Hearing April 10 on fate of 308 Rose Park

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The application to demolish 308 Rose Park Drive and replace it with two townhouse-style structures will be before the Committee of Adjustment next Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at Old City Hall. 308 Rose Park dates from the earliest construction in Moore Park. It sits on a 68 foot wide lot however and the temptation has clearly been too much for the present owners.  The plan as set out calls for each home to be three-storeys with a single car garage. The home was listed for $2,495,000 in September. 

40 Annesley Avenue sold for $1,350,000

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40 Annesley Ave. has sold for $1,350,000 after just five days on the market. The story is told in the  Star’s What They Got The asking price had been $1,329,000 and the home had sold previously in 2010 for  $1,200,000. It’s described as a two-storey, 4 plus 1 bathrooms home. It has a detached garage. Neighbors will know the handsome property with its wide frontage and large principal rooms. It has many other amenities to keep that price high. The house is numbered on Annesley but sits on the corner of Hanna Dr. and faces Hanna,

Noon hour break in on Kilbarry Road

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Toronto Police Service report:  A resident of Kilbarry Road reports that on April 3, 2013 at approximately 1215 hours, entry was gained into the premises by forcing a window. Removed was a quantity of jewellery and audio visual equipment.

Service Ontario computers grind to a stop

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854 Eglinton Ave. E.
It seems Service Ontario offices are functioning at about the same level as the Legislature. Not too well. Today the SO office at 854 Eglinton Ave. E. near Laird Drive was dealing with the backlog from yesterday’s collapse of the the SO computer system. The inset picture shows the lineup doubling back from the door of the storefront. Tuesday’s breakdown has been explained as a “complex”  problem with the technology system in which transactions for driver’s licences, vehicle registrations and health cards were slowed or rejected completely. It is not the first time the provinces computers have snarled business at Service Ontario offices. This latest trouble came five months after the government decided to close for good its automated Service Ontario machines, forcing people to stand in line or go online to renew driver’s licences. Those machine kiosks were closed because the government could not guarantee “foolproof” protection from fraud artists attempting to snag personal information from cards following a security breach last June. Sources in the government have made no secret that they would like to contract the whole Service Ontario bureaucracy and have it transformed into a totality online service.  That may not be possible in practical terms however.

Stones bring ageless act to Toronto May 25

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The Rolling Stones made it official today by announcing a nine city Canada-U.S. tour that will bring them to Toronto mid-swing for a May 15 appearance. Ben Rayner recounts the special relationship the Stones have with the city with stories both illustrious and of ill-repute. 

$100,000 fine looks good on call violator

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Toronto-based Comwave Telenetworks has paid a $100,000 fine and voluntarily agreed to stop telemarketing after running afoul of the CRTC’s rules. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says Comwave allowed its subscription to the national do-not-call list to lapse on a number of occasions. The federal regulator also found that independent telemarketers hired by Comwave, which provides home telephone and voice over Internet protocol services, called people who had registered their phone numbers on the do-not-call list. Story

Gimme a bottle of old South Bayview please

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There will be those who have lived here all their lives who never thought they would see this sign raised on South Bayview. But up it went today as the LCBO’s new jigger-sized  outlet gets ready to open in a few days.  Even before the store is open however the buzz on the worksite is that this is a “temporary” location. What’s that mean? Well, no one has an opinion on that. But the lightly constructed nature of the sign (plastic sheathing and metal strips) suggests that in a year or two, this place might go away. We can only hope that if it does we  will have another outlet nearby, not all the way over in the SmartCentre. 

Ontario men leaders of Algeria terrorist attacks

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The CBC has revealed shocking information that two young men in their early 20s from London, Ontario were the leaders of the bloody terrorist attacks on an Alergian gas field project in January. The CBC identifies Xristos (Christos) Katsiroubas, 22 (right) and Ali Medlej, 24 (left) as two pals from high school who somehow became more and more alienated from normal life. The CBC report says that in 2007, when Xristos would have been merely 16, one of his relatives called authorities and alerted them to what he considered dangerous behavior. At some point, Xristos converted to Islam, a long leap from his Greek Orthodox origins. The CBC also says the two young men ended their horrifying mission by blowing themselves up as Alergian forces closed in. One had to be identified from DNA.  A former schoolmate of Xristos who saw him in recent years said he appeared to be pre-occupied with Islam and was difficult to reach on any other topic.  The friend said he and others urged Xristos to get a job and find some other purpose. The story does not appear to say if these men were born in Canada. Late Tuesday it was also revealed that a third young man, who attended school with Medlej and Katasiroubas, also traveled to Africa. But he did not participate in the gas field attack and is said to be alive in Africa. He has been identified at Aaron Yoon. A representative of the London mosque where Katsiroubas attended, Wael Haddara,  said people with views that “disavow the idea of loyalty to Canada” aren’t welcome in the congregation and so sometimes go off and form their “own little cliques.  CBC  The Toronto Sun has run an account of a classmate of Katsiroubas who called him “forgettable.”

Pondering neighbourhood heritage status

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John Parker (Ward 26 Toronto) has written in the current issue of the Post Magazine about the Ontario Heritage Act. He draws attention to what is known as part 4 (Part IV) and part 5 (Part V) of the act. Part 4 permits the assessment of the heritage aspects of individual buildings (as we take it) while part 5 permits the assessment of whole neighborhoods. Mr. Parker says that he  has previously “initiated the process” by which a section of Parkhurst Blvd. might become the subject of a study leading to its possible designation as a Heritage Conservation District under part 5 of the Act. It isn’t too clear whether this part of the Heritage Act is very much used or perhaps even understood. A reading of Mr. Parker’s words indicates part 5 has  the potential to paint heritage status in very broad strokes. Since neighborhoods are made up of  multiple owners with multiple intentions and tastes it is easy to see how it might give pause to adoption of neighborhood designations. It is an interesting article and worth a read.

Impala production begins in Oshawa — no fooling

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The launch of the new Chevrolet Impala has General Motors and the local autoworkers’ union hopeful about the future of the company and its Oshawa operations. The 2014 Impala is already being built in Oshawa but the “official launch” and mass production of the vehicle starts this month, says CAW Local 222 President Ron Svajlenko. Production of the Impala will be split between General Motors Oshawa, on its flexible line, and in the United States at Detroit-Hamtramck. How many are built at each location, a pressing point for the CAW, remains to be seen — Oshawa Express 

Room 204 kids at Cody School thank COBS Bread

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There’s been a nice payoff for COBS Bread this week for its public-spirited efforts on behalf of the Maurice Cody School Dirt to Turf program. The Cody kids of Room 204 produced this excellent thank you poster which now adorns the front door of COBS on Bayview Ave. COBS committed to direct 10 percent of the value of proceeds of purchases made by Cody parents this winter as a contribution to the school’s program of converting its playground from grass and mud to safe and dry artificial turf. Tremblett’s Valu Mart on Bayview has picked up the idea for a further month. Parents shopping there should identify themselves as Cody parents to have 10 percent of the value of the purchase contributed to the turf fund. 

Goodlife Fitness buys out Extreme Fitness

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GoodLife Fitness has bought Extreme Fitness Inc., a competitor with 13 locations in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding region. The acquisition increases the number of locations operated by Canada’s largest fitness chain to more than 300 across Canada, including 82 in the GTA.