Costco store members average higher spending

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The interest now being shown by Costco Wholesale in the Coca Cola property on Overlea Blvd plays to the membership retailer’s capacity to draw well-heeled consumers long distances to shop there. It’s thought the average income of a Costco member is about $70,000, much higher than that of the average Walmart shopper, or even those who shop at Target. It is also said that the average Costco shopper enters the store planning to spend $50 and instead buys between $350 and $500. That’s why Costco’s hope to start a store on Overlea across the street from the  East York Town Centre has the potential to draw both customers and more businesses to the neighborhood. There is concern in Thorncliffe Park for local business if a Coscto opens but in fact it seems likely that local stores would do no less business than they now do if Costco goes ahead. This would be especially true in the Town Centre where many better off Costco shoppers from mid-town neighborhoods would find their way into the mall across the street. Previous post. 

Traffic light “re-timing” set to speed commute

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It sounds just wonderful, this idea of synchronizing Toronto traffic lights by re-timing them. They say that for an $11 million equipment purchase delays on major routes might be shortened by 15 to 30 percent, give or take a couple of percentage points. That would mean a 45-minute commute along Lawrence Avenue might be cut to 30 minutes. The reportage and news releases only hint at how this works. Presumably traffic lights will be “re-timed” to permit vehicles get through  successive lights before they have to stop. Contrary to our universal green image (inset) there are still going to be red lights. One wonders whether synchronization will un-knot the left/right turn element of cars backing up because of pedestrians crossing.  The un-stated matter of speeding is out there too. 

Birth control pill deaths reported to Health Can

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Health Canada says it has received reports of at least 23 young Canadian women who have died while taking one of two commonly prescribed birth control pills, Yaz and Yasmin. More than half the reported deaths were in women younger than 26, including one who was 14. The agency reports it has received 15 reports of deaths among women taking Yasmin up to the end of February. CTV

Feds to build new airport on Pickering Land

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The federal government will begin work on a new airport on what is known as the Pickering Land, an 18,000 acre property assembled 40 years ago for just this purpose. Local opposition in the 70s caused the then Liberal government to back down on the plan. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the airport will be much smaller than airports of  the 1960s.  Smaller aircraft and more efficient construction will permit the use of merely a quarter of the land for the actual airport. “There will be land for an airport, there will be urban and industrial development and there will be considerable green space on these lands.” the minister said.  The federal move was criticized by the Liberals at Queen’s Park who said they have been blind-sided by the the scheme. Flaherty called this was “not true” and in a sharp response said the Liberals should find out what’s happening in their own government. It’s estimated the completion of the airport will take 15 years.  

Hype from LRT centres on Yonge-Eglinton

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As spinoff hype related to the Eglinton Scarboro LRT, this article is about average. And no doubt someday, the LRT will be completed and the condominiums now planned or under construction will reward their owners with excellent location and increased value. But the hype is intended to generate speculative dollars now. You decide.  Epoch Times

Jaye Robinson removed from City Executive

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Jaye Robinson

Mayor Ford has removed Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West) from City Executive Committee. Ms. Robinson, a popular centrist had been the chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee. Within recent days she has said Mr. Ford should take a leave of absence to deal with whatever it is that is troubling him. Her once firm relationship with the mayor has frayed over a number of months and was particularly damaged by the Toronto Star story saying he was seen on video smoking crack cocaine. Tonight the Star focused almost entirely on the absence of women on the Executive Committee now that Ms. Robinson is gone. Jaye Robinson will be replaced by Anthony Perruzza (Ward 8, York West) on the executive.  He has NDP connections. Ford also downgraded the position of  Paul Ainslie (Ward 43 Scarborough East).  

Feds to end pay for “saved” sick days

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The federal government has decided to progressively eliminate that  1970s sweetheart arrangement where employees got paid big time at  retirement for sick days they didn’t use. To a lot of people the idea is irrational. They say it was done because employers thought people would take less time off if they knew they were going to be paid for the time they didn’t use.  Maybe. But it seems certain at some point this bonus was also a heck of an incentive just to get the contract signed. The Treasury Board President Tony Clement calls the current system “archaic” and says it is a “dinosaur of disability management.” “The average…worker uses 18.2 days of paid and unpaid sick leave per year. When you add in the weekends that’s almost a month of the year off, and that is two-and-a-half times the private sector rate of 6.7 days.” 

“Black widow” guilty of poisoning new husband

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The Cape Breton ‘Black Widow’ has pleaded guilty to administering a noxious substance and failing to provide the necessities of life to her new husband. In other words, she poisoned him and didn’t help him when he suffered from the effect of the poison. This lady, 78-year-old Melissa Ann Shepard entered the pleas in Nova Scotia Supreme Court today (Monday, June 9, 2013). Previous post tells story of unfortunate guys who made Melissa Ann their wife. 

Costco making plans to open on Overlea Blvd.

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As rumoured earlier this year, Costco Wholesale Corporation, the famous membership-only warehouse club, has plans to open a store on property now owned by Coca Cola on Overlea Blvd.  The plans have become public with the announcement of a meeting on Wednesday June 19, 2013 organized by John Parker (Ward 26) and comments made to the South Bayview Bulldog by Abbas Kolia, head of the Thorncliffe Park Tenants Association. The meeting is described in the notice from Mr. Parker’s office as an opportunity to discuss “possible redevelopment” of the Coca Cola site. It was vacated this spring by the soft drink maker to move downtown to new headquarters on King Street East. In the meantime, preservationists have persuaded the city to make the 1965 buildings part of the “heritage inventory”.  This means the site is effectively frozen until and unless agreement is reached to change it. This move is seen less as an effort to save anything historic or culturally valuable at the site than to control what any new owner may wish to do. The Coke office building is frequently said to exhibit “Mad Men”  (Madison Avenue) characteristics in the Mid-Century Modern style. Architects will appreciate this. As to Costco, it is said unofficially by Mr Kolia that the discussion so far suggests a new store with employment for as many as 150 people from Ward 26 (which includes Thorncliffe Park). One hundred of these are said to be planned as permanent jobs, 50 are said to be part time. The meeting is scheduled at the Jenner Jean-Marie Centre at 48 Thorncliffe Park Drive between 7 and 9 p.m. on June 19, 2013.

Garden Court tenants public meeting June 20

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Tenants of the Garden Court Apartments at 1477 Bayview Ave. are inviting local supporters to come to a meeting on Thursday June 20, 2013 to help them resist the landlord’s application to turn the rental properties into condominiums. The meeting will be held at  St. Cuthbert’s Church, 1399 Bayview and begin at 7 p.m. The tenants say they need support from the community to stop the “Rental Housing Condo Conversion and Demolition Application For Garden Court Apartments”.