Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada

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Saturday, February 12, 2011, is Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada, and bank employees will be wearing pins to mark the occasion and inviting customers to consider saving plans which help put away money for their kids hockey equipment. At the Scotiabank on Bayview, opposite Belsize, the place is decorated with handsome Hockey Day jerseys (right) shown by Katy. The day is marked by pretty much non-stop hockey on CBC-TV sponsored by the bank. Celebrations will focus on Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, the epicentre of the hockey spirit in Canada as THIS CBC VIDEO at our associated blog, The Planet Guys, shows.

Water main break on Brendan Road

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A broken main has caused severe flooding along Brendan Rd in Bennington Heights Friday. The repair effort, including many pieces of equipment, backed up traffic on Moore Ave (upper left). At one point, eastbound traffic was being re-directed into the westbound lanes. The flooding turned Brendan into a frigid pond, which except for the current of the City’s pumping system, would have been an instant skating rink.

No drinking jokes please, we’re Irish

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Here is what Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, said at an Irish event last night. “I live in the neighborhood, right around the corner. Normally, when I walk by this building, there are a bunch of people that are totally inebriated hanging out the window. I know that’s a stereotype about the Irish, but nevertheless, we Jews around the corner think this.” As the subsequent news report said, many people in the crowd took it personally. The mayor had to apologize. We guess he hit a nerve.

Nature Unleashed at the Science Centre

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The Ontario Science Centre is launching a Spring exhibit that will shake the ground under your feet. Nature Unleashed explores natural disasters — the kind that happen every day — from earthquakes such as the one in Haiti, to the floods in Australia. The exhibit runs from February 11, 2010 (that’s tomorrow) to May 1, 2011. Visitors will get to build their own volcano, experience what it feels like to be inside a tornado, measure the magnitude of earthquakes by stomping, and trigger underwater earthquakes to create a tsunami.

Will CTV be “Canada’s fastest network”

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Canadians must be asking themselves today whether the CTV Network is really going to be run by BCE. The lumbering telecom goliath seems bent on a mission to permanently destroy its reputation. To be charitable, its malfeasances and mistakes, are careless to say the least. Now BCE has been caught using a faulty Internet monitoring device that has overcharged customers. Before that it was utterly irregular cold calling which netted a huge fine from the CRTC. Will such unwelcome techniques soon appear on TV? Will CTV’s new slogan be “Canada’s fastest network?” Will Lisa LaFlamme have to make harassing calls? Will local news be out sourced to Mumbai? A whole new media world awaits.

Lower prices for Emma Bridgewater goods

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The continued strength of the Canadian dollar against the British pound has led to a reduction in prices of certain goods made in the United Kingdom. British goods are frequently known for higher prices but they are desirable just the same. The dollar is at 1.607 to the pound and some stores, including Homefront, have reduced prices accordingly. All prices on the well known Emma Bridgewater dishes for example have been reduced by $2 to $5. It is an extensive line made in the traditional china making centre of England, Stoke- on-Trent.

Aldo Settimi on Omni TV

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Aldo Settimi was right at home in front of the microphone today at the Mad Italian. Settimi has a long and distinguished political career in Italy as a member of the Democratic Party, a major centre-left movement. He was President of the Province of Rome and a member of Parliament for two terms from 1994 to 2001. He has held numerous other public positions. Today reporters were seeking his view on the news that Prime Minister Berlusconi may face trial for his meetings with various young women, including a 17-year-old dancer. Berlusconi is leader of the People of Freedom political movement which he founded in 2009. It is generally centre-right.

Drilling down 300 feet on Bessborough

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The recent post on the Geothermal conversion taking place on Bessborough Drive has proven to be one of the most popular in recent days. A return visit found work in full swing. Three holes have been bored 300 feet into the earth. The contractor, Four Seasons Geothermal of Mississauga, says it might have gone down 600 feet if the property had permitted a larger drill. But, three holes at the shallower depth will provide lots of heat in the winter to keep the home warm. The contractor also spoke of cost, and the time required to return one’s investment. At $15 per square foot, it may take ten years. But if the property is heated with electricity at present, the time to return the cost will be more like five or six years. Anyone can do the arithmetic to find an estimated cost of this conversion by multiplying the square footage of his house by 15.

Mass exodus at CTV as Bell takes over

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Clockwise from upper left, Ivan Fecan, Susanne Boyce, Paul Gossling, Dawn Fell, Paul Sparkes, Alon Marcovici

Five high-profile members of CTV ‘s management will follow chief executive Ivan Fecan (upper left) out the door as BCE gets ready to take over. They include programming guru Susanne Boyce (upper centre) according to an internal memo obtained by The Globe and Mail. Mr. Fecan announced last summer that he will be leaving the company once BCE’s $1.3-billion deal to buy CTVglobemedia closes in early April. The departing executives are chief financial officer John Gossling (upper right) executive vice-president of corporate affairs Paul Sparkes (lower centre) Ms. Boyce, president of creative, content and channels; executive vice-president of digital media Alon Marcovici (lower left) who was promoted to an executive role less than six months ago; and Dawn Fell (lower right) the executive vice-president of human resources and operations. Wendy Freeman remains as head of news and current events programming, a position she was promoted to in January; and Chris Gordon stays on as head of radio and will be handling “a significant new radio initiative” in the spring, possibly the launch of the long-rumoured TSN branded network of stations. A BCE import and the new chief operating officer of CTVglobemedia, Kevin Crull, made the announcement about the changes to his team in an e-mail on Tuesday.