Glen Road home asking $5 million

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The National Post’s Home Of The Week this weekend is in Rosedale. It’s at 114 Glen Rd. at Highland Ave. with an asking price of close to $5 million. It has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Taxes last year were $21,5418. Home Of The Week.

Kate toasted by Irish Guards on St. Patrick’s

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Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards have toasted the Duchess of Cambridge in the Junior Ranks Mess during her St Patrick’s Day visit. Report by Sophie Foster.

“Huge” probe needed into robocalls: Tory aide

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A former aide to Stephen Harper has said the robocall scandal is a matter of something gone wrong “on a scale I’ve never seen before.” Ian BRodie said the mass use of such calls to apparently suppress voting is grounds “for a f–king huge investigation.” Brodie made the remarks in an  email to Globe and Mail Columnist Lawrence Martin . The mail was not for publication but was published in a blog  anyway. 

Mariam’s funeral March 24 at Newbigging’s

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The funeral service for Mariam Makhniashvili will be held Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m. at Murray Newbigging Funeral home at 773 Mt. Pleasant Rd north of Manor Road.  A period of visiting will take place Friday, March 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.

The best hockey player who never played

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Herb Carnegie is credited by Jean Beliveau with teaching him how to play hockey The Montreal Canadiens star and Carnegie were teammates with the Quebec Aces of the Quebec senior league when he learned all the tricks  of the game from the smooth-skating Carnegie, who was nicknamed “Swivel Hips” because of his puck-handling skill.  But Herb Carnegie was black. Had he been white, he would have succeeded instantly to the NHL. A remarkable man who never let the nasty penalty he served for his colour make him bitter has been memorialized following his death at 92. Toronto Star. . 

Bell buys radio giant Astral for $3.38 billion

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Canada’s largest telecommunications company BCE Inc. has reached an agreement to buy Astral Media Inc. for $3.38 billion. The transaction will give the Montreal-based company a slate of media assets that include television channels and radio stations across the country. BCE, which owns Bell Media, says the agreement includes $380 million in debt. Astral owns dozens of radio station in Ontario alone.  Among the locals are Newstalk 1010 (once known as CFRB)  Boom 87.3, Oldies 1150 in Hamilton and EZ Rock 105.7. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval from the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission. Astral is Canada’s largest radio broadcaster with 80 radio stations in 54 markets including NewsTalk 1010, BOOM 97.3 and Virgin Radio 99.9 here in Toronto. It is also the country’s largest broadcaster of English- and French-language pay and specialty TV services including The Movie Network, HBO Canada, Viewers Choice, Teletoon and the Family Channel. Bell Media owns 33 radio stations including here in Toronto, CHUM-FM, FLOW and TSN Radio. On the TV side, big holdings including CTV, CP-24, TSN, Much Music, Discovery, Animal Planet. 75 per cent of the deal will be in cash while 25 per cent will be in BCE common stocks. Ian Greenburg, the CEO of Astral calls the transaction “an excellent transaciton for Astral, it’s shareholder sand employees.” He calls the fit with Bell “a natural.” A news conference was set for 9:45 a.m., Friday, in Montreal to announce the details of the sale.

Future Shop break-in an Inside Job?

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The Future Shop at 845 Eglinton Avenue East in the RioCan Plaza at Laird reports that on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at approximately2.30 am. “unknown suspects” entered the store by unknown means and removed a quantity of audio and computer equipment. Break-ins like this usually cause speculation that the crime was an “inside job” perpetrated with the use of a key. No word that this was the case at Future Shop at Egliuton and Laird, but it is suspicious, especially as police are not releasing descriptions. The security system would have tipped the time of the break-in and it seems likely the crooks were caught on tape. .

