The stubborn homeowner in China whose house was stranded in the middle of a new highway, has agreed to sell the building to the contractor for about $US40,000, probably a pretty good price. The home featured here in an earlier post, has now been demolished.
Promoting health or just pinkwashing business
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It’s hard not to have been exposed to the happy girl singing about 5-Hour Energy Pink Lemonade (left). By itself, it’s a pleasant little guitar tune with vocal. But it is also an ad for a so-called energy drink and an example of how business (in this case Avon Corp.) uses the pink ribbon campaign to make money. Women who are upset about this commercialization express themselves in the video at the right, made by Pink Ribbons Inc. Their concerns are frequently quite bitter. Where does the moral high ground lie in all of this? Comments on the web state resentment but they also point out that a few years ago nobody talked about breast cancer. Sure, Avon was only guaranteeing to give a measly $75,000, but overall, the exploitation of the pink ribbon has raised millions for cancer research. Feel free to leave a comment.
Council doesn’t need Rob Ford to mess up
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If you are able (or care to) get past the Globe and Mail’s paywall you might find Marcus Gee’s column today informative. It is headlined A circus in Toronto that’s too sad to be funny. What is interesting in Gee’s take is that, yes, the Mayor is a source of silly bombast and a catalyst for confusion, but that the whole Council is shamefully indecisive and uncaring. They don’t need Rob Ford to mess up. Council has, as Gee said, spent a year fussing about whether to keep three elephants at the zoo here in Toronto or to ship them somewhere. They have decided, against the advice of staff incidentally, to send the animals to California. Poor elephants. You may need no prompting to recall the plastic bag follies. Marcus Gee
Carroll calls mayor “evil”, vows to run against him
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Ward 33 Councillor Shelley Carroll calls Mayor Ford’s behaviour “evil” and vows to run against him if a byelection is necessary to name a mayor. Ms Carroll, representative of the Don Valley East constituency, made her declaration Friday morning after a shouting-match of a council meeting on Thursday evening. Published reports say that the Mayor, and his brother Doug, made accusations against Councillor Adam Vaughan and, as reported in InsideToronto.com, Doug Ford made a move which Councillor Carroll considered physically threatening. Does Shelley Carroll worry the Fords?
Rumble on historic Barrington St. in Halifax
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CCTV caught one half of a wild shoot out on historic Barrington Street in Halifax. Fortunately no one was hit in the reckless gun play. Police said there were people around at 3 p.m. when two men opened up at each other on November 13, 2012.
Now judge says Mayor Ford can run in byelection
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Lawyers for both Mayor Ford and his accusers got on the phone this morning with Mr. Justice Charles Hackland to get it straight from the judge as to just what he intended to say about the mayor’s options. It seemed clear in the judgement handed down last Monday that the mayor would not be allowed to run before the next general election in November 2014. But this morning this has been clarified. The way is now clear for Mr Ford to run if the City decides to hold a byelection. That seems likely. But Mr. Ford is also appealing the judge’s decision in the conflict of interest case in a motion expected to be heard next week. If a superior court rules in the mayor’s favour, the issue goes away and Mr. Ford will resume his position as mayor. Stay tuned.
Good cop buys shoeless man some boots
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A young New York City cop touched the world in a big way on Wednesday, Nov. 28, when he purchased a pair of boots for a homeless man and tucked the receipt into his own boot in an internet image that has now gone viral. One simple act of kindness has reverberated across the country and maybe even around the world, recorded by a tourist on a cell phone. It wasn’t anything earth-shattering in the scheme of the universe, actually. Officer DePrimo, NYPD, saw a homeless man with no shoes on a very cold night in New York City. Thinking about how his feet were cold under two pair of socks and his boots, he walked into a nearby Skechers store and purchased a pair of boots for $100. When told why, the store employee used his discount to reduce the price of the boots to $75. Officer DePrimo gave the man the boots and then watched him smile and walk away. He never even found out his name. He didn’t have to. It was one of those human to human contacts that warm the heart. New York Examiner
Rolph Road girls are slo-pitch champs again
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What a great picture this is of the Rolph Road Public School Grade Six Girls Slo-Pitch Softball Team. Once again, the Grade Six girls at Rolph are winners of this city-wide competition. It’s the fourth year in a row the Grade Sixers have triumphed and excitement was running high as they approached the challenge this year. This picture was taken by the chair of the school council Robin Dickie. She says she still has to get the boys team to sit still for a picture. The boys also won their Slo-Pitch Championship Congratulations to all. Wizard of Oz rehearsals count down to Dec 20
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Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard of Oz opens Thursday December 20 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre at 244 Victoria Street. This is the cast (left) looking good in some pre-opening publicity activity. It is noted that the Lloyd-Webber production contains “all the beloved songs from the award-winning movie score, all the favourite characters and iconic moments..” That would make sense. It would be just just like them to leave out Ding Dong The Wicked Witch is Dead. To the right, a nostalgic extra in which Judy Garland sings Over The Rainbow. Notice the well trained doggie playing Toto. See you at the Ed Mirvish.
Sleeping in a dumpster, man thrown into truck
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What can we say. CBC
Bedford Park Town Homes on Roslin Avenue
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A somewhat unusual project on Roslin Ave in what is loosely called Bedford Park will see these four single family homes demolished and replaced by six town homes as pictured. The development is the work of Balder Corporation and has been named Bedford Park Town Manors. It may be an overly grand name but there seems little doubt the project will improve the street and increase values. Roslin Avenue is a somewhat spotty street of older homes that will probably benefit from some redevelopment. Key to this change is the great location between Yonge St and Mt Pleasant Road and north of Lawrence Ave.
Will Cody kids sing at Starbucks this season?
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Residents and parents will be waiting to see if the morning concerts normally held at Starbucks on Bayvew Ave. will take place this year. Each December pupils of Maurice Cody Junior Public School sing Christmas and other seasonal songs for patrons. Statements from the elementary school teachers union suggest today that such things as concerts outside of school hours will be one of things that teachers will boycott. All involvement in extracurricular activities, field trips and administrative tasks mandated by the Ministry of Education will be refused. The Minister, Laurel Broten, said today that the Government will use legal “tools” to make sure children are not left behind. This suggests she is considering back-to-work legislation. Two years ago