Strong opposition to plans for old CHUM site

By

-

4:34 pm

A 13-storey building proposed at the old CHUM building on Yonge Street, a few blocks south of St. Clair Avenue, is facing strong opposition from locals. The application provides for 214 residential units, four ground floor retail units and 184 parking spaces, at a density of nearly 7.5 times lot coverage. The site is currently zoned for 16 metres (approximately six storeys) and three times lot coverage.

A recent community consultation meeting was attended by more than 100 residents, some of who expressed concerns about height, shadowing and sightlines as well as how it will add to traffic and parking woes in the area, according to Coun. Josh Matlow. He said that the application doesn’t fit in with what residents have envisioned for this stretch of Yonge Street: mid-rise buildings in the six- to eight-storey range.

“It’s not right for the neighbourhood, it doesn’t come close to its current zoning, and it will shadow neighbours and affect their property values,” Matlow said.

John Alati, a lawyer representing owner Jackes (ARH) Developments Ltd., said that his client was open to reviewing any meritorious concerns but couldn’t definitively say what parts of the application might be revised. “The height isn’t, in our view, out of place,” he said.

Alati cited the mid-rise City of Toronto: Building Division guidelines, which promote well-designed developments of up to 11 storeys on major avenues, and he pointed to taller buildings in the area.

Jason De Luca, president of the Summerhill Residents’ Association, said his group is watching the development proposal closely.

“If they [the developer] continue to push ahead, we’re very concerned about it, height and density being the two key issues,” De Luca said.

In a preliminary report, planning staff identified density and shadowing as being among issues to be resolved. Once the details of the proposal are finalized, staff will issue a report to Toronto and East York Community Council on whether to approve or deny the application.

Eye of the needle

By

-

4:27 pm

0

Acupuncture has been becoming more mainstream with each passing year. Dr. Joseph Wong has been practising in Toronto for more than 40 years. He is the director of the Toronto Pain & Stress Clinic, the chief lecturer of the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute and the originator of neuro-anatomical acupuncture.

How does treatment work?
It has been around for many years. In China, it was believed that the treatment started out 10,000 years ago. It’s more philosophical. It’s related to the body and its different meridians, and the meridians are related to different things in the body. When you insert the needle into meridians, the acupuncture points will be affected by the stimulation and will change the meridian.

How did it develop?
It is based on the philosophy of the Taoism. The idea is that we’re all made of yin and yang, and the principle applies to the human body and the medical system in the body. If the yin and yang are not in good balance, the patient will be sick, so the acupuncture will help get the patient back to balance.

Do the needles hurt?
Usually when we first insert the needle, it may cause some pain, but with the treatment, you won’t feel any severe pain at all.

What are the common ailments treated by acupuncture?
Inflammation of the joints, any injuries, sprains.

What are the health benefits of using acupuncture as opposed to more conventional methods?
In the Western world, we have been using a lot of medications to deal with pain, but unfortunately most of the pain medications only stop the pain temporarily and then the pain will reoccur. Also, some of the pain medications have side effects. Acupuncture doesn’t have side effects, but also, it doesn’t just take the pain away. It helps to take away the condition, like the inflammation, making the tissue or bone heal. In that way, acupuncture is a better treatment.

Why has it taken so long for Western doctors to adopt acupuncture?
You have to understand that for thousands of years China wasn’t open to the Western world. It’s been only the last few hundred years when we started opening our customs to the rest of the world, so people had no knowledge what acupuncture was until, gradually, Western people went to China. When Richard Nixon went to China in 1971, journalist James Reston successfully tried acupuncture there, and they helped spread the world.

What’s the future like for acupuncture in traditional medicine?
Judging by the progress of acupuncture in this city and country, more people are learning more about acupuncture, and more people are less happy with the prescription medicine.

What is one of your specialties?
Physical medicine as well as rehabilitation. We treat a lot of people who need rehabilitation, mostly people who go through an acute stage of their disease, and it’s our specialty to help them to recuperate.

