Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus
Total 646 Posts
A 3.7 magnitude earthquake struck Ramara last night, just before 11pm. Ramara, I'm told, is 3 km east of Orillia and about 100 km north of Toronto. FOTM hall of famer VP of Salez felt it in Mimico, but I didn't feel a thing. Nor did my wife who
On the heels of my "This Winter Isn't So Bad" post, I feel like hibernating today. My son's hockey game was cancelled due to inclement weather, and I see nothing on my calendar. Meanwhile, Environment Canada is throwing an Orange Warning regarding today's winter storm. It reads like a telegram
According to Environment Canada, it's currently -23°C in Toronto. At least when you factor in the windchill, and it's pretty windy out there. With all the snow we got 8 days ago, and this current deep freeze, I'm reading social media posts about how awful this winter has been
In this 1834th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Chris Higgins about the Humber River in the west end of Toronto. This episode is full of #funfacts and #mindblows. This episode is exactly 1:19:49. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Listen on
As I mentioned to Rob Bowman today on Toronto Mike'd, it was on this day in 1963 that Palace Pier, one of Toronto's premier dance halls, burned down. I was tipped off to this fact by Jeremy Hopkin, who also colourized the photo above. To commemorate this anniversary, I biked
It's finally happening. Filmores Gentlemans Club at 212 Dundas Street East is closing for good on January 31, 2026. If you're thinking condo development, you're correct. It's 45 years and out as Menkes Developments purchased Filmores strip club and hotel property in 2020, and plans to redevelop the site with
On a chilly December 21 night, I biked to Augusta Avenue and Nassau Street for the 2025 Kensington Market Winter Solstice Festival. Here's some of the parade. Here's the effigy, very welcome on a cold night.
This photo of Casa Loma was taken in 1920. Casa Loma, Toronto's only castle, was only a few years old at that point, built by Sir Henry Pellatt for $3.5m. Over 100 years later, Casa Loma will host Jeremy Hopkin and I for a very special recording of episode
Despite having been legal drinking age for over three decades in this city, I had never been to The Imperial Pub at 54 Dundas St E. I didn't go to the school now known as TMU, I went to U of T, but to be honest, I'm not really a
I'm rather fascinated by the Cloverdale Mall. Sherway Gardens is for the rich, the Dixie Value Mall is for the poors, and there in the middle is the Cloverdale Mall. I visit it often, if not to visit FOTM fact checker Robert Lawson at Sunrise Records, then to see what
FOTM David Kines must have a soft spot for me, because he keeps inviting me to cool stuff, like this morning's Hollywood Suite x GameTV Breakfast in the Imperial Ballroom of the Royal York hotel. I always meet cool and interesting people, some of whom I know, but many of
I'm old enough that I well remember the first Molson Indy Toronto race held at Exhibition Place in 1986. Bobby Rahal won that race, and although it would eventually become the Honda Indy, it was a summer staple in Toronto for almost 40 years. Now the Toronto IndyCar race is
Snow invited me to ABG Day yesterday at Allenbury Gardens. What I witnessed was a community coming out to enjoy free ice cream, BBQ, drinks and several bouncy castles. Oh yes, and great music and plenty of giveaways, including bikes and skateboards. It was wonderful. The man behind this annual
In this 1749th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike talks about songs that mention Toronto. Not T.O., not T-Dot, not The Six and not the 416, but Toronto. Or Trawna. I'm good with either. This episode is exactly 19:07. You can listen to this episode in a variety of
Last month I wrote about Toronto's new park. It's called Biidaasige Park and it's a little east on Commissioners Street from Cherry Street. If you just take Cherry Street, you'll miss it, at least I did, and you'll end up at Cherry Beach. Be sure to turn off Cherry at
In this 1741st episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with historian Jeremy Hopkin about the history of Sunnyside in Toronto. This episode is exactly 1:32:02. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Listen on Apple PodcastsFollow on SpotifyFollow on Amazon MusicSubscribe on Podcast AddictSubscribe
As I wrote that title, I got a little shiver. I had to remind myself that I am not going back to the office. My last days in an office were in 2011, 14 years ago. I was lucky enough to work from home pre-COVID. Then, everyone seemed to be
I recently wrote about my tour of the Toronto Island with Warren Hoselton. It was mainly a walking tour, but there was some water taxi action as well. There's a stretch west of Centre Island by Hanlon's Point where the trees have been overwhelmed by cormorants. We're talking thousands of
Firstly, right off the bat of Babe Ruth when he was with the Providence Grays hitting his first professional home run against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hanlon's Point in 1914, the photo above was taken by yours truly last night. It's not AI, it's not stolen from Google Images,
In this 1739th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with photographer Andrew Budziak about his explorations of Toronto's urban wildlife and the various species he's encountered in the 416. This episode is exactly 1:18:25. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Listen on Apple
Sunlight shinging towards us... that's what Biidaasige means in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. The way to say it is Bee-daw-sih-geh. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's celebrate the biggest Toronto park to open in a generation. If you haven't been to the Port Lands lately, there's a new
I've been ironing out an annoying frame rate issue on recorded videos that were also live streamed. I think I have it sorted now. We'll find out at 2pm with Gill Deacon. This issue, in a roundabout way, had me revisiting a recording of Broken Social Scene co-founder Brendan Canning's
I've noticed this scam, primarily on Facebook and Instagram, where a sponsored post is a letter from a storeowner announcing they're closing their doors, but having a final sale. These places present themselves as an actual bricks and mortar Toronto institution and is written in a manner that it's assumed
If you've listened to any of the three Toronto Mike'd episodes recorded thus far this month (Cliff Thorburn, Michael Mongiardi and Steve Simmons), you've heard me welcome a new partner: The Waterfront BIA. Waterfront BIAI love Toronto's waterfront, and as an avid cyclist, I find myself biking to Sugar Beach
