The South Bayview Bulldog

A 12-year old girl from west Toronto has won the Canspell Toronto Regional Spelling Bee.  Sara Ferros finished atop a group of 55 contestants for win by spelling “materialize”.  The win bring Sara a $5000 prize and trip to the national spelling bee final in Toronto March 28, 2012. Sara attends St. Raymonds Gifted Centre. 

The premises at 1568  Bayview, which was Modern French Kitchen, has been taken by a very nice husband and wife team who will call their new restaurant L’Avenue. Otta and Jenna take over from the owner of French Modern Kitchen. The address has had several restaurants in it since Whimsical House closed in 2009.

Target will open its first Canadian store next week — but only for a day. The Minneapolis-based mass merchant, which will begin opening 125 to 135 stores across Canada next year, is opening a “pop-up” store in Toronto’s garment district on Feb. 23 to showcase a limited collection by designer Jason Wu. The store is located at 363 King St. West in Toronto, and will be open for just six hours, from noon until 6 p.m. — or while supplies last. Target has developed the pop-up store model and used it in new York and elsewhere. Financial Post linked off the headline above. 

Agreements by Starbucks with Target Corp .and Longos supermarkets may well see two more outlets bearing the familiar sign of the Green Mermaid in South Bayviewland.  Target has had a deal with Starbucks in the U.S. for some time. It has now extended that opportunity to open Starbucks in its stores to Canada. In 2013 Target will open in the East York Town Centre at 45 Overlea Blvd. Further, a standing agreement with Longos may see a Starbucks there when that grocery store opens in the new Leaside Village complex at Larid Drive and Esander Drive. 

Local baseball groups are dealing with the fairly sudden appearance of user fees at City playing fields. Andrew Pace, president of the East York Baseball Association, is quoted as saying he hasn’t figured the total cost yet but he is concerned that there hasn’t been time to plan for the charges  With registration underway for the coming season, Pace said he learned only a week ago about the fees. Previously not-for-profit associations for youth were able to use city sport fields for free, but starting this year the fees will be $10.62, $7.08 and $5.31 per hour depending on the type of field used. Pace said the association uses multiple fields for as much as three hours every weeknight and 12 hours on weekends for the three months the season runs.  A rate of 10.76 using three fields a night plus weekends might yield a fee of more than $600 a week. It seems hefty for kids to play ball.  Mr. Pace is asking local councillors to try to implement a phased in fee.  For his part, John Morgan of the Leaside-East Toronto Soccer Club said he didn’t thik the fees would have more than an incidental impact. He noted the club uses fields in the lowest category, about $5 a n hour. He too complained of not enough notice.

It’s no doubt true that the McGuinty Government has spent us into a heck of a hole. But the way in which Don Drummond, the former chief economist of the TD Bank, has gone about describing our plight is a masterpiece of style. His tone might have come from Winston Churchill’s  Blood, Sweat and Tears speech. So what’s up? Some will say that the crafty Dalton McGuinty has created a dandy straw man to beat up as needed.  It’s quite extraordinary, for example, that an expert consultant should have his recommendations dismissed out of hand on the same day his report is made public. But that’s what Finance Minister Dwight Duncan did with the proposal to cancel all-day kindergarten. What a great chance for the Government to look like defenders of the family. Happy Family Day.The report is replete with things that will mean certain death for the Government. It’s hard to take it seriously. End drug benefits for seniors? A political bullet to the brain.  Are we to believe that a Government that cancels power plants in mid-construction to save a few votes will do any of this?    

The sides are being drawn up on the question of a casino for Toronto. Meetings of Toronto and East York Community Council and Scarboro Community Council on Tuesday revealed quite different sentiment. As reported in Inside-Toronto, Scarboro councillors with one exception voted to consider the possibility of a casino. The suggestion is that it is one way for the City to make money to build a subway to its eastern reaches. Toronto and East York councillors however voted to ask the chief planner to report within six months on “any necessary actions” which may be needed to prevent a casino. Casinos are already illegal in Toronto. Toronto and East York as defined by the Council’s jurisdiction includes Leaside and all of that happy precinct we call South Bayviewland. . 

The Town Crier newspaper and associated publications elsewhere are carrying stories online that they have been named finalists for seven awards in the Better Newspaper Competition Awards by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association. Take a look.