Fraser Institute “report card” rates high schools

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The annual Fraser Institute report card on high schools has revealed a very mixed bag in and around South Bayview. Inset is a list of seven local high schools and the scores given to them by the Fraser Institute in its latest report on how Ontario high schools performed last year. The first number is the score achieved on standardized testing in the current year and the second is an average of the school’s score in the most recent five years. Bloor Collegiate and North Toronto have really pulled up in recent years. They appear to be two of the Toronto area schools that are among the 20 fastest-improving secondary schools in Ontario. Fraser Institute said its 2013 report card suggests that school improvement is occurring across Ontario, with some of the biggest gains in the Toronto area. Even so there is lot of work to be done at schools like East York Collegiate and Jarvis Collegiate which is the only one of the seven shown here that is below its previous five year average. 

House prices — the difference is the neighbourhood

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It says a lot about neighborhoods when prices continue to surge ahead in Davisville Village even as the Canadian Real Estate Association reports that national house sales declined 16 percent in February and prices dipped by one percent.  CBC

Macaron Day at Patisserie de Cigogne

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Patisserie de Cogogne at 1626 Bayview has a charming way of welcoming spring. On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, the patisserie will celebrate Macaron Day and they invite shoppers to come and get an complimentary treat. As a bonus 25% of all additional macaron sales on this day will be donated to the Red Door Family Shelter. Here incidentally is the definition of the macaron which some sources say contains coconut and some not. As to the spelling, it appears that the world is really all over the pl;ace. Sometimes the English trasnslation of macaron is macaroon. We leave it to you. Here’s the definition: A small, round, biscuit (cookie) crunchy outside and soft inside, made with ground almonds, sugar and egg whites. Macaroons are sometimes flavoured with coffee, chocolate, nuts or fruit and then joined together in pairs.

Egg-white McMuffin gets rough reception

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McDonald’s has announced an egg-white McMuffin as an appeal to those who want to eat healthier. Instant  comment to this move has been rough. The new McMuffin avoids the 60 calories contained in the egg yolk, but the egg-white version continues to contain cheese and a slice of lean Canadian bacon. Thus comments like: “It still has pork, hollandaise dressing and cheese, all saturated fat and calories. (expletive)” are understandable. Another said: “McDonald’s will be releasing an egg-white McMuffin in April for Americans to try once, spit out and never buy again.”

Van strayed onto runway as AC jet was landing

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Authorities are looking into a close call at Toronto International Airport on Monday when an airport maintenance van strayed onto an active  runway where an Air Canada jet was landing. The Transportation Safety Board says the jet, a Brazilian-made Embraer 190 used for North American short hauls, narrowly missed the van. 

475 Davisville near Cleveland sold for $730,000

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An updated and well-staged semi-detached home at 475 Davisville Ave. has sold for $730,000, $81,000 over the asking price of $549,000. The home is located just west of Cleveland Street.  The healthy step-up over the asking was the result of several buyers presenting competing offers Earlier in the month, 226 Hillsdale, a detached home, sold for $172,000 over the asking price of $921,000. 

Grumpy Cat is star of south-west film festival

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A Grumpy Cat with some 7.5 million YouTube hits to her name will star this weekend at the South by South-west (SXSW) Interactive Film and Music Festival at Austin Texas. There will be other famous creatures there — films makers, writers etc — but who cares. The 11-month old, mixed breed is the pet of a Morristown,  Arizona woman, Tabitha Bundesen.  Grumpy Cat’s real name is Tardar Sauce (a.k.a.: Tard), and she’s famous for the pouty “nothing impresses me” face with which she was born. Check the video for the outrageous occupations of Tard and her fans. 

Youth has shoes stolen in Kennedy station

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Toronto Police Service report:  A 17 year old male reports that on March 12, 2013 at approximately 1345 hours, he was at the Kennedy Subway station with two male suspects. At this time, the suspects took a pair of shoes from the victim’s person. The victim attempted to grab his shoes from the suspects, when the suspects pushed him and fled the scene in an awaiting vehicle towards Eglinton Avenue East. No injuries were sustained by the victim. Police are requesting the assistance of the public in identifying the following described persons in connection with this offence. 

New streetcars get a test run on Bathurst

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The TTC’s new streetcars took a brief ride along tracks near the Hillcrest yard on Bathurst Street this morning and it seems to be a case of so far so good. Brad Ross, of the TTC, tweeted that the transit agency is happy with the performance of the new cars, but he didn’t get into just how they fit on the tracks at some of the corners. Today’s route took the streetcar down to Bathurst Station on the Bloor line. Mr. Ross also tweeted pictures of the streetcar which was designed by Bombardier Transportation and made in Thunder Bay, Ont. Previous post 

Joyous Canadian tribute to Stompin’ Tom

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Eight RCMP officers carry Tom Connors casket out of the Peterborough Centre following a memorial service and concert dedicated to the late national balladeer. Former Governor General Adrienne Clark was one of many speakers. She said she considered Connors a friend and  praised his capacity to speak with love and clarity about the country. She said that no matter where a Canadian originated, each knew what Connors mean’t when he sang things like: The girls are goin’ to bingo, The boys are gettin’ stinko, And we think no more of Inco, On a Sudbury Saturday Night. It is reported that there was a large contingent of fans from Prince Edward Island, the province Connors considered his home.  CBC

Bright day as Blackberry ships a million phones

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It was a Bright Day at Blackberry on Wednesday as the Waterloo smart phone maker boasted of an order of a million units to a mystery buyer. Blackbery called the purchaser  an “established partner” and said delivery was to be immediate. Meantime,  chief executive Thorsten Heins  said the new BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen phone is selling better than the company expected, while Canadian carrier Bell said last month that pre-orders broke its previous records for BlackBerry. Verizon Wireless says it will begin stocking the BlackBerry Z10 on March 28, with pre-orders starting on Thursday. Earlier this week AT&;T announced it would begin to offer the phone on March 22, while T-Mobile expects to carry the BlackBerry device for its business customers as early as the end of this week, though it did not provide details on the availability for non-business customers. A keypad version of the phone, dubbed the BlackBerry Q10, is expected this spring.  Shares in the company closed up $1.21 at $16.04 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis I

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