Rossi poster from 2010 “degrading to Italians”

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The Toronto City Hall press gallery has been asked to take down a provocative campaign poster that describes one time mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi as a “Goodfella” following a human rights complaint. Press gallery president David Nickle received the request verbally from a staff member in the city’s real estate division on Tuesday. Someone apparently saw the poster, which hangs in space that is rented by various news organizations, from the hallway and lodged a complaint with the equity, diversity and human rights unit in the city manager’s office. According to an email synopsis from city staff, the complainant believes the campaign memorabilia to be “degrading and derogatory to people of Italian descent.” The Goodfella ad was part of a series of Rossi campaign posters that looked like they were for a movie about the Mafia and used tag lines such as “wise guy” and “bocce balls.” The candidate, a first generation Italian-Canadian, said at the time that he sought to “turn the stereotype on its head” and capture the attention of voters. The ads failed to boost his polling numbers, however, and he dropped out in the waning days of the campaign. Nickle told the National Post that the press gallery will keep the poster up for now, but has closed the door so anyone walking by cannot see it. “It’s fair to say that we question whether this is actually an offensive piece of material,” he said.

Rogers declares end to TV bundles

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Rogers Communications is going to let subscribers buy their TV channels on an a la carte basis. Giving in to pressure from the CRTC, subscribers will be able to start with a so-called “skinny” package and add channels at will for a personalised channel lineup. “We think this Rogers-first is a very positive step forward for the industry and for consumers,” Rogers chief marketing officer, John Boynton, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with our content providers to measure the results of this trial to ensure it works for everyone.” Viewers in London, Ont., will be part of a four-month trial for the so-called “pick and pay” cable service. Starting with a baseline package of must-carry and other standard channels for $20 per month, users can then add on additional channels in groups of 15, 20 or 30.

Concrete down halfway to Fleming

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Starting at Millwood Rd. workers have ripped up the inside section of sidewalk (next to the stores) and by Thursday noon are closing in on Fleming Crescent. Concrete has been laid for a distance of almost halfway to Fleming. Some scenes show (upper Left) Badali’s, upper right, the view north from the Mad Italian’s “patio”.Below left, looking north from Rosie’s at the drying cement and lower right, the view south as concrete is trowelled into place in front of Our Clothes Friend.

“Don’t sell the telephone stock””

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The old joke used to be that a dying man’s last words to his wife were: “Don’t sell the telephone stock.” In the case of Bell Canada, it may have seemed for a while that this advice wasn’t too good. But, the aggressive company (some use other language) has turned into a real money maker. Buoyed up by results from the CTV Network and the addition of more smartphone subscribers, BCE reported a 41 per cent increase in third-quarter profit today and raised its earnings guidance. It is the biggest telecommunications company, making $642 million in the most recent quarter (83 cents a share), compared to last year’s Q3 profit of $454 million (60 cents a share).

Leaside Centre owner buys Sheppard Centre

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RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, owners of the RioCan Leaside Centre at Eglinton Ave E and Laird Drive, have partnered with KingSett Capital to buy the Sheppard Centre in North York from Standard Life for $218 million. The Sheppard Centre is a premier retail, office and residential complex located at the corner of Yonge Street and Sheppard Ave. RioCan owns and manages Canada’s largest portfolio of shopping centres with ownership interests in a portfolio of 314 retail properties in Canada and the United States. KingSett is a private equity real estate investment business with assets under management of more than $3.5 billion.

Holiday window at Homefront on Eglinton

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We’ve never been prouder of a holiday window as we are of this spectacular offering by our own Franca Panetta. It is a silver, mauve and purple dream with turquoise highlights. Our Homefront Fairy sits in holiday splendor among some exciting over-sized serving pieces. Her toe is tickling the large aluminum alloy cake stand in the centre. On her other side is a hammered stainless steel pedestal bowl. It’s just the thing for ice and Champagne or fine Chablis perhaps. Come in soon to see all the dramatic things we have in stock at Homefront. Also coming later this week at the Bayview store.

Sidewalk work continues into rush hour

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As promised by the City, work on the new sidewalks of South Bayview is going on into the rush hour. Longer hours of work give promise of a shorter overall time for the work to be finished. Tuesday saw rip up and extensive cutting north from Millwood Rd. Upper left, pedestrians had to weather nasty concrete dust from time to time as the saws sliced breaking points for the hoe (upper and lower right). Lower left we see the discarded tree boxes. They will be replaced later with new trees whose roots will grow in underground containers.

Loblaws to sell mobile phones in 200 kiosks

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As was telegraphed here September 17, Loblaws is going to open mobile phone kiosks in its stores. The grocery giant has decided it can also be a player in mobile phone retailing. Loblaws will announce that it is installing 100 telecom kiosks this year another 100 in 2012. As our story on this suggested, Loblaws has been on a hiring program in order to find trained staff for this project. The plan Loblaws expands the its offering of more than 50 handsets, mostly smart phones and tablets, compared with 27 mobile models currently in the stores. “Our goal is to become the biggest third-party retailer by 2013 selling these mobile services,” said Maria Forlini.