George Linton has lifted the spirits of hospital patients and those living in seniors’ residences across the city, one song at a time.

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Bloor Street citizens have their say By Geremy Bordonaro The December 22 shutdown of Pacifico Life had us wondering: what do people think of having a marijuana dispensary in their neighbourhood? So, we hit Bloor Street on January 12, not too far from where Pacifico Life had been, to find out. We asked people what […]

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By Annemarie Brissenden Although it may seem from his last name that his future was pre-ordained, Brian Green’s career at the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation department really began as the result of a lark. Thirty-one years ago, he wrote a gardener’s test at the suggestion of his sister. When he passed, his […]

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By Annemarie Brissenden Founders of the popular Bloor-Borden farmers’ market are concerned that they will be unable to run the market for much longer if their provincial grants continue to decline. Now in its ninth year, the market operates every Wednesday until Oct. 19 from 3 to 7 p.m. out of the Green P parking […]

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Newcomer Kitchen a welcome taste of home By Geremy Bordonaro Imagine that you have been stuck in a hotel room. You were thrown from the comforts of your own home and now find yourself in an unfamiliar land. Nothing looks the same. No one speaks the same language. All you have is you and your […]

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Open Tuning festival returns to Seaton Village June 11 By Annemarie Brissenden It’s only been six months since Samantha Wynter got her instrument, but she’s already playing her first music festival. “I got a guitar this Christmas, and Amelia taught me how to play,” explains Wynter, who together with Amelia Murphy-Beaudoin will perform as Heart […]

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Celebrate the life and times of Anne Mirvish at the Anne Mirvish Gala at University College at the University of Toronto on Jan. 24. The gala is a fundraiser for the Anne Mirvish Performing Arts Scholarships, which support students who are studying the performing arts at the University of Toronto. Organized by two of Mirvish’s […]

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Preparations underway to settle Syrian refugees By Summer Reid and Annemarie Brissenden As waves of Syrian refugees continue to arrive at Toronto Pearson International Airport to great fanfare, grassroots organizations from the Annex are anxiously waiting to welcome the families they have sponsored as they continue to raise money and prepare for the new arrivals. […]

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Meeting the prohibitive cost of child care first-hand By Mike Layton It’s 5 a.m., it’s dark, and I just changed my baby’s diaper. Why won’t she go back to sleep? Is she hungry? She’s been fed. Maybe gassy? She’s been burped. What do I do now? Phoebe just celebrated her one-month birthday and our lives […]

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Was the street named for a tireless English abolitionist? By Annemarie Brissenden Harbord Street may have been named for an early nineteenth-century advocate of parliamentary reform and tireless crusader to end slavery, says a past board member of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. “I started asking the question a few years ago,” explains Wendy Smith. […]

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Acting on a progressive economic agenda By Chrystia Freeland It’s one of my favourite traditions: doing one final subway canvass the morning after an election. It’s an opportunity to connect with my constituents in person, and thank them for their support. Expressing my gratitude also reminds me of how privileged and honoured I am to […]

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Grassroots activism marks annual review By Annemarie Brissenden DEVELOPMENT DRIVES DENSITY DOWNTOWN When was the Annex deemed downtown? Although the question — asked at a community consultation about one of the many “vertical rooming houses” inching up the midtown skyline — remains unanswered, it underscores the tension between residents, who see their treasured neighbourhood as […]

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