Toronto Today - July 2011

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oRONTO oday July 2011

MAYOR’S WAR ON GRAFFITI

Will street art survive the sweep?

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR CASA LOMA? City takes control, but no plan in place to make it viable

LOCAL REPS

Ratepayers associations still keeping watch

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Contents

Vice President of Finance

Doreen Iannuzzi

Vice President of New Media

EDITORIAL Eric McMillan EDITOR-in-chief

Dan Hoddinott MANAGING EDITOR

Shadi Raoufi

EDITORIAL ART DIRECTOR

Karolyn Coorsh Gordon Cameron Associate EDITORS

PRODUCTION SERVICES Tony Lomuto Supervisor

Dino DiMaria Production

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Director, GROUP Sales

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Director, Corporate Sales

Kathy Kerluke Business Manager

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AN EYE FOR ART Javid Alibhai teaches young street artists to paint murals

9

FASHION: Celebrate Canada Day in style

Local designers are still players in fashion market

11

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The charm is in the details with Leaside painter

14

HOME & GARDEN: Passionate obsession Lorraine Flanigan stops to smell the roses

21

COOL STUFF: Lock it and lug it

Great gadgets to use and amuse as you fly away

25

SPORTS: Gridiron girls ready to rumble Triumphant entry for lingerie football league

Plus lots more...

On the cover: Casa Loma’s uncertain future Mike Crisolago photo stylized by Eric McMillan

Sometimes the story will matter to them

W

e wish him well.

Not that he particularly covets our best wishes, I’m sure, but godspeed to Bob Rae in steering the crippled federal Liberal ship to safe harbour, anyway.

If that is, in fact, what he intends to do in his time as interim leader.

Were he to take a tip from me it would be this: do find value in preserving the culturally significant Canadian asset that is the Liberal party, and do it in a way that complements the critically needed rebranding of your own political identity.

I would offer him some other advice, as well, were I to gain his ear. (Not that I have any problem finding the path to his door, mind you, but getting him to engage has been an issue.)

Were we to meet at a local coffee shop, say, my topical contribution would likely include the importance of recognizing that engagement at the local level is a significant component of the job description of MP, Toronto Centre.

While daily dialogue with the local media may not be necessary, responsiveness is, I would note, however casually. And then add that it is often through the local media that one’s constituents find a way to connect with their Member of Parliament.

Those who voted for you, I might gently remind him, while deftly swirling my cup to maintain the ideal brown sugar-to-black coffee ratio, are they who gave you the platform to be the national statesman you perceive yourself to be. And they look to the local media for perspective on stories that matter to them.

I have interacted with politicians at every level and in many places along this winding trail journalism has brought me. But I need look no further than nearby St. Paul’s riding to find an exemplary figure to illustrate the point.

MP Carolyn Bennett can carry herself as well on the national stage as Rae or any of the other names bandied about as potential Liberal leaders, but she never forgets who brought her to the dance.

She is in return beloved by the people in her riding.

The evidence suggests Rae’s ambitions are no more to be a part of Toronto Centre life than Michael Ignatieff’s was to engage in Etobi-

Dan Hoddinott Managing Editor

coke-Lakeshore. I have no quarrel with that on its own, as long as Toronto Centre voters knew on May 2 that they were voting for theoretical input into national politics and not local representation.

At least that’s what I tell the frustrated Toronto Today reporters who too often report having hit a brick wall — this after calling the Rae camp expecting a Bennettlike response.

It is understood that politicians who emerge from within the ranks of the ridings in which they serve (Bennett) generally have a focus different than those who were dropped from a passing airplane (Rae). And Rae is by no means the first MP whose head is in places loftier than the safe riding into which he has been thrust.

Few Canadians would argue with his credentials as a nationallevel thinker, and perhaps only a few die-hard Liberals who cannot forgive his NDP past would argue with the trajectory of his ascension. But somewhere along the way, he needs to demonstrate an ability to touch both worlds.

