Chef Eric Wood is out at Hawthorne Food and Drink

By

-

11:36 am

Chef Eric Wood announced today that he is no longer affiliated with Hawthorne Food and Drink, the Richmond Street restaurant that opened late last year. His last day in the kitchen was March 28.

Wood did not give specifics as to why he has moved on from Hawthorne, but he did say that he’s very excited for sous chef Binh An Nguyen (formerly of The Spoke Club and Winchester Kitchen and Bar) to be taking his place in the kitchen.

Next up for Wood: he is involved with a new downtown boutique hotel that is slated to open in mid-May. We’ll update about the new project as we learn more.

A made-in-Toronto cycling boom: city gets back to the business of making bikes

By

-

11:25 am

0

On the wall of this office hangs a print depicting the beloved Mariposa bicycle of legendary Canadian artist Greg Curnoe. It is stunning and it was built right here in Toronto during the ’70s. Maybe it was the oil embargo, maybe it was a renewed focus on participation. Who knows? But there was a bike boom happening, and Toronto was right in the middle of it. Funny how history has a way of repeating itself.

In 2013, with sky-high gas prices, mind-numbing traffic congestion and no relief (not to mention political will) in sight, the city is once again turning to the humble bicycle to save its collective caboose.

This year, in addition to already being home to the headquarters of Cervélo — one of the most recognizable cycling brands in the world — and Pat Menzies’ very hip Bamboo Bike Studio in Kensington Market, the city welcomes not one but two new bike companies.

Launching this month is Gallant Bicycles, co-owned by Jason Wood and Tony Mammoliti, focusing on the end-to-end production of a Toronto city bike. Although the frames are constructed in China, everything else is done out of their retail location in the Annex at 678 Bloor St. W.

“We wanted to do the end-to-end thing and really control the experience for our customers,” says Wood. “We are bringing in the frames raw, painting here and assembling just the way you like. Everything is built to order.”

Gallant offers two frame styles and a slew of cool add-ons, including automatic transmissions. Prices start at $699.

Simcoe Bikes is taking the design side a step further by creating a bike with T.O. riding in mind: think extra-strong wheels for streetcar tracks and increased rustproofing for Canuck winters.

Although scheduled to launch this summer, according to co-owner Eric Kamphof, things are already behind. Seems there is a bike boom happening around the world as well, and their Taiwan manufacturer is behind schedule. But, soon enough, their unique brand of city bike designed specifically for life on the streets of Toronto will hit the streets.

“There is a need for this in North America, even globally,” says Kamphof. “Nobody has said, ‘What does a city bike look like?’ ” The bikes will come in three- or seven-speed versions and will sell for $899 and $1,150.

Both companies offer a very urban, stylish look that you won’t find in a road or mountain bike. “In the city, bikes are now people’s primary transport,” he explains. “Like owning a car, it’s a design and fashion thing, too. It is very important to our market.”

Reduce your carbon footprint

By

-

9:56 am

0

It’s hard to believe, but spring is on its way! There are a lot of exciting spring events on the horizon. The success of the city’s Community Environment Days toward helping divert waste from landfills is impressive and growing.

Join me on Saturday, April 20, at Wychwood Barns Parks for our annual Community Environment Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Drop off your unused and unwanted household items, pick up some compost for your garden and browse the farmers’ market. There will also be food, games and kids’ activities — fun for the whole family!

The next day, Sunday, April 21, join me and my staff for Community Clean-Up Day. I will begin the day helping to clean up the Kay Gardner Beltline (at Old Park Road) at 9 a.m., then to Cedarvale Park (at the Glen Cedar footbridge) at 10 a.m., Hillcrest Park (at the clubhouse, time to be determined) and finally to clean up the Nordheimer Ravine (at the stairs across from St. Clair West station) at 11 a.m. We will provide bags and gloves. Be sure to bring your family and friends along to help clean up our parks after the winter’s thaw.

If you have a green thumb, it’s almost time to get the garden started. If you are unable to pick up compost at our Community Environment Day, please remember that I will also be hosting six free compost days from May 6 to 14 at local schools. Come by and pick up your fill of free, nutrient-rich compost for your gardens.

Please join my e-mail list at www.joemihevc.com for more information about environmental (and all other) events and news in Ward 21.

