbourhood and across the City. We have a tradition of wonderful music, strong preaching, and a welcoming environment. Whether you are a long-time member or considering a first visit, be at home among us.” 

Star lays off ad staff, outsources to Metro

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The Toronto Star announced a series of restructuring plans that include outsourcing the newspaper’s advertising sales to Metro English Canada. In addition, layoffs will take place in the editorial, and finance and administration departments. Between 75 and 100 people, including union, non-union and management staff, will lose their jobs. The restructuring is part of “a continued effort to create a sustainable business model for the Toronto Star of the future,” publisher John Cruickshank said in an email to staff on Thursday. By outsourcing advertising to Metro, the free commuter daily also owned by The Star’s parent company, Torstar Corp., marketers will get combined access to both audiences through a single point of contact, Cruickshank said. Pre-press, layout, and other sales support work will also be outsourced. Switchboard and messenger positions will also be eliminated, along with a handful of accounting jobs. In the newsroom, some editorial assistants will be laid off. The company will “seriously consider” any alternatives the union may wish to present,” though it hopes “to conclude that process quickly,” Cruickshank said. “We are taking these steps as a matter of business necessity but with a deep sense of regret for the loss of many valued friends and colleagues.” Toronto Star 

China pledges to revise its one-child policy

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China’s Communist Party has promised to revise and loosen its one-child policy, a program that has been in place since before the country turned to free markets in 1979. The party also said it will eliminate so-called labour camps. They are among the most iniquitous parts of China’s treatment of people who dissent for political reasons or civil issues like unfair municipal decisions. The one child policy will be loosened but not eliminated. It is designed to control China’s enormous population, now said to number 1.3 billion individuals. Some analysts say that the government now needs more young people to help replenish an aging workforce. CBC

Do Premier’s words hint she will remove mayor?

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Kathleen Wynne, Premier and member for Don Valley West, says that Mayor Ford should pay careful attention to what the members of City Council are telling him. Good luck to the Premier with that one. What the mayor has said so far in response to Friday’s motions to strip him of many powers is that he is going to sue the city “and cost it a lot more money.”  As usual, the mayor’s apparent position is that he can simply ignore all the events that have brought him to this place and then get re-elected next November. As Jaye Robinson (Ward 25) has been saying. “What we are seeing is that the mayor does not care about Toronto. He cares only about Rob Ford.” It is not at all clear where the Premier will go with this crisis — and that’s what it is. Denzil Minnan Wong (Ward 34) guessed that Ms Wynne might call a snap election for mayor. To many that seems unlikely. Friday morning council passed two motions. Members declared their decision to revoke  the mayor’s powers to appoint committee chairs and the deputy mayor and, secondly, to remove powers he holds during a city emergency. Questions of staff on this topic revealed Toronto hasn’t had an emergency recently.  The votes were nearly the same, except that on the first one, David Shiner (Ward 24) supported Mr. Ford in keeping his appointment powers. With that assist the Ford brothers mustered three votes against council’s 40. In the second vote, Shiner joined the majority and the result was 41 to 2 with two members absent. It was perhaps not so odd that Mr. Mammoliti, who was present yesterday, would be absent Friday. Next week councillors are set to pass another motion which will refuse funding for the mayor’s office including staff salaries. Below is the roll call for the critical vote to suspend the mayor’s powers in an emergency.  
Yes: 41 Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Josh Colle, Gary Crawford, Vincent Crisanti, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis, Mark Grimes, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Peter Leon, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, John Parker, James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam
No: 2 Doug Ford, Rob Ford
Absent: 2 Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti

