Top British cardinal forced to resign

by  • 

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the UK’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, has resigned as the head of the Scottish Catholic church after being accused of “inappropriate acts” towards fellow priests. News that Pope Benedict had accepted the cardinal’s resignation as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh came after the Observer disclosed a series of allegations by three priests and one former priest. O’Brien has denied the allegations and had been expected to continue in his post as archbishop until mid-March, when he was due to retire at age 75.

“Defector Boxer Girl” packs lightning wallop

by  • 

Click through for video 

North Korean defector Choi Hyun-mi looks like a typical 19-year-old Korean teen with a penchant for pink, but Choi has a special ability. She packs a staggering right punch that can knock out most opponents. A Japanese challenger, Tsubasa Tenku, experienced that recently when Choi defended her WBA featherweight crown. South Koreans call her the “Defector Boxer Girl” and see her as a new ray of hope in the country known a generation ago for producing scrappy and fearless fighters. See her box

Rare Canadian stamp purchased for $225,000

by  • 

Pair of Twelve Penny Blacks
A very rare Canadian stamp issued in 1851 has been traded between two unidentified Canadian stamp collectors for a total of about $225,000. The sale occurred Saturday in Halifax under the roof of maritime-based Eastern Auctions.  The stamp is known as the Twelve Penny Black, a description of its colour and value. The particular example of the 162-year-old stamp is said to have  long been recognized as perhaps the finest known example of the Twelve Penny Black. The stamp sold Saturday once belonged to the Marquess of Lorne — Canada’s governor general from 1878 to 1883 — and was later part of the Dale-Lichtenstein holdings amassed in the early 20th century by U.S. industrialist Alfred Lichtenstein and later bolstered by his daughter, Louise Boyd Dale.  The stamp depicts a young Queen Victoria. 

“Dead government walking,” says Rex Murphy

by  • 

Wynne cannot win. The Ontario Premier’s coming electoral loss-to-be was written long before she became Liberal leader earlier this month. The now infamous story of the cancellation of two Ontario gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga — the latter during the last election — continues oh-so-justly to hound the Ontario Liberals. It has utterly blasted Liberal credibility in Ontario. National Post 

Coke plans to leave Overlea Blvd this Spring

by  • 

Coca Cola Limited has said that it will not comment on who will be moving into its property on Overlea Blvd adding that it has not as yet sold the property. (This does not mean a sale is not imminent — Ed) . The company plans to vacate its premises at 42 to 46 Overlea sometime during the second quarter of 2013, according to Erika Mozes, a media representative at the company. Ms Mozes said: “As part of the process, we remain committed to the Overlea and East York community and look forward to attracting future investment and jobs to benefit the local community.” Readers may recall a previous post in The South Bayview Bulldog in which we speculated that the Coke space was very suitable as a big box location which could form part of the retail mass made up of the new Target store and other merchants at East York Town Centre and elsewhere along Overlea. Previous post 

Meeting regarding 70 Wicksteed Feb. 26, 2013

by  • 

Community Council will next to consider the SmartCetnre Extension at 70 Wicksteed Ave on February 26, 2013 at 9.30 am. Members of Leaside Unite, the community group opposed to the size, content and traffic element of the development are asking residents to attend the meeting.  Leaside Unite is trying to have the matter deferred to council’s April 9 meeting, to allow more time to study the staff report and consult with the community about the development. As well as asking for a deferral, the group will submit a petition at the meeting at North York Civic Centre, 5100 Yonge St., with approximately 1,200 signatures against the current plan for the development. Residents who wish to comment on the application, but are unable to attend the meeting, can submit written comments to the city clerk by emailing nycc@toronto.ca or faxing 416-395-7337. Many people have been disappointed with the design and architecture of the original SmartCentre and speculation that the extension north of Wicksteed might contain a big box anchor like Walmart has generated opposition  The irregular shape of the proposed development has led some to nickname it “the Salamander”

