Consumer Reports picks the Chevrolet Impala

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Consumer Reports magazine has chosen the 2014 Chevrolet Impala as best car of the year. The honour breaks a 20 year reign of foreign cars in the CR most-favoured position. The Impala is said to be completely redesigned and in dealerships but a few days. CR says: “It has been transformed from a woefully uncompetitive and outdated model that was to be avoided even as a free upgrade at the rental-car counter into a thoroughly modern and remarkably enjoyable vehicle.” Also enjoyable is this review (right) from Real World which includes a great review of past Impalas.

Did Matlin resist selling firm he founded?

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The messy firing of Joel Matlin by the board of directors of AlarmForce continues to leave the question of why it happened. But Marvin Ryder of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University says he thinks the issue arose because Mr Matlin was not so keen on selling the company he founded so that it could expand in the U.S. Mr. Ryder was interviewed on CHCH-TV and emphasized that he “thinks” this is the root of the breakdown. He also said that it will be very difficult for Mr. Matlin to organize a comeback as CEO by asking shareholders to re-instate him. Mr. Matln is quoted by Canadian Press as saying he should not have been fired, did not expect to be fired and that he is calling on shareholders to restore him to office. He would only say his dismissal came about as the result of a disagreement he had with the new CEO Anthony Pizzonia. Mr. Matlin is a minority shareholder of the firm (8 percent) having sold off control of the company. There has been no comment from the new management.  Previous post 

Spanish train speeding on curve — 80 are dead

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Analysis of the above video by various authorities indicates the Madrid to Ferrol train was travelling at perhaps twice the speed set for this corner. The AP says it calculates the speed at between 152 and 194 km/h.  The railway said the speed limit on this portion of the track was no more than 80 km/h. Eighty people are dead. 

Food truck pilot in Allan Gardens, 4 other parks

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Capalansky’s truck Thundering Thelma 

It is a halting baby step but the City of Toronto has authorized the operation of a number of food trucks at five parks beginning Thursday, August. 1.  Toronto has been widely criticized for its over-management of the street food industry. Past projects have seen the City dictating menus.  The trucks will be permitted at Woodbine Park, Sherbourne Common, Roundhouse Park, Canoe Landing and Allan Gardens. Some participating truck vendors include: The Feisty Jack, Urban Smoke Fusion BBQ, Stuft Gourmet Sausages, Caplansky’s, Gourmet Gringos, Beach Boys Food Truck, The Food Dudes, Pretty Sweet Bakery, Gourmet B1tches, Bestia, Crossroads Diner, Hogtown Smoke, Choco-Churros, Tiny Tom Donuts and Localista. 

Blackberry to lay off 250 employees in Waterloo

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BlackBerry has said that it will lay off another 250 employees at its product testing facility in Waterloo. It is a continuation it seems of the firm’s downsizing. Last year some 5,000 people were laid off at Blackberry. The company is telling news agencies that  it is “part of the next stage of our turnaround plan to increase efficiencies and scale our company correctly for new opportunities in mobile computing. We will be as transparent as possible as those plans evolve.” 

Gas leak under control at Laird and Wicksteed

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Conditions were snarled in east Leaside Thursday morning as crews dealt with a gas leak at Laird Drive and Wicksteed Ave.  By 9.30 it appeared that conditions were under control. 

Home security firm fires Joel Matlin as CEO

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Joel Matlin, the larger than life face, voice and all around cheerleader of the home security firm AlarmForce has been fired as CEO of the company. The decision installs Anthony Pizzonia as interim president and CEO, according to the Star newspaper. It will come as a surprise to the public at large that it would even be possible to fire Mr. Matlin, so deeply established is his identity as the founder and boss at the home security firm. In fact, as the news stories indicate, he owns merely eight percent of the shares. Clearly the questions out-number by a long shot the simple facts of the announcement that Mr. Matlin is out and that Mr. Pizzonia is in as CEO. Why was ths done? Will Matlin continue to be the public face of AlarmForce? Will this avenue even work, if he isn’t the CEO?  Bells will be ringing with those who own AlarmForce systems. Toronto Star

