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Mayoral Hopeful Brad Bradford Robs Beach Residents of Parking on Pine Crescent
Authorize the removal of the overnight on-street permit parking program on Pine Crescent, between Balsam Avenue and Glen Manor Road East
Authorize the removal of the overnight on-street permit parking program on Pine Glen Road, between Glen Manor Drive East and Pine Crescent
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Mayoral Hopeful Brad Bradford Robs Beach Residents of Parking
By Melissa Peters
On a beautiful summer day, in comfortable shoes with nothing to carry, walking six blocks or more might not seem like a big deal. Renters in the Toronto Beaches might even enjoy the opportunity to explore the area and check out the unique gardens, Little Free Libraries, and, of course, the stunning beaches themselves.
A few months later, though, coming home from Costco with two little kids in an ice storm, finding overnight parking, or any parking at all for that matter, starts to look like one of the most important things in the world.
It all started back in 2019, when between two and four premium Beaches parking spots vanished from the waterfront at Hammersmith and Hubbard. That was around the same time that the resident parking instead became paid parking for shoppers and tourists close to Queen Street East in the popular Beaches neighbourhood.
Fast forward to 2023. It’s been quiet in the Beaches lately. Covid shut down the Beaches Jazz Festival for a couple of years. People were afraid to leave their homes out of fear of contracting COVID-19. Was parking in abundance, or were people too worried about more important things to notice? Maybe it’s just that they weren’t notified about the plethora of parking spots being stolen from their neighborhoods?
It looks like we might just be out of the woods, and tourists are venturing back down to the sparkling water as the weather gets better. Problem is, this leaves absolutely nowhere for the renters and residents to park. It was always a challenge in the Beaches, but something else has changed. The dawn of yet a New horizon of vanishing overnight parking spots. The count has begun.. One of nine streets. .Pine Crescent 80 spots.
Beach Residents Expected to Park on the Sand
By Melissa Peters for Queen Street News
People who can afford homes with parking spaces (and who happen to know the right people) are calling the city and telling them to take parking spots from those who DON’T have them. On October 28, 2019, between two and four parking spots were ELIMINATED from the waterfront, just east of Kew Gardens.
In the heart of the Beach neighbourhood, down by the water, is the intersection of Hammersmith and Hubbard. A three-storey building with 18 units backs on to the boardwalk, offering a stunning view of the lake to lucky residents since 1929. Over the years, more and more single-family homes have been built around 15 Hubbard and the surrounding area, but, as prices soared, many have been converted into multiple-unit, often fourplex-style dwellings. It’s no secret that parking is at a premium in the Beach, especially when the weather is nice, and as more people flock to live near the Boardwalk, it is already next to impossible for the locals to park anywhere near their homes.
There aren’t really places to put new parking spots down by the lake without destroying the natural beauty that makes the Beach so popular in the first place, so what has the city done recently to address the parking shortage in the Beach? They started by converting the bottom end of a bunch of residential streets into paid parking, which eliminated over thirty spots north of Queen. That didn’t go over well. But they didn’t stop there. As of Monday, the area around 15 Hubbard is now down an ADDITIONAL 2-4 parking spots as the signs went from “No Parking within 15m” to simply “No Parking” at the intersection of Alfresco Lawn and Wineva Avenue. Apparently some homeowners on Wineva didn’t like looking out the side windows and seeing the tops of cars, so they called the city and asked them to change the rules on that corner to eliminate the parking near the stop signs facing south and east on that particular intersection.
The city complied. If you look at the intersection, you will see that the stop sign is actually set BACK from the intersection, so parking in the previously legal spots was already WELL behind the legal 9m limit from the corner. The intersection isn’t completely straight either- it jogs slightly, so you can see oncoming cars coming and going well before making any turn or proceeding. The cars that were parked there before October 28th weren’t posing any sort of safety hazard, weren’t blocking any driveways or views, weren’t blocking a graded sidewalk designed for wheelchairs, weren’t blocking fire hydrants. They were just empty, handy, premium parking spaces that the local residents would downright celebrate finding so close to home.
