Ownership of Mt. Pleasant to be tested in court

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Who owns this place?

There is an informative story by Jonathon Skinner in the City Centre Mirror saying that the ownership of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries will be contested in court. For about eight years the association known as Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries (FTPC) has insisted that the burial grounds are governed by 19th century legislation that has never been repealed. They claim this makes the cemeteries a public trust. On the other hand, The Mount Pleasant Group insists the cemeteries are properly owned by their corporation and thus accountable only under the Corporations Act of Ontario. Now the  FTCP says it has filed a Notice of Application with the Ontario Superior Court asking the court to declare the cemetery is still bound by a long-standing Special Act that lists it as a public trust. FTCP has submitted 11 declarations and “a thick stack of papers” which prove its case. The matter is fascinating because it has conjured up the idea of a hugely valuable public property which somehow got lost in the assets of the government. The Superior Court will now presumably investigate this and declare the actual ownership. Mr. Skinner notes that the matter is set to appear before the Court on Sept. 9. In the meantime, he further notes, the organization is looking for new members and donors to help cover its court costs, which have been capped at $100,000. An anonymous donor has volunteered to match any other donations. 

Local trees down, cars damaged in storm

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Friday evening’s heavy rain  caused many trees to fall locally. The menacing storm rolled in late in the afternoon as shown graphically in the tweeted picture looking south from Sherbourne and Wellesely. Below is a picture of a stout maple that could not withstand the wind near Yonge and St. Clair. Experts are also saying that a historic tree that inspired school principal and musician Alexander Muir to write The Maple Leaf Forever in 1867 received heavy damage down in Leslieville. The storm hit just before 7 p.m., bringing with it high winds and heavy rain. Toronto Hydro said the storm, which caused Environment Canada to issue a severe thunderstorm warning, knocked out power to roughly 7,000 customers, mostly in Etobicoke and midtown Toronto. At one point, tornado warnings were issued for various parts of southern Ontario, including Newmarket, Orangeville, Grand Valley and Dufferin County. Some areas felt the brunt of torrential downpours, which dumped as much as 50 mm of rain in an hour. The high winds also caused damage, with instances in Toronto and the GTA of downed trees and power lines, as well as damaged vehicles. 

Tabloid sends lookalikes into royal baby watch

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The Sun tabloid has done what London tabloids are supposed to do as the world waits for the baby of the Duchess of Cambridge. What’s that? Why, grab all the attention for itself, of course. The Sun sent Kate and William lookalikes into the mob of reporters outside St. Mary’s Hospital. The two pretended to hurry to the hospital doors and then they turned and threw open their coats, revealing T-shirts announcing that the Sun was No.1 in coverage of the royal baby watch. It then flooded Tweetdom with self-congratulatory messages. Meantime, there is no indication of just what is going on with the real duchess. It would appear however that reports of a imminent birth were greatly exaggerated. It is now said the duchess may not deliver until July 22, ensuring her newborn will be a “Leo”. Good to know.

Gracious Glebe bakes in high summer heat

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Most seasons serve the Glebe well, as does the baking heat of mid-July. Upper left, a charming home with an arboured walkway to the side on Carey Road. To the right, a well  manicured residence on Thurloe Ave. Lower left, a change of style with overgrown vegetation suggesting this original home on Cuthbert Crescent may be in for some serious work, or perhaps even demolition. Finally lower right, the little apartment complex on Servington Crescent which might have been ordered up for a movie with a plot we will leave you to ponder. Residents will know this apartment is next to the land where Glebe Presbyterian Church once stood. No work has yet begun on the town homes scheduled to fill this land.  We like the Glebe.

Oink Oink to close on Eglinton Ave. West

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Oink Oink, the Montreal-based toy store at 352 Eglinton Ave. W. will close shortly. See newer post.

