32 search results for "coin of the year"

Cirque du Soleil themed flower show was a huge success

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Class # 66 “Cirque du Soleil” A Floor Design 1st prize
Class # 66 “Cirque du Soleil” A Floor Design 2nd prize
Class # 66 “Cirque du Soleil” A Floor Design 3rd prize
Class #68 “Balancing Act” 3rd prize
Class #73 “Acrobatics” A Multirhythmic Design 3rd prize (V)

Thank you to Bea Singh, Member Programme Committee, Milne House Garden Club for submitting this detailed recap of the Milne House Garden Club’s Annual Flower Show.

After a pause of two years due to Covid-19, Milne House Garden Club celebrated its first in person Annual Flower Show at the Toronto Botanical Garden, on May 19, 2022. And what a show it was!

Of the 54 members, 12 entered 175 exhibits in the Horticultural Division of the show and 18 members entered 40 exhibits in the Design Division of the show. Each exhibit was judged by an accredited and/or certified judge in good standing.

Competition was stiff, but the rewards were sweet for everyone whether they placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or received an ‘honorable mention’ for their exhibits. Special awards were also handed out for first place entries such as Best in Show, Judge’s Choice or Best Fresh Miniature.

The theme for this year’s Annual Flower Show was ‘Cirque du Soleil’.

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Cleanly-shaven PM, vax optimism seem to augur election

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All tidied up as seen Monday/CBC

Many are guessing a general election will occupy Canadians in September or October and our recently fully-shaved prime minister is one hint. As his term rolls on this fall, an election would also coincide with an uplift in spirits of people generally at the way vaccines have beaten back the C-19 threat. Among notable figures to watch is that of Mark Carney, former head of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. Will he run for the Liberals? Recent polling by the Angus Reid firm suggests the Liberals maintain a lead across the country but not as large as earlier this year. The CPC is shown to have pulled to within two percentage points of the Liberals (33-31) but the view of the new CPC leader Erin O’Toole apparently remains lacklustre for some.

Online bully will never extort a penny says Patrick Rocca

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A nasty Internet bully who has targeted realtor Patrick Rocca in the past is again demanding an enormous sum of money to stop a campaign of online harassment. It was two years ago that the same person demanded cash from Rocca and another Leaside man. He failed and went away for a while but now says he wants the equivalent of $500,000 in Canadian money paid in bitcoin. The “pay or die” campaign has a deadline of February 29. Previous deadlines were ignored so new ones were set. The desperate demands seem ridiculous because Rocca has no intention of paying anything. “I’ll never pay this individual a penny and I’m more driven than ever to identify the individual responsible. I won’t let things go away as I did two years ago,” said the real estate agent.

Consultant working with police to find extortionist

The harassment has taken the form of abusive email and fictionalized Instagram pages containing wild libels against Rocca and his son. The baseless posts have been quickly deleted by Instagram’s owner, Facebook. Police and a digital consultant who are helping Rocca think that the perpetrator may not realize the kind of trouble he will face when he’s arrested. He’s playing a dangerous game. “Ultimately, every move that someone makes on the internet leaves a trail of digital bread crumbs that we’ll be able to follow back to the person responsible,” says the consultant. “There have already been a few reckless missteps which have us pointed in a promising direction. We’re committed to working closely with law enforcement to do whatever we can to assist them in their investigation and do our part to identify the harasser.”

Paris watches in horror as flames rip Notre Dame Cathedral

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Fire has torn through the nearly 760-year-old medieval Catholic cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The devastation to both the building and its contents seems beyond calculation. The tower familiar to millions collapsed late Monday afternoon Paris time. French media quote the Paris fire brigade sources saying the fire is “potentially linked” to the renovation work. France 24 English LIVE. Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. (Wikipedia)

Coincidentally, a fire broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem just as flames ravaged the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Footage showing smoke and fire emerging from the roof of a structure known as the Marwani Prayer Room, or Solomon’s Stables, could be seen on social media. The Palestine News Agency, the official outlet of the Palestinian National Authority, cited a guard as saying Monday that “the fire broke out in the guard’s room outside the roof of the Marwani Prayer Room, and the fire brigade of the Islamic Waqf handled the matter successfully.”

