Bayview Ave. to be closed at River St. for 6 weeks

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Enbridge Gas has announced that the Bayview Ave. extension will be closed from River Street to Lower River Street for about six weeks beginning August 6. The stoppage will run from the River Street exit (left) down the length of Bayview past Gerrard, Dundas, Queen, King and Eastern to Lower River Street (right). Traffic will be re-routed. Work will be done on the Don Valley natural gas pipeline to avoid gas service disruption ahead of the fall heating season. For more information, visit www.enbridgeGas.com/donvalley or follow @enbridgegasnews on Twitter.

RioCan on track to acquire 1860 Bayview Ave.

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RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has announced buoyant growth of 17% in operating funds from operations in first  half of 2013  In its statement Wednesday morning RioCan, headquartered at Yonge St. and Eglinton ave. W., noted that it is still on track to purchase the development at 1860 Bayview Ave. at Broadway Ave. The statement says that Kingsett and Trinity Development Group “are currently developing a grocery-anchored centre on the site, and RioCan will acquire the site on a forward purchase basis in phases at an approximate purchase price of $58 million, at a capitalization rate of 5.4%. Once completed, the centre will consist of approximately 74,220 square feet of retail space and will be anchored by a 50,200 square foot Whole Foods. The initial acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2013, with the remaining portions to be paid on an earn-out basis upon completion of the project.”

BMW i3 electric car will sell here for $44,950

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The BMW i3 electric car has been unveiled in Beijing, London and New York. It is a neat looking little car which is apparently set to go on sale in Canada in the first half of 2014 starting at $44,950. The CNET review on the left seems fairly impartial. The car is a bit pricey and is being sold with a lot of mumbo jumbo which make the company videos hard to take. One interesting feature referenced by a reviewer is the so-called “coach doors”. The company doesn’t mention these at all. It is a set of rear and front opening doors on each side. It seems as if the rear will not open without the front being opened first. That should save a lot of injuries. On the right, a video on the installation of a home charging station. We have no idea how easy it is to obtain or pay for such a device but we thought you would like to see it as a fulfillment, at least vicariously, of the electric car dream.

Nearly 30 percent regret sending tweets, posts

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It seems that nearly 30 percent of young people 18 to 34 who send messages and pictures on social media find themselves regretting it. So suggests a poll by what is called a legal information website FindLaw.com. The experience seems to mirror the same regret long-identified among e-mail users. The warning that “E-mail is forever” seems to apply. It’s a nice little irony that so much digital communication is erratic but that witless and embarrassing messages and pictures are there for the world. 

Two elderly tenants remain at Talbot apartments

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Leaside resident Jade Jenkins has said that she will be representing two elderly tenants of the Talbot apartments on Bayview Ave. They are the only ones left in their units at the apartments. Dozens of tenants have left the historic apartment buildings over the summer in the face of an eviction campaign launched by the owners ADMNS Kelvingrove Inc. The apartments were built in 1939 and stretch along Bayview from Sutherland Drive to just north of Airdrie Drive. A Landlord and Tenant Board hearing will determine the eviction terms to be set for the aging tenants. It will convene on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at 1.30 p.m. in Room D at 79 St. Clair Ave. E. ADMNS Kelvingrove is the administrative company which is controlled by the Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board in Winnipeg and is indirectly controlled by the NDP provincial government.

Bye Wally Crouter Lane: CFRB heads downtown

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wally feat
NewsTalk 1010 will soon leave the corner of St.Clair Ave. and Yonge Street in Deer Park and move in with the likes of CP24 at 299 Queen St. East. This news has been winkled out by Globe and Mail writer Steve Ladurantaye and there does not appear to be any other service carrying the story at the time of this post.  NewsTalk 1010 is silent on the subject. The station has been re-branded to news and talk formatting in recent years although its history is as a music and news voice.  It has been at the present corner since the tower was built by Proctor and Gamble in a move uptown. P&G have long since gone further north. The move to Queen is on the decision of the station’s new owners, Bell Media. Yonge and St. Clair is deeply immersed in the history of CFRB. Many employees have lived nearby. A laneway from Yonge to the Alvin Ave. parking lot is named after legendary morning man Wally Crouter (lower inset).   A history of CFRB

