This nice video recalls the important work of Dr. Tom Pashby as well as the large donation made by his family’s foundation to safety at the Leaside Memorial Community Arena. Doc Pashby Fund to make $500,000 gift to Leaside Gardens
The new Leaside Hockey Rink has just been named after my late Grandfather. Inspiring story of dedication to sports. https://t.co/vgWqb5e1MJ
— Narrative Financial Services Inc. (@NarrativeFinSer) January 17, 2017
Shocking costs in veterinarian bills — $6,000 it is said — followed the purchase of a dog that needed much health care even though the seller assured this Toronto couple the dog was fit and fully certified by an animal doctor. CBC
Your alternate world contains the unveiling of a life-sized statue of Cilla Black in Liverpool. The hometown girl and friend of the Beatles rose from cloakroom clerk at the Cavern Club to singer and presenter. Next, the eyeglass market tightened up yesterday as Luxotica owner Leonardo Del Vecchio bought the French lense producer Essilor. In Rome. McDonald’s is beating back criticism of its store in the Vatican by feeding the poor. And in part of the U.S., Goat Yoga is the thing. Robin Meade renders that one below.
The Fraser Report think tank says that shutting down all of Ontario’s coal-fired power plants didn’t change the level of pollution much and certainly didn’t justify the cost of the project to consumers. The conservative philosophy think tank says just using pollution scrubbing technology would have had the same effect. CBC says the report estimates that air pollution levels have decreased slightly as a result of shutting down the plants in Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa, but installing “scrubbers” on the plants would have been cheaper and have accomplished the same thing. The study, authored by Ross McKitrick and Elmira Aliakbari, specifically notes pollution reduction in Toronto and Hamilton was “not statistically significant” with regard to coal plant closures. They cite industrial pollution, emissions from natural gas plants and natural weather conditions as having a greater impact on pollution across the province.
Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area are under a freezing rain warning this morning. It is serious enough for both the public and separate school systems to cancel buses.Schools are open. Ice patches abound but there is hope this will give way to simple rain as the morning progresses.. CP24
There may be some freezing rain overnight and early Tuesday but rising temperatures should make it short.
Why are storefronts empty on South Bayview, Mt Pleasant Rd and other attractive midtown business districts? Mayor Tory suspects that many of these vacant shops are just property plays by their owners. Whatever the truth, Tory is campaigning to eliminate the approximately $22 million a year in tax rebates to landlords who control empty storefronts. He requires provincial approval to make the change. Landlords will see the issue differently. Business may be better than it was during the economic crisis of 2008 but things are certainly not back to the palmy days of 2000.
And while some landlords may play the tax loss game for profit it remains true that not every prospective tenant is worth the trouble. Too many stores wash out in 18 months if the business plan is based on a dream. Are rents too high? Sure. It is a fair comment that no one who can’t afford to buy the store should be in retail. In making his decision public, Tory said that from 2001 to 2013, the City handed out $367 million through its property tax rebate for vacant commercial and industrial buildings. Maybe half of that money went to businesses where property values are skyrocketing, he said. “We are subsidizing people to keep space empty that is increasing, almost hourly, in value,” Tory told reporters.
Certificate of Appreciation
Everyone appreciates the hard work done by the volunteer group known as the Bayview Leaside BIA Pixies. The Leaside Garden Society took the time to present them with an award saying so. The Certificate of Appreciation reads, “In grateful recognition of their tireless efforts to beautify Bayview Avenue in Leaside”.
A Japanese researcher, Isao Echizen, says it may be dangerous to make the peace sign. He is from the National Institute of Informatics (NIII) where research shows prints can be made “widely available”. But wait, Echizen also says “biometric jammers” or transparent stickers will block the theft of prints even by the highest resolution camera. We choose not to worry about this first-world matter rather than add transparent finger tip stickers to our morning routine. With BBC
The U13 girls of the Leaside Lightning team are the silver medalists from the weekend’s Ontario Volleyball Association Challenger Cup event over the weekend. The team belongs to the Leaside Volleyball Club. Nice going guys.
The inauguration of Donald Trump takes place Friday and they were rehearsing the ceremony Sunday. Trump’s stand-in for the run-through was Sgt. Major Greg Lowery, an army vocalist who was chosen for his height. It’s about the same as Donald Trump’s.
