Hostess Brands in the U.S. says it will seek bankruptcy protection with permission to liquidate if striking workers do not return to work by the end of today. The crisis once again places the future of such iconic brands as Wonder Bread and Twinkies in jeopardy n the U.S. It’s believed that the names are held separately in Canada. The baking company says it is shutting down plants in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati at the cost of 627 jobs due to the strike.
A discount retailer called Brands 4 Less has taken the large space at 418 Eglinton Ave West recently vacated by Liv. It will be a pop up location until the owner finds a more permanent tenant. The store is filling up now with women’s clothing, children’s clothes and toys, DVDs and a variety of other goods. This building has long been a challenge for retailers who have leased it because of its size. No 418 is located a few doors west of the Eglinton Grand Event Centre. 
This is an update on an earlier post in this spot about the rather special home going up at the the corner of Laird Drive and Broadway Ave. Our update shot here shows the stonework going onto the Victorian corner bay window which will give the residents of the home a 180 plus degree view of the corner. The belt line of limestone and full stone tower is a throwback to the romantic construction of the 19th century. The builder was there when we went by and spoke with pride about his creation. He says it will be a landmark in the neighborhood and we believe him.
Well known editorial writer and Toronto gadfly Lorrie Goldstein is among the most prominent of the 500 or so people laid off yesterday by Sun Media. Together, the layoffs hit papers in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and printing facilities in Kingston and Ottawa. Associate Editor Goldstein was a 34 year stalwart at the Sun and in his heyday was a must-read for anyone inclined to challenge a lot of what passes for wisdom in our town. Toronto Sun Blog |
| Eglinton and Bayview |
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| 1531-1533 Bayview Avenue |
They were putting up the Dollarama sign at the soon-to-be-opened store at 1531-1533 Bayview Tuesday The big green and gold letters certainly herald an early opening for the discount emporium. And from what we hear there will be clear sidewalks on South Bayview this December as Environment Canada says there will be very little snow anywhere this year. They say it’s an occurrence not seen on such a national scale since Environment Canada began measuring snowfall levels 56 years ago. “It’s not going to feel and look like Christmas,” the EC forecaster said. “People are going to have to work hard to create the mood that sometimes weather creates.”
Students at Leaside High School will have to forgo the flexible hours known as delayed/late start. The change is required because of work action taken by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, according to Principal Jeanette Plonka in a letter to parents. Until further notice the school will follow a uniform day beginning at 8.40 am. and ending at 3 pm. Other schools are making similar adjustments as the OSSTF begins what it has called “strike actions” at 20 boards across Ontario including Toronto. For her part, Education Minister Laurel Broten is threatening to prevent teachers from dropping out of many of their duties. One in particular, the taking of attendance, is seen as an important safety measure. A bargaining bulletin on the OSSTF website says that among other actions, teachers will not attend staff meetings, communicate with parents outside school hours or fill in for absent colleagues The teachers are defending sick day retirement payouts, which the Legislature has voted to eliminate, by arguing the Ontario government offers a more generous goodbye to government employees. The OSSTF has highlighted the government severance packages in its battle to save “retirement gratuities” which allow most teachers and many education support staff workers to cash out up to 200 unused sick days at retirement. The government says the plan, which pays out a maximum of $47,000 to a retiring teacher, must be scaled back because the cost is too high with $1.7 billion in accumulated sick days now on the taxpayers’ tab. 