Just before Christmas, Larry Vander Schaaf, writing in Canada Free Press (online) noted a change in the greeting at Tim Hortons. It is a distinct move away from cordial service. Vander Schaaf says Hortons has eliminated the greeting “Hi, welcome to Tim Hortons, my name is Sally, how can I help you?” In its place is the cold (but naturally much shorter) “Sally speaking”. Ugh. Vander Schaaf first thought the change was a bone-headed decision from American management. But he tells the South Bayview Bulldog it was really a bone-headed decision by Canadian management. Either way, it moves Tim Hortons a step away from the warm place that Canadians have come to expect.
Rob Ford’s first year
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A critical assessment of the mayor by National Post pundit Chris Selley. Well worth reading. Here.
Lai Toh Heen decided not to renew the lease
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Champagne and pork dumplings pleased celebrants tonight at Lee Wah Heen on Chestnut Street. But it was a bittersweet moment for those who used to patronize this restaurant’s sister establishment Lai Toh Heen at Mt Pleasant Rd. and Soudan Ave. As we told you in October, Lai Toh Heen has closed. It has not been clear why until now. The management decided that business conditions did not merit renewal of the lease. In other words, insufficient business.
2012 marches in around the world
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Revelers have brought in 2012 in Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Athens, Rome, Paris and London at this writing (7.50 pm EST). Still to come are New York and Toronto, with great centres like Vancouver and San Francisco more or less last. Above is an arresting picture of a fireworks effect in Hong Kong. Rockets appear to be shooting out of this high-rise office.
Debt, Blackouts and the Mayor’s home life
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If you are worrying about your personal debt, it’s very likely that you’ve also made a resolution to get it under control. That’s the word from CIBC which has polled a sample of average Canucks and found they are vowing to get back into the black. That’s good. Speaking of the black, let’s hope we don’t have too much of the lights-out kind here in Toronto. Many engineers and union bodies are saying the province is not addressing the need to re-build Toronto Hydro’s infrastructure. They say we’re heading for a crisis. Given the number of planned power plants that have arbitrarily been cancelled during election campaigns, that prediction seems fairly believable. As to Mayor Ford, the Toronto Star has run a story saying there was a call to 911 on Christmas morning from his mother-in-law. She claimed Mr Ford had been drinking and was trying to take his kids to Florida without his wife’s permission. Police say they find no evidence of physical abuse and there is no corroboration that the mayor drinks to excess. What does this story say about Ford? Maybe that he has a very busy mother-in-law. What does it say about the Star?
Nature’s frosting on South Bayview
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Overnight snow and drizzle formed a crystal covering for area trees. This is Donegall Dr..
Why not a system of Tweet Ticket Tipoffs?
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Readers may have seen the story that Twitter is being used to alert drivers to the location of RIDE programs. The police say this is not illegal but very irresponsible. We agree. But how irresponsible would it be if you got a Tweet that told you that the parking enforcement officer was pulling up on Manor Rd just west of Bayview? Our guess is that most people would think that was just fine. So would we. If anyone felt they needed to act on this information by moving the car, good for them. Now we know that parking enforcement guys move faster than Superman. In fact, the sheer pace of these speed-walking tax collectors is an important part of what makes the issuing of so many tickets possible. When will a Tweet Ticket Tipoffs network begin? TTT is legal and practical. Your customers will thank you.
Rare sale on Emma Bridgewater at Homefront
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Homefront at 371 Eglinton Ave West is having a rare sale on Emma Bridgewater china. For a limited time, prices have been discounted 15 percent. This is clearance season and Homefront is reducing inventory across the board, including this much-loved signature line of dishes and completer pieces from Bridgewater’s Stoke-on-Trent factory. This sale is only at the Eglinton Ave shop as many lines have been consolidated there during the clearance period at 1579 Bayview.
The Big Banks guessing game on Laird Drive
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The changing face of Laird Drive has prompted speculation about future locations of the Big Five Banks. The arrival of the Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal at the SmartCentre completed the “flock” effect on this street. Most notable as possible banks to move, according to the wisdom of our little parlour game, are the Bank of Nova Scotia, now housed in a small shop at the corner of Eglinton Ave E. and Laird and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at Laird and MaRae Drive. Reasonable, although not necessarily correct, speculation would suggest one or both of these two might find their way into the new Leaside Village centre down at Laird and Esandar Dr. TD has already moved off the Eglinton-Laird intersection. TD renovated the 1951 historical building at Laird and Vanderhoof Avenue in 2010. Scotiabank might well feel the need to move to larger quarters down the road where the new retail action is located. Incidentally, the old TD branch building sits quietly uninhabited and not for rent on the northwest corner of Eglinton and Laird. Is someone waiting for redevelopment? (Just asking). As for the CIBC, its old branch, dating from the days when the banks built and owned their premises, is sitting in the way of re-making the corner of Laird and Wicksteed. Maybe CIBC doesn’t care about that and maybe the City can’t afford the price.
Exploding Churros in Chile injured 13 cooks
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Chile’s Supreme Court has ordered a newspaper to pay out more than $120,000 to 13 people who suffered burns when they attempted a recipe the paper had published for churros, a snack of deep-fried dough dusted in sugar (inset) that’s popular in Latin America. Days after the recipe was published in 2004, hospitals around the country began treating people for burns after the dough had shot out of their pots, showering them with hot oil. The high court found that the newspaper failed to properly test the recipe before publication. If readers followed the instructions, their churros had a good chance of exploding once the oil reached the suggested temperature, which was too high. “The explosions were so violent that in some cases the splashes hit the ceiling and covered the person who was cooking,” the ruling said. “Faithfully following the recipe published in the newspaper, this damage could not have been avoided.” The publisher of the newspaper, La Tercera, will pay damages ranging from $279 to $48,000, the latter to one woman whose burns were especially severe.
Northern gives up on ID cards
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Northern Secondary School on Mt Pleasant Rd. has given up on the practice of having students wear identification cards around their necks. It is the last Toronto high school to require its students to wear such cards. The idea was adopted in 2008 in t6he hope that it would improve school safety. Following several months of school community consultation, administrators concluded that the lanyards should no longer be required. Globe and Mail.
Water main leak on Hudson Drive
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This City worker is suctioning out water after a rupture in the line overnight in Moore Park. The heaving of the earth when the first real cold hits has a tendency to break water mains. From cars and trucks to the solitary pedestrian, getting around our area this morning was one big Crunchfest. The slushy snowfall followed by a sub-zero snap has left the streets and sidewalks like noisemakers. What to expect for today? The Weather Channel is predicting a cloudy day with sunny breaks and a high of minus seven. Brrr. .