In a parliamentary democracy, politics is ultimately local. You can wish to be a great statesman, and even demonstrate your qualifications to be one, but the stage is dependent entirely upon your ability to maintain a seat in the House of Commons.

And those who voted for him have a right to expect inclusion in political discourse, or at least to be in the know about matters in which their elected representative is a central figure.

JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY

News&Opinion

omar mosleh/toronto today

PELLATT DESCENDANT Trelawney Howell is glad to see a changing of the guard at Casa Loma, and has ideas of her own on how to make the midtown Toronto landmark a flourishing tourist attraction.

New keepers at the gate

T

By Omar Mosleh

relawny Howell sits on a lawn chair behind Toronto’s castle on the hill, decked out in a flowing beige dress with immaculately styled hair and makeup. She looks as out of place among the casually attired students and tourists as does the department store patio set against the grand backdrop of the Edwardianera castle.

The chairs, she comments, were added only recently, at her insistence.

A direct descendant of Mary Pellatt, wife of the man who built Casa Loma, Howell is not a fan of the caretaking job done by the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma, the organization that managed Toronto’s second most popular attraction for the past 74 years.

“They seem to only add things when it’s demanded of them,” she says incredulously.

She believes her great uncle’s former casa has been allowed to crumble.

TORONTO TODAY JULY 2011

“It’s very, very badly managed (and) it always has been,” she says, with a steely gaze that gives the distinct impression she’s about ready to storm the castle’s gates. “They’ve badly represented Sir Henry Pellatt.”

Pellatt, a financier who made his name in bringing hydro electricity to Toronto, had Casa Loma built in 1914 for Mary. At the time, it was the largest private residence in Canada. The government seized the home in 1933 to compensate for thousands owed in back taxes.

Howell has a long list of grievances in regard to the castle’s current state.

Among them: Casa Loma has no working elevator, no air conditioning and only four bathrooms available to the public. The hardwood floors are tarnished and there are no new exhibits, except for a mysterious closed-off stairwell that bears scrawled graffiti.

But today the Kiwanis Club is no longer king of the castle. The City of Toronto has negotiated management rights from the club.

The city decided against renewing its contract with the Kiwanis Club upon discovering that, in addition to generating no meaningful profit from the castle, the service club was actually losing money, says Michael Williams, the city’s general manager of Economic Development and Culture.

“It became clear that the business climate for managing something like the castle had changed,” Williams said in a telephone interview.

“Kiwanis does not have the money to reinvest in the interior, nor does the city.

City will turn to public for ideas on castle future

“A new solution has to be found.”

The city has now created Casa Loma Corporation to manage the castle for a transitional period of 12–18 months, while a new revenue model is being created. As part of the arrangement with the Kiwanis Club the city will pay $1.45 million for artifacts and trademarks.

The changeover officially took place in a city council vote on June 14.

While Casa Loma is no longer literally crumbling, thanks to a $20 million exterior restoration project initiated by the city, many would agree the attraction is now a mere shell of its former glory.

“Everyone knows, feels and understands that this is an unpolished gem in the city of Toronto,” says Ward 21 councillor Joe Mihevc. “It’s kind of like the elephant in the room, that everyone knows and appreciates and drives by, but they’re not seized by it.

“We need to discover the spark.”

But how, exactly, does one set a spark to a nearly 100-year-old castle? Ideas to revitalize the attraction have been proposed, but so far nothing is set in stone.

One oft-criticized issue with Casa Loma’s revenue model is that there are no rotating exhibits to give Torontonians incentive for repeat visits.

“At the moment it’s really what I call a one-time visit location — it’s static,” Williams said. “The only reason you would come a second or third time is if you’re bringing someone from out of town.”

Mihevc said he hopes new life will be breathed into several underutilized spaces, such as the balcony.

While there is a confectionary stand in the basement on the side, “there’s no high tea on the balcony,” Mihevc noted.