$50M North York project planned

By

-

9:55 am

0

Many of us have seen the transformations taking place along Dufferin Avenue, with an increase in development, residential and business interests. The first signs of change to the Dufferin landscape are most visible where it intersects with Lawrence Avenue West where a new, multi-phase, mixed-use condominium complex will provide a city park and daycare for the area.

Affectionately known as “Middle Italy,” this area of midtown Toronto is fast becoming an attractive option for new business and residents. Villa Charities and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) recently announced a joint development project to serve the educational, cultural and recreational needs of the neighbourhood.

The first phase of this $50 million redevelopment project will include construction of a new school for Dante Alighieri with a shared theatre, dance studios and expanded fitness and music facilities in a redesigned Columbus Centre.

The construction of this state-of-the-art centre is the largest and only co-development project of this magnitude currently underway in North America. The final complex will also house an art gallery, daycare and parish.

This impressive joint venture will help serve Toronto’s burgeoning performance and arts communities both near and far. And with governments investing less in our communities, these types of private-public partnerships are a viable way for us to achieve our shared goals.

These positive changes coming to Dufferin, along with my efforts to secure a Dufferin Avenue Study, will ensure that residents have a say in the types of changes they want to see.

New law targets town’s tow trucks

By

-

9:53 am

0

“Zero tolerance!” he demands. “Any convictions and they lose their licence.” The man at the podium is a resident speaking to councillors about licensing tow truck drivers in Richmond Hill.

Tow truck drivers in Toronto, Vaughan and Markham have recently been licensed. Richmond Hill has never licensed tow trucks because they never were a problem. Over the past two years, residents have been reaching out to the police and members of council, seeking to regulate an industry that lives by its own rules.

We hear from a young woman about an afternoon accident that occurred two years ago. She is lied to by the tow truck driver: “We were dispatched by the police.” Even so, she calls her parents for help. With her parents doing what they could, she still is hustled into having her car towed and stored for days for a grand total of $1,152 in cash — no receipt. After lengthy negotiations and “very rude comments” from the company’s dispatcher, the towing charges were reduced to $800. Ultimately, her insurance company had to be involved. The young woman’s family said, “At the end, the insurance company paid a lot of money to this towing company because they had our car for more than a week before they released it to the body shop.”

For the past year, the town has worked with the public, police, insurance companies, towing companies, CAA and councillors to draft a bylaw that regulates its tow trucks. It was amazing to hear some members of council try to delay the passing of this bylaw when in fact, from a public perspective, it’s been long overdue.

6,000 hours volunteering

By

-

9:52 am

0

When Rosaline Sonshine first noticed in the late ‘90s that many houses in her neighbourhood near Bayview Avenue and York Mills Road had been reporting break-ins, she helped establish a community neighbourhood watch program.

Since then, Sonshine has spent more than 6,000 hours volunteering to keep the streets of Toronto Police Service, 33 Division safer. It started with small tasks delivering flyers to increase awareness of current police programs, safety tips and possible scams. But she proved that small things add up, and she ended up helping bring many troublemakers to justice simply through helping her neighbours keep vigilant. How many, she can’t quite recall because there has been such a high number. “Over the years, I’ve lost track,” she said.

In 2002, Sonshine became a trained volunteer with 33 Division, spreading awareness to children at local fairs and partaking in initiatives such as “purse patrol” with seniors at shopping centres to help them keep their pocketbooks safe. “It makes you feel much better to know that your neighbours are looking out for you and that you’re looking out for them,” she said.

Neighbours unite to bring runaway home

By

-

9:46 am

0

When a Thornhill boy disappeared from a youth home early last month, little did his family know how quickly their community would come together to help look for him and safely bring him back.

At the time of the incident, Jonah Bender, 15, was last seen in the Morningside Avenue and Lawrence Avenue area on Feb. 6. Fearing for his safety due to the impending snowstorm on Feb. 8, his stepmother posted a public appeal on Facebook with his description and last known whereabouts.

One appeal, posted on Corktown.ca, warned that Bender was considered a suicide risk.

At first, the family hesitated to post a public appeal but realized they needed the help.

And it paid off.

Within 72 hours, Bender’s photo — an image of a brown-haired, hazel-eyed boy wearing a red varsity jacket — would be shared on Facebook, tweeted and reposted hundreds of times by members of Thornhill’s community and beyond.

