Prime Minister will attend Leaside 100 Gala

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Playing for Leaside

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will attend the Leaside 100 Gala Saturday night in the community where he grew up.  Mr. Harper will jet into Toronto in time to take part in opening remarks along with Premier Wynne and John Carmichael,  the member for Don Valley West.  It was generally not known whether the prime minister would make an appearance at the gala, but the notice was posted on Mr. Harper’s website Friday evening. The gala is an ambitious buffet dinner being held in the All Canadian Self-Storage Facility at 1 Laird Drive, a location which is right across the street from the Leaside Arena where he played as a kid. The event is sold out. It will offer celebrants a chance to immerse themselves in the history of the town and enjoy such things as a Champagne/Martini reception with hors d’oeuvres, some vintage 1913 dancing, and a photo-op with a Leaside-built 1928 Durant automobile. There will be a gourmet dinner catered by Grilltime from just up the street on Laird Drive. Music will be provided by the Toronto All Star Big Band and Celebrity MCs are David Sparrow and Deb McGrath.

Brian Burke sues 18 unknown online writers

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Mr. Burke has been a sensation on the Internet among a handful of people claiming he fathered a child with a female sports reporter last summer. He says the slurs are false and is taking meausres to sue the so far unidentified sources. Brian Burke was fired last year as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs  CBC

Opposition says it will kill budget if it raises taxes

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If the premier is listening to the NDP and PCers at Queen’s Park she will back off on the array of taxes she has discussed to finance the construction of subways. Both the Conservatives and New Democrats have said they won’t support any effort by the minority Liberal government to raise taxes on people to pay for public transit. The budget comes down next Thursday and Ms. Wynne was trying to win votes outside Toronto this day by promising a $100 million fund to build roads and bridges in rural and northern Ontario.

Xococava in Delisle Court will close Friday, May 17

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It’s noted in the Post Magazine that the chocolate shop known as Xococava in the Delisle Court will close on May 17, 2013. The owner, Chris McDonald, who is also the owner of  Cava restaurant, told the Post that he has “other projects in the works.”  A wine store will be taking Xococava’s place in the Delisle Court.

Layers of Leaside Historical Walk this Saturday

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The first of two walking tours guided by Jane Pitfield and Geoff Kettel gets going at 1.30  this Sunday, April 28, 2013, outside the library at 165 McRae Drive. This the official Layers of Leaside Historical Walking Tour and takes in points of interest in a two hour walk. Next Saturday, May 4 at 1.30 to 3.30 is the Layers of Thorncliffe Park Historical Walking Tour also guided by Jane and Geoff. It begins at Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre/Thorncliffe Library, 48 Thorncliffe Park Drive 

Champagne to mark opening of LCBO store

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There was a champagne toast to the new LCBO at Bayview Ave. and Millwood Road Friday morning before regular customers were allowed to come in. A party of about 150 officials and business contacts gathered at the store about 9 a.m.. and then, as the clerks said, everyone was “kicked out”” so the place could start to do some business.

Afternoon purse snatch near Eglinton and Hanna

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Toronto Police Service report: A 36 year old female reports that on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at approximately 1630 hours (4.30 pm) she was in the area of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue when she was approached from behind by an unknown male suspect. The suspect pushed the victim and pulled her purse from her right shoulder. The suspect fled the scene northbound on Hanna Road. No injuries were sustained by the victim. Police are requesting the assistance of the public in identifying the following described person in connection with this offence. Description of Suspect: Male, 25 to 35 years, medium build. 

Scary tale of Ottawa’s failure to deport Raed Jaser

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The hair raising details on the failure of Canada to deport Raed Jaser, 35, have been revealed in a CBC report which is shown on video at the link below. From his fraudulent arrival at age 15 in 1993 with his family, through criminal acts of fraud. and deportation orders, Jaser’s case is a textbook example of this country as a soft haven for anyone who showed up at the airport claiming refugee status. CBC. 

How will we pay for the Emerald City of Transit?

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An epic showdown appears likely between the forces of Mayor Ford and  the “Taxes for the TTC”  elements of council after a key Ford supporter, Gary Crawford (Ward 36) has flip-flopped on the application of such levies. Premier Wynne is waiting to slap them on. Gas, sales, business — all kinds of taxes to help us build that Emerald City of Transit we are to believe is out there somewhere. At least that’s how it sounds when the Premier gets going. The other day she was fretting that a “working mother” couldn’t zoom across the GTA in just a few minutes to get to her job. That would be nice. But you get the feeling the premier was talking about zip lines. For his part, the mayor wants to float the subway dream by opening a gigantic casino. That already unpopular idea got  another  trashing today, this time from the Catholic Church. The archbishop, Cardinal Thomas Collins, warned of the “grievous suffering” caused by gambling. He may well be right and the sad lineups at the OLG  ticket stands sometimes give a glimpse of that.  As to transit, of course we need it. But how costly must it be? The transit debate is too much like an election campaign. Many people seem to be staking their political success on sending Toronto to Transit Glory, no matter what it costs.

Walmart says mint-scented bags repel raccoons

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Walmart Canada today announced a minted scented which is said to be irritating to rodents of all kinds. The company says that Great Value Mint-X bags are proven effective at repelling such creates because an all natural, mint scented fragrance that is added to the plastic during the manufacturing process. In a study conducted by the University of Maryland, School of Medicine Comparative Medicine Program in 2011, two bags were placed in a test area over a seven day period, one Mint-X bag and one standard untreated bag, both filled with standardized food. In this test, the Mint-X bag proved 100% repellence of raccoons, while the non-Mint-X bags were penetrated 67% of the time. Who knew?

Terror charges not from ‘holy book’ says accused

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National Post on the unusual approach of defendant Chiheb Esseghaier who told the judge today that the charges against him don’t matter because the Criminal Code is not the holy book. National Post.

Comparing Lawrence Park CI with Leaside HS

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A very interesting report by Global News has compared Toronto high schools for the percentage of students who employ a paid tutor with the ability of their parents to pay. It won’t come as a big surprise that well-off neighborhoods, like those around South Bayview, have higher percentages of students with tutors. The information was obtained from the Toronto District School Board through access to information laws. But does the use of tutors help students equally, even when there is money to hire good ones? Department of Education figures which rank the excellence of high schools show Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute with an overall score of 8.4 out of 10 in 2012. Leaside High School had a ranking of 8.3, essentially a tie. But hey, the TDSB figures on tutoring show that 24 percent of Lawrence park students had a tutor, while only 16 percent of LHS kids got outside help. Fun with figures! The TDSB rankings for all high schools are here.