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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An environmental case for less meat on the table By Terri Chu With the holidays behind us and some of us going vegetarian until we recover from the gluttony, it is a good time to reflect on the environmental and social impact of the meat on our table. As the environmental atrocities related to our […]

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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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Imagine an alternate reality where everyone speaks in quotes from Star Wars films. That’s the world Annex residents Mark McIntyre and Andrew Chapman — who describe it as “every fanboy’s fantasy” — have created in their upcoming film, Bar Wars, a live-action short that follows Chapman as he tries to pick up women. Most of […]

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Private school to renew lease for 50 years By Marielle Torrefranca The University of Toronto Schools (UTS), an independent high school for high achievers, is staving off eviction after reaching a 50-year lease renewal agreement with the University of Toronto. The deal is still dependent on the approval of U of T’s governing council and […]

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Notorious bar on month-to-month lease By Annemarie Brissenden Larry Sdao’s late November confirmation that he would not renew The Brunswick House’s lease has galvanized the community into a discussion about the future of the notorious landmark. It’s also become a catalyst for a broader discussion about the future of the neighbourhood, and revealed disconnects between […]

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Trap-Neuter-Return reduces feral feline population   By Summer Reid The City of Toronto has begun funding a program aimed at controlling its growing feral cat population. Under the Trap-Neuter-Return program, feral cats are trapped and brought to a veterinary clinic, where they are spayed or neutered and treated for any diseases, after which the cats […]

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Laneways untapped realm of urban design By Annemarie Brissenden How do you create a micro-retail hub that will attract shoppers, incubate new businesses, and be self-sustaining? Developers at Westbank Projects Corp. are hoping that Honest Ed’s Alley will embody the answer to that question. Planning for the new laneway, which is part of the company’s […]

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“Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people […]

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A Ward 20 year in review By Joe Cressy In Ward 20, we’ve had a busy year! We’ve worked hard on the dozens of development files that populate downtown, improving our green spaces, and building liveable communities — and we have a lot to be proud of. We worked together on 484 Spadina Ave. (The […]

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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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