After years of opposition, many Annex residents relished the defeat of a proposed development on 64 Prince Arthur Ave. The proposal was brought to the City of Toronto twice – the first time as a 29-storey condominium building with luxury rentals, the second time as a 19-storey building. In both instances, the design was one of twisting steel and glass that would have stood in stark contrast to the low-rise brick and vine neighbourhood. At the end of January, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) wholly dismissed the developers’ appeal.  Read more

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Kensington Market considers a change

By Mary An

Priorities are shifting in Kensington Market, according to a recent motion adopted by Toronto City Council that declares the parking lot at 25 Bellevue Ave. a surplus location that could be used to build affordable housing.   Read more

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The most recent Ontario budget targets Toronto for over $177 million in annual provincial funding cuts. The targeted cuts are to Toronto’s programs in healthcare, child care, legal aid, tourism, and transit. In exchange, Premier Ford’s province-wide base gets a few shiny trinkets, and as a whole the budget still fails to resemble the kind of plan that could lead our province in the direction of fiscal balance.  Read more

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Newly-elected representatives say community is key

By Hannah Alberga

University-Rosedale’s newly-elected representatives plan to tackle their sprawling ward using a bottom-up approach. Some of the issues they’ll have to tackle include how to approach the recent handgun violence in Toronto, the affordable housing crises, and how the legalization of marijuana will affect public schools.  Read more

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Council cuts a concern

By Ellie Hayden

Local residents’ associations, business improvement areas, and community organizations are concerned that reducing Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 seats will wreak havoc with the business of the city in their neighbourhoods.  Read more

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Defending downtown democracy

Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) speaks at an emergency public meeting at Scadding Court Community Centre on August 13. ELLIE HAYDEN/GLEANER NEWS

By Ellie Hayden

“Shame!”

Hundreds of people huddled shoulder to shoulder shouted the rallying cry at an emergency public meeting on August 13 at the Scadding Court Community Centre.  Read more

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Improving Huron Street to make a positive impact

Huron Street Junior Public School’s Big Tree, a heritage tree that is about 150 years old, is at the centre of a plan to revitalize the schoolyard. School representatives want to create a welcoming space around the tree, clean up the tennis courts, and remove the fences. GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS

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Community outreach suffers with TDSB ban on SROs

COURTESY JESSICA LEE/TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD School Watch Officer Andrea Harris (front row, third from left) was part of a group of officers from 14 Division who celebrated the Day of Pink at Harbord Collegiate Institute in April 2016. The Day of Pink is a worldwide event aimed at raising awareness to stop discrimination, gender-based bullying, homophobia, and transphobia.

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Favourites include carol singing, winter solstice

We asked our local representatives how they spend the holidays. Councillors Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) and Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina), Toronto District School Board Trustee Ausma Malik (Ward 10, Trinity-Spadina), and our MPP Han Dong (Trinity-Spadina) shared their favourite traditions, their proudest achievement of the year, and what they are looking forward to working on in 2017. Also, the book they’re looking forward to reading in 2017! Answers compiled by Noelle Defour.  Read more

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TDSB repair backlog reflects critical state of infrastructure

By Annemarie Brissenden

With both the federal and provincial governments making significant investments in public infrastructure, the Ministry of Education’s release of information detailing the maintenance backlog in Ontario raises a serious question: are we doing all that we can to maintain our buildings once they are built? The evidence suggests that we are not, and that our penchant for funding new infrastructure while ignoring our existing capital assets is ringing in a very high cost.  Read more

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TDSB reverses Essex Junior and Senior Public School decision after community uproar

PHOTO BY CLARA FEINSTEIN: The TDSB’s July 2005 attempt to lease Essex Jr. and Sr. Public School (above) backfired in the face of public outcry.

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Trustees uneasy as further cuts made to schools

Provincial government recently froze funding approvals for more than a dozen TDSB building projects after the board went $11 million over budget on Regent Park’s Nelson Mandela Park Public School rebuild. Photo by Samina Esha.

By Samina Esha  Read more

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