Is there a place in which you haven’t stuck a needle?
You don’t place it in the chest — you might traumatize the internal organs, like the heart, the lungs.

What is the average treatment time?
Each time, it usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. It depends on what the condition is, and usually you need to do more than a few treatments to make the condition healed. It depends on the individual.

What are people nervous about the first time?
From our experience, because acupuncture has been around for some years now and people have knowledge about it, people in Toronto don’t appear to be nervous and they have a good expectation that acupuncture will happen and they seem to be fine with it.

Is it just physical ailments, or can you treat mental issues such as depression?
I think it helps mental aspects as well as physical aspects, but I don’t think any particular treatment is only aiming at the depression of the patient. I don’t think we can generalize conditions like that.

Figure skating phenom to train at local club

By

-

4:26 pm

0

Figure skating phenom Cynthia Phaneuf has moved to Toronto to train under Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club. With Phaneuf’s long-time mentor and choreographer, David Wilson, at the same club, she has her eye on excelling in competitions worldwide.

“I have always been very appreciative of this city,” the 23-year-old native of Contrecoeur, Quebec said of her new home.

This is Phaneuf’s first coaching change since she started training with Annie Barabé in Montreal 14 years ago. It was time for a change, she said, and she liked Orser’s teaching style. She first laced up her skates at age four and has twice won Canada’s national women’s championship, first in 2004, at age 15, and again in 2011.

Phaneuf has a chance to capture a new title at the Canadian National Championships this month in Moncton, N.B.

Toronto Wildlife Centre’s future at Downsview unclear

By

-

4:26 pm

0

The Toronto Wildlife Centre recently made a plea to the public for help, announcing that its Downsview Park building is slated to be torn down, and the charity will soon be forced to move. Downsview Park, however, subsequently issued a press release saying that the building was not targeted for demolition and stressing that it had not terminated its lease with the wildlife centre.

Robert Singleton, senior vice-president of operations at Downsview Park, said the crown corporation was surprised to see the charity’s ‘erroneous’ release, and that it would be communicating with the centre.

But following a meeting with Downsview Park, the executive director of the wildlife centre, Nathalie Karvonen, said nothing had changed from its perspective and it’s still looking for help.

Moving would be extremely complicated in terms of finding a suitable location and getting set up.

“It’s catastrophic for us,” Karvonen said. “We don’t have any money set aside for an emergency of this magnitude.”

Bridle Path blaze causes $500,000 in damages

By

-

4:26 pm

0

A recent three-alarm fire that started in the basement of a High Point Road home caused an estimated $500,000 in damages and kept firefighters on the scene for nearly two days, according to Stephan Powell, district chief of Toronto Fire Services.

The call came in at 1:05 p.m. on Dec. 6, and firefighters were on the scene in less than five minutes. After approximately two hours, the Bridle Path blaze was brought under control. A total of 59 trucks and 181 firefighters responded.

“It was in the basement. It was stubborn. We kept crews there for almost a day and a half to make sure there wasn’t any fire in any walls,” Powell said.

The smoke was thick and the fire climbed up into the roof, he said. This required a direct attack and significant overhaul.

There was one person in the home when the blaze broke out. That person heard the fire alarm and managed to make an escape unharmed.

Powell said a fire of this magnitude is pretty rare, and Toronto Fire Services typically only will see a few such occurrences in a year.

The fire was traced back to burning wood, but how it was ignited has yet to be determined.

At this stage, foul play is not suspected.

Son of former media mogul facing charges

By

-

4:26 pm

0

Jonathan Black, son of former media mogul Conrad Black, recently pleaded guilty to one count of criminal harassment and one count of failure to comply with recognizance. A judge handed down a suspended sentence and two years of concurrent probation. Jonathan Black was also prohibited from possessing weapons for a 10-year period.

The crown withdrew further charges of one count of criminal harassment and two counts of threatening death, according to a Ministry of the Attorney General spokesperson.

