This Spring to see BNN bloom anew as BNNBloomberg.ca

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BNN, the Business News Network, will soon become BNN Bloomberg in an arrangement which seems to be a cashless swap of access to airtime in exchange for content. It isn’t really said what is happening with the money except that there may staffing economies for Bell. It begins this Spring. The now nearly 20-year-old BNN started as Report on Business Television in 1999 and was later swallowed by Bell Media which changed the name to BNN. Canadian Press says that the deal will see the station add several hours of live evening television coverage of Asian markets, early morning programs from Europe and contributions from Bloomberg reporters. Officially, the new cocktail of Canadian and US originated material will be known as BNNBloomberg.ca. Canadian Press says the partnership will also see an increase in BNN’s syndicated radio content available for distribution to Bell Media radio stations, including rights to distribute the Bloomberg Radio livestream in Canada and a new channel on iHeartRadio.

BUSINESSES “BULLYING” STAFF OVER $14 MINIMUM

If ever businesses needed evidence of the “activist” credentials of the Ontario government they may see it this week as both the Premier and Labour Minister are sniping at well-known (and large) retailers who are allegedly “bullying” their employees over the higher cost of the increased minimum wage. The minister, Mr. Flynn has suggested that some unnamed employers are trying to keep tips, an illegal act in Ontario. “The minimum wage, I don’t believe, ever in history has been raised without the business community raising a fuss or concerns,” he said. “For some businesses to take it out on their workers, however, is completely unacceptable and it’s simply wrong. It’s the act of bullies that has no place in this province. I really hope that the businesses that have acted in this manner decide on sober second thought to reverse the decisions they’ve made.” There are stories that two eastern Ontario Tim Hortons franchises that are owned by the children of the company’s co-founders have cut paid breaks and forced employees to cover a bigger share of their benefits.

Is this “Rogers concierge” marriage on the rocks or what?

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The current Rogers Media commercial has provided The Bulldog with yet another insight into what is really happening. The 15-second spot shows the lady of the house (Toronto actress Dina Pino) asking her husband whether he wants to “pack all this” or “call and switch our phone and TV and Internet to the new house.” Silly man. But then he’s like all men in commercials. Stupid. And this is fine. Women are smarter than men. It’s nature. But having chosen to pack and been outsmarted again the husband learns just how bad things really are. His soul mate sashays out making it clear she will not be sharing the packing with Mr. Stupid. No. “Have fun” she chirps with more than a trace of sarcasm. We give this marriage a year at most.

Toronto Zoo celebrates first birth of 2018 with rhino calf

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Ashakiran, a 13-year-old female greater one-horned rhino, gave birth to a male calf on Thursday, January 4, 2018, at 11:04 am.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: City seeking Rabbit Cuddler

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12­:­36 Daily has alerted us to the City’s call for a Rabbit/Cat Cuddling Volunteer.  Seriously.

Opportunity Details: Volunteers play with the cats and rabbits in the shelters to help with their socialization skills. This is a rewarding experience for the volunteer, but also crucial to the physical and mental well-being of the animals in our care, and helps them get adopted.
Where: All Toronto Animal Services’ shelters.
Time Commitment: The amount of time is flexible based on the volunteer’s schedule, but the volunteer should be able to identify a consistent time slot they are able to come. (e.g. Every Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.). Volunteers are also required to attend an orientation and review the TAS Volunteer manual.
How to Apply: Contact 416-338-0934 or taspartnerships@toronto.ca.

Leaside’s connection to last night’s Golden Globe Awards

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Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale walked away with the 2018 Golden Globe for Best TV Series in the Drama category. While Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss won Best Actress in a Drama TV Series. Handmaid’s Tale is based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name. As many of you know, Ms. Atwood is a Leaside High School alumna, who graduated in 1957. During Moss’ Golden Globes speech, she dedicated a moment to pay tribute to the novel’s author, “this is for you and all of the women who came before you and after you who were brave enough to speak out against intolerance and injustice and to fight for equality and freedom in this world. We no longer live in the blank white spaces at the edge of print, we no longer live in the gaps between the stories, we are the story in print and we are writing the story ourselves.” We tip our hat to you, Ms Atwood!


Registration open for Loblaw’s $25 price fixing payback

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How to get your $25 Loblaw card after company’s bread price-fixing admission

BUT SHOULD YOU REGISTER?

Class action lawsuit lawyer says read the fine print first. “Make sure you’re not giving away any rights to take part in the class action in exchange for what is basically a coupon to a grocery store,” Joey Zukran, of Montreal-based LPC Avocat Inc. told CTV News Channel. CTV

McSorley’s closed until Tuesday afternoon for kitchen reno

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Windows are papered over at McSorley’s Saloon & Grill, 1544 Bayview Ave, and the notice reads: “WE ARE RENOVATING!!! We will be closed from Sunday January 7th @ 9PM until Tuesday January 9th @ 4PM.”

Looks like we’ll have to wait until Wednesday to order our soup & sandwich lunch special.

Power back on after major outage hit Toronto’s east end

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Thousands of customers were in the dark just after 6:00 am this morning, making the first day back to school after the Christmas break a challenging one. Snow was falling outside slowing traffic while the power outage halted the subway trains between Broadview and Woodbine stations. Toronto Hydro blamed Hydro One for this morning’s calamity. The outage affected approximately 20,000 customers from St. Clair Ave. E. to Lakeshore Blvd., and between Yonge St. and Victoria Park Ave. At approximately 8:15 am, power was restored and the TTC was able to resume subway service, leaving shuttle buses in place to make up for the packed rail cars.

Broken water main causes hazard, SB Bayview at Lawrence

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TTC announced this morning that the 352 Lawrence West bus is back to its regular routing.  So, it would appear that the water main has been repaired.  The southbound ramp from Bayview to Lawrence Avenue East was closed Sunday evening.  Toronto police had a vehicle blocking vehicles from accessing the ramp.  Large amounts of water had pooled on Bayview Avenue, causing cars to proceed with caution or risk hydroplaning.

TPS responds to 2 car collision at Mt. Pleasant and Belsize

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Beauties of Pompeii and Australian men in string bikinis

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Let’s skip back to 79 AD just before that bit of trouble hit the high-class community of Pompeii. Three more homes have been restored and opened to the public. Quite stunning. Also stunning is the sheer intelligence on display at a Cambridgeshire school where kids are recreating a bronze age community with the computer game Minecraft. Then we visit Australia where it is high summer and men are being encouraged to wear string bikinis. Sure. Finally, a visit to the Thai market that has a train running through it. Who could have imagined.




Memories of Jessica Chastain and Molly’s Game on Bayview

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Seeing trailers promoting Molly’s Game, now playing in Theatres, brings back memories of when the crew descended upon South Bayview to film some scenes of the feature film.  Good times.

GALLERY: Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game on Bayview