Davisville residents fight highrise plan for school

by  • 

Davisville Junior Public School
The Toronto and District School Board is pushing hard to get an exemption to the city height bylaw so it can build a new “school” at the site of Davisville Junior Public School on Merton Street. Trouble is, the new DJPS would be housed in a 24-storey high-rise where such structures are simply not permitted. The limit on Merton is four storeys. It’s been more than 40 years since Toronto, led by Mayor David Crombie, went to war to demand that midtown and north Toronto residential streets be shielded from such highrises. The stand-off is well underway between the school board and members of council. Frankly it seems like a lousy deal. It’s true that DJPS is old and needs replacement. It’s also true the TDSB is in hock. Readers will recall that the TDSB recently floated plans to sell off surplus school land like that surrounding Bennington Heights PS. If the flat lands around Bennington were turned over to residential homes it would not necessarily be a bad thing. But the rationale that bylaws to protect neighborhoods can be broken because the school board is in debt is an invitation to disaster. Let the school board work within the rules. 

Ford asks court to make Magder pay the bill

by  • 

Rob Ford is asking a court to make Paul Magder pay $116,000 plus HST in costs for the failed attempt to kick Ford out of office. Mr. Magder (left, with his lawyer Clay Ruby behind him) launched the action last year. Now Mayor Ford and his lawyer, Alan Lenczner have submitted Mr. Lenczner’s bill to Divisional Court saying: “Paul Magder understood even before the inception of his application that, if he was successful, his lawyers would receive costs from Ford which they would keep in their entirety,” Lenczner states. “He also understood that, if he was unsuccessful, he would have to indemnify Rob Ford for his costs on a partial indemnity basis but not be required to pay his own lawyers.”  (Mr. Ruby acted on a pro bono basis). The costs are said to include $107,070 in hourly fees and $8,974 to prepare for the case.  

Wynne says no inquiry into gas plant cancellations

by  • 

Premier Wynne, speaking in Ottawa, has said the government will not call a public inquiry into the cancellation of gas energy plants during the last election campaign. Instead, the premier intimated that the plants might have been cancelled earlier because all parties had agreed they were not being built in the right place. South Bayview Baloney Detectors should be turned on until further notice.  

Duffy to pay back expenses on Ottawa home

by  • 

Senator Mike Duffy says he’s going to pay back the living expenses he’s claimed for his Ottawa home. In an interview with CBC News, Duffy said the issue has become a “major distraction” from the work he’s trying to do for Prince Edward Island, the province he represents in the Senate. CBC

Teachers return to extracurricular activity

by  • 

The Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has told teachers they should return to the practice of participating in extracurricular activities at Ontario high schools. Parent and students wishing to read the decision may check the OSSTF website. President  Ken Coran said in a prepared statement that he hoped “this sign of good will” will “prompt the government to have genuine discussions that can lead to a fair resolution to this current impasse.” Teachers’ unions across the province were outraged when the Liberal government of former premier Dalton McGuinty imposed a contract. As weeks went by however, teachers have come under increasing criticism for failing to participate in extra activities, and in fact, many  began to resume these functions. 

Long-running Coxwell sewer bypass finished

by  • 

The long-running re-build of the Coxwell Sanitary Trunk Sewer (CSTS) bypass is completed. For residents in the area and all those who travel O’Çonnor Drive into and out of Leaside the unsightly main access to this project at Coxwell and O’Connor has become part of the landscape. The original  sewer was built in the late 1950s and has been serving about 750,000 residents of  central Toronto. It carries some 400 million litres of waste water a day to the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant. In 2008, an assessment of the CSTS determined that a 60-metre section located near Coxwell and O’Connor was damaged and needed to be repaired or replaced. After significant technical analysis, it was determined that building a bypass around the damaged section was the best solution. Construction began in 2010 and the original trunk sewer was continuously monitored and in full operation during the entire construction period.