Sports themed hair cutting on Bayview Ave.

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The choice space at 1538 Bayview Ave just north of Millwod Rd. has been leased by Sport Clips Haircuts, a  U.S. hair care franchise which boasts some 1,000 locations throughout the U.S. This address is the former NIMA money exchange premises. Sports Clips has just opened its first location in Canada in Burlington and it says it has plans to open at least three more in Toronto.  “After a year and a half of market research and planning, we’re very excited to open the first store in Canada!” said Peter Kowal.  “We look forward to demonstrating to the community that a sports-themed hair salon for men and boys is what the city has been missing.” It’s nice to have a new business on the street of course but no doubt the long-time hair-cutting places will be keeping an eye on their new potential competition. We could not help noticing that part of Sports Clips promotion (inset) shows guys watching sports on big screens and getting their hair cut by happy ladies. Welcome Sports Clips. 

Funds allocated to repair Bayview Ave. footbridge

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The Bayview Pedestrian Bridge which crosses Bayview at the CNIB just north of Kilgour rd is scheduled for re-built. A sum of $822,000 has been allocated by the federal department of economic development for the job.. In December 2011, the old and deteriorated bridge was deemed unsafe for users and was closed. The decision has affected thousands of community members, including people with impaired vision.

Hackers put pig-like Kim on official website

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This ia what you get when you are the hopelessly undeserving third-generation product of nepotism. North Korea’s Uriminzokkiri Twitter and Flickr accounts stopped sending out content typical of that posted by the regime in Pyongyang, such as photos of  Kim Jong Un meeting with military officials. Instead, a picture posted today showed Kim’s face with a pig-like snout and a drawing of Mickey Mouse on his chest. Underneath, text read: ‘Threatening world peace with ICBMs and Nuclear weapons/Wasting money while his people starve to death.’ The mocked-up Wanted poster included a $1million ‘bounty’ placed on Kim and accusations of ‘human rights violations’.

Tim Hortons checks out Sunnybrook Plaza

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Vacant stores

Word has whizzed through the stores at Sunnybrook Plaza that Tim Hortons has taken a look at the little shopping strip at Eglinton Ave. E and Bayview Ave. Sunnybrook has two vacancies. One of them is a smaller space at the east end of the mall still bearing the signage of Mountain Bean Coffee. That tenant was locked out last year because of unpaid rent. And many will know about the large vacant space next to the CIBC branch until recently occupied by Wrap-it-up, the gift shop and Canada Post franchise. There are a number of sources who say Tim’s agents have looked at the former Mountain Bean location and found it unsuitable.  One source says the coffee leader is looking at the Wrap-it-up space. It is a better location in the mall and large enough to house a restaurant type operation such as Hortons. Nothing has been announced and behind the scenes there might be issues. Rio.Can, Sunnybrook’s owner, must weigh the balance between food outlets and important specialized retail companies. It’s retail that attracts grown up shoppers with money. Time will tell.

Film critic Roger Ebert dead at age of 70

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Siskel and Ebert

Film Critic Roger Ebert has died at the age of 70 after along battle with cancer. Ebert had been a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967. He had announced on his blog Wednesday that he was undergoing radiation treatment after a recurrence of cancer. Mr Ebert had suffered the ravages of surgery causing considerable disfigurement. Toronto Star. He was supported in his adversity by his wife Chias. Roger Ebert will always be synonymous for most people over 30 for his long association with fellow film critic Gene Siskel, who died in 1999.  As the team of Siskel
and Ebert they became the reigning authorities on film criticism on television.  Their trademark thumbs up-thumbs down verdict on a movie became genuine Hollywood parlance. 

Coke’s new HQ sets stage for Overlea Blvd move

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Coca-Cola cut the ribbon Thursday morning at its new King Street East headquarters in the Toronto Sun building.  Mayor Rob Ford and Infrastructure Minister Glen Murray were there as Coca-Cola Ltd. president Nicola Kettlitz and Refreshments Canada president John Guarino  unveiled the new office. What it all means for Overlea Blvd is a sad goodbye. The company has signalled that the move from its long-time Thorncliffe Park offices will be this spring.  But there are high hopes that the Overlea land will be re-developed, perhaps with a strong retail element.  Previous post 

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,

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.

$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