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| Your heritage is baseball |
Matlow seeks heritage status for 1894 building
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Bree Rody-Mantha writes this month in the Post Magazine about the motion by Josh Matlow to have the 1894 brick building on the northeast corner of Yonge St. and Davisville Ave. made part of the city’s inventory of heritage locations. Mr Matlow opined at the meeting of East York Council that there may well be a lot of development proposed for the east side of Yonge north from Davisville and he was trying to be “proactive.” The building is now a Starbucks but there is much else to distinguish it except its age.
Downsizing council may require a Biblical miracle
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| Will Stintz and Colle face off in Eglinton-Lawrence? |
If ever Toronto city councillors agree to downsize their numbers to 22 (rather than the present 44) it may well be seen as a miracle equalling the loaves and the fishes. But Mayor Ford is still working at his 2010 election promise to reduce the size of council by conforming Toronto wards to the same boundaries as provincial and federal constituencies. At present each federal riding (like Don Valley West) contains two city wards (26 and 27). Devilish commentators have taken relish in noting that if it were one big ward, John Parker would have to run against Jaye Robinson. In Wards 21 and 22 (St. Paul’s) Joe Mihavc would slug it out with Josh Matlow. In Wards 15 and 16 (Eglinton-Lawrence) Josh Colle would face Karen Stintz. (Josh might be out of work unless Her Ladyship from Lawrence Park runs for mayor). It’s all too delicious. But let’s not get excited. Executive Committee has pushed the question onto City Council’s agenda for June. Nionetheless it is hard to imagine councillors voting to implement it, or risking a referendum. After all, if there were only 22 councillors and 18 went to the Federation of Mayors and Municipalities meeting as they did last week, there would be no one to answer the phone. Ford and his allies in this noble effort have anticipated the first line of defense against a downsize. “I don’t want to hear the argument that we work harder than MPs. I have no problem with increasing our salaries in line with an MP or an MPP. You might have to sit on two committees instead of one. But this is what people want. They don’t want more politicians in the city. They want less.” Members of executive voted for the recommendation, but some worried. “You can make hay in some parts of Toronto by running down the idea of having a good number of members of council,” said Parkdale-High Park Councillor Gord Perks. “The actual evidence is that if you jump on that bandwagon you’re going to wind up wasting money. We should do this right, be thoughtful about it, and have a traceable public participation program that ensures the people who are actually in charge have a strong, clear voice.” Did you follow that? The matter will go to the June meeting of Toronto Council. Quotations given to Inside.Toronto.com
Canadian building permits up more than 10%
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Widespread plans to build apartment buildings and condominiums lifted the value of Canadian building permits in April by 10.5 percent from March, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday, defying market expectations of a 4 percent drop in permits. Thomson Reuters
NHL makes visors mandatory for new players
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The National Hockey League’s competition committee has decided to make visors mandatory for all new players in the league. The rule will be effective with the beginning of next year’s season. Those already in the league who do not use visors will be permitted to play without them until they finish their NHL careers. The videos above contain recent comment revealing the growing view that visors should be mandatory.
Bring this elevator strike to an immediate end
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If Premier Wynne feels the need to intervene somewhere in Toronto, we suggest she start with the elevator strike rather than at city hall. Repair personnel of the four big elevator companies have been off work for nearly a month. We are hearing a story a day now from apartments and condominiums of elderly cliff-dwellers who cannot get into or out of their homes. The stress must be enormous on these people. It will only take one of them to have a heart attack carrying groceries up the stairs to set off a cynical thunder of indignation at the Legislature. The government should get busy immediately knocking heads together. For a strike that is causing so much grief, the issue seems silly. One union official says it’s all about “workloads and staffing levels”. Good grief. For this kind of mumbo jumbo we’re risking the lives of hundreds of seniors?
Adam Nobody vs Toronto cops in court this week
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Wireless Code is online for smart phone users
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CRTC Wireless Code. Here what it lets you do.