High court decision on real estate data to come Thursday

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The end might be near for a seven-year battle that has kept the public from easily finding sales data for homes in the Greater Toronto Area. The Supreme Court of Canada said it will announce on Thursday morning whether it will hear an appeal from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) that would keep TREB’s members from publishing home sales data on their password-protected sites. TREB’s fight began in 2011 when the Competition Bureau, a federal watchdog designed to protect consumers by investigating business policies and mergers, challenged TREB’s policy preventing the publication of such information, saying it impedes competition and digital innovation — CTV

EU bans pesticide, pink bats and shining Hamilton Tomboy

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Protesters celebrate EU ban
Pink bats for mothers day
Cassie Levy of Hamilton

These stories are in the news Saturday. EU countries have decreed a total ban on the contentious pesticides known as neonicotinoids. All speculation aside, the alarming decline of bee populations seems to coincide directly with the use of this chemical. It has been a burning issue in Ontario for three years and late in 2017 the federal government said it will limit but not ban neonicotinoids. Centre, time for the pink bats at the Lousville Slugger plant. MLB teams will swing pink on Mother’s Day (May 13) to aid breast cancer research. At right is Cassie Levy, a self-styled Tomboy from Hamilton who has launched the role of Elsa in the Disney favorite Frozen. Her debut in New York has been well-received at the box office.

Video wheel live look at Council debating one-stop subway

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Toronto City Council is in full voice accompanied by head-scratching questions about just what it will cost to build the one-stop subway to the Scarborough Town Centre. And there are many other queries of the TTC Chief, Ciy Manager and Chief Planner. It’s live. On Wall Street, the Fearless Girl statue will stay where it is, looking at the big bull, for another year. Below that, CBC assays the unknowns awaiting the legalization of marijuana. And the British pound coin is now a 12-sided quid showing the English Rose, Scottish Thistle, Welsh Leek and the Northern Irish Shamrock.

Rotary Corn Roast good family fun, political back-slapper

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The Annual Leaside Rotary Club Corn Roast was well-attended Sunday afternoon. Tickets to the raffle were still three for $12 — a bargain even if you don’t win. The legions of children crowding Trace Manes Park were in good spirits — and why not — with the array of bouncy, slide and wheeled concessions to occupy them. Then, as democracy pretty much requires, politicians from the three levels of government were present mostly with tents to announce themselves. Rob Oliphant, MP for Don Valley West, might include an instructional segment on corn roasts in his seminars this fall about the will of the people. Premier Wynne was present and tweeted that she had run into her friend Rob Oliphant. Remarkable coincidence. In the tweet below, the Premier could well get out-ranked by those good-looking kids. Nice shot. Councillor Jon Burnside’s Ward 26 tent had a lineup. Was that about cotton candy? Well done to the Rotarians who organize this fine event each year and to the many sponsors. Thanks.

New BIA will take the name Bayview Leaside BIA

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Members present at the first meeting of the new business improvement area on South Bayview Ave. have voted to name their body the Bayview Leaside Business Improvement Area (BIA). The first general meeting of the new body was sparsely attended on this wet and cold Wednesday night. There were 28 members present in a large room at Leaside United Church containing in total perhaps 50 people. They included members of the public, City officials and the media. A sometimes meandering discussion of names led to a list of 13 suggestions including  South Bayview. In December this name received 80 percent of votes in an online poll opposite the name Bayview Leaside (the name chosen Wednesday).

At the meeting, members were provided with options such as Davisville Leaside, South Bayview Village and Shops of South Bayview. Someone suggested Town of Leaside BIA but this idea was disqualified on the recommendation of Michael Saunders, of the City Economic Development Office. In the end, Bayview Leaside received 17 votes out of the total of 28, with the remaining eleven scattered among the other names. South Bayview received no votes.

