Citroën Stand at Rétromobile 2013 Motor Show

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Take a moment to dream about these Citroen beauties from the past at the Paris Retromobile Motor Show going on just now. This exhibit and others reminds us of the European appreciation of the cabriolet model, not seen anymore among American automakers. On South Bayview there are few cabriolets to be seen except of course for all the German ones. Even Ford and GM (through Opel) make cabriolets in Europe but they are not to be seen on this side of the Atlantic. 

B to B Maternity will open at 1643 Bayview Ave.

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A new business known as B to B Maternity will open in April at the former Oddjects store at 1643 Bayview Ave. It appears to be a re-sale shop of maternity clothes to be sold at reduced prices.  A Facebook posting describes B to B as the idea of  a ” Mom of almost two!!”  It says the firm is buying inventory to open in April 2013. Anyone who wants cash for something they don’t need anymore is asked to call (416) 932-9522 or email info@btobmaternity.com. The owner says she is “looking forward to offering a maternity experience of the boutiques at only a fraction of the price.” It will not be missed on local shoppers that the location of 1643 is directly across the street from Moms-to-be-and-more at the corner of Manor Rd and Bayview Ave.

HS principals plan Prom dances without teachers

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High schools within the Toronto and District School Board (TDSB) have been quietly collaborating with each other to make sure that annual Spring Prom dances are held for this year’s classes. At a meeting of the TDSB tonight it became clear that no motion from the board would be necessary to direct or authorize this scheme because it was already underway with with the authority of the  school principals. 

We may get 10 to 15 cm of snow by Friday

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Tomorrow and Friday will see snowfall that could accumulate to between 10 and 15 cm around our South Bayview homes. It will begin tomorrow and should make for a poor drive home home and things are predicted to be perfectly wretched by Friday morning. It appears however that Saturday will be bright and sunny and there will be rising temperatures through the early part of next week to help clear the mess. 

U.S. Post Office to end Saturday letter delivery

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The U.S. Post Office will end Saturday service in August in an attempt to save nearly $2 billion and set the service on a profitable footing. The Postal Service is semi-independent but ultimately controlled by Congress which has failed to take action to permit the post office to function in the black. Commentators say they aren’t sure how the Postal Service is able to say it will stop Saturday mail delivery without express approval from the Congress. Congress is typically dysfunctional when the government is split between political parties. Among the issues is the low cost of first class mail in the U.S. now set at 46 cents, as opposed to over 60 cents in Canada. Canada eliminated Saturday delivery more than a decade ago. 

TDSB to vote tonight on holding proms

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Toronto and District School Board (TDSB) will vote tonight on whether to authorize annual school proms using management staff like principals and other support employees to supervise the events. As it stands, the work-to-rule campaign by high school teachers appears to prevent any chance that they will be assisting in such dances. Students are said to be  working hard to save the prom, with or without school support. The student council at Bloor Collegiate Institute has been looking at the possibility of planning a year-end party themselves. For the prom motion to pass at tonight’s meeting, it will need the backing of a simple majority — at least 12 out of 22 elected trustees.

Frank Di Giorgio is city budget chief

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Frank Di Giorgio is Toronto’s new budget chief and it appears that he is a man of many parts. And we suppose that it’s picky to  laugh at his mixed metaphors because he is a smart guy (Mathematics McMaster and Western Business) and a family man, married to “Mary” for 15 years with two kids. He did provide entertainment however if you know that  a question like “Has the gravy train been stopped?” should not be answered:  “I think there is little low-hanging fruit at this time.”   But at a distance at least, you have got to like him. He’s not a cut, cut, cut maniac. He wants to find ways to keep down costs by bringing in new revenues. Here’s a bit of his bio as posted on the Toronto site: A graduate of McMaster University in Mathematics and the University of Western Ontario Business School, he has a diversified background which includes teaching, coaching, business management and public life. In the business world, Councillor Di Giorgio was a marketing and seminar leader in pension plans and tax planning and later established his own small business. As a teacher and a coach, Frank was an Assistant Head of Mathematics, and Associate of the College of Education and guided three championship football teams before pursuing postgraduate training in business administration.

Making sure your passport is still respected

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When dual-passport Canadians commit terrorist acts, it ought to concern every one of us personally. The government says the “Canadian” who helped blow up a bus loaded with Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last summer was a dual-passport citizen living in Lebanon. Our disgust at this barbarity is natural but such acts are a serious warning. When the Canadian passport is used this way it diminishes the country and casts a serious shadow over just how your passport will be received at checkpoints all over the world. In a column today in the Charlottetown Guardian a man leaving soon for a visit to Egypt, Israel and Jordan says he hopes his Canadian passport will be respected as it has on previous trips.  Canada is a large land and like many such countries it seeks to encourage immigration by permitting duel citizenship. At the very least, the Bulgarian atrocity, and the recent Algerian gas field hostage taking, should make the government wary about just who is permitted to hold our passport. This would seem particularly true for parts of the world where violent political acts are more or less standard practice. 

Driveby purse snatch on Overlea Boulevard

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Toronto Police Service report: A 59 year old female reports that on February 1, 2013 at approximately 1400 hours, she was in the area of Overlea Boulevard and Thorncliffe Park Drive, when she was approached by unknown suspect(s) in a vehicle. The suspect(s) reached out of the window and grabbed the victim’s purse. The suspect(s) then fled the scene in an unknown direction. No injuries were sustained by the victim. 

Metrolinx restores the Ferrand Drive LRT station

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Ferrand Drive at Eglinton

It now appears that Metrolinx has changed its recently announced plan to  cancel both the Leslie Street and Ferrand Drive stations on the Scarborough LRT. Instead, only the Leslie station will be eliminated while the Ferrand Drive station will be built. This new direction emerged from a meeting held January 31, 2013 at the Ontario Science Centre with residents of the area. Metrolinx is the provincial body charged with planning all mass transportation in Ontario. At the meeting, Metrolinx spokesman Jamie Robinson, is quoted as saying  “We believe Ferrand can work.”  The logic of this direction is fairly apparent. While the Leslie Street intersection is surrounded by parkland and right at the bottom of the Don Valley, Ferrand Drive is on a flatland that is home to  Flemingdon Park. It is also opposite the Aga Khan Museum, a large cultural centre which is expected to draw considerable traffic. Previous Post