Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus
Total 612 Posts
I loved going to Blue Jays games at Exhibition Stadium. Some called it the mistake by the lake, but to me it was where my Jays played and that was everything. George, Damaso, Ernie, Jesse, Lloyd, Dave, Alfredo, Tony, Willie, Rance... so many memories. At the precise spots where the
Heck, I dig it.
I regularly walk past a building that was once a Blockbuster video store. Most recently it was a dollar store and is now being converted into a gym, but I know it was once a Blockbuster because it still has a Quick Drop slot. With it currently being gutted and
A decision should be announced today with regards to the fate of the beloved Honest Ed's sign. Honest Ed's is no more with the 1.8-hectare location on Bloor and Bathurst Streets soon to be repurposed. Demolition is scheduled for May. I once wrote it's not the buildings we love,
My kids have no appreciation for record stores. They strictly consume music via digital channels and have never purchased a compact disc. When I was a teenager, record stores were vital. My weekends would revolve around trips downtown and I would visit Sam the Record Man, A&A and
I remember countless school trips to the McLaughlin Planetarium when I was in primary school. It was an amazing place to learn about the stars, planets, and cosmology. I watched La La Land yesterday and there's a scene in a planetarium that took me back to the 80s when we
Jim Slotek wrote a piece for the Toronto Sun about how Toronto's live music scene isn't what it used to be. The catalyst was the closing of Hugh's Room, which may be re-opening. In this article Jim listed Toronto's live music venues that have disappeared over the decades. I culled
In September, I sat down with former-Citytv anchor Anne Mroczkowski for an episode of my podcast. She mentioned a video cassette of Speakers Corner outtakes the staff would watch at parties. I took a mental note that I had to see these outtakes. Brother Bill, a popular deejay at 102.
I've been blogging here for 14 years, and during that time there were some pretty low times in Toronto sports. Just four years ago I wrote this about the new bottom for Toronto sports teams. Things were very, very bad for the big five. In 2016, things got a whole
The beginning of the end for Honest Ed's was July 2013. Now, the end is nigh. When Ed Mirvish passed away in 2007, I first shared my memories of the Toronto institution at Bathurst and Bloor. My grandmother loved Ed Mirvish and his discount store. She dragged me there many
It snowed last night. I just shovelled my first snow of the season. Are you wondering when the City of Toronto is going to plow your street? Follow @TO_WinterOps for real-time updates. I'm a fan of this new map that lets you know when roads have been salted and
I'm writing this entry out of frustration. My pal Freddie P thinks I'm "a fool" because I told him TFC was more popular in Toronto than the Argos. In my humble opinion, TFC is more popular than the Argonauts in this city. Fred, obviously, strongly disagrees. Fred bases 100% of
My youngest son has taken a shine to a statue of a lion situated by the off-lease dog park just west of Windermere by the Waterfront Trail. Yesterday, I snapped a pic of him and his lion friend. You're forgiven if you didn't know about this lion. I have probably
Entertainment Tonight Canada is all atwitter about Katie Holmes and Matthew Perry filming The Kennedys After Camelot here in the GTA. They're reporting the mini-series is filming in Toronto, but as someone who watched the set being built from his bike seat, a great deal is actually being filmed on
I've written about Whimbrel Point before, a spot in Samuel Smith Park where whimbrels rest for a day or two every May. This morning, I finally spotted these whimbrels. Apparently, they had just arrived from an overnight flight from Virginia. They're just resting on their way to the arctic. I
If you caught episode 167 of my podcast, you heard Retrontario talking about the Laurie Bower Singers. We played "Season of the Yonge" by the Laurie Bower Singers, a song about our very own Yonge Street. "Season of the Yonge" is so obscure, I couldn't find it on YouTube, but
I just read that Queen Video is closing its historic Queen Street location. Danier Leather is also winding down, and will shutter all locations before you know it. The more things change... One southwest Toronto store seems to defy the laws of economics and still stands at the corner of
I distinctly remember last Christmas Eve we had unseasonably warm weather, but it was nothing like this. The temperature in Toronto right now is 17°C. Since we're on the topic, my preferred source for our weather is the Government of Canada where I get all of the fact without
During the Grey Cup, I wondered aloud on Twitter how many Torontonians under the age of 40 were tuned in. There was a Raptors game on, which I was watching, and if my Twitter feed was any indication, the only tweets about the Grey Cup were from those paid to
If you're on Instagram, I recommend you follow https://www.instagram.com/torontobingo/. The comics are typically spot on and always good for a smile. Basics act like the Bloor Viaduct leads to some alternate reality where apartments are cheaper and WHERE NO MAN HAS WALKED BEFORE #toronto #eastend #westend
During the first twenty minutes of episode 130 of my podcast, me and my friend Elvis discuss the 2015 Pan Am Games. Spoiler alert: we completely disagree. It all happens here if you've yet to listen. As recently as early June, I was all set to hate these games. The
In early June, I wrote that I was still completely underwhelmed by the Pan Am Games. Now that they're finally here, it's time for an update. I attended a couple of torch relay celebrations over the past week. Here's something I wrote about seeing Natalie Spooner light the cauldron in
