Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus
Total 612 Posts
When I was a kid, there was a BiWay on Annette street just east of Jane. If a kid came to school wearing BiWay brand Champion's Choice clothing, the other kids would let 'em have it. If you don't remember BiWay, it was a discount department store chain that was
I took my oldest son to the Blue Jays game today, and we rode the subway to Union Station. On the Yonge–University line, both ways, we enjoyed the new Bombardier subway trains, and that got me thinking... This next generation of subway riders will never require the Red Rocket
Today, I took my kids to the Ontario Science Centre to see the IMAX film "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar" and check out The Science of Rock 'n' Roll experience. Both were pretty awesome. "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar" is what you'd expect from a Morgan Freeman narrated IMAX movie about Lemurs,
Many years ago, Sam the Record Man at 347 Yonge Street closed. Ryerson bought the building and promised to save the sign. We Torontonians love our signs. City council voted this morning to have the sign reassembled on the roof of 277 Victoria Street, a city-owned building on the east
Taking the subway to university on Thursdays meant picking up a copy of Eye Weekly. Eye Weekly was a cool alternative weekly newspaper that was distributed for free in Toronto. I always found something interesting to read in there. In May of 2011, Eye Weekly was rebranded / relaunched as The
The NBA Draft is tonight. Several Canadians, mostly from the GTA, are likely to be drafted. That would make this by far the best NBA draft for Canadian talent. The previous high for Canadians drafted was three, set in 1983 and 2012. This year, three Canadians may go in the
The Guvernment / Kool Haus Entertainment Complex at 132 Queens Quay East is closing its doors for good on January 31, 2015. The last gig I saw at the Kool Haus was the CASBY Awards 2008. You can read my recap of that event here. Looking back, that was a pretty
Jane’s Walk is a movement of free, locally led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. The walks get people to explore their cities and connect with neighbours. Jane's Walk is May 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
This is my first spring living by Lake Ontario. Today during my mid-day bike ride, I must have consumed a pound of bug flesh before finishing the ride with my shirt pulled over my nose and mouth. There are swarms and swarms of these bugs along the bike trails parallel
The World's Biggest Bookstore at 20 Edward Street is now closed forever. Soon, four restaurants will be opened in its place. In honour of its final day, here's The World's Biggest Bookstore's cameo in Short Circuit 2. Don't be fooled by that USA Today box outside the bookstore. That really
I tuned in for the first 15-minutes of this evening's 2014 mayoral debate. That was all I could stomach. So much sound and fury, signifying nothing. If you watched the entire thing, kudos to you. Here are four thoughts I had after I flipped off the television. Those Who Support
The Canadian Soccer Association wants Canada to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They're proposing games in 11 stadiums in 10 different Canadian cities. Toronto would be the city with two stadiums used for World Cup matches. What's most interesting is that the final match would take place at Toronto's
Now that Olivia Chow has entered the Toronto mayoral race, let's check our pulse seven months before the election. Leave a comment listing your preference among these top five candidates (listed in alphabetical order): Olivia ChowRob FordDavid SoknackiKaren StintzJohn ToryEveryone is welcome to chime in, regardless of where you live,
This photo was taken by the Sterling Tower at 372 Bay Street after the end of World War II. [Via reddit]
Last fall, I promised myself I'd bike through this winter. Sure, there'd be the odd deep freeze and snowfall in the way, but Toronto winters are typically pretty good for winter biking. Not this winter. This winter has sucked. It's wave after relentless wave of polar vortex windchill warnings and
As reported in The Independent, Toronto has come out on top as the world's most youthful city. The YouthfulCities Index takes the top cities and rates them on 16 aspects of city life, including economic status and culture. Youth is classed from 15-29 and over 1,500 youth participants helped
During yesterday's Winter Classic, Detroit's Brendan Smith was referred to as being "from Mimico". A couple of Leafs, Dave Bolland and David Clarkson, are also "Mimico boys". In high school, I heard all about the legend of alumnus Brendan Shanahan "from Mimico". For the unaware, Mimico is a neighbourhood in
This is my first winter in my new home in southwest Toronto. I was told the effect of being so close to Lake Ontario was cooler summers and warmer winters. I'm assuming that's why we've been spared the worst of this Toronto ice storm. Don't get me wrong, it's icy
I have a good friend who would consider himself a proud member of Ford Nation. At least he used to. Today, that same friend tells me Rob Ford has to resign. At some point over the past few weeks, a straw broke the proverbial camel's back. Rob Ford was democratically
As a kid and teenager, the old Runnymede Theatre on Bloor Street was one of the two movie theatres I frequented. I wrote about my Runnymede Theatre memories seven years ago. When the theatre was closing, there was concern whether the new tenants would be able to preserve the history
The staff at TorontoMike.com are busy going through the newly released court documents that show the alleged Ford crack video was the target of a police investigation that led to dozens of arrests. There are lots of fascinating nuggets in this document, all painting the mayor as a guy
In February of 2004, Conan O'Brien brought Late Night to Toronto. I know because I was there. While in Toronto, he had Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall fame give him a tour.
[via Reddit]
This was the conference opening video from TEDxToronto 2013.
When I was a kid, the frustration when riding the subway was that I couldn't get the radio on my Sony Walkman. There was no signal. Today that frustration has morphed into the sad fact we can't get a cell signal on the subway in Toronto. Most of my life
