Rosedale’s largest employer? We’ll bet Summerhill Market

People know Summerhill Market at 446 Summerhill and 1054 Mt. Pleasant for the quality prepared dishes, bakery, delicatessen and meat selection. But it is labour intensive work making shrimp salad, devilled eggs, oven-ready meals and dozens of other specialty items. It is one reason why Summerhill employs some 220 people maintaining its operations and serving the public seven days a week. Co-owner Brad McMullen (with sister Christy) was saying recently that not many people think about the impact of his long-time family store on the local economy. He’s proud of it and rightly so. Summerhill has received permits to proceed with expansion at its Summerhill Ave. location where parking will be expanded and an outdoor market and gazebo will be added. The firm has also purchased a 20,000 square foot building on Railside Rd. off Lawrence Ave E. for preparation and stock storage. It will give Summerhill a little elbow room at the Rosedale location. Part of the Summerhill strategy to meet changing times is an enhanced website offering online shopping within the grocer’s catering, floral and gift basket departments. This is in addition to the online grocery shopping service offered through a partnership with the enterprising Instabuggy firm, which also delivers wine and liquor. Summerhill Market expanded parking to proceed this fall

Terry McDonough found joy singing in St. Augustine choir

A funeral service has been held at St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church on Bayview Ave. for Terry McDonough who died August 21 of cancer. Mr. McDonough was a member of the choir at the St. Augustine and his family records that he received endless joy in the music along with new-found friends at the services. His obituary is at the site of the Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles – Newbigging Chapel where it is given that was born in 1953.

Things seen today in South Bayview and from back then

The Leaside Skating Club is determined to flush out every potential Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to its registrations this year. Conduct yourself accordingly, as the lawyers might say.  In Thorncliffe Park, Saturday sees the 21st Century Square event on again at Burgess Park. Below that, a reminder of the Main Squared Festival this weekend at Main St. and Danforth Ave. Then, for the way-back a machine gang, there is this black and white railway buff post of a steam train carrying a shipment of cars made by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company of Gloucester, England. They’re on the belt line destined for the Dansville yard where staff was preparing to open the Yonge subway. The original Red Rockets in 1954.

SUV vs Pole at Rosedale’s Crescent Rd. and South Dr.

They called this situation ovenright “SUV vs Pole.” It was at Crescent Rd. and South Drive with no serious injuries.

Bayview landlord says heritage move “like confiscation”

Bayview Ave. landlord Danielle Goldstein says the City’s move to mass induct hundreds of  low-rise commercial buildings on streets like Bayview and Mt. Pleasant Rd. into the heritage registry is like confiscation of the buildings. She raises the question asked by many about the surprise decision to name 258 such storefronts: is this about historic places or City-wide plans to slow development? The low-rise nature of many neighborhoods, like South Bayview, is highly valued by many. They think of municipalities like Paris and Athens, where “skyscraper” is a dirty word. Saturday, CBC writer David Rieti has comments both from Goldstein and Josh Matlow (Ward 22) who is well known for his concern about the destruction — sometimes tricky demolitions — of historic buildings and the impact of tower development on residential areas nearby. Kristen Wong-Tam (Ward 27) has called for a development moratorium after what think is an infamous explosion of glass towers downtown. CBC

Port Perry patients flee fire to Oshawa with Toronto EMS

As reported by Durham newsman Colin Williamson, patients from the fire-stricken Lakeridge Health Port Perry were taken by Toronto Paramedics by bus from the Lake Scugog hospital to Oshawa for accommodation. The drama started when fire started by construction work on the roof, filled the hospital with smoke. Patients were evacuated out into what was luckily a warm day. They are seen in a picture above taken by the Scugog Professional Firefighters Association. No injuries are reported.

Chef Daniel Wong fires up 13 flavours of Crème Brûlée

Chef Daniel Wong has what sounds like a fun twist on the old after-entre favorite Crème Brûlée. He’s making 13 flavours of the licentious French dessert stand-by. One option is vegan, three are alcohol-based and then there’s Asian flavours like pandan and coconut. His new place, Craque de Crème, is at 1360 Bathurst Street south of St. Clair. Phone him at 647-699-8233. The above insert from City News seems to visit more than one place, at least on video, so don’t get confused. Wong is an inventive guy.

Measles flies into Toronto from London on British Airways

It appears the measles has flown into Toronto on a British Airways flight (BA0099) on August 19.  A single case has been confirmed and Toronto Public Health is concerned that an unknown number of people were exposed to that patient.  There could have been exposure at Toronto Pearson Terminal 3 as well as at a local bar, Tennessee Tavern on Queen St. West, on the same date between the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Then, when the patient realized there was a problem, some patients in part of St Joseph’s Health Centre Emergency Department could have been exposed from August 22 to 24. as well as at St. Joseph’s Health Centre Diagnostic Imaging on August 23. Public health is advising people who may have been exposed to check to see if their measles vaccination is up to date and to watch for symptoms including fever, cold-like symptoms and sore eyes. Anyone exposed at St. Joseph’s between August 23 and 24 can get a vaccine shot on Saturday, August 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Etobicoke Civic Centre located at 399 The West Mall.

G7 meet will try to elude riots in rural La Malbaie, Quebec

The G7 meeting to be hosted by Canada next year will be far from the easily-reached urban centres where it has been beset by rioting vandals and police haters on both sides of the Atlantic. Prime Minister Trudeau said today the event will take place June 8 and 9 some 40 km. east of Quebec City in rural La Malbaie in the Charlevoix Region  The G7 brings together seven of the world’s biggest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is traditionally the scene of enormous protest which becomes the focus of any news. There is not much news out of the meeting itself except staged events and group pictures.

IS X A SEX?

Ever forward-looking Canada can’t move fast enough for activists who want to see that silly old Adam and Eve thing banished forever. The government announced Friday it will soon be possible to mark X to express one’s gender (or at least not state it) by marking an X on passport applications. M and F will continue to be available but there is a keening cry for removal of those two old monickers from activist Fran Forsberg of Saskatoon. Just so you know. CBC

Amazon vows to cut prices at Whole Foods starting Monday

Amazon takes ownership of Whole Food on Monday and it has promised to lower prices as soon as it is in charge, according to Bloomberg News. Whether it can do so in a way that makes an immediate difference in the amount of business done by a store like the one at 1860 Bayview Ave. is an open question. Analysts have pointed out that lower prices won’t lower the rent or fixed costs. But it will be another margin-squeezing element on the tight Toronto grocery scene.

Teens learn fairness, respect in police summer program

Some 150 young people graduated from the TPS Youth In Policing Initiative program Friday at a ceremony at police headquarters. They learned about policing and why it matters along with principles of respect and fairness. The participants come from designated Neighbourhood Improvement Areas and often struggle to find summer employment. They are paid $11.90 cents an hour for their participation in the eight week program. The ceremony heard from three valedictorians of the course, Hafsa Anwar, Jamilah Reeves and Aymun Kayka. In her remarks, Ms Reeves admitted she came into the program with biases. “That, however, changed in the last eight weeks,” she said. “The program freed me from those biases, opened my eyes and helped put me on a path to a bright future.” Reeves, who enters York University in the next two weeks, said the program was more than a summer job.  She called it a  “lifetime experience”  that served as a stepping stone. “I learned how to effectively present myself in the company of others and also how to treat people with respect.”

Fire at Michael Power/St. Joseph High School Friday

Toronto Fire battled this smoky blaze at Michael Power/St. Joseph High School on Eringate Drive in Etobicoke Friday morning. It was extinguished within an hour and there are no reports of injuries.