Discover some of the area’s architectural treasures in the third annual tour of houses and cultural groups organized by the Annex Residents’ Association (ARA). The guided tours will run from noon to 4:30 p.m. on September 23, and explore streets bounded by Bedford and Avenue roads, and Prince Arthur and Bernard avenues. This year’s tours […]

[Read more →]

We believe that lost causes are the ones worth fighting for. A case in point is the City of Toronto’s battle against the premier’s Better Local Government Act, which cut Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 seats. It was a move that reinforced the provincial government’s wide-ranging powers over the city, powers that are […]

[Read more →]

In “The Pothole”, the award-winning 150th episode Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer adopts a one mile stretch of the Arthur Burghardt Expressway after running over an abandoned sewing machine. Kramer decides to make his newly adopted section of a highway a more luxurious experience for drivers by reducing four lanes to two extra-wide ones. What results — […]

[Read more →]

A tale of two residents’ associations By Geremy Bordonaro The City of Toronto opened a winter respite drop-in shelter in late January in a commercial building that’s not far from the site of a proposed condominium development opposed by local residents like Margaret Atwood and Galen Weston. Even though Atwood and other well-known residents of […]

[Read more →]

Ontario Municipal Board rules in favour of community By Geremy Bordonaro The future of 328 Dupont Street is up in the air after an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) decision placed strict limitations on a proposed development that would see three buildings rise on the site. The plan was to build a nine-storey building on the […]

[Read more →]

In South Africa, Cape Town is about to run out of fresh water. Authorities predict that Day Zero — the last time water will flow from a domestic tap — will hit on July 9, 2018. Three years of drought resulting from climate change has brought a city of 4 million to the brink of […]

[Read more →]

Media coverage saves program for now By Geremy Bordonaro A streak of luck, international media attention, and more than a little bit of hope have saved Newcomer Kitchen, which had its roots in Mirvish Village. The Gleaner first covered the initiative — which gave Syrian refugees temporarily housed in hotels the opportunity to make a home-cooked […]

[Read more →]

Just in time for the relentlessly extreme cold this winter, Kensington Community School on College Street is basking in warmth, thanks to two new energy-efficient boilers. The provincial government spent $358,000 on the installation, using funds from a $200 million dividend from the carbon market created by its cap and trade program. So far, 594 […]

[Read more →]

The future of the Annex Family Festival is up in the air after most of its funds were cut by the Bloor Annex BIA at its annual general meeting on January 9. The organization’s board of directors presented the annual budget, which included funding for the festival, for approval by the general members. Barry Alper […]

[Read more →]

City Manager Peter Wallace tried again, in vain, to alert members of city council to the threat posed by hedging the city’s budget against the apparent unrelenting strength of Toronto’s real estate market. The city has enjoyed explosive growth in revenue from the land transfer tax over the last ten years, and projections for next […]

[Read more →]

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) of city council has been asked to help reduce the number of “doorings” — when a car door is opened into the path of an oncoming cyclist — in Toronto. Although this falls under the provincial jurisdiction of the Highway Traffic Act, one advocate believes the city needs […]

[Read more →]

BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS Deals fell to the floor as the Honest Ed’s demolition continued with the dismantling of masonry, lumber, and steel. Originally divided by a city-owned alley called Honest Ed’s Way, the store’s sections were constructed very differently. Pictured here is the west annex, which was built on the houses that once stood there […]

[Read more →]