Work begins to clean up Leaside Cleaners

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Workmen with heavy hammers and wrecking equipment have moved into the burned out premises of Leaside Cleaners on Bayview Ave. They’re moving out bins loaded with the charred junk left after the fire which destroyed the business in October, 2011. The pinpoint of light you see in the background through the doorway in the picture inset is the single light being used by the workers. Work began to clear the store last Thursday. As we reported earlier, the city has approved a permit to renovate the dry cleaning store.

Leaside Life is hitting its stride

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The new monthly paper Leaside Life has published its fourth issue and appears to be hitting its stride. It was founded late last year by the energetic Ruth Goldhar, who is also a Re/Max agent and her husband Harry. The current paper contains a number of worthwhile local stories including a great front-page report by Andrea Villiers with a picture on the cycling group known as the Morning Glory Club. Elsewhere, the paper notes that the Agnes Macphail home at Millwood Rd. and Donegall Drive is on track to become a heritage building. Or so City Council has indicated. (A caveat for buyers to check the history of their prospective purchase). All in all good reading and a notch up from earlier forays on things like Leaside’s emergence from being white bread.  We’re not sure what this would mean to second and third generation colour-blind Leasiders but let’s not quibble. It must be said that Leaside Life is worth a read. 

TO vs Ottawa — rather be mugged or bored?

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MoneySense magazine is published by Rogers Digital Media down at One Mt Pleasant and once again this year it has found that Ottawa is the best place to live in Canada.  It’s the third time MoneySense prefers the capital over any other place. The magazine finds, among other things, that the consistent government salaries and lower crime are important. Possibly, but many will say they would rather be mugged than bored to death. Seriously, upwards of 20% of the whole country lives in and around  Toronto for reasons that a abundantly clear to most of them.    MoneySense does not mention the Ottawa weather either.  We smell an agenda here.

Woman pulled smiling from crushed car

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An almost unbelievable story of good luck unfolded on Highway 403 at Dundas Street in Mississauga today. A 38-year-old Oakville woman emerged from a vehicle that had been crumpled like a candy wrapper under a tractor trailer. More than that, she was talking to rescuers and smiling as they worked for more than two hours to free her. The woman was taken to  St. Michael’s Hospital by air  and later released with minor injuries. Sergeant Dave Woodford from Ontario Provincial Police said the reason the car did not get completely crushed is because it landed in a deep ditch. He said it looked as if the truck driver took the turn to quickly. He said the  car was in front and to the right of the truck and that as the truck took the curve and lost control, the car got pushed into the ditch. 

Library issue is a weary lament

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Leaside library on McRae. Drive and other local libraries are locked today as the strike by some 2300 library workers takes its course. Many employees are walking with pickets and preparing for a rally at noon at City Hall. The issue, as reported n the media, is concern for part time workers.  The specifics of this concern have gone unreported. Perhaps news people have no interest in what the library workers union wants. But anyone familiar with business will know that part time employment is a boon to many people who don’t want to work full time. Some part time workers may wish to work more — or full -time — some part time people will wish to work less. The nature of part time work is just that. It isn’t a career.  It ends and begins usually at the behest of the part time worker. We are all for protection of these people but what does that mean? Paying them when they’re not at work? Doubling their salaries? Who knows? 

Historic lamps in Moore Park and Rosedale

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The vandalizing of the historic street lamps (right) on Rose Park Drive in Moore Park has once again raised the question of the City’s commitment to these original adornments of the neighborhood. They were installed by the long since defunct firm of Reid and Brown. Curiously, the same light standards on Rosedale’s Chestnut Park Drive (left) have been lovingly restored. In the recent acts of vandalism, most of the eight standards on Rose Park had their globes broken. But beyond this, the Moore Park lamps suffer general decline and neglect. On Chestnut Park the lamps are greatly loved and they show it. Note the lamps have not one but two new footings — one of concrete and one of steel. It isn’t clear why this difference exists. It may be that the restoration work on the Rosedale street lamps was done by public subscription.

Vault keeps coffee secure at new Starbucks

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The new Starbucks at Eglinton Ave E  and Laird Drive has opened this weekend. It’s a pleasant little place located in the old Canada Trust TD Bank building. One distinguishing feature is the bank vault which as one barista said “keeps the coffee secure.” Starbucks humour. Meanwhile, the other new Starbucks at Mt Plesasant Rd and Soudan Ave is coming along and should be open shortly. 

“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.