Steven Mann, Bender’s uncle, recalled three harrowing days of worrying, frustration and tears.

He said that trying to find a boy in a city the size of Toronto was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, not all the tears he shed were those of sadness.

Mann said he was overwhelmed at times because his phone did not stop vibrating as complete strangers sent him and his family leads on Bender’s possible location, not to mention an outpouring of support for what the family was going through.

“All the reposting, all the messages that we received were so comforting, and it made us feel like everyone was looking,” said Mann.

“It was unbelievable. It was Thornhill, it was the Junction, it was Toronto. And everybody was willing to go out and look.”

One message indicated a boy matching Bender’s description was spotted in the Junction area, and he may have been going door-to-door, shovelling driveways for money.

A few Facebook messages later, Mann connected with someone who drove around the neighbourhood trying to spot Bender.

Another instance that had a particular impact on the family was when the president of a prominent Canadian company sent them his support.

Moments like this continued throughout the ordeal and kept the family hopeful, said Mann, until the morning of the day that Bender would later reappear at his mother’s house in Thornhill.

Reunited, the family is jubilant and keen to address the issues that led to Bender’s disappearance.

Fittingly, Mann said, he posted a thank-you note on Facebook on behalf of his sister and her family to everyone that helped in the search. Mann said he now has a personal reason to share similar notices regarding missing kids that he said are all too common on social media websites these days.

After all, as he now knows, sometimes all it takes is just one click of the mouse to help a complete stranger out.

Area high schools to turn away applicants

By

-

9:44 am

0

It’s not just colleges and universities that parents are desperate to get their kids into. Most years, North Toronto Collegiate Institute and Northern Secondary School each turn away more than 100 Grade 9 applicants from around the city, and some of those families stretch the truth in hopes of gaining admittance.

“People have given the address of a nail salon that they own,” said Ron Felsen, Northern’s principal. Other parents have been caught using phony addresses on tax forms. Some of the schemes are costly. “People have bought a condominium and said that that was their principle address,” said Felsen.

The number of available spots is determined after incoming students from feeder schools have been accommodated. Just over 100 additional spaces are open for Grade 9 students next fall at Northern, and 400 applications have been received. Though the principal of North Toronto was unavailable for an interview, the Toronto District School Board confirmed that North Toronto also receives significantly more applications than they have space for.

NTCI’s draw is academics. The recent Fraser Institute rankings place the school at sixth of 718 high schools in Ontario based on academic testing. It sits at second of more than 100 Toronto high schools on the list. Northern’s academics are more modestly ranked at 208 in Ontario and 31 in Toronto. But the neighbourhoods could be a factor as well.

“A lot of it has to do with the geography,” said Shelley Laskin, Ward 11 school board trustee, who believes that reputations aren’t always accurate. “I think that sometimes preconceived notions or reputations are not really deserved. I always recommend to go to the Grade 8 information night.”

But it’s hard to convince some families. “We have received forged documents, outdated addresses and have had parents look us in the eye and lie to us,” said Laskin. “Same goes with students, although it is harder for them to be dishonest.”

Public input on transit is vital

By

-

9:43 am

0

Public opinion is sharply divided between those favouring subways and those who want light rail transit [LRT]. That’s what I thought until last month when I hosted a two-hour transit information session when residents chose subways and LRT.

Two-thirds (67 per cent) wanted a mixture — the solution being proposed by both the Toronto Transit Commission [TTC] and Metrolinx. Only 16 per cent wanted subways only, with seven per cent proposing LRT only.

Residents were also asked to show which funding tools — e.g. gas tax, road tolls — they would use to pay for their choice. The subways-only option costs more than twice as much as the mixed model and some five times more than only LRT.

Not surprisingly, only 27 per cent of those choosing only subways were able to show how they would pay for it — compared to 80 per cent for those who chose the mixed model.

Asked which new routes were most important, participants rated “reducing congestion on the Yonge subway line” number one. This places the downtown relief line, currently at the top of the Metrolinx list of projects, as the top priority for Willowdale.

Many participants ended the evening thinking differently than they had earlier. They welcomed an opportunity to receive real information and realistic options.

Shortly after my meeting, both Metrolinx and the City of Toronto launched similar consultations.

Hopefully, this will be the year that residents and politicians agree on what Toronto’s long-term transit expansion plan should look like and how we are going to pay for it.