“It has one of the most gorgeous views in the city and we’re not leveraging that.”

He also said the stables, just north of Austin Terrace, are practically empty, despite being open to the public.

“The stables are really gorgeous, and acoustically very pleasant,” he said. “It would be nice to partner with some kind of arts organization to have an ongoing schedule of special events.”

Howell has several ideas of her own, including a lunch or supper club that could be held in partnership with the nearby George Brown College culinary school.

“It would be fantastic for them to showcase their food exhibits and have luncheons,” she suggested. “In general, the food could be phenomenal, at all levels.”

Currently the castle has a deli in the basement, but guests cannot take food or drink upstairs or out into the garden.

Howell also figures the wine cellar could be an attractive place to visit.

“Why not have wine sampling down there and promote Ontario wines?” she asked. “Sir Henry Pellatt had the biggest wine cellar that existed in the city at the time, and they’ve sort of just closed and blocked it off.”

Casa Loma Corporation does not plan to change much in the short term, but Williams did say one consideration is moving the gift shop from the basement to make it more

visible to the public.

The city will eventually conduct a special study and seek public consultation on how to rejuvenate the castle.

“We need the public to dream anew as to what the castle could be,” Mihevc said.

Howell says she is happy the city now has the keys to the castle, but believes there is still a long way to go.

“The castle needs a spiritual cleansing, but who knows what will happen,” she remarked. “This play is still playing out.” TT STANDING ON GUARD for her great uncle’s legacy.

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TORONTO TODAY JULY 2011

idtown Toronto congestion — even gridlock on main north-south traffic arteries — is a frustrating and costly problem for the city. It’s one that lends itself to some relatively easy short-term fixes, but few manageable long-term solutions. It wasn’t always this way.

Two hundred years ago Davenport Road was an Indian trail and soldiers were hacking their way south of Eglinton Avenue to connect Yonge Street with Bloor Street. In 1793, shortly after the founding of Toronto

by Governor John Graves Simcoe, soldiers and Indian guides laid out Yonge Street to Lake Simcoe. In the 1800s, Yonge Street reached the edge of Lake Ontario and became the main thoroughfare for traders, farmers, militia and stagecoach passengers entering and leaving the city.

It still attempts to be that in the modern city.

But if early 19th century residents were frustrated by Yonge’s muddy condition, today drivers using Yonge Street to avoid the construction stalling Avenue Road contend with virtual gridlock, especially around Merton Street. Spadina Road, which virtually terminates at Davenport below Casa Loma, and Mount Pleasant Road to the east are no better.

The midtown commuter may not spend the average 80 minutes going and coming that costs Toronto $6 billion a year in wasted fuel, time and productivity. But with parking lot conditions on all the north-south arteries and a poor transit alternative (waiting for up to three trains on the Yonge subway just to get on), long commutes for short north-south distances plague the midtown resident.

Too bad Mayor Rob Ford lives in Etobicoke, where both vehicle and transit alternatives actually move.

Are there solutions? None that will be solved by Ford’s beloved Sheppard line, which will simply pour more Scarborough riders into the Yonge subway. And there are few alternatives for the brave cyclist.

New bike lanes are already being removed from upper Jarvis Street, the one north-south thoroughfare with room for them. And what mature cyclist wants to take the breakneck trip down the Russell Hill bike lane?

Despite the musings of Gordon

Chong, Ford’s appointed guru in charge of funding the Sheppard line, midtowners would cringe at the thought of a tolled Don Valley Parkway simply pouring more cars into their clogged north-south thoroughfares.

So what about congestion charges, Ă la London, England? Would these force downtown drivers to park their cars and choose the unpleasant Yonge subway experience? This is the crux of this congestion conundrum. Will higher-capacity new subway cars solve it?

Happily, several fresh new councillors are putting their minds to what they all agree should be an “integrated� solution, with some interesting “fixes�. They deserve our support.

