Bob Arsenault and Judy Anglin off to the Oscars

by  • 

Congratulations to Leaside’s Bob Arsenault and his wife Judy Anglin who learned this week that they had won  tickets to the 85th Annual Academy Awards red carpet arrivals event to be held Sunday February 24, 2013 in Los Angeles. Bob and Judy entered an online lottery on a whim and have just been notified that they are among the select winners of a pair of tickets for bleacher seats along the red carpet.  Bob and Judy are well known along South Bayview, having lived here for 20 years. They are pictured (inset) in their usual jovial state of mind dining in Paris. Nice work guys.

Crescent Rd. gate post “a garbage can separator”

by  • 

Someone went to a lot of trouble to  build new gate posts at the entrance to Rosedale on Crescent Road just east of the subway station. We won’t ask who paid, we think we know. But look, the presumably cultured residents on the north side of the street are using the gate pillar to create a nice separator between their blue and their green bins. Poo. Bet if we had pillars like that we wouldn’t clutter them up with garbage cans. No way. Yonge and Roxborough News

Her secret: “He always had his hand on my knee”

by  • 

Delightful people, John and Ann Betar are the longest married couple in the U.S. They’re from Connecticut and have been wed these 80 years. Mr. and Mrs Betar are very alert at 101 and 97. Mrs Betar has a couple of  good lines in the video which can been seen here. As to the secret of their long marriage she quips   “He always had his hand on my knee” and  “We eloped to Madison New York. We didn’t have enough money to go any further.” 

Ward 31 skating party set for this Sunday

by  • 

Janet Davis (Ward 31 Beaches-East York) will hold her 10th Annual Skating Party on Sunday, February 10 between 11:30 am. and 1:30 pm. at East York Memorial Arena, 888 Cosburn Ave. As usual, there will be cookies, face painting and a craft table for kids. Children under 6 must wear a helmet on the ice. You can get information at 416-392-4035 or write to Ms Davis at Councillor_Davis@toronto.ca

Citroën Stand at Rétromobile 2013 Motor Show

by  • 

Take a moment to dream about these Citroen beauties from the past at the Paris Retromobile Motor Show going on just now. This exhibit and others reminds us of the European appreciation of the cabriolet model, not seen anymore among American automakers. On South Bayview there are few cabriolets to be seen except of course for all the German ones. Even Ford and GM (through Opel) make cabriolets in Europe but they are not to be seen on this side of the Atlantic. 

B to B Maternity will open at 1643 Bayview Ave.

by  • 

A new business known as B to B Maternity will open in April at the former Oddjects store at 1643 Bayview Ave. It appears to be a re-sale shop of maternity clothes to be sold at reduced prices.  A Facebook posting describes B to B as the idea of  a ” Mom of almost two!!”  It says the firm is buying inventory to open in April 2013. Anyone who wants cash for something they don’t need anymore is asked to call (416) 932-9522 or email info@btobmaternity.com. The owner says she is “looking forward to offering a maternity experience of the boutiques at only a fraction of the price.” It will not be missed on local shoppers that the location of 1643 is directly across the street from Moms-to-be-and-more at the corner of Manor Rd and Bayview Ave.

HS principals plan Prom dances without teachers

by  • 

High schools within the Toronto and District School Board (TDSB) have been quietly collaborating with each other to make sure that annual Spring Prom dances are held for this year’s classes. At a meeting of the TDSB tonight it became clear that no motion from the board would be necessary to direct or authorize this scheme because it was already underway with with the authority of the  school principals. 

We may get 10 to 15 cm of snow by Friday

by  • 

Tomorrow and Friday will see snowfall that could accumulate to between 10 and 15 cm around our South Bayview homes. It will begin tomorrow and should make for a poor drive home home and things are predicted to be perfectly wretched by Friday morning. It appears however that Saturday will be bright and sunny and there will be rising temperatures through the early part of next week to help clear the mess. 

U.S. Post Office to end Saturday letter delivery

by  • 

The U.S. Post Office will end Saturday service in August in an attempt to save nearly $2 billion and set the service on a profitable footing. The Postal Service is semi-independent but ultimately controlled by Congress which has failed to take action to permit the post office to function in the black. Commentators say they aren’t sure how the Postal Service is able to say it will stop Saturday mail delivery without express approval from the Congress. Congress is typically dysfunctional when the government is split between political parties. Among the issues is the low cost of first class mail in the U.S. now set at 46 cents, as opposed to over 60 cents in Canada. Canada eliminated Saturday delivery more than a decade ago. 

TDSB to vote tonight on holding proms

by  • 

Toronto and District School Board (TDSB) will vote tonight on whether to authorize annual school proms using management staff like principals and other support employees to supervise the events. As it stands, the work-to-rule campaign by high school teachers appears to prevent any chance that they will be assisting in such dances. Students are said to be  working hard to save the prom, with or without school support. The student council at Bloor Collegiate Institute has been looking at the possibility of planning a year-end party themselves. For the prom motion to pass at tonight’s meeting, it will need the backing of a simple majority — at least 12 out of 22 elected trustees.

Horticultural Design open again on February 12

by  • 

A sign on the door this week says that Horticultural Design will re-open on Tuesday February 12, 2013.It will be nice to have Michael back on South Bayview. 

Frank Di Giorgio is city budget chief

by  • 

Frank Di Giorgio is Toronto’s new budget chief and it appears that he is a man of many parts. And we suppose that it’s picky to  laugh at his mixed metaphors because he is a smart guy (Mathematics McMaster and Western Business) and a family man, married to “Mary” for 15 years with two kids. He did provide entertainment however if you know that  a question like “Has the gravy train been stopped?” should not be answered:  “I think there is little low-hanging fruit at this time.”   But at a distance at least, you have got to like him. He’s not a cut, cut, cut maniac. He wants to find ways to keep down costs by bringing in new revenues. Here’s a bit of his bio as posted on the Toronto site: A graduate of McMaster University in Mathematics and the University of Western Ontario Business School, he has a diversified background which includes teaching, coaching, business management and public life. In the business world, Councillor Di Giorgio was a marketing and seminar leader in pension plans and tax planning and later established his own small business. As a teacher and a coach, Frank was an Assistant Head of Mathematics, and Associate of the College of Education and guided three championship football teams before pursuing postgraduate training in business administration.