Browse By

Category Archives: National Post

Threats To Rustic Lifestyle

A river runs through it. Well, it’s a more of a creek than a river; “it” being the square of western North York officially known to the city as Rustic. It’s a quaint oasis of sleepy, post-war suburbia — the Black Creek and scenic parks, churches and schools nestled neatly among bungalows — the sort of place that inspired the Monkees to record Pleasant Valley Sunday and Geddy Lee to wail about Subdivisions.

Germany’s furry blitzkrieg

From a base in Kassel, Germany– once the home of fairy-tale masters the Brothers Grimm — entire panzer divisions of invading Waschbaren (“wash bears”) have been fanning out across Europe for decades.

Native to North and Central America, the raccoon first sailed east across the Atlantic in the 19th century, when its furs were in high demand by the fashionistas of the day. Periodically, a few captive raccoons did manage to escape (in one incident, for example, an Allied bomb hit a raccoon farm outside Berlin in 1945, liberating dozens of the furry inmates).

City: Let them eat franks

Late-spring sunshine bathed the third annual St. James Town Festival, which went ahead despite an 11th-hour permit scare, thanks to a sacrifice made by Festival volunteers – their lunches.

Big boxes, cold shoulder

On May 18, at the Ralph Thornton Centre on Queen Street East, politicians, developers and Leslieville residents met under the stewardship of Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth) to discuss what many in the community had been fearing for months – namely, what one opponent called the “malignant” intrusion of big-box retail into their neighbourhood, Wal-Mart generally being the most feared tenant.

No Thumbnail

Flying in formation

A migratory bird with little time for Toronto is what inspired North York artist Stephen Cruise, and what anchored his vision for his latest commission. Last week, Concord Adex Developments unveiled Concord Park Place, a 42-acre, $2-billion condo project along Sheppard Avenue East between Bessarion

No Thumbnail

Where BlackBerrys cannot follow

Ends of the Earth Getting away from the infernal BlackBerry – cellphones too – can be daunting. It takes willpower to unplug. You can connect from just about anywhere, it seems. Even cruise ships are no longer safe. So, where to go to get away

No Thumbnail

Bumper crop in the park

Tuesday afternoon was a gloriously sunny 28C, perfect for a walk west out of Riverdale, through the park and across the pedestrian bridge over the DVP, which is exactly what I did. Over the bridge stands Riverdale Farm, an enclave of what us city folk

No Thumbnail

Soaring hospital costs

There’s no two-tier health care at Etobicoke General Hospital. But if you’re a rare peregrine falcon, you might get a free private room. Earlier this month, volunteers from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation, a non-profit group focused on helping endangered and threatened birds of prey, built

No Thumbnail

Gross misconduct

On doors and windows and countertops at food establishments all over the city are the familiar green “pass” signs assuring us that the grub is good, at least according to Toronto Public Health. But seldom does one spy a yellow or red sign. Is the

No Thumbnail

On His Home Court

MORRIS PETERSON Morris Peterson, the longest-serving Toronto Raptor, knows a thing or two about his adopted hometown — and about success. For the first time since 2002, his squad is heading to the playoffs. MoPete took time out to speak to Philip Alves about life