Corner stores over-regulated lobby says

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Remember Bayview Express?

A report to the Canadian Convenience Store Association says over-regulation is crippling the convenience store industry in Canada. This is especially true for independent stores, the report maintains. Corner store owners are said to be dealing with 517 federal and provincial laws and regulations at an estimated annual cost of $225-million.  The report is being presented today at a meeting of Canadian retailers, distributors and manufacturers in Toronto. A report in the Financial Post says that for every dollar of profit the industry generates, governments collect $16 in revenue. The story does not say it but it would appear much of the government’s take on corner store business comes from the large tax on cigarettes. Profits in the industry are about $1-billion a year, and revenue generated by the convenience store industry for government exceeds $16-billion.

Swarming on Laird near Eglinton (knife shown)

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Toronto Police Service report: Two male victims and a female victim, ages 15 to 17 years, report that on (Friday) September 7, 2012 between 2245 hours and 2320 hours, they were in the area of Laird Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East when they were surrounded by 10 male suspects. Two suspects were armed with knives. The suspects made a demand for the victims’ cellular phones. The victims complied. The suspects fled the scene in an unknown direction. No injuries were sustained by the victims. Police are requesting the assistance of the public in identifying the following described persons in connection with this offence. Description of Suspect #1 and #2: Male, 18 to 21 years, 5’7” to 5’8”, 119 to 130 pounds, thin build, short black hair. Suspect #3: Male, black, 18 to 21 years. Suspects #4-#10: Male, 

Great Expectations (2012) to premiere at TIFF

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Holliday Grainger
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will show a new adaption of a Charles Dickens towering classic this week. Great Expectations will premiere on Tuesday, September 11, 2012. This is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Dickens,  the world’s best-known Victorian author, This time the two star-crossed lovers, playing Pip and Estella, are Jeremy Irvine and Holliday Grainger. And it’s worth noting that durable Helena Bonham-Carter portrays the nasty Miss Havisham, a bitter old woman who teaches Estella how  to break hearts.  Over the years Estella’s role has been played by actresses such as Jane Wyatt (1932) and Jean Simmons (1946).   Take a look at the trailer.

CRTC tests Bell/Astral deal for market share

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This story asks if the swallowing up of Astral Media by omnivorous Bell breaks some sort of “threshold”. Asrtral owns Newstalk 1010 and 83 other radio stations, HBO and numerous Pay and Specialty Channels. Who knew there was a threshold?   Vancouver Sun.

Gardiner ramps closed for six weeks

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Two Gardiner Expressway ramps at Bay Street to the eastbound Gardiner and the eastbound off-ramp to Jarvis Street will be closed until the end of October starting tomorrow (Monday, September 10, 2012).. Drivers can still exit the eastbound Gardiner using the York/Bay/Yonge off-ramp to get to Jarvis Street.

“Calendar Girls” revived by Yorkshire players

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The original Calendar Girls 
There’s nothing so British it seems as a group of nice middle-aged ladies stripping on stage for charity. The women above, the original Calendar Girls,  are responsible for this. It’s 13 years since their Women’s Institute group in a small North Yorkshire village bared all in that famous calendar to raise millions of pounds for charity. They became a legend in the process.  Now a Yorkshire theatrical troupe, the Grassington Players are performing naked for the world amateur premiere of the stage version of the incredible story.  It was back in 1999 when the ladies of Rylstone WI came up with an idea to raise money for charity. Their nude calendar and the story behind it sparked international interest, an award winning film and stage play. Video

Autistic girl memorizes Coppelia Ballet

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Wonderful story from the Toronto Star on 10-year-old autistic girl who has memorized classic ballet steps.

Pink parade crosses Mt. Pleasant at Moore

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Thousands of happy warriors clad in pink marched through South Bayview today on their way to Downsview Park. It was the wild crazy and joyful Weekend to End Women’s Cancer, a fundraiser for Princess Margaret Hospital’s cancer wing. A South Bayview Bulldog correspondent grabbed some pictures as he was treated to this wonderful sight at Moore Ave and Mt. Pleasant Rd while the marchers made their way east.  The two-day, 60-kilometre walk kicked off at the Direct Energy Centre. At Downsview Park tonight  they’ll see performances from Glass Tiger, Disco Nation and Michael Burgess before heading back downtown on Sunday morning. The walk raises money for the Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute at Princess Margaret, including cancer awareness, treatment and prevention. Above,  in the main picture pink plastic poncho paraders say hello. Inset left, you’ve got to love this lady’s headgear. Inset right, these two must be part of the 1 percent. They were in a pink stretch limo. Love you all.

Fords invite thousands for meat and greet

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Globe and Mail  There were an estimated 5,000 people at the Mayor’s annual barbecue yesterday. He had invited the “whole city” to attend in a radio interview with Newstalk 1010 Aug. 28. He also posted an open invitation to his Facebook page and Twitter account.

Environment Canada issues special warning

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Environment Canada has issued a special weather warning that we may see as much as 50 mm of rain over the weekend. It is more likely we’ll receive something like 20 to 40 mm (as noted in the post below). In its long-term forecast, Environment Canada said 10 to 20 mm was expected for Toronto on Friday night and that seems about right. The rain started about 2 a.m.in South Bayview, It is said we’ll get another10 to 20 mm today. Fortunately, the drenching seem to be coming in stages, giving the sewers and land to dispose of the collections somewhat. The rainfall will be followed by cooler air and brisk winds late Saturday and Sunday, Environment Canada said. In Toronto, Saturday’s high will be 22 C, followed by a high of 20 C on Sunday.

Yikes! Airbus predicts jetliners will fly in flocks

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In a scene that will give some travellers the jitters, Airbus has said that one day “intelligent” passenger aircraft will cruise across oceans in low-drag, energy-saving formations, like flocks of geese. The idea stretches the imagination about the hoped-for energy saving and navigation of the Avionics of 2050.  That’s when Airbus says this type of travel could be the norm.  It will save fuel, apparently, and get more people to the destination together, as one media outlet put it. Oh really, say we. More people arriving together. That would be fun. And indeed, there’s nothing in the Airbus vision to explain how flocks of aircraft land on limited runways, dock, disembark and feed the baggage carousel without enormous delays.

Leaside alert for possible flooding this weekend

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According to a story produced by Newstalk 1010 the City’s Water Department is worried about the heavy rainfall predicted for this weekend.  Starting tonight and all through tomorrow, the Weather Channel is suggesting there might be as much as 40 mm on the ground. The General Manager of the Water Department, Lou Di Gironimo , told Newstalk 1010  that if the rain comes all at once, the City could be in trouble. He says the infrastructure just isn’t designed to handle that much rain in a short period of time. It doesn’t help that parts of the city saw record-setting rainfall on Tuesday. With the ground already saturated, there may be nowhere for this weekend’s rain to go. There are supposed to 32 spots where the City that traditionally has flooding. One would certainly be the Bayview Extension at Pottery road. But the Water Department says there are other spots around Leaside. Previously, there has been flooding on Moore Ave where it meets Southvale Rd.  The scene above is from Southvale at Astor Ave on June 1, 2012.