New local library designs delayed

By

-

9:36 am

0

During the 2011 budget deliberations, council approved Vaughan Public Libraries (VPL) funding to construct a library as an addition to the North Thornhill Community Centre. The VPL board directed staff to issue a request for proposals (RFP). In stage one, 10 bids were evaluated, and three qualified for the next stage.

During stage two of the process, the top three bidders submitted detailed drawings but unfortunately exceeded the approved budget. This resulted in staff cancelling the stage-two process and re-scoping the entire project. A new RFP was released, but again no compliant bids were received by the closing date of Dec. 6, 2012, and bidding was cancelled. In the past weeks, the VPL board approved adding surplus funds to the project budget to increase potential bids and directed staff to reissue the RFP immediately.

I share many of the concerns expressed by the community regarding these unprecedented delays, and I know they have caused much frustration and disappointment for many, including myself. However, I can attest to the fact that the city follows a very transparent and fair procurement process, and we will continue to do everything possible to move this project along as quickly as possible.

For more information, feel free to contact my office at 905-832-8585, ext. 8342, or via e-mail at [email protected]. You may also contact my office if you are interested in receiving my local e-newsletter.

Working to enhance schools

By

-

9:33 am

0

The City of Toronto and our local school boards serve a common constituency: Torontonians.

Recently, I moved a motion at council to explore the creation of a city–school boards working group. The city and school boards are separate levels of governance and currently only work together on an ad hoc basis.

This motion, which will be considered by council this spring, seeks to ensure that both levels of government work together to improve service to residents on issues of shared interest.

On matters ranging from school pools to child care to the status of neighbourhood school facilities, including libraries and fields, midtown residents tell me they want the city and the boards to break through their respective silos.

In this period of scarce resources, this is more important than ever.

Since being elected as city councillor for Ward 22 in 2010, I have worked closely with our local schools and their parent councils to deliver development funding for new fields at Northern Secondary School and North Toronto Collegiate Institute, a memorial bench at Hodgson Senior Public and new outdoor amenities at Eglinton Public. I am currently working with parents and staff at Maurice Cody Public on their “Dirt to Turf” campaign to build a much-needed new field.

Please feel welcome to contact me if there is a capital project at your Ward 22 school that would benefit the school and local residential community. Contact me by phone at 416-392-7906, e-mail at [email protected] or my website, www.joshmatlow.ca.

Concert Review: Sigur Rós at the Air Canada Centre

By

-

11:45 am

0

Whenever I made reference to Sigur Rós in advance of their Saturday night show at the Air Canada Centre, the same two questions kept arising: 1) who is Sigur Rós and 2) what the heck is “Icelandic prog rock?” And — for the sake of full disclosure — I was wondering those two things until very recently.

Still, even after Saturday’s haunting, ethereal show, the answers to these questions aren’t entirely clear.

Sigur Rós’ airy sound sits somewhere between Pink Floyd and, well, elevator music. Over the course of their two-hour set, the offerings were alternately serene, mystical and often just plain strange. Yet there was still something inherently impressive and, at times, spectacular about the trio and its 11-piece orchestra, all of whom were completely in sync and equally responsible for contributing to the night’s mellow atmosphere.

Also involved in creating that vibe were the visceral, vivid images that punctuated the band’s songs with emotional weight, attaching fully formed narratives to songs whose lyrics aren’t accessible to those unfamiliar with the Icelandic language. During one track, images of children playing in a field lent a lighter feel to the associated music. Conversely, during another song, a red colour scheme and a crazed-looking old man right out of a ’90s music video instilled a sense of chaos.

The group was illuminated in an array of digitally controlled lights that was often set to correspond with the music; at various points in the show, flowing, formless colours draped over the band in a manner akin to the liquid inside a lava lamp.

On the rare occasions that the band did amplify the sound and establish a more explosive, dynamic energy, it came with a well-suited transition and didn’t jar the 6,000-strong audience, most of whom experienced the show with relaxed passivity. And yes, some fans could be seen either sleeping or, at least, taking in the show in a decidedly subconscious manner.

All told, Sigur Ros’ ACC visit shouldn’t be evaluated in terms of “good” or “bad.” It was a unique concert-going experience, and while it was somewhat inaccessible due to the language barrier, the Icelandic group offered up an emotional spectacle that is worth experiencing, whether you’re a fan or not.