The new BIA’s Board of Management was nominated to City Council in one vote from a slate of members who stood to offer themselves: They are Stephen Betts, manager of the Canada Trust TD Bank, Grant Allardyce,  the Source Menswear, Trae Zammit, Smokin’ Cigar, Deborah Kuchme, Pagnello’s Antiques, Stanley Janecek, White House Meats, Simon Hanlon, McSorley’s Saloon and David Illiatovitch-Owen, de le mer fresh fish. It was explained by Mr. Saunders that the members now nominated will be confirmed at the pleasure of City Council and all being well, will serve a period of about three years and six months. That would coincide with the end of the term of City Council in 2018.

The proposed tentative budget of the BIA was approved at some $190,300 with preliminary provisions for such things as accommodation, part time staff (one) and early embellishments to the  street like flowers. The meeting was reminded of the $25,000 in funds ear-marked for a Bayview BIA by the Leaside Property Owners Association (LPOA). These are funds obtained as a partial settlement from the SmartCentres Corporation for desisting in opposition to the so-called “Walmart Plaza” now under construction between Vanderhoof Ave. and Wicksteed Ave. east of Laird Drive

 Councillor John Burnside was present and spoke briefly and Chloe Richer, constituency assistant to Councilor Josh Matlow also spoke on Mr. Matlow’s behalf. He had a previous commitment. Also present was Ray Gork, of the Leaside Paint Centre and Paul Carreira of Carreira Casuals.

Moms-to-Be closing on Bayview Ave and Research Rd

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moms

Karen Becker

Moms-to-Be-and-More will close on Bayview Ave on Sunday, May 3, its owner Karen Becker has announced. In a statement, Ms Becker said the large multi-store shop at Bayview and Manor Rd. will close Sunday May, 3, 2015. The satellite location on Research Rd will close on July 5, 2015. Recently the company said it was downsizing by letting go two storefronts at the north end of its large premises. Over the years, the dynamic Ms Becker had parlayed the corner premises into a four storefront behemoth. In her statement she thanked clients, suppliers and staff “for being a huge part of the success of my store”. The Bayview location opened shortly after the turn of Y2K having seen both a Black’s Camera (before Blacks was owned by Telus) and a Mr. Sub (not Subway Sandwich) shop open and close in short order. In closing, Ms Becker said: “It has truly been an honour and pleasure to share in so many of my clients’ happiest moments. From baby’s first steps to first pregnancies, there have been too many amazing moments to mention and I now hold them in my heart as fond memories. I hope in turn we also hold a special place in the hearts of all of you.” It is perhaps coincidental that another childrens’ clothing store Never Grow Up is scheduled to open this Spring at the location previously held for many years by Newsome Photography

Branksome Athletics Centre nearing completion

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The Branksome Hall Athletics and Wellness Centre is nearing completion at Mount Pleasant Road and Elm Ave. This splendid complex of specialized facilities for students and alumnae is generating much excitement and anticipation on the Rosedale campus and in the community. Julia Drake, executive director of communications and marketing for the school says the official opening will probably slip into January of 2015. This will permit what Branksome is calling “a year of firsts” which will coincide with the beginning of the second semester. Over the months, the students and school families will celebrate milestones such as the first spin around the dance studio, the first basketball game in the gym and the first pizza that comes out of the new pizza oven. The impressive centre contains a gymnasium, two saltwater pools, yoga and dance studios, a high-performance fitness centre, meeting spaces, an erg room for rowers and a dining hall that seats 300. The building takes advantage of the especially beautiful setting of the building where rooftop terraces and a green roof will overlook the Rosedale Valley ravine.  In updating the status of the centre Ms Drake recalled the distinction it received in December 2013 when the design was recognized with the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. “We appreciate the amazing creativity and attention to detail of our architects, MacLennan, Jaunkalns Miller Architects,” she said. “We are also grateful to our construction firm, Gillam Group, which worked hard to try to keep us on schedule during one of the harshest Toronto winters I can remember.” Artists renderings from top: Finished view from Mount Pleasant and Elm Ave., the Dining Court Hearth, the Fitness and Competition Pools and the Stairway to the Rooftop Terrace.