Learn a new language, gain a new skill or try something different By Heather Kelly Whether you call them resolutions, aspirations, or vows, most of us go into the new year intending to make this one better, do more of some things and less of others. We want to be inspired, reduce stress, learn something […]

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Invest in transit and public works, not roads and parking If all goes according to plan — and with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) it never does — Torontonians should enjoy time-based transfers starting in August. It’s great news for transit users but critics — who claim it’s an unfair subsidy — are livid. “How […]

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Can a park’s past set the tone for its future? By Nicholas Provart Fifty years ago, around the same time that the City of Toronto was planning the Spadina Expressway, urban planners had a bold vision for the area surrounded by Robert Street, Sussex Avenue, Bloor Street, and Spadina Avenue. The thought was to build […]

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This year’s annual holiday cover comes to us courtesy of the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery of the University of Toronto’s Art Museum. Winter Woods by Walter J. Phillips (1884-1963) is a 9.5 by 11 centimetre colour woodcut that is part of the Winter Woodcuts Portfolio. Born in Engand, Phillips was a Canadian painter and printmaker who […]

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Residents still concerned about BSUC proposal By Geremy Bordonaro Many community members remain unhappy with the proposed redevelopment of the Bloor Street United Church, even after the third — and final — community consultation in late November. [pullquote]“It’s a beautiful design but it’s just in the wrong place” —David Harrison, chair, Annex Residents’ Association[/pullquote] The plan calls for a […]

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Cheri DiNovo leaves politics for ministry at Trinity-St. Paul’s By Geremy Bordonaro After serving 11 years in the provincial legislature, the Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) is returning home to the Annex, where she will become the new minister for Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church, effective January 1. “It was time. I don’t think I’ve […]

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Kensington Market’s 28th annual winter solstice parade returns on December 21. Organized by Kensington-based Red Pepper Spectacle Arts and sponsored in part by the Kensington Market BIA and the Kensington Market Action Committee, the parade marks the returning of the light after the shortest day of the year, and features hand-made lanterns, theatrical scenarios, and […]

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City Manager Peter Wallace tried again, in vain, to alert members of city council to the threat posed by hedging the city’s budget against the apparent unrelenting strength of Toronto’s real estate market. The city has enjoyed explosive growth in revenue from the land transfer tax over the last ten years, and projections for next […]

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The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) of city council has been asked to help reduce the number of “doorings” — when a car door is opened into the path of an oncoming cyclist — in Toronto. Although this falls under the provincial jurisdiction of the Highway Traffic Act, one advocate believes the city needs […]

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A case for road tolls By Tim Grant Why is the idea of charging drivers for the use of roads something that provincial politicians steadfastly avoid? Twenty years ago, the then Premier Mike Harris downloaded the costs of maintaining the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway to the City of Toronto. Since that time, […]

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BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS Deals fell to the floor as the Honest Ed’s demolition continued with the dismantling of masonry, lumber, and steel. Originally divided by a city-owned alley called Honest Ed’s Way, the store’s sections were constructed very differently. Pictured here is the west annex, which was built on the houses that once stood there […]

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