Call him George Alexander Louis if you please

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BBC

West Nile warning issued as positive results found

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Toronto Health is warning about the West Nile Virus threat posed by mosquitoes. As expected, there have been positive tests conducted on area mosquitoes. In past years, the Don Valley has been a fertile area positive tests. As a result, the authorities are issuing a reminder about West Nile. They call it a timely reminder to members of the public to protect themselves from mosquito bites and to remove standing water from property where mosquitoes can breed.  Although the risk of becoming infected is low, protection against mosquito bites can further reduce this risk. Public Health reminds residents to wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts, pants, socks and a hat when outdoors, especially at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active. They also recommend  insect repellent approved by Health Canada and follow product instructions.

Moore Park chase sees man nabbed in cemetery

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Tow truck driver sizes up how to lift chase car

There was a short and successful police chase Wednesday morning when a driver who had made an illegal left turn at Moore Ave. and Welland Ave. took off after having been stopped. Police say the man nearly struck the officer who was recording his plate number. The car sped south on Welland, west on Heath Street E and then right on Kingsmere Rd bringing it back to Moore Ave. In a wild left turn at Moore the car ran head-on into a pickup truck. Fortunately, the driver of the truck suffered only minor injuries but the driver took off toward Mt. Pleasant Rd. A 21-year-old man was later apprehended in the cemetery, police said. A woman in the car was also arrested. As South Bayviewites will know, the corner at Welland and Moore has restricted turns in the 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. periods. In the mornings, police will frequently wait on Welland to catch drivers turning left onto Welland. The bylaw, which is very old, is designed to keep traffic out of Moore Park during rush hour.  

Mass evictions leave 9 tenants in Bayview units

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According to Jade Jenkins, head of an association representing tenants of the Kelvingrove and Glen-Leven Apartments on Bayview Ave. there are only nine tenants left in the  97 apartments in the complex and three of those will be moving out soon. As reported in the Star by Marco-Chown Oved, the six holdouts are seniors who will be represented by Ms. Jenkins at meetings of the Landlord and Tenant Board in August. It has been a summer of moving at the apartments where close to 70 units were said to be occupied at the end of May. The buildings, located on Bayview Ave. from Sutherland Drive north to north of Airdrie Drive are indirectly owned by the NDP government of Manitoba through its Civil Service Superannuation Board and a satellite company, ADMINS Kelvingrove Investments Corp. The deputy minister of finance sits on the CSSB investments committee at CSSB headquarters in Winnipeg. Mr.Oved’s story indicates that there has been a lot of hardship on the tenants, both those who have left and those still hanging on. The owners wish to renovate the apartments and charge higher rents, it is said. Many will find it hard not to think of the push to evict the tenants as a kind of revenge for the epic resistence mounted beginning ijn 2010 which thwarted ADMINS Kelvingrove from demolishing the apartments and building high-density condominiums. The apartments were built in 1939 by Howard Talbot, later a mayor of Leaside.

Painting curbs red — and other urgent news

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There may or may not be a video of Mayor Ford smoking crack but there is absolutely a video of the City’s Chief Magistrate painting a downtown curb red — or maybe pinkish red.  Tuesday Mr. Ford launched a program to make it easier for drivers to see where they are not supposed to park. In a fit of enthusiasm for this idea, the mayor was down on his knees near University Ave. and Queen Street West as pictured. Whoa Nellie.  And speaking of red, the new Toronto streetcars were “previewed” again today for about the 5th time.  The media went right along with the gag, reporting all the snappy features that have been rolled out on several occasions already. Hey, you can’t over-do a good thing, right?  Transit is important, right?  Finally, on this whip-around of Toronto, 102-year-old Olive Dodds continues to act as a volunteer at the Toronto East General Hospital after nearly three decades. Mrs. Dodds has been part of the hospital’s sewing and knitting club every week since 1984. Love you  Mrs Dodds. Story.