One resident who has been here for the better part of twenty years had to drive around the block three times tonight before finally parking nineteen houses north of his front door. When the city was asked what became of this long-time resident’s trusty parking spots, he was told that multiple calls had been made to 311 complaining about the cars parked near the stop sign and that the city had sent someone out to inspect the intersection and assess whether or not the parking spots were posing safety concerns. When asked if this practice was normal, or if it was normal for perfectly safe spots to vanish into thin air, the answer was NO.
It’s amazing that parents can beg for speed bumps near a school, and not get them until a child gets hit by a car, while a city councillor gets them on his or her street (nowhere near a school zone) the following week. It’s unlikely that anyone could call 311 and have parking spots eliminated from an area in dire need of them, unless said person had some serious influence over the person or persons making decisions. The gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen, and now, even fewer of those who can actually afford to have a car in the Beach will be able to park their cars south of Gerrard.
Honey Bee Goes Condo: More Floods In Beach Homes
Honey Bee Goes Condo: More Floods In Beach Homes
Each time a few single family homes are replaced with a towering Condominium, the number of toilets, sinks and people goes up. As the waste going into the system increases dramatically, where does all of that waste go? Can our city really handle piling more people, one on top of another above a crumbling infrastructure? The Beach, especially, is dependent on little more than the R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant, and it simply doesn’t seem plausible for the improvements to the plant to keep up with the demand on the system. It occurred to us that this might have something to do with some of the flooding issues that take place, and we weren’t wrong.
Bill the trusty Master plumber told Paul and I on the phone that, about 25 years ago, the city charged people for the installation of a mandatory dual drain system (it wasn’t cheap-twice the price of the original one) and never bothered hooking it up. They even have names and numbers of people who paid the bill for the work that the city never completed, and we intend to speak with these people to see how they feel about what happened. In theory, the system sounded like a great idea. One pipe would be the designated sanitation pipe, and the other would be reserved as a storm drain, separating rain water from the household sanitation system so it wouldn’t have to be filtered and so it wouldn’t be combined in volume with the internal pipes and cause flooding. Great idea, right? They actually do this out in the suburbs, but even the homes in the beach that have the fancy new system are still pumping all of their water to the same place, which means the R.C. Harris Water filtration plant still has to filter the rainwater on top of the ever-growing sanitation waste.
Regarding the infrastructure that’s behind many of the problems, the city insists that building permits for condos and such are based on the Engineering Department’s assessment of whether or not the city can handle the additional sanitation needs. Watching my friend on Gerrard wade through her basement last week, something doesn’t add up.Toronto isn’t the only place where the infrastructure can’t keep up with the growth, as the costs are in the billions, and nobody likes when the powers that be raise taxes, but the beach is at additional disadvantages. Aside from the obvious downhill water flow, and proximity to the lake, we have a system that simply can’t take the sheer volume of water. Aside from the filtration plant and back out, there’s nowhere for it to go. It gets pumped or run out of our homes, into the drains and ground, and right back into our basements.
Drains have a lifespan, so they will eventually have to be replaced due to wear-and-tear, tree roots or for some other reason. The city will grant some funding to replace pipes on city property, but only when there’s a problem- they aren’t in the business of preventative replacement. One politician, on live television at the time, insisted that a homeowner wouldn’t be responsible for the cost of flooding issues in her home, but she got a phone call later that night telling her that it was all for the cameras. Gotta love politicians.
The problems aren’t limited to the older homes though- the charming little neighbourhood between Woodbine and Kingston, Queen and Lakeshore, not the best place to build three-story homes. The homes were essentially built on what the plumbers referred to as ‘table’ or ground water. The land is at such a level that it is practically a dry(ISH) extension of the lake itself. — By Melissa Peters
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Vinyl LP Record Pressing Plant In Toronto
Vinyl LP wait is over – Introductory Discount
http://vinylrecordspressing.com/vinyl-lp-wait-is-over-introductory-discount/
Offer your artists and fans Vinyl and have it in your hand THIS SUMMER!
Order by July 1, 2016 and get 5% off!
Vinyl LP Record Pressing Plant In Toronto
Are you new to vinyl?