Krawchuk area residents meet Councillor

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A report from Krawchuk Lane resident Isaac Gould informs that Councillor Parker met residents concerned about the 7-storey condo application now pending for 2 Laird Dr, the location of the old Postal Station R. Some 30 residents of Malcolm Rd, Krawchcuk Lane and Randolph Rd. were present. When asked about his vision for the property Mr. Parker said, “Well, I work for you, I want to hear what your vision is, this will inform my opinion”. Mr. Gould said: “It is my opinion that he was receptive to the group. He wants our neighbourhood to remain beautiful and for transition buildings/development to meet expectations of the official city plan. He also noted that our group was well organized and that we would be invited to a community meeting down the road when applications have been considered at the municipal level.”

Thunderstorm alert for Toronto this afternoon

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The Weather Channel has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Toronto. As noted by the icon above, the bright red line is your warning to take precautions.

Meeting to discuss Wicksteed “Salamander”

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Those interested in the northern annex of the SmartCentres development on Wicksteed Ave. may attend a Community Consultation Meeting on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the William Lea Room of the Leaside Memorial Gardens, 1073 Millwood Rd. The site is  a Salamander looking piece of land (inset) for which the application proposes to amend the former Town of Leaside Zoning By-law No. 1916 to permit a retail commercial centre with a gross floor area of approximately 13,660 m (I41,000 sq.ft.). The proposal comprises a 7,745m  (83,370 sq.ft.) second level anchor store and series of smaller buildings ranging in size from 359m2 (3,864 sq.ft.) to 1,018m2 (10,957 sq.ft.) and 479 parking spaces. You can view a copy of the Preliminary Report providing background. The official designation of 70 Wicksteed. The City’s says citizens may speak to the planner directly. He is  Chief Planner Steve Forrester,  (41 6) 395-7126. You may also contact Councillor John Parker, Ward 26, at (416) 392-0215. The shape of the site is indeed unusual. One can only imagine the discussions that have gone on between SmartCentres and the other property owners on the block. You can download both the notice and the preliminary planning report at the Byford Blog

Heartbreak as texting lovers parted by death

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Heartbreak

A young man and his girlfriend were exchanging sweet endearments this winter as she drove along a busy highway in Quebec. The text messages of love ended abruptly when young Emy Brochu drove her vehicle into the rear of a transport truck near Victoriaville. Now her heartbroken and forlorn boyfriend, Mathieu Fortin has posted those last sentiments on his Facebook page as a warning to all those who might fall into the same deadly trap of distracted driving.  In French, Fortin says the police investigation has found that cellphone use while driving was the cause of the accident, although police have not confirmed the cause of the crash. “This conclusion was a shock because during the tragedy, I was having a conversation with her by text,” Fortin writes. “I have attached our latest texts for awareness and ask you to think twice before texting and driving.” In the texts, Fortin tells “Mme Brochu” that he loves her, to which the young woman replies “moi aussi,” and goes on to tell him that she will do what she can to make him happy. Fortin replies with a smiley face and a “moi aussi” and “XxxxxxxxxxxX.” Fortin then writes that he has a meeting at 12:30 and “would love to hear your beautiful voice before.” He wishes her a good day at school. Nearly an hour later he asks “is everything okay my love?” More than an hour after that, he writes to tell her that he is worried.

Democracy in China “inevitable” says Premier

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The outgoing Premier of China, Wen Jiabao, has told the country that democracy in China is inevitable.  Mr Wen was speaking after what will be his last National People’s Congress as China’s Premier. “As the economy developed, it has caused unfair distribution, the loss of credibility (for the government), corruption and other issues. I know that to solve these problems, it’s necessary to not only enter into economic reform but also political reform,” he said. The Telegraph newspaper says that Mr Wen –- considered the most progressive of China’s top nine leaders – has mentioned the need for political reform in one-party, authoritarian China before, but these are his strongest comments yet on the subject. He retires next year along with President Hu Jintao after a decade in power which has seen China grow to become the world’s second biggest economy.The outgoing Premier went on to call for freedom and real democracy in the country, saying the legitimate rights of those in villages to hold direct elections should be guaranteed.