Celebrations include gala dinner, auction, and school tours  Read more

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Disposable diapers get taken out of green bin, sent to landfill

By Terri Chu

When people see my little one in a cloth diaper, I inevitably get questions about how I like them, what kind I use, and how eco-friendly they really are. While I try to answer most of them with grace, there’s one that’s been getting my goat and the City of Toronto really needs to educate new parents better.  Read more

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Harbord Village’s Rory “Gus” Sinclair stands for a moment of silence during the University of Toronto’s Service of Remembrance on Nov. 11. Held annually at the foot of the Soldiers’ Tower, the service — during which the university community honours the faculty, staff, alumni, and students who fell during the First and Second World Wars and other conflicts — includes the singing of traditional hymns, the laying of wreaths, and readings, including In Flanders Fields, written by John McCrae, a university alumnus.

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Summer’s over but they can still grow indoors

Lisa Lomax, Gleaner News

In this reprint of an article from October 1997, landscape architect Bardi Vorster helps us identify which herbs we can bring indoors and enjoy long after the first frost.

By Bardi Vorster  Read more

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University-Rosedale candidates tackle refugee crisis, social justice issues

By Annemarie Brissenden

Two University-Rosedale all-candidates’ meetings hosted in the Annex were a study in contrasts.

The first, held on Oct. 2 and arranged by a consortium of residents’ and business associations in partnership with three United Church congregations, was very much a well-attended local affair that focused on the social justice issues that the area’s citizens are known for championing.  Read more

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The public was encouraged to participate in Shoes That Line the Lane by donating and hanging shoes to celebrate an important memory or person. Created by Cyril Williams, this Nuit Blanche interactive installation outside the Bata Shoe Museum focused on the rite, ritual, and tradition of hanging shoes off wires in public spaces. Neiland Brissenden, Gleaner News

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Toronto Heritage recognizes HVRA Storyposts

This Toronto Legacy Plaque on Bloor Street honours Anna Russell, the “funniest woman on the opera stage”, says Grace Westcott, chair of the Toronto Legacy Project. The group has been nominated for a 2015 Heritage Toronto Award, one of several Annex-related nominees this year. Brian Burchell, Gleaner News  Read more

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The Liberal and New Democratic Party (NDP) candidates for Spadina-Fort York (the southern half of what was formerly Trinity-Spadina) have come out strongly against any plan to expand the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Sitting member of Parliament (MP) Adam Vaughan, and former MP Olivia Chow, who are running in Spadina-Fort York, have both said the plan to bring jets to Billy Bishop would be grounded should either of their parties form a federal government after the election Oct. 19.  Read more

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Although gun crime is high in the entertainment district, neighbourhood crime and crime incidents related to gang activity is down, reported Staff Superintendent Francis Bergen of the Toronto Police Service at a 14 Division Community Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) meeting on Sept. 14.  Read more

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A jumble of stories about an area lost to time

By Annemarie Brissenden

Before there was Ed Mirvish and his free turkey giveaways, there was Merle Foster and her annual Christmas trees; parties the sculptor would throw in St. John’s Ward for children who would have little other pleasure during the holiday season.  Read more

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It’s a myth that only the Conservatives can be trusted with managing the economy.  Read more

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I read the September Gleaner article “A haven for children’s literature”, on the 20^th anniversary of the Lillian H. Smith library, and I was instantly brought home to my old neighbourhood in Toronto. I remember fondly afternoons spent reading a book in the garden behind the library. Or wintry afternoons spent roaming through the stacks, looking for something of interest. Of particular interest to me was the mention that this library was a descendant of the first free-standing library in the Commonwealth. Living as I do in the UK right now, where we have seen swaths of libraries closed and boarded up due to cutbacks, it was especially delightful to note that Lillian H. Smith is doing so well. Congratulations to the dedicated staff who have created such a welcoming, warm space in Toronto.  Read more

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The problem is that the function of arterials is still seen only as moving cars and trucks

By Joe Cressy and Albert Koehl

Residents of downtown Toronto will soon start to notice an important change on their streets — a change that is going to make life safer for all our neighbourhoods. In the coming months, the speed limit on every single residential street in downtown Toronto will be lowered to 30 km/h.  Read more

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