Sound Quality
The thickness and quality of the vinyl is imperative when it comes to a good quality vinyl lp. In the early 70’s, as a cost cutting move, much of the music industry began reducing both the thickness and the quality of record vinyl. Marketed by RCA Victor as the Dynaflex (125g) process, it was considered inferior by most collectors. Something to keep in mind when shopping for older recordings, but likely unavoidable in a lot of cases. Most vinyl records are pressed from a mixture of 70/30% virgin to recycled vinyl. New or “virgin” heavy/heavyweight (180-220g) vinyl is commonly used modern audiophile vinyl releases. Many collectors prefer heavyweight vinyl albums for their superior sound because of their higher tolerance against deformation from normal wear and tear.
Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
Dust, oil and dirt not only takes away from the sound, playing a dirty vinyl LP actually damages the playing surface, so keeping your vinyl record collection clean is very important. Many commercial products contain isopropyl alcohol and shouldn’t- despite the nice shiny result, the alcohol actually strips the protective coating and leaves the vinyl LP vulnerable to damage and the sound brittle and grainy. Your best bet is a device specifically designed for cleaning- some are quite inexpensive, or a non-abrasive microfiber cloth in a pinch. Some people recommend dish soap, but the reviews on that vary, and rinsing with water is difficult without damaging the label. Handle them at the edges and make sure you center them before putting them on the turntable so they don’t get damaged. Aside from that, sit back and enjoy the tunes!
Quo Vado Italian Contemporary Film Festival June 9, 2016
Quo Vado Italian Contemporary Film Festival June 9, 2016
An exciting event, hosted by the Italian Contemporary Film Festival. On Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 2pm, we will be at the Italian Institute of Culture, 496 Huron St., Toronto, celebrating the upcoming International premier of hit comedy film, “Quo Vado” at the ICFF 2016 with actor/comedian Luca Medici a.k.a. Checco Zalone and Director Gennaro Nunziante. The film takes place in a small town in Italy, where government reform to cut bureaucracy creates a whole new and challenging reality for Checco, who grew up privileged, with a guaranteed job as a public servant.
In English, the title translates to “Where Am I Going?” has hit home with Italians all too familiar with precarious working conditions, and is reflective of how the economy and job security have changed over the years in Italy. Bypassing Star Wars, the film actually beat out Avatar for the top-grossing film in Italian box office history, generating well over 59 million euros.
The press conference is open for Q&A with Media Representative and general public.
Director, Gennaro Nunziante also wrote his films, and is best known for his 2013 film, “What a Beautiful Day”. Luca Medici a.k.a. Checco Zalone has starred in various Nunziante films, with both writing and composition credits, including “What a Beautiful Day” (2011), “Cado dalle nubi” (2009), and “Sole a catinelle” (2013). He became famous in 2006 thanks to the song Siamo una squadra fortissimi.
Nunziante and Zalone share the same hometown of Bari, Italy, giving them a common world from which they can be inspired and collaborate to create such ground-breaking films as “Quo Vado”. These two very talented artists obviously work very well together, and this film has put them on the map. It would be no surprise to see an increase in the popularity of their previous projects. Even more exciting will be to see what they come up with next!
By Melissa Peters
Honda Indy Toronto returns to July dates at Exhibition Place
Honda Indy Toronto returns to July dates at Exhibition Place
After accommodating the PanAm and ParaPan Am Games last year by racing in June, the Honda Indy Toronto will be celebrating it’s 30th Anniversary at Exhibition Place(Lakeshore Avenue Strachan) on the traditional dates again this year, July 15-17.
“Honda Indy Toronto has been a summer staple for generations of Torontonians and festival goers from across Ontario and beyond,” said Jeff Atkinson, newly-appointed President of Honda Indy Toronto. “We’re working hard on growing the festival programming to create an event that is fun, exciting for all ages, and that builds on its legacy and connects with the history of the race.”
The Verizon IndyCar Series headlines the event weekend, featuring some of racing’s best drivers including Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Marco Andretti and 2016 Series Champion Scott Dixon, among others.
Aspiring young drivers to the Verizon IndyCar Series will also be showcased during the Honda Indy as the entire Mazda Road to Indy ladder series will return, which includes Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.
Pictured posted are from last year event , where Josef Newgarden (#67) took first place, boasting 53 points, a full 12 points over second-place finisher, Luca Fillippi (#20), and averaging 90.41 mph. Number Three himself, Helio Castroneves, came in third with 36 points.
