Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus
Total 646 Posts
This is really the only time of year you can justify sharing a good ghost story, so for the second year in a row I'm going to share my favourite ghost story of them all. This one is about a ghost named Reznikoff who haunts University College at the University
Earlier in the week I complained about house prices in Toronto. I've just discovered that you can in fact still buy a house in Toronto for under $200,000. In fact, a charming little home near St. Clair and Dufferin is going for only $179,900. It's the smallest house
The Buffalo Bills are seeking approval to play a preseason and at least one regular season game in Toronto. When I followed the NFL, the Bills were my favourite team. If anything can bring me back to the NFL, it's the relocation of the Bills to Toronto. Yes, this is
At this rate, Toronto will soon be a playground for the very rich. Home prices in the 416 area code continue to rise and now Torontonians like myself are experiencing a very interesting phenomenon. We can't afford to buy our own homes. When I originally bought my house, I was
Toronto Mayor David Miller recently initiated a series of cuts to city services, including delaying the opening of outdoor rinks until January. That meant our outdoor public skating rinks would be closed during the Christmas season. MasterCard has fixed that. MasterCard is donating $160,000 to make sure city ice
It's October 8th and I'm sitting on the porch coming to the realization that's it's just too damn hot to be outside right now. What is it, 30°? It's stifling. It hasn't been warmer on Thanksgiving Day since I hit the earth. Don't tell Suzuki, but I'm thinking of throwing
Are you happy? Do you love the city you live in? Are you proud to be a Torontonian? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you might want to disable the AM band on your radio. I caught ten minutes of John Oakley this morning on AM640
I heard someone mention The Barracuda on CFNY this morning. In the mid-90s I used to frequent The Barracuda at 21 Scollard Street near Yonge and Bloor, usually on Thursday nights. As I recall, Monday nights were Phoenix nights and Thursday nights were Barracuda nights. The allure was the fact
We all saw it coming. If it wasn't Dubai it would have been Chicago, Tokyo or Guangzhou. For 31 years, just about my entire life on this planet, the CN Tower was the world's tallest free standing structure at 553 metres. The Burj Dubai hotel passed 553 metres overnight, bumping
The Taste of the Kingsway festival has been around for ten years but I don't think I ever went until today. Sure, I made fun of it, but I never made the stroll to that part of Bloor Street to check it out. It's okay. The kids got on a
Today is the city of Toronto's recreation and cultural program registration day for Etobicoke and York districts. That means Daddy has to wake up early to battle other mommies and daddies for a valuable spot in desired courses. James needs swimming lessons and Michelle is dying to take ballet, so
Now that I've finally got used to calling the O'Keefe Centre the Hummingbird Centre, they're changing the name to the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. Hummingbird Centre, we had some good times together. I'll never forget that Hip concert with Sam Roberts opening or Edward Scissorhands. Memories...
In the past, playoff games in our slo-pitch league have always taken place in September. Tonight's playoff game, on August 20, is by far the earliest date on record. It just seems too early to potentially play our last games, but there's a reason we're already this far in the
I love to walk and sometimes I'll just walk the streets of Toronto. There's so much character to this place, the buildings, the people, the parks and the sounds all add texture to the fabric of our city. I discovered Damon Schreiber's most recent photo project here and I'm so
I love this city. They don't call me Toronto Mike for nothing. I was born in the 416, I've lived every second of my life in the 416 and I very well may die in the 416, although I'm hoping not for a very long time. The City of Toronto
I didn't have to go into the office today because it's Simcoe Day. At least that's what we call this holiday here in Toronto. The question is, who the hell is this Simcoe guy? In a nutshell, and shamelessly copied and pasted from Wikipedia, John Graves Simcoe (February 25, 1752
In his entry We Need More Toronto Blogs, Accordion Guy calls out popular local blogs that focus too heavily on the local Toronto hipster crowd. Accordion Guy writes that this demo is mostly white, under 30, and only attend events that take place in an area bounded by… Dupont on
I was just starting to wonder where the wasps are this summer. Until this past weekend, I don't think I saw a single one in our backyard, and now I'm seeing them all over the place. Did they arrive late this year or is this their usual pattern?
680 Traffic and Weather - This is actually pretty handy to have around. It's the most recent 680 News traffic as an MP3. This one is for locals only.
The Toronto area has the second-lowest crime rate of all large urban regions in Canada, behind Quebec City, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada. One of the great myths about Toronto is that it's a dangerous, crime-ridden place. Per capita, it doesn't get much safer. Greater Toronto had
I once wrote that I like progress but dislike change. I'm wondering if this isn't true of most Torontonians. Over the past few months, three of our city's distinct signs have been threatened, garnering a great deal of press in the process. First there was the Sam the Record Man
Honest Ed Mirvish passed away earlier today, and that's got me thinking about the man and what he meant to this city. His annual Christmas turkey giveaway is legendary and Mirvish Productions has brought a great deal of theatre to Toronto, but I'm going to focus on more personal memories
According to this National Post blog entry, Zanta is leaving Toronto for Brampton. Zanta is a rather polarizing local figure. Some love him and many despise him. I never minded the dude or his persona. Farewell, Zanta. I'm sure you'll be back one day.
It ain't the Sam's Yonge Street facade, but it's noteworthy. They're taking down the Citytv today, or maybe tomorrow. You know that truck that appears to be bursting out of the side of the building on Queen and John. We saw this coming when Rogers announced Citytv was leaving the
Running in Etienne Brule Park this morning, I saw a number of inukshuk on the Humber River. I'm not sure who built them, but it was quite the sight on this Canada Day. From good ol' Wikipedia, here's what they symbolize. An inuksuk is a stone landmark used as a
