The arching contraption stretching from one end of the lot to the other at 140 Hanna Ave. is — what? Why, it’s a concrete delivery system of course. It’s sending wet cement from the mixer out front (left) all the way to the rear (right) where a guy is directing it into forms for the foundation. Quite a show.
A noon-hour tussle Tuesday between a bus and car at Millwood Rd and Sutherland slowed things down a bit. The 88 bus was apparently making a left onto Sutherland. No one hurt. As many as 800,000 childrens car seats by Dorel Juvenile Group are being voluntarily recalled Transport Canada received 10 complaints that the design’s harness system could loosen during normal use.
Many months ago when the weather was really nice, Joey the Yorkshire Terrier (left) ran into Dakota the Golden Lab on South Bayview. We recalled Joey’s winning way of saying hello as we pondered this winter weather. Hope you like the flashback. 
According to a survey by the computer security software maker Norton, Toronto and Missisauga are have the highest per capita loss or theft of cell phones in the country. The figure is 48%. Remarkable. Nationally, the survey shows 33% of Canadian consumers have either lost or had their phone stolen. The survey of 1,508 Canadian adults was conducted between September 24 and October 7, 2010 and found the following cities to have the highest Cell Phone Loss/Theft:
Toronto (Mississauga) – 48%
Montreal (Laval) – 32%
Vancouver (Surrey, Burnaby) – 31%
Calgary – 23%
Halifax – 17%
The survey does not break out stolen versus lost. The former figure would be of interest to Torontonians who hear daily of young people having their phone stolen on the street or in the subway.
The busy people at Castleton Homes are active at 48 Donlea Dr., having knocked down the two storey house shown at the right and as photographed by Google. Castleton does nice work. Neighbors will by now know just how high up this re-build will go. Note the surviving walls, including that of the garage. Frequently, although we do not know it in this case, walls are left standing to ensure that grandfathered aspects of the original construction are not subject to the current building code. It is a common practice.
Golf Town, a national chain of Canadian golf stores with one located on Laird Drive, is taking on the U.S. market. Golf Town Inc is a big-box retailer with headquarters in Markham. It will open several golf superstores in Massachusetts this year as it expands into the U.S.. The company said it is making a $25 million investment and creating 200 jobs in the Boston area, with five stores opening next month and one more in the fall. Among Golf Town’s 55 locations in Canada is one at 147 Laird in the Smart Centre. 
The currency exchange known as NIMA, at 1538 South Bayview, will open for business Tuesday morning. Today the owner, Hamid, was on site with cleaners and others getting the place ready for business. Hamid is an enterprising businessman who, among other things, owns eight Subway sandwich outlets in the Toronto area. His family operates a currency exchange similar to NIMA in Montreal. Hamid promises rates on currency exchange which will greatly undercut the banks, and deliver funds much more promptly. Hamid’s promise is that he will be able to offer most currencies immediately, in 24 hours at the latest. NIMA incidentally is the name of Hamid’s son. 
When they say this one is your dream home, it’s because you can only dream about owning it. And truthfully many people would probably pass on the chance to live in the 80-year-old stone mansion at 174 Teddington Park Avenue. But as you may have seen it’s been sold recently for $17.5 million to a European plutocrat who feels Toronto’s real estate market is stable. Absolutely, and we appreciate your help Sir in adding to that firmness. It’s worth noting, as the linked story reveals, that the sellers of the home severed a 100 by 190 lot from the property and thus earned themselves about $5 million clear on their complete dealing around 174 Teddington Park. So for the meantime, you may have to settle for something more like 60 Donegall which we told you a couple of days ago had sold last week in one day. The listed price was $1,398,000 and whispers have it that the actual sum paid was very close to that.