Ten honoured by Leaside Sports Hall of Fame

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Ten athletes who made their reputations in eight sports and in the field of sporting safety will be honoured by the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame at a gala evening in the William Lea Room at Leaside Arena on Friday, November 29, 2013. The inductees are top left to right: Leaside’s own Howard Birnie, whose hard work and heroics on the baseball diamond are a community legend; Teri-Lynn Black-Calleri (Skating);  Catherine (Carpenter) Lansdowne (Speed Skating, Coaching); John Child (Volleyball); Rich Ferguson (Track and Field). Bottom left to right: Erica Gilbert (Tennis); Frank Mahovolich Jr (Hockey); Dr. Tom Pashby (Sports Safety); Dr. Ron Taylor (Baseball) Lloyd Woods (Lawn Bowling).  The Leaside Sports Hall of fame was created this year in recognition of the community’s sports history and to help mark the Centennial. Judges this year for the first selection were Bill Watters, former assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Michael Bliss, historian, award-winning author and member of the Order of Canada and Phyllis Ellis, Olympian (field hockey) and member of the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame. To learn more about the Hall and details of the inductees careers go to the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame

Council votes to strip mayor of certain powers

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Toronto’s City Council has voted overwhelmingly in favour of John Filion’s motion to strip Mayor Rob Ford of some of his powers. It is not clear exactly how this might change the day to day functioning of the office.  At 10.50 a.m. councillors were asking about the mayor”s authority to declare emergencies which appear to be set in statute and not modifiable.  

Orlando sells Bayview Village for $500 million

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The Bayview Village Shopping Centre at Bayview ave. and Sheppard Ave. E. has been sold by the Orlando Corporation to a group representing the British Columbia Investment Management Corp.  The conditional sale carries a hefty $500-million price tag. It is said to be the largest single property sale in Canada this year. The mall is relatively small — only 440,000 square feet. For decades the dynamic Orlando management led by billionaire Carlo Fidani has kept the Willowdale retail hub up to date with store openings and constant renewal. Many will remember the demolition of the K-Mart Store. Analysts are speculating that the select location on a subway in what is now north-central Toronto has potential for residential development. According to the Financial Post, we may see proposals to build condos in the parking lot. This is speculation however. Bayview Village was built in the 1960s as an open air mall. In 1977 a movie theatre was added and the mall was roofed over. It was one of the numerous post-World War II small neighbourhood community malls that were built in the inner suburbs of Toronto where residential neighbourhoods were growing. All of these community plazas were strip malls with one or two anchors.

Mayor Ford’s friend Alana is a 23-year-old beauty

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It seems a shame that the lovely-looking young woman  shown above should have had to spend the St. Patrick’s Day evening last year at City Hall with a foul-mouthed 44-year-old out-of-shape elected official. According to his paid employees, it was Mayor Rob Ford wandering the corridors of the seat of city government that night taking swigs from a large bottle of vodka.  That’s what the police records say. The account was compiled from an interview with a man named Isaac Ransom, who at the time was Mayor Ford’s assistant. What can it all mean? The woman, named Alana, is said to hold the title of Miss Toronto Tourism.  Few people could tell you just what this title means. As for the evening at City Hall, all we can say is we are very sorry about Alana’s bad luck.  

Rosedale Liberal oversaw jobs shipped to India

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Bruce Cheadle of The Canadian Press writes a scorching attack on the Liberal candidate in Toronto-Centre for the byelection to be run this month. “A high-profile federal Liberal candidate campaigning in Toronto on a platform of restoring the middle class oversaw the decision to move two dozen full-time media jobs from that city to India,” Cheadle writes. “Chrystia Freeland was the head of Reuters Digital in New York when Thompson Reuters moved its Toronto digital newsroom to New York and shipped the bulk of its work to the Bangalore operation. “The December 2011 move put about 25 Toronto staff under Freeland’s supervision out of work, including 17 permanent and five temporary unionized employees. Thomson Reuters won’t say how many employees remain — only that the company has “a fully staffed and functioning newsroom in Toronto . . . “A common refrain from former Reuters employees is a sense that Freeland didn’t go to bat for them when their jobs were on the line. Aviva West spent three years as a full-time contract editor who worked every weekend at the Toronto operation. “’We had zero contact with (Freeland),’ said West. “’She was in charge of consumer news, and that’s what we were doing in Toronto, programming 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Reuters.com. We never, ever saw her.”  Yonge and Roxborough News