Robb MacDonald, Black’s defence lawyer, confirmed that the harassment charges resulted from his contact with an ex-girlfriend after their relationship ended. He said his client is pleased with the outcome of the case and looks forward to moving past it.

“He’s confronted his problems, as was reported in court, and he’s been getting help to deal with some of these issues,” MacDonald said.

Black was scheduled to appear in court late last month for two additional charges of failure to comply with recognizance. The charges reportedly stem from a breach of bail conditions. MacDonald, who is representing Black for these charges, too, could not comment further.

Film centre pathway closure frustrates residents

By

-

4:26 pm

0

Local residents are upset about the recent addition of a fence that has blocked off a path from Country Lane to the Canadian Film Centre property.

Coun. Jaye Robinson’s office has received at least 10 e-mailed complaints about it.

Robinson said the issue apparently stems from a summer of 2010 meeting between the former councillor, Cliff Jenkins, and five abutting property owners. The aforementioned neighbours have “restrictive covenants” (which place limitations on how a piece of land may be used) that give them certain rights to weigh in on what occurs on the site. The covenant has a provision that prevents Country Lane from being employed to enter and exit the park.

At the meeting, the covenant holders had expressed concerns about commercial dog walkers using the path and people parking on Country Lane in front of the entrance.

Robinson said she would like to see the fence reopened but noted it will require the permission of all five covenant holders.

“There is one Country Lane resident that’s upset, but it seems to be people from other areas that seem to walk their dogs through there,” she said. “I really understand that because it’s really difficult when you’ve had access to something and suddenly you don’t.”

Richard Rix has been fighting to get the pathway reopened on behalf of a number of fellow residents.

“It’s actually causing hardship to some people — not to me personally because I can walk around it — but there are a couple of old ladies who live on Country Lane who, for them, it’s been their way into the parklands for up to 40 years,” he said.

Rix sees it as a long-established right of way.

Tamara MacKeigan, a film centre spokesperson, said the fence was put up when the centre realized they weren’t in compliance with the legally binding covenant.

“In the covenant, it says, ‘No persons, animals or vehicles of any kind shall enter upon or exit from the said lands or any part thereof directly from or to Country Lane,” she explained.

There had previously been a gate there, but it kept getting vandalized. In terms of the timing, MacKeigan added that it was a safety issue as construction occurs as part of the ongoing campus improvement project.

The film centre will be hosting a public meeting in the new year, which Robinson recommended to anyone concerned about the matter.

In the meantime, residents can access the property through the main entrance on Bayview Avenue.

Local landmarks to be appropriated for Bathurst station

By

-

4:26 pm

0

A recent public consultation meeting on the design of the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown rapid transit line’s Bathurst station revealed that three local landmarks are likely to be appropriated and demolished for its construction.

Israel’s the Judaica Centre, a store selling Jewish books and other items that has been in Forest Hill since 1982 and at its current Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue location since 2004, will be moving to a new location nearby in February, said president Susie Kaplan.

Among the other properties likely to be demolished is the iconic House of Chan steakhouse and Chinese restaurant, a neighbourhood fixture since the 1950s. Staff at House of Chan declined to comment on the situation.

Coun. Joe Mihevc said that seeing the House of Chan go will be a big loss to the community.

“My hope is that one of two things happens: that [the TTC] finds a better alternative that avoids them taking out a main and vigorous economic player on the street, or if they do need to, that the House of Chan and the TTC find a suitable location on the strip where the business can continue to flourish,” he said.

The vacant building formerly occupied by Halleluia Restaurant and the plaza on the northeast corner of Bathurst and Eglinton are also slated for demolition.

Although the station design hasn’t been finalized, it’s unlikely the major components will change at this point, according to Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) spokesperson Susan Sperling. She said that the TTC is currently in talks with the affected property owners.

Tunneling work at Bathurst and Eglinton is set to begin in early 2013, and station construction is projected to start in 2014.