Honda Indy Toronto Winner#indyTO#hondaindy#Toronto#Indycar#VerizonIndyCar#bloornewshttp://t.co/HlUxsQ1mS8 pic.twitter.com/0VzJkOTyxf
— Bloor News Toronto (@bloornews) June 15, 2015
Ontario’s largest sporting event is much more than the racing itself, featuring live entertainment, interactive games and activities, celebrity appearances, gourmet food, charity events, and countless other attractions. Celebrating 30 years, the organizers have guaranteed to make the three days action-packed, and have the whole family racing to experience everything the event has to offer!
Visit http://www.hondaindytoronto.com/festival for schedules, tickets and information on MotorFest, TasteFest and BeerFest.
@hondaindy
Returns to July dates@ExPlaceTO#indyTO#hondaindy#Toronto#Indycar#VerizonIndyCar#bloornews pic.twitter.com/xGMOgkGZ9k— Bloor News Toronto (@bloornews) June 6, 2016
And don’t miss out on Fan Friday, when Honda covers your admission in exchange for a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “With generous support from fans, Honda Canada and the Ontario Honda Dealers have raised more than $443,000 for Make-A-Wish®, helping to make the wishes of children who are living with a life-threatening medical condition come true.
30th Anniversary of Racing in Toronto with Honda Indy
——————————————————————————————
#HondaIndyToronto
#indyTO
#hondaindy
#Toronto
#Indycar
#VerizonIndyCar
DON”T LET MURTON CONTROL YOU
This article is more for my advertisers than the general reading public. I’d like to defend myself and my character regarding some slanderous, libellous and baseless accounts being made against myself and my business endeavours. Over the last few months my former business associate Leroy has been slamming me in his local newspaper with maniacal ranting’s, stories and crazy lies that have absolutely no foundation.
Don’t have a “falling out” with the owner of a newspaper that has no assets. Suing him for defamation of character will not work. There’s nothing there! The only way to set the record straight is for me to write a reply and defend myself against these nonsensical allegations. Leroy’s current issue warns readers “DON”T LET MURTON CONTROL YOU“. I was interested to find out more, so I went out to see if I could pick up a copy of the latest issue of his Ward 32 newsletter. I looked in all the usual spots, but none were to be found. Unfortunately Leroy had already hand delivered copies of his current newsletter to all of my advertisers, and business associates with a sales pitch on using his paper, and his services not mine to promote their products. A quick view of his web site, (www.ward32.ca) shows only three papers published per year. Leroy and his dwindling sales team promise readers and advertisers their ads and stories go into a newsletter with a monthly distribution of 50,000. We can gather from the sparse and very intermittent publications that his promise of publishing 50.000 copies monthly is just another of Leroy’s lies and misrepresentations. Much as he misrepresents many charities, collecting monies for charities that no longer exist, never did exist, or are simply made-up. This is a man who resorts to extorting money from the good people of Toronto. The very act of misrepresenting charities and quite frankly robbing those less fortunate, such as the recent Salvation Army robbery of 5 tractor trailer loads of toys for Toronto’s poor and less fortunate, is an absolute indicator of this man’s character and moral turpitude.
For those wondering, why all this fuss about Leroy’s lies, why and where they are coming from you have to understand that Leroy’s lack of publishing lead to his sales team moving over to work for me. In his crazed mind he thinks I have stolen his paper from him, thus an effort by a crazy man to try and close down my papers. Past issues of Leroy’s Rag have claimed that as a sales rep for a debit card machine. I am slowly robbing your bank account. In the real world, and as a sales rep only, I have no access to anybody’s bank account, nor do I work for any bank that would do this. Quite frankly there is no such bank that would allow such illegal activity. It is neither in the banks best interest, or their customers for that matter, to allow the sharing of confidential and personal banking details to be accessed by anyone other than the banks themselves, or their customers. It’s quite silly really to think anyone could have such access to private bank account information.
