Huron Street resident and artist Lynne Dalgleish crafted this sign of hope to help neighbours and passers-by alike summon positive thoughts. Click here for the full story from the artist. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS READ MORE LOCAL COVID-19 COVERAGE: NEWS: Keep Your Rent campaign emerges (Apr. 2020) NEWS: ARA helps thy neighbour (Apr. 2020) FOCUS: Andrà […]

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A message from the artist By Lynne Dalgleish I had read about the “Andrà tutto bene” (everything will be alright) rainbow drawings that the people of Italy were putting in their windows to boost morale and delight children. I am a graphic recorder by profession which means that I capture, in real-time, the conversation, keynote […]

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Victory Cafe at 440 Bloor St. W. is open for take-out and is offering gourmet pizza, prepared in a wood fire oven, at roughly 40% off the usual price ($10.95). Owner Nick Ndreka declared: “this is an emergency and people need a break!” Some restaurants and bars, due to the nature of their business model, […]

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Bike repair shops take “essential” classification seriously By Brian Burchell News that the provincial government had declared bicycle repair shops an “essential service” during this crisis came as a welcome surprise to area bike shops and cyclists alike. The Gleaner contacted four of these businesses to find out how customers can support these important outlets and […]

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On February 21, members of all four Ontario Teacher’s Unions walked off the job leaving 2 million students out of school and leaving parents scrambling for childcare. Meanwhile, the Ontario government has been trying to sell citizens a story about striking teachers: that they are fat cats led by union boss “thugs” looking to gouge […]

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Tall structures can curb urban sprawl In May 2020, the Annex Gleaner celebrates 25 years of publishing. In celebration, we are republishing highlights of our past; this feature, Fear of High Buildings Groundless by city-building columnist Alfred Holden, is from May 2001. As thirteen developments are going up in the Annex area it appears Holden’s […]

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Emerging from the dust will be much greater density The Annex is by no means exempt from the building boom that sees the City of Toronto with more cranes in the sky than any other North American municipality. The Gleaner is distributed to homes from College Street in the south, Dupont to the north, Avenue […]

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Closure leaves customers shocked By Brian Burchell A bailiff, acting for the landlord, has changed the locks at Aroma Espresso Bar (500A Bloor St. W.) having posted a notice stating rent in arrears of $24,538.70. The landlord is Harbour Sixty Steakhouse Inc., and the first Aroma Cafe location in Canada was beloved by many members […]

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Creating a spot to gather Originally published in October of 2016 in anticipation of the granite installations in the Bloor Street Parkettes. By Geremy Bordonaro Humans have been moving stones to create monuments since at least prehistoric times, an act that is taking on a very local incarnation, thanks to the Bloor Annex Business Improvement […]

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Traditional and contemporary pieces win competition By Khyrsten Mieras New bike racks are being added to the Annex’s urban landscape after OCAD announced the winners of its design contest in mid-November. As part of the Bloor Street Revitalization Project, students in two OCAD classes took part in a competition last year to design bike racks […]

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After two Gleaner stories amplifying community concerns over the city’s neglect of Paul Martel Park (on Madison north of Bloor), city staff gave the green space a major clean-up and its long promised new sign. Residents are hopeful that park staff bring the planting beds back to life in the spring. —Brian Burchell/Gleaner News READ […]

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Don Cherry made it easy for Rogers’s-owned Sportsnet to fire him on Nov. 11. His attack on newcomers for not wearing symbols of allegiance (the poppy) advances a very non-Canadian agenda that is entirely contrary to the values that our soldiers and allies fought for over several wars.  It’s not so much that times have changed […]

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