Mayor Ford would have to be pretty arrogant to deny the Toronto Star access to municipal releases because it had published a story which was accurate in all respects. Of course, the mayor says the story the Star published about him was false. The Star says that it stands by its story (which is frequently a way for newspapers to say they aren’t going to retract no matter what). And while there may be an administrative duty on the mayor to give official releases to the Star, it is indisputable that there is very little attention being paid to Mr Ford’s complaint. The Star has cast Mr. Ford as a bully and invoked its renowned importance as the largest newspaper in Canada. This is unfortunate. It would do far better to try to reconcile its original story to agreed upon facts rather than wage its present pompous campaign. The Star is a hugely powerful organization that almost daily thunders its way to conclusions which fit its own special point of view. It should stand down on this campaign. At least send an emissary to the mayor and try to agree on the facts. The facts are supposed to be important to newspapers.
Removal of old trees in Moore Park
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The City’s accelerated program of tree removal was in full force in Moore Park today. Since the storm in August when maple trees came crashing down all over South Bayview, Toronto has been active identifying and removing older trees.
Andrew Coyne to join Postmedia
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Andrew Coyne has announced in an e-mail that he will be leaving Maclean’s to write a column for the Postmedia newspaper chain, starting in the new year. He said “an opportunity to write for a combined national readership of five million, three times a week, is too good to pass up.””It’s exceedingly hard to leave Maclean’s, which is a great magazine and an even better place to work. I wish Ken Whyte, Mark Stevenson and his team the very best,” Coyne wrote. “It’s an auspicious time to be joining Postmedia, which is on a roll these days.”
Young victim was working in the sex trade
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The suspicion was there the moment we heard that a young woman was found shot in an isolated area of Toronto. Now police say what was previously only whispered. Leanne Freeman, 23, of Winnipeg, was in Toronto working in the sex trade. Her body was found with severe injuries in the middle of Unwin Avenue, west of Leslie Street in Toronto’s port lands just after 1 a.m. Tuesday. At the same time, police have been careful to make it clear that they cannot confirm that Ms. Freeman’s occupation was directly related to her death. Facebook photo
Daylight breakin and theft on Belsize Drive
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TPS report: A resident of Belsize Drive reports that between 1030 hours and 1600 hours, on (Tuesday) November 29, 2011 unknown suspects gained entry into the premises by forcing a door. Removed was a quantity of jewellery and personal accessories.
Watch out for “Police Watch” (2)
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The strident man who calls shops and businesses to announce that he’s from “Police Watch” is at it again. We took a call today. We told you about this caller on July, 16, 2010 (here) when he was very aggressive. The call this time came from the same telephone number. It’s a 647 code with the pre-fix 722. Be on guard. The real police don’t know anything about this fellow. The pay website NumberInvestigator.com says that this number was issued by Rogers in Toronto. Here is the capsule provided by that site:
Phone Number: 4167225917
Owner Name: On File – Click Here
Most Current Address: On File – Click Here
Area: , ON (Ontario)
Exchange: 416-722 (Rogers Wireless Inc)
Phone Company: ROGERS WIRELESS INC
Switch: TOROON02AMD
Event of a lifetime as MLG re-born
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It’s was an event of a lifetime Wednesday as a national sports shrine was re-born as an exciting shopping and university recreation centre. The new Gardens is a gift from many public-spirited people and companies. A gift to our history, to the neighborhood and to the City. Left, a blue maple leaf hangs above the escalator to the upper level. It houses a Joe Fresh, an LCBO and other stores. Centre, Galen G Weston beams at the opening ceremony. Right, a customer discovers “centre ice” and loves it.
Rita DeMontis stickhandles through Loblaws
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Such fun. Veteran shopping reporter and now national food editor of the Sun, Rita Demontis, surveys the new Loblaws at the Gardens. She meets hockey legends, assays the Wall of Cheese and discovers there’s a spot marking the location of centre ice. She shops, she scores!
TSX through the roof to 471.61
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From the TMX site: The Toronto stock market surged more than 400 points Wednesday after the Bank of Canada and other major central banks took coordinated action to provide added support to a global financial system. The S&P TSX Composite climbed 471.61 points, or 4%, to 12,204.11 The TSX resource sector in particular benefited from steps by China, the world’s second biggest economy, to encourage growth. Canada’s central bank is joining the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Swiss National Bank “to enhance their capacity to provide liquidity support to the global financial system.” Story
High court to drug nut: Drop Dead!
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Canada’s Supreme Court has decided that a Quebec man can’t use a “drug-induced psychotic state” as an excuse for committing a violent crime. It’s a tawdry tale but somehow the court’s sobriety-induced sanity makes it worth it. National Post link corrected
OMB decision on 1860 Bayview released
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A final decision on the development at 1860 Bayview Ave. at Broadway Ave has been released by the Ontario Municipal Board. There will not be any surprises for those who have followed the matter. The developer, Starbank Developments 1860 Corp., acquiesced to residents concerns relating to traffic. There will be road-widening along both Bayview and Broadway and a northbound left-turn lane “to direct traffic onto the site.” Elsewhere, there would be “various restrictions on turning notably to limit traffic into the neighbouring residential community.” It appears from a diagram that there will be an entrance and/or exit into the in-building parking on Bayview with a similar feature on Broadway. There will be, it is said, 193 parking spaces. The OMB decision quotes Starbanks as saying that while parking “would not (conform) to the 1960’s standards foreseen in the by-law, parking spaces would be ample in light of today’s actual parking requirements, with the added feature of ‘generous drive aisle width’ to make people very comfortable’ parking inside.” Diagram
Jewellery mssing from Rosedale home
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TPS report: A resident of McKenzie Avenue, reports that between March 2011 and September 2011, unknown suspect(s) removed a quantity of jewellery from the premises.
