In February I wrote of Mayor Tory’s resignation and a brouhaha around Premier Ford’s involvement with developers and the Greenbelt. That’s the old news. The new news is we have a race on to see who will be next mayor, and it seems like 8000 people are running. (Not quite, but it’s a lot.) The Toronto Star has a rundown on them, here. Election date? June 26th. If you want to vote early or find out more information, go to toronto.ca.
As for the Premier, he continues to muck about in municipal issues. Nothing new there. First he offered up Ontario Place to private developers. Now he wants to move the Science Center there. I am sure other cities and towns in Ontario wonder if he wants to be their Premier or just the Premier of Toronto.
Premier of Toronto aside, the city has received some accolades as of late. That’s good news. Toronto General Hospital was just ranked 5th best in the entire world. And Billy Bishop Airport was named one of best in world too. Even the TTC managed to win an award, as one of the world’s most efficient transit systems in North America.
Lord knows the TTC could use some praise. It’s suffering lately. There was a fire erupting on TTC subway tracks at Bloor and Yonge station. There continues to be problems with violence. I suspect ridership is still down as Torontonians continue to work from home. And while it is good that it is being upgraded on places like Queen Street, that doesn’t make it easier for us to love it.
The TTC is still great, though. Not only it relatively efficient, it also has some great architecture, as this slideshow illustrates. (One of my favs is Rosedale, below.)
Other good news about Toronto: the Taste of the Danforth is set to return this summer for first time since 2019. There’s also this to look forward to: a major Keith Haring exhibition is coming to the AGO in Toronto. Awesome.
Not so awesome: Indigo was hit with a ransomware attack that not only affected their business, but employees’ personal information was leaked. Also not good: the recent Toronto Marathon sounds like it was a shambles. And of course no one seems to know when the Eglinton Crosstown line will be done. This did not stop Marcus Gee from praising the Ford government for all his is “doing right” in tearing up the area of midtown Toronto. Good grief.
If you can make it to midtown Toronto despite our woes, try and get some coffee from DeMello. It’s great! Turns out they are expanding downtown. That’s great too.
Foodwise, a new place in Bloordale has opened and looks really good: 1211. It joins a list of restaurants best categorized as eclectic. Here’s to more new eclectic places.
While new restaurants are good, so too are the olds. You can find many of those old school restaurants listed here. One that is both eclectic and old school is Gale’s Snack Bar. When it opened in Leslieville more than 50 years ago nothing cost more than $10 today that remains true. Amazing. Speaking of old restaurants, Country Style hungarian restaurant turns 60 this year and plans on serving schnitzel for years to come. That something I am happy to hear about, since so many of my favorite Hungarian places are gone. (You can read about them here and here.)
Finally, here’s a blast from the Toronto past: the rise and fall of MuchMusic. And I discovered that the Health Center that I pass almost daily on Yonge used to be a police station (no 53). I always thought it was a hospital. Instead it was the home of the police, right next door to the fire department. (The fire fighters haven’t moved but the police have a newer and bigger place on Eglinton and Duplex.).
Smart People I Know 