Starbucks to close Teaopia on South Bayview

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Teaopia, the tea shop at 1592 Bayview Ave. will close shortly. Teaopia, as those who follow the tea and coffee industry will know, is owned by Starbucks. A one-time Canadian start up, Teaopia, landed on Bayview in the fall of 2011 at the location previously leased by the Tea Emporium.  Shortly after that, Teaopia was sold to the U.S.  tea room and over-the-counter chain Teavana. Then last year the surprise of them all as Starbucks moved to buy Teavana, lock, stock and tea barrel. Those who know South Bayview will recognize that Teaopia has never been as busy as its owners-of-the-moment would wish. Coffee seems to remain the dominant drink and most of that action happens on the east side of the street.  

Restaurant critic Gina Mallet dead at age 75

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Apple buys Toronto mapping firm Locationary

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Apple has purchased a small Toronto-based start-up called Locationary. It appears the acquisition is intended to help Apple with its mapping ambitions. Apple suffered serious embarrassment when it ditched Google maps for its own locating service which was promptly  revealed as a total failure. Locationary, through their Saturn technology, provides crowd-sourcing data that brings up-to-date and accurate information about businesses to the masses, such as exact location and hours of operation. According to the Locationary website, they currently track 5.61 Billion data fields and manage 175 million profiles. 

Momofuko Toronto and why you can’t escape

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Momofuko Ando
The Momofuki food madness that has infected many Toronto trendoids is back today with the opening of the restaurant chain’s so-called Milk Bar in that glass-cube room overlooking lower University Avenue. The current popularity of the name traces back to a legendary businessman and promoter Momofuki Ando (1910-2007). Ando was the Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant noodles.  He thus became a millionaire many times over and now, it seems, a kind of cult icon. As breathlessly reported in the Toronto Star by Michelle Henry, the Momofuku Milk Bar will serve the restaurant’s crack pie “famous — or infamous — buttery, oat-encrusted confection cheekily named for its purported addictiveness”  How wonderful. Presumably this is better than those hash brownies that Shirley Brown used to bring to school.  Go get ’em gang. Michelle Henry

Riders love curbside buses but can they survive?

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Here in Toronto transit planning is about whining for billions of dollars of tax money to build subways, or whatever. In New York the order of the day seems to be to legislate private start-up bus companies into the garage. These so-called curbside buses have proven hugely successful and they actually make money.  The most famous of the curbside lines is Fung Wah Bus. It started about ten years ago by looping around Manhattan neighborhoods picking up passengers at stops on the sidewalk. Fung Wah’s $10 route to Boston was always full. Now the debate rages between politicians who want regulation and free market advocates who say the government is going to destroy businesses that are providing a real service and creating jobs. The video is from Reason magazine. It is very entertaining and it clearly flatters Fung Wah Bus. An alternate view of public transit.  

Lawyers are trained not to blab — more or less

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The news that an otherwise-reputable British law firm was responsible for blabbing J.K. Rowling’s secret authorship of a novel raises the question of how law firms try to keep secrets. In the Rowlings case, a member of Russells Solicitors told his wife, who told a girlfriend who tweeted a reporter pal on Fleet Street that the author known as Robert Galbraith was really Rowlings. What the heck! Can’t we do better than that? Rowling is angry, Russells is deeply embarrassed and the lawyer, Chris Gossage, has to wonder whether he will ever have the confidence of his profession again. There are no records of course about how Stikemans or Goodmans train lawyers to shut up. Presumably there is a need-to-know rule in place for anything that matters. That would mean that a lawyer is playing with dismissal when he (or she) pillow-talks such information to the bed-partner, friend and help-mate. Some people can do it. But we all know the genetic need to blurt out the things we know is really strong. 

Motor City broke after years of mismanagement

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Detroit — fabled home of the automotive industry and Motown Music — has filed for U.S. Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. The home of Ford, GM and Chrysler has been mismanaged for decades and is said to be sinking under millions in debt.  The bankruptcy petition would seek protection from creditors and unions who are renegotiating $18.5 billion in debt and other liabilities. Detroit thus becomes the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy. Detroit lost a quarter-million residents between 2000 and 2010. A population that in the 1950s reached 1.8 million is struggling to stay above 700,000. Much of the middle-class and scores of businesses also have fled Detroit, taking their tax dollars with them.