Fitting tribute for long-time Village resident

By

-

4:26 pm

0

The Canon Theatre on Victoria Street was recently renamed after Ed Mirvish, the man behind Toronto landmark Honest Ed’s and theatre company Mirvish Productions — and a long-time Forest Hill resident. His son, David, had wanted to honour his dad’s contributions to the city — and in particular to theatre — for some time, according to Mirvish spokesperson John Karastamatis.

When Ed was alive, he didn’t want to have a theatre named after him. When he applied his moniker to his businesses, it had always been done in a fun rather than serious way, Karastamatis explained.

“Even though Ed was bigger than life in many ways, he was pretty modest as to his accomplishments,” he said.

With the elder Mirvish having passed away in 2007 and the sponsorship agreement with Canon having expired, the time was right. David thought this theatre was fitting, given its history of reinventions, having gone through numerous name changes over its nearly 100-year history.

“What Ed Mirvish has done for the theatre in the city and Canada was take an old building, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and restore it, bring it back to life and create an entire neighbourhood around it,” Karastamatis said.

Court date for alleged illegal night club pushed back

By

-

4:26 pm

0

A hearing scheduled for last month that was to deal with alleged bylaw infractions at Mint Bar on Eglinton Avenue East has been adjourned to Feb. 29, according to Coun. Josh Matlow.

Since the establishment opened, it has been the subject of various complaints. City of Toronto: Municipal Licensing and Standards Division laid two bylaw charges for operating a nightclub without a permit and one charge for a noise violation.

At a recent community consultation meeting for a development proposal at the site, the applicant’s lawyer said that if a conviction is achieved Mint’s operators will be locked out. He indicated that the new owner was unaware of the issue when it purchased the property.

Mint Bar is subletting the space from the Unicorn Pub, which has a lease with the new owner.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

North Toronto media heirs make historic gift

By

-

4:26 pm

0

Thomson media heirs Linda C. Campbell, Gaye Farncombe and Susan Grange and their families have donated a record-setting $30 million to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). This is the single largest private gift a Canadian mental health facility has ever received, according to the centre.

“This contribution is such a powerful promise of a better future for the people that we look after,” said Darrell Louise Gregersen, president and CEO of the CAMH Foundation.

The funding will support groundbreaking research in areas such as brain circuitry, which has demonstrated big potential to improve the lives of those living with conditions including Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and depression.

Equally important, it will allow the centre to attract top international talent and invest in state-of-the-art technologies.

The donors are continuing in the philanthropic spirit of their late mother, Audrey Campbell (daughter of media magnate Roy Thomson). Campbell and her daughters made a donation of $25 million to breast cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital back in 2005.

Eco adventures proposed at Earl Bales Park

By

-

4:26 pm

0

A private company is proposing to transform Earl Bales into an eco-adventure playground, offering everything from aerial trekking to zip lining. Programming would include environmental education and team-building exercises geared toward a variety of groups, such as corporations and schools.

Recently received by the City of Toronto, the proposal may present a new source of income for a cash-strapped city through a lease or revenue-sharing agreement.

Michael Smith, president of ArborTrek, said he came across Earl Bales while travelling through Toronto.

“I stopped by at one point and took a look at it and was just blown away by this little gem that was there in such an urban environment,” he said.

Smith identified other potential models that would benefit the city, including the cleanup and maintenance of the park or free programming for schools. He stressed that the plans are only a proposal at this stage.

Coun. James Pasternak said that, although he wouldn’t personally ever go zip lining, he thinks the proposal is worth exploring.

“It doesn’t harm the trees in any way and, of course, the last thing you want to do is damage a tree that you’re relying on to run a line from,” he said.

Pasternak noted that, before the proposal goes any further, feasibility studies and public consultation will be required. So far, the response has been positive.

A city spokesperson confirmed that the Toronto office of partnerships is in receipt of the proposal. But it’s one of many unsolicited proposals received by the city currently awaiting review.