Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus
Total 614 Posts
Last week, at the age of 86, Al passed away. I first shared my memories of Al on the 60th anniversary of D-Day. In the mid 90s, when I was putting in 1.5 years as a McEmployee at the Runnymede and Bloor location, Al came in daily for a
All day long I've been digesting the news that 17 suspected terrorists were arrested here in Toronto accused of obtaining three times the amount of explosives used in the Oklahoma City bombing. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested the suspects on terrorism charges including plotting attacks with explosives on Canadian
Yesterday, in sweltering hot, hot heat, thousands of Torontonians cursed out the TTC and their illegal wildcat strike. There was record heat, a smog warning, a humidity warning and, for many, a long walk or bike ride to work. It was a great way to start the week. Not long
This weekend I paid tribute to the old Runnymede Theatre which is no longer a theatre. I lamented that the days of smaller, charming neighbourhood movie theatres are long gone. Today, another nail was hammered into that coffin when it was announced three of Toronto's repertory cinemas will close at
Today's entry on Paved mentioned the Chapters store on Bloor near Runnymede. I remember the local controversy when that Chapters was being built because it was assuming the location held by the much beloved Runnymede Theatre. Just thinking about the old Runnymede Theatre brings back a tonne of memories. Growing
The title of this entry is a little deceiving. It wasn't I but Zanta who received a front page post on MetaFilter earlier today. The second link of this FPP is to a Flickr search for Zanta and the first picture you see (as of this moment) was taken by
The Waterfront Revitalization Corp. has unveiled the top five redesign concepts for a Toronto waterfront that would be more accessible to residents and visitors. Construction of the winning design is set to begin in the fall. I've spent the past couple of days working at 1 Yonge Street and to
Rob Ford is a city councillor for Etobicoke North and he says some awfully stupid things. In case you've forgotten, here's a collection of Ford quotes from the past few years. "This is an insult to my constituents to even think about having a shelter in my ward!" - April,
Do you remember when Edgefest was a darn good rock n' roll show? CFNY Edge 102 used to put some serious effort into this show, hiring solid closers like Radiohead, Green Day, The Tragically Hip and more. Lately, it's been more of a joke. The last Edgefest I attended was
You know you're a somebody when they mention you on Breakfast Television. In the small world of Toronto media, BT is a comfortable grilled cheese sandwich. I didn't see the piece that aired earlier this morning, but apparently they were discussing local blogs and my sister-in-law-but-not-really Kara suggested this site.
After weeks of voting, 2,200 residents have chosen to adopt the name The Beach over The Beaches. The final score was 58% to 42% in favour of the singular title. Personally, I don't have a preference. I've always known it as The Beaches but I can easily adapt. Even
BBM Canada has released its Top-Line Radio Statistics for January 9 - March 5, 2006. Here's the order of finish for Toronto stations, also known as the 5199ers. 98.1 CHFI-FM104.5 CHUM-FMNews Talk 1010 CFRBCBC Radio One97.3 EZ RockQ107680 NewsClassical 96.3 FMZ103.5102.1 The EdgeAM740/Prime
This Shedden, Ontario massacre is getting more and more interesting. From the discovery of the bodies on Saturday morning until now I've learned a great deal about our city I didn't know. The biggest news to me is the fact tow truck drivers dominate the retail end of the coke
In the battle of what we do know vs. what we don't, what we don't know has a solid lead right now. We do know that one person was killed when a device exploded this afternoon at a Tim Hortons on Yonge Street just north of Bloor. That's it for
Just about every Torontonian has crossed the path of Zanta. He's difficult to miss, wearing a Santa hat and no shirt while cruising our streets and dropping for pushups here and there. He does this 364 days a year. Occasionally you'll read about the banning of Zanta from parts of
James and I went downtown to watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade this afternoon. We also attended the 2005 Santa Claus Parade last November which permits me to juxtapose these two downtown Toronto parades. With the Santa Claus Parade, you have to show up hours early and fight for a
Homicides in the GTA, 2006 - From the Toronto Star, this is a handy way to track murders in the 416.
Will everyone back off! We've had the world's tallest freestanding structure for thirty damn years and now every time I read the news somebody's trying to steal that claim. Our CN Tower soars 553 metres high. Chicago announced today they're building a 610 metre structure called Fordham Spire. Earlier in
We hit 13°C in the T.Dot today. When our snowman of December 10 melted over the Christmas break, I promised James we'd make another. A Canadian winter has to be good for a heavy snowfall or two or three in January and February, right? Not this year... It's
Toronto Hydro Telecom plans to install wireless equipment on hydro poles and traffic lights, covering our downtown core in Wi-Fi goodness. Eventually, our entire sweet city will become one beautiful hotspot. Although I'd like to see the final pricing structure, there's no doubt this is a good thing for Toronto.
An article in today's Star from Garth Woolsey has me thinking about Toronto's next championship team. Excluding the Argos and Rock, which franchise will next win it all? The Leafs haven't won since 1967 and appear further and further from this goal every game they play. The Raptors have never
Earlier in the week, RobotJohnny.com posted this Anagram TTC Map. I saw it and smiled. It's a cute spin on a Toronto institution. What Torontonian hasn't seen that map a billion times? The TTC didn't find it nearly as harmless and funny. They've sent the creator a cease and
Guided by (Many, Many) Voices - This is a way cool article from The New York Times Magazine by Alissa Quart. It's about BSS and the T.Dot and contains such killer quotes as "Musically, you could say that Toronto has become a nicer but less aesthetically coherent version of
Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP John O'Toole has re-introduced a private member’s bill to ban drivers from using cell phones in this province. That's fine, but I'm hoping for the introduction of another private member's bill. I'd like to make it illegal to keep your Christmas lights up after January
It was pretty warm today for the second week of January in Toronto. The forecast is calling for 3°C tomorrow and Tuesday, 5°C on Wednesday and 7°C on Thursday. Here are my ten favourite songs with "warm" in the title. Happiness Is A Warm Gun - The