Josh Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) is proposing an anti-gridlock task force to advise council on issues related to gridlock, commuting and mobility in the city, and that membership should include members of the cycling community, pedestrians, transit riders, the taxicab community and representatives from both the Toronto Board of Trade and the CAA. The other Josh (Matlow, St. Paul’s), wants tow trucks standing by to remove the “bozos� who stop for a Tim Hortons and block a lane on Yonge Street.

Same on the streets around downtown towers, where delivery vehicles regularly block traffic. Or take the New York approach, where deliveries have to be made at night.

He is also convinced that traffic lights could be better synchronized on Yonge and Avenue Road.

Now veteran councillor Adam Vaughan (Trinity-Spadina), always ready with a fresh approach, echoes Matlow’s integrated strategy, proposing giving people something for not using cars — such as new Green P parking tickets which would work on transit, and a transit pass providing free use of a Bixi bike.

Now that the TTC has decided to come into the 21st century and offer a fare card, this “intermodal� approach could work. Park your car, get on transit and at the other end ride the rest of the distance on a bike (and the reverse going home).

We’re a long way and a lot of original thinking from getting to smoother commutes for midtowners. But a more thorough study of actionable solutions is worthy of support.

It’s not cars vs. everything else.

It’s, in fact, all modes working better together. TT

Some new councillors have ideas

Councillor Matlow and City of Toronto

Saturday, June 25, 2011 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

North Toronto Memorial Arena 174 Orchard View Blvd. (off Yonge St. north of Eglinton Ave., W.)

re!

photo by gesilayefa azorbo

GRIN AND BARE IT: Mayor Rob Ford cleanses a wall near St. Clair Avenue West of its graffiti.

Can streets a-Ford art?

T

the See you

Visit toronto.ca/environment_days

By TRISTAN CARTER

he art of graffiti draws on aspects of light, colour, shape and form. Graffiti artists draw on just about anything they can.

Some people see the work of these aerosol artisans as vibrant street art, while others regard it as vandalism. The issue has been pushed to the forefront since Mayor Rob Ford has taken a tough stance concerning the controversial art form.

Ford recently told Toronto Today that he is determined to rid the city of graffiti “one brick at a time, one wall at a time, one door at a time.”

“It depreciates the value of everyone’s property,” Ford said in a phone interview. “It makes the city look dirty and that’s not the city I want to represent, and that’s not the city people want to live in.”

But Javid Alibhai, a youth outreach worker and coordinator of the graffiti arts program at the Christie-Ossington Neighbourhood Centre, believes graffiti and vandalism can never be separated.

“Graffiti in itself cannot be detached from vandalism,” he says. “The culture of graffiti itself is about reclaiming space.

“As much as it’s about technique, and coming up with your graffiti name, and where you write and all that stuff, it’s actually political and a form of resistance art in its roots.”

Guerilla tactics are sometimes used by graffiti artists, or “writers” as they call themselves. Sometimes the location is a statement in itself.

Two pieces in exceptionally difficult locations recently appeared in the Don Valley. One was inside the subway tunnel on the Bloor Viaduct while the other stood 40 feet above ground on one of the pillars of Leaside Bridge. They were subsequently removed.

Police and graffiti artists agree that the Viaduct writer likely walked along the subway tracks at night to tag those walls, and that the Leaside artist must have rappelled down from the top of the bridge.

These dangerous practices have proven to be

deadly. Alfa, a renowned Toronto graffiti writer, died in 2005 after being struck by a train while tagging in a freight yard.

Alibhai said security guards and their dogs pose a risk, too. So do other artists wishing to protect their territory.

“You have actual graffiti artists that have turf,” he said. “So if you’re in a freight yard and it’s not your turf you’ll get knocked out by them, and they’ll take your paint.”

Still, painting on trains does have a certain draw.

“The appeal of the freights is that your artwork travels across the country, maybe even into the United States,” Alibhai said. “There’s actually people that sit there and