Urban Nature a haven for birders, nature lovers

by  • 

Paul Oliver
The Urban Nature Store is nestled just east of  Tim Horton’s in the Dawsco mall on Brentcliffe Road near Vanderhoof Ave. Canada Post calls it 939 Eglinton Ave. E. but it’s really around the corner. Inside Urban Nature, Leaside shoppers are greeted with a near riotous array of spring and summer merchandise.  Here you will find a dozen varieties of bird seed, both conventional and squirrel proof, fat bags of peanuts and seed blocks suitable for feeding just about any fauna known to the Don Valley, heated birds baths, an ornithological subdivision of bird houses and what seems like a zillion  entertaining oddments for kids, including the original 6-sided bug puzzle. The genial boss here is Paul Oliver. Mr. Oliver and his partner Jeff Tekavcic are some 12 year into a nature and tree care business which extends to five GTA locations and an international mail order house facilitated by the Internet. By any measure, they are an admirable success story. Mr. Oliver tells his company’s story in deceptively simple style. Although he shrugs off the label of scientist it is clear that the two entrepreneurs have a grasp of their products that goes beyond that of most retailers. Urban Nature contracts with various firms to manufacture the seed and nutritional supplement that are sold in Canada and the U.S. They own the formulas and the names. It is an impressive accomplishment and the store is worth a visit even if you aren’t a birder or like to feed the deer in the wild. 

High school teachers cancel next week’s walkout

by  • 

CBC

All area schools open after walkout found illegal

by  • 

A confusing time confronts parents across the area this morning after a 4 a.m. decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board that the planned teacher’s “protest” today was actually an illegal strike. The elementary teachers union which had earlier been talking tough about obeying any order to go back to class has said that it will abide by the order. The OLRB decision came after a hearing that lasted almost 13 hours. The challenging part for parents, apart from cancelling their plans and getting kids to school, was  unknowns about exactly what the teacher complement would be and the availability of school guards (who had been cancelled in advance of the protest). Toronto schools open  Here is the statement on the Toronto school board site:

Schools are OPEN today and all students are welcome but like a severe weather day, transportation will NOT be running. Staff is expected to report to work. Background All schools will re-open and classes will resume on Monday, January 7, 2013. Regulations have been filed under Bill 115 that impose new terms for collective agreements for all School Board employee groups for the next two years. For more information, please see the news release issued by the Minister of Education on Thursday, January 3. With the new contracts in place, unions will no longer be in a legal strike position. As always, the top priority for the TDSB is to ensure safety of students and maintain the integrity of the learning day. The TDSB is committed to sharing information with school communities as soon as it becomes available. Information will be shared directly with schools, news media and via the Board’s Twitter account: @tdsb

Early evening break in on Hillsdale Avenue.

by  • 

Toronto Police Service report:  A resident of Hillsdale Avenue reports that between 1700 hours and 1900 hours on January 9, 2013 entry was gained into the premises by unknown means. Removed was a quantity of jewellery, computer equipment and cash.

Mayor buoyant as 2013 budget hammered out

by  • 

Toronto executive committee has hammered out a 2013 recommended operating budget of $9.4 billion which includes a  property tax rate increase of 2% for residential and 0.67% for business properties. The budget process this year is being heralded by some as a stunning change from last year.  There were increases for firefighting, paramedics, leaf pickup and for the library system and the arts. At the same time, the Ford administration insisted on retaining surplus funds for future capital projects. The mayor is said to have been in a buoyant mood following the meeting and like a man campaigning for office. The budget must now be approved by city council. Paul Moloney

Documentary films mark Leaside Centennial

by  • 

Earlier Story

This year marks the centennial of the Town of Leaside. The still largely unbuilt community was established by an act of the Provincial Legislature on April 23, 1913. The railways were instrumental in the creation of the town. Well known streets like Laird, Hanna, Wicksteed and many others carry the names of executives of the Canadian Northern Railway, prime movers in the plan. See Wikipedia  for more of this type of information.   To help spearhead the commemoration  the Leaside One Hundred Committee has been convened by  Councillor John Parker and is co-chaired by Virginia Evoy and John Piper. Other members are Lorna Krawchuk, Geoff Kettel, John Parker, Charlene Kalia, and Muhammed Wani. An interesting undertaking will be the production of a documentary 100 Years Inside Leaside devoted to telling the “then and now” vignettes of a proud community. The producers are asking anyone with archival material or a story to tell to contact them at Lea100Productions@gmail.com.

Union says teacher “protest” is charter issue

by  • 

Public schools will be closed across Toronto and South Bayview tomorrow as teachers continue their rolling strike action against the Ontario Government. The “alert” image above is on the Maurice Cody Junior Public school site and is on all school sites. Parents are scrambling to arrange for children to be cared for and  occupied during this shutdown. Premier Dalton McGuinty called the protest an “illegal strike” and said his government will ask the Ontario Labour Relations Board to prevent the elementary school teachers from walking off the job. Officials said late yesterday that McGuinty will similarly “bring OSSTF’s illegal strike notice to the OLRB in the coming days.”  The  Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has suggested that its action is protected under the Charter of  Rights as a political protest. Fairly unanimous legal opinion seems to be however that it is actually an illegal strike and as such the union may be subject to fines if it continues to encourage teachers to leave school. 

Man builds 80s era VIA coach in basement

by  • 

Well done feature from Global News on Vaughan man who has built a 1980s era VIA rail coach in his basement. Really.

First Nation can’t agree on grievances

by  • 

Interesting situational story here on the turmoil in aboriginal ranks as to what they want.  Edmonton Journal

Leaside Garden Society meeting this evening

by  • 

A reminder that the Leaside Garden Society meeting is this evening.  It will be in the community room of  Leaside Library, 165 McRae Drive beginning at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be addressed by well known gardener Sonia Day who will speak on Incredible Edibles — fun things to grow in a city garden. Visitors and new members are welcome. Memberships: single $25 or family $30

Police radar busy on Moore Ave. today

by  • 

Toronto Police Service has a radar unit, well concealed, at work on Moore Ave.  between Welland Ave and Bayview Ave this morning (Thursday, January 10, 2013) The speed limit along this section of Moore is 40 km/h so be careful. 

A fix for the TTC dead zone on Bayview Ave.

by  • 

Reader Michael Bell has raised the long-standing issue of the TTC “dead zone” on Bayview Ave between Sutherland Dr. and the “downtown” intersection of South Bayview at Bayview and Davisville Ave. Vast numbers of residents in Moore Park, Bennington Heights and surrounding streets have no direct bus connection to the shops and services of the business district which is their preferred destination. The dead zone strikes when the 88 South Leaside buses heading eastbound to Thorncliffe Park turn at Sutherland Dr. In fact there are alternate lines, 88 South Leaside and 88A South Leaside. They both follow Sutherland but they split at Millwood. The 88A route goes east to Overlea Blvd and 88 goes back to McRae Drive and heads out to Wicksteed Ave.  These are useful routes, but we wonder why the 88 route can’t be adjusted to serve the shoppers of  Moore Park and Bennington.Heights. If, for example, the 88 continued up Bayview past Sutherland, it could stop at South Bayview’s downtown and then turn right on Millwood and resume its route along McRae at Trace Manes Park. This solution seems feasible to we laypersons at the South Bayview Bulldog, but if it’s not  there must be a fix of some kind to the dead zone. The only way south end residents can now take The Better Way to South Bayview is to ride the westbound  88 South Leaside bus to the St. Clair station, transfer to the northbound subway and then catch the 11 Bayview bus at Davisville Station.