The Annex Residents’ Association is launching a new award to recognize the efforts of a resident who contributed to making the community a better place. The Community Builder of the Year award will be given to a person living in the Annex who has made a significant contribution in improving heritage, education, development, or social justice in the area. Nominations are being accepted up until April 23. The prize recipient, along with all of the nominees, will be announced on April 27 during the association’s annual general meeting at Friends’ House. Nominate a candidate by emailing secretary@theara.org with the name and address of the person you are nominating, and your reason for nominating them. Please also include your own name and address.  Read more

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Community, city closer to approving Mirvish Village development

PHOTO COURTESY WESTBANK PROJECTS CORP.

By Geremy Bordonaro  Read more

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Tracking the rivers under our feet

PHOTO BY NEILAND BRISSENDEN/GLEANER NEWS FILE: The area’s lost rivers have long been a source of fascination for artists and writers. In this 2015 Nuit Blanche installation, To Love You Deeply I Look to My Mind’s Eye, visual artist Christine Dewancker and landscape designer Katie Strang tracked Garrison Creek through Bickford Park to explore the impact of an invisible geography — such as a lost river — on a community.  Read more

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Toronto for Everyone celebrates Honest Ed’s

By Geremy Bordonaro

For 68 years, Honest Ed’s welcomed all those who came to its doors. While the store made its last sale on the final day of 2016, it will play host to a grand wake before it closes its doors one last time. And organizers hope the celebration will be a tribute to the spirit of inclusivity that they say was a hallmark of the discount emporium.  Read more

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Site recommended for heritage list—impact on development unclear

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Heritage Preservation Services has recommended that 698 Spadina Ave., home to Ten Editions Bookstore, be protected.

By Annemarie Brissenden  Read more

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PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Dragon City Mall on Spadina Avenue was crowded wall-to-wall for the Chinatown BIA’s celebration of the Lunar New Year on Jan. 28. Representatives from the Toronto Police Service’s 14 Division joined councillors Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina), Adam Vaughan (MP, Spadina Fort York), and Han Dong (MPP, Trinity-Spadina) for a day of jubilation featuring a traditional dragon dance and inking of the dragon’s eyes.

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Landlord shuts Pacifico Life storefront

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Pacifico Life’s Bloor Street West location remains boarded up. Landlord Yong Jo gave Tamara Hirsh three hours to move her marijuana dispensary out of the building shortly before Christmas.

By Geremy Bordonaro  Read more

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PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: The Doctors’ (formerly Brunswick College) Parkette is almost ready for its official unveiling, despite being slightly behind schedule. (It had been targeted for completion in the fall.) The harsh reality of winter has brought the remaining work of clearing the construction equipment and removing the barricade into sharp relief. However, the new sleek, modern park is likely to be open just in time for our annual Grading our Greenspace summer feature.

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Without missing a beat, Freeman Real Estate and Spirit of Math spanned wing-on-wing to make sure one of the area’s holiday traditions would continue to fly. Thanks to their efforts, nearly 500 hundred turkeys flew off a giveaway table set up at 988 Bathurst St. last December.  Read more

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The Toronto Police Service is looking for three men in connection with an assault and robbery of a taxi driver near Russell and Robert streets on Dec. 18 at approximately 3 a.m.

It is alleged that the three men were picked up by the taxi a short distance away before asking to stop near the intersection. After stopping they reportedly robbed and assaulted the driver before fleeing.  Read more

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Rise attributed to Entertainment District

By Geremy Bordonaro

Rapid population growth and the proliferation of night clubs within the ever-expanding Entertainment District appear to have led to an increase in crime last year in 14 Division, but that trend has not migrated to the Annex.  Read more

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Craft beer pint of choice

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Fans of the Victory Café, which will soon close to make way for the Mirvish Village development, need not despair. Owner Nick Ndreka has opened the Crafty Coyote on Bloor Street West. The bar boasts the same selection of craft beer and rustic atmosphere, and emphasizes its location with a sign emblazoned with the words The Annex.  Read more

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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 they thought of the shutdown, and of dispensaries in general. What follows is a round-up of what we learned.  Read more

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