My second best story from Leroy is that I Paul Murton, am a master spy posing as local store owner, slowly and methodically scooping up your corporate identities for my evil empire and world domination plans. There will be more ranting’s, sour grapes and crazy talk from this very ill man, a convicted criminal with a 20 year and ongoing addiction to crack cocaine. This drug use is obviously having a serious and detrimental effect on his mind. How else can you explain this reprehensible and shameless behaviour? by Paul Murton
Danforth Music Fest and / or Beaches Blues Festival are Fake Charities
There are some wonderful charities out there, without whom many people would have little, if anything to celebrate this holiday season. So far, it seems you can’t go wrong with toys/food/clothing drives, donating goods or your valuable time to causes like the CHUM Christmas Wish, or the Daily Bread Food Bank. Sadly, there are Grinches out there trying to take advantage of your charitable nature, and it’s important to ensure you donations are going to the right place. Many fraud artists know how to avoid getting caught, asking for smaller donations, or asking that people purchase a ticket to something, claiming a portion of the proceeds will go towards a particular cause are common tactics.
If someone asks you for money, ask for details about their organization, for their charitable organization number, the name of the founder/CEO, business address, and where you can find more information online. Hopefully this will weed out some of the fakes. Do your research- Google is a good thing, so use it and ask around.
The Danforth Music Fest/Beaches Blues Festival (not to be confused with the Waterfront Music Festival!!) is an example of a “charitable organization” to watch out for. The proof that the organization no longer qualifies to distribute tax receipts is a matter of public record, yet it is business as usual for Mr. Leroy St Germaine and his minions selling tickets with the promise of “a portion of the proceeds going to charity.” That portion is LESS than 1%. There is nothing illegal about selling tickets for a music event and collecting donations with nothing more than a PRETENSE of charitable fundraising, although it is most defininitely reprehensible and behavior void of morals.
Banks get to know customers, and aren’t as cautious about checking the annual validity of supposed charities before cashing their cheques… maybe the banks should be required to review which charities are still eligible to accept donations annually in order to prevent fraud. If the cheques aren’t being watched by the banks, where is the money going? If the charity is no longer registered, maybe nobody is asking for a statement- that’s scary.
This is not to say that all charities are bad, or that anyone should be jaded by the bad guys, but please make sure your hard earned money goes to those who really need it!
Leroy has crossed the line in his latest issue, of Ward 32 News
Leroy has crossed the line in his latest issue, of Ward 32 News, but what can Paul do about it? It’s not a police matter, and you can’t sue someone with no money or assets. All I can do is write the truth. I have known Paul Murton for over fifteen years. I have done everything from silly little jobs, to customer service, to helping print CD’s, to writing front page stories for his online and web-based publications. Included in the “silly little jobs” category was accompanying Paul to a Miss Toronto modelling tryout/photo-shoot, where the organizer, was running late. It is mandatory for Paul to have a second person at any of his photo-shoot/modelling events, preferably female for a few reasons. Paul is a good photographer/videographer in his own right, but he isn’t the ideal person to direct a shoot- make the model(s) feel comfortable, suggest poses, etc. He simply doesn’t feel comfortable telling a pretty girl to look sexy- he would feel creepy doing so, which is why he has never organized any sort of one-on-one modelling project. As stunning and photogenic as some women may be, shyness or lack of confidence get in the way, making it impossible for them to connect with the camera and allow their true beauty to shine through. I am not all that shy though, so I had no problem joking around with the women who arrived, trying to help them loosen up. When Karen finally arrived with the reigning Miss Toronto Alana Kindree, I couldn’t help noticing that our city’s beauty queen was almost as tense as the poor girls who had faced their first photo-shoot. I remember Paul asking me to tag along for similar projects over the years, but until I developed my shameful obsession with ‘America’s/Canada’s Next Top Model”, it was of no interest to me.
Paul has been hired to take pictures of aspiring models by the Miss Toronto Pageant, and is happy to continue putting tasteful and clothed shots/videos of hopeful young ladies in print and on the web at their request. Modelling careers come out of exposure of potential, and physical appearance is a large part of that potential. There are links to all of these aspiring models on most of Paul’s websites, and many of them have short clips on Youtube. There is nothing fishy, creepy or weird about it, and Paul has nothing to hide. He is simply using his web presence to give aspiring models exposure. Nobody is naked, or under age, and nobody is being manipulated.
From a co-worker of Paul Murton, and her daughter, there is nothing creepy about this man. He is simply a nice person who is happy to help his friends, and a businessman trying to pay the rent.