Cannes jewel heist imitates Hitchcock art

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As Riveria jewel robberies go it may not have had quite the appeal of John Robie’s adventures in To Catch A Thief.  Neither was the young man who got away with $53 million in jewellery privileged to play kissy face with Grace Kelly. But for romantics, the extraordinary robbery yesterday at the Cannes Carlton Hotel recalls all the glamour of the suave cat burglar played by Cary Grant. Unlike  the fictional Robie, today’s thief simply walked into a temporary jewellery exhibit and scooped up the gems. It happened in broad daylight and the media suggests there was close to no security. The Carlton is both the site of the annual film awards and the main locale for the 1955 Kelly-Grant epic. The film was produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Above, the trailer coyly entices Who Could Ask For Anything More? Grown up minds were intended to know what more might be asked and given.  

Teaopia on South Bayvew now closed

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Clearing out at Teaopia
The Teaopia store at 1592 Bayview Ave. is now closed and they were cleaning up Monday. The shop is for lease. It previously held the premises of the Tea Emporium.  Teaopia locations have been slowly re-branded across Canada after being purchased last year by the enormous U.S. tea chain Teavana. Teavena was then purchased by Starbucks early in 2013. It appears the Teavana name will stick. Starbucks probably doesn’t want to mix tea and coffee. There are 50 Teavana (Teaopia) shops in Ontario.  There are, however, only seven in Toronto. They are at Scotia Plaza, Queen West and Portland, Yorkdale, Brookfield Place on Bay Street, Fairview Mall, Holt Renfrew on Bloor  and the Shops at Don Mills.  

Ont migrant worker wins $23,500 rights award

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A St. Lucian migrant worker employed at a farm near Kingsville, Ontario has been awarded $23,500 because his employer called him a “monkey on a branch.”  Adrian Montrose was employed at a greenhouse at Double Diamond Acres Ltd. in 2009 under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal validated Mr. Montrose’s complaint and levied the penalty against the Windsor-area farm. 

Bay move on Saks sets up tussle with Nordstrom

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The huge deal to buy Saks, yet to be finalized, reveals the giant chess  game of brand, buying and property location in the department store business. The dollar figure is said to be $2.9 billion. It brings the well-known Saks name to Canadian malls and  likely signals a Toronto tussle between Nordstom and Saks. Nordstrom will soon open a couple of stores here. Beyond that, what name will prevail on the outside of the store? The Bay? Saks? Some think that the old Bay name is as musty as the boats the fur traders used to float their pelts down from Manitoba. The Bay traces its roots to 17th century traders in Canada. On oh-so-exclusive (and expensive) Bloor Street West it seems easy to see a Saks at the corner of Yonge. The company could win an award for demolishing that wretched parking garage on Asquith Ave. In the deal announced today, the choice Fifth Avenue property so associated with Saks name will be owned by The Bay. The Bay now owns U.S. high-end retailer Lord and Taylor, although some may wonder whether the decisions are made in Canada or elsewhere. Holt Renfrew must be watching with wonderment although its owners have the means to make their little department store pay if they choose to act on them. Remember, the Weston family stuned the world just last week with a similarly staggering retail buyout. Reuters

Origins of Saks rich Fifth Avenue mystique

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Saks Fifth Avenue has been able to retain a lot of its luxury mystique even through tougher times like the early years of the 21st Century. Left, the flagship store was built in 1924 at a cost of $4.25 million. Today’s deal with  The Bay values that site at more than $800 million. Over the years Saks has prided itself on some signal introductions. L to r, Estee Lauder 1947, Marc Jacobs in 1994 and Alexander McQueen in 1997.  

Critical moments of streetcar shooting video

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An enlarged rendering of the Martin Baron video from Saturday’s police shooting is on YouTube. It shows the victim in this case, Sammy Yatim, visible just inside the front door of the streetcar. The police are shouting at him to drop the knife. He does not do that but moves back inside the car and can be seen through a window. He then appears to move forward slightly and the first of nine shots are fired by police. Some media descriptions of this video say that police say “Don’t move” but this is not apparent to many people looking at the video.