The South Bayview Bulldog

January marks the beginning of the bridal season for many young couples. And one of the first items on the list is the Wedding Registry. Trish Stuebing, president of Homefront, says some brides make the mistake of thinking they don’t need to register. “It’s a risk for several reasons,” says Ms. Stuebing. “First, your chance of getting two or three of the same things is very real. Who wants three toaster ovens?”  So a well-organized thoughtfully-managed registry is essential.” Another misconception about wedding registries is that you only register in one place. “Smart couples will register in as many places as there are guests and friends to give them gifts,”says Trish Stuebing. “You can register at places as different as Canadian Tire for that toaster oven or Homefront for exquisite Sophie Conran or  Michael Aram tabletop pieces,” she says. Wherever you go, make sure you are treated well.  Your wedding registry should be  important to the company that  holds it. They should make sure there is always someone in charge of your account and able to assist any customer, in person or by phone. “At Homefront, we specialize in personalized registries and we gift wrap every item beautifully. We will store the gifts or if the delivery is local, we’ll drop them off at the family home.”  Get your fiance involved says Trish Stuebing

Somehow the media always finds its way back to the media. The Mayor’s levee is tomorrow at City Hall, but the burning question for reporters is that the mayor won’t take questions from them during that event. In past years, the mayor has taken questions about what he sees in the coming year for the City. This year, reporters have been asked not to interrupt the levee. It will go off in the City Hall rotunda from 2-4 p.m. An online poll in the Sun (inset) suggests this is not a big issue for the public. A majority (54% to 45%) are against questions. For Ford, the new year will see a Jan. 7 appeal of the conflict-of-interest ruling that ousted him from office. He won a stay of the ruling until his appeal is heard. After the ruling the mayor’s office announced it was cancelling the annual levee before deciding to replace it with an elaborate series of “skating parties.” Then, last week, that plan was scrapped and it was announced Ford would be participating in the traditional levee.

The Via Rail train from Montreal will be late arriving at Union Station tonight.  Sunday night the train was stopped at Kingston because the aboriginal Idle No More campaign was blocking the main line near Belleville. Train 647, which has been stopped there since shortly after 6 pm and the length of the delay seems uncertain. The blockade is part of the Idle No More movement. Similar protests and gatherings were held across Canada Sunday, in support of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who is on a hunger strike. One demonstration (inset) was at the Eaton Centre. Via Rail officials are asking passengers to check their website or call the hotline at 1-888-842-7245 before heading to the station.  Late Sunday evening it was said the train was  “moving again” although it was not clear just what that meant. 

What should Canadians feel about our American friends? Fear, disgust, disbelief? There’s probably a little of all those things in the rather bitter look we see in the eyes of Finance Minister Flaherty (left). Some people are saying that the handful of Senators who are now working furiously to find a compromise and avoid that tax-wrenching dive over the fiscal cliff are already mathematically out of time. Is there a retro fix available? We think so. But if they don’t find it, the U.S. is expected to slide into another recession by June. And you know what that means for us.

Service five minutes away

You only have to ask most car owners in and around South Bayview to learn how much they resent the lack of automobile sales and service in our area.  The collapse of 2008 caused a near blood bath among local dealers — Yonge Toyota, Brennan’s on Bayview, Roy Foss at Eglinton and Brentcliffe — all gone. The promising new auto sales centre on the site of the railway lands vanished with the bankruptcy of General Motors.  But still we have the old standby, Gyro Mazda, on Laird Drive and this company is also wisely expanding to create a Hyundai dealership at Laird and Industrial St. across the road from the Mazda outlet. This is excellent news for all South Bayview and leads the way for business, municipal and federal leaders to bring more car dealerships to the dormant industrial lands on the east side of Laird Drive. And the wisest course, in our view, would be to forget about the cash-strapped and top-heavy American-based firms like GM and Ford. Emphasis should be on manufacturers with less developed systems. Hyundai and its Korean cousin KIA come to mind. But there are car makers in China, India and Europe who should be encouraged to take a look at Laird Drive. Those who settle here will be able to tap a rich market of households whose car owners are fed up with driving to Front Street or Steeles Ave for service. It is frequently said that Hyundai is determined to break into the North American market by building better and more stylish cars. In the case of Gyro Hyundai on Laird, it will also be going where the business is located. May it prosper.