- Terminate your wireless contracts after two years without cancellation fees, even if they have signed on for a longer term.
- Cap extra data charges at $50 a month and international data roaming charges at $100 a month to prevent bill shock.
- Have their cellphones unlocked after 90 days, or immediately if you paid for the device in full.
- Return your cellphone, within 15 days and specific usage limits, if you are unhappy with the service.
- Accept or decline changes to the key terms of a fixed-term contract (i.e., two-year), and receive a contract that is easy to read and understand.
Madison on Eglinton E. has 2015 completion date
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The Madison is still just a pretty big hole in the ground as shown in this picture taken by our man today (Monday, June 3, 2013). There was certainly work going on in the big pit. The twin condominium structures of 33 and 30 storeys have a completion date in 2015 so there’s lots of time to meet that target. The attractive idea of a Loblaws store on the retail mezzanine of the Madison has been a focus for many people. The promotional material online contains this picture but the text refers only to “a proposed major grocery store.” That’s a rather odd way of putting it. The Madison sits on Eglinton Ave. E. between Dunfield Ave. and Lillian St. on land which was previously a mix of retail and commercial including, as many will remember, the York Theatre.
Wireless contracts cut to two years in length
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The CRTC will require phone companies to let customers cancel their contracts after two years, it was announced this morning (Monday, June 3, 2013) The decision may have the effect of making two years the standard length of contracts in this country where one of the most widespread complaints has been the length of phone contracts. It is said that Canada has suffered from longer contracts for these devices than any other place in the world. It is notable to The South Bayview Bulldog that the vaunted advantage of competition in the phone and wireless industry has not achieved any voluntary reduction in the length of these contracts by the individual companies.
Overlea 1965 Coke buildings now a heritage site
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| Coke properties on Overlea |
At a meeting in early May city council approved a recommendation to declare the now vacant Coca Cola buildings at 42 to 46 Overlea Blvd. as part of Toronto’s inventory of heritage properties. The buildings include a dilapidated looking bottling plant and an office building which were built in 1965. The office building is said to have certain desirable architectural features in the Midcentury Modernist style. The buildings sit on a huge property which held all the vehicles associated with Coke’s business, including its fleet of trucks. The notation came forward from the North York Community Council which is a hotbed of heritage recommendations. It expresses a concern that a request for a demolition order may be forthcoming. It seems impossible that the very large space will not be altered to permit its exploitation on behalf of the Thorncliffe Park neighborhood. Some have said the space was suitable for big box retail use. This is unlikely to be welcome in “Leaside across the tracks” to the west. On the other hand, development might also introduce many more economic opportunities for the people actually living in Thorncliffe Park.
Deer Park kids raise $14,500 for cancer research
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| Deer Park kids tackle a real Triathlon |
On May 24, Deer Park Public School organized a Triathlon at their school. With their generous sponsors the kids raised $14,500 for kids with cancer. It was the first ever Triathlon for a junior-middle school in Ontario. More than 300 Grade 4 to 8 students braved unseasonable temperatures and completed three consecutive endurance events: the Swim Leg (8 min), followed by the Run Leg (12 min), and finally the Bike Leg (20 min). Although the fitness demands tested the students, the weeks of training in Phys. Ed and Aquatics classes paid off. The day culminated with Closing Ceremonies in the gym where students were awarded medals based on fundraising, spirit and performance both as individuals and as teams. They were also able to collect on some cool fundraising initiatives including the “top class being exempt from a test”, a sport contest of choice against the staff, and a free lunch party. Stationary bikes were provided by The Inside Ride which was the charity used in conjunction with the Coast-to-Coast Against Cancer Foundation. Organizing teachers, Jeff Mann and Kyle Thomas were extremely proud of the students at Deer Park who can now boast that they have completed a Triathlon before the age of 15. From Deer Park Public School and the South Bayview Bulldog.