Captain Owen Stanley (1811-1850) painted this watercolour based on drawings he made while on Sir George Back’s Arctic expedition in 1836 and 1837. He served on the HMS Terror, which almost a decade later would be lost after returning to the Arctic for the Franklin Expedition. Stanley was not part of the ill-fated voyage, having […]

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Phase one to include removal of fence By Annemarie Brissenden Plans are afoot to green the Annex campus of Monsignor Fraser College, but help — lots of help — is needed to raise the $300,000 it will cost to make that happen. Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustee Jo-Ann Davis (Ward 9, St. Paul’s, […]

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Putting the Indigenous land acknowledgement into practice By Clarrie Feinstein In September 2016, trustees at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) unanimously passed a motion to include an Indigenous land acknowledgement every morning before the singing of the national anthem. Introducing the acknowledgement is part of the Aboriginal Education Committee’s (AEC) mandate to decolonize Canadian […]

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The Scott Mission at Spadina Avenue and College Street opened a free toy store for parents of the city’s neediest children. From Nov. 28 to Dec. 9, registered clients of the Mission were able to shop for a bagful of new children’s items including books, sports equipment, puzzles, and games. The Mission has also provided […]

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On Nov. 25 the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (whose chair also publishes this newspaper) showcased its street revitalization plans at Markham House in Mirvish Village. The plans — expected to be implemented in 2018 — include converting public rights-of-way along Bloor Street into parkettes and a renewed tree inventory on the north side of […]

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Mirvish Village’s internationally-known comics and graphic novel retailer The Beguiling has already begun moving to its new location at 319 College St. Its sister store, Little Island Comics on Bathurst Street, will be closed. The store’s Peter Birkemoe says he expects to open the new location just before Christmas, and be fully operational by January. […]

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Pharmacists will be able to administer 13 common travel vaccines starting Dec. 15 announced Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s minister of health and long-term care, at Snowdon Pharmacy on Dec. 1. “Nobody wants to be scrambling to get into their doctor’s office while juggling all of the other things they need to do during the holiday […]

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READ MORE: CHATTER: Bells ring a perfect offering (October 2016) NEWS: Bikes blessed for another season (June 2016) FOCUS: An early advocate for bike lanes (June 2016) NEWS: Second phase of park revitalization to begin (May 2016) NEWS: Christie Pits renewal set to begin (July 2015)      

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Residents glimpse settlement offer By Brian Burchell In an effort to bring transparency to the Ontario Municipal Board’s (OMB) mediation process, Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) took the unusual step of bringing a developer’s confidential settlement offer to the community for comment before that offer is voted on by Toronto City Council. “You have an […]

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One Spadina Crescent integrates new into old By Annemarie Brissenden On a cool, crisp morning in early November,­ two architects in anticipation flit about a light-filled atrium like children on Christmas morning. Their excitement is palpable as they prepare to unveil a sneak peek of One Spadina Crescent, which for the past several years has […]

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System to provide more tools for responding to aggressive behaviour By Annemarie Brissenden After a year of public consultations, the City of Toronto’s Municipal Standards and Licensing Division (MS&L) will propose an amendment to the section of the Toronto Municipal Code that governs dogs and dog behaviour. “Primarily it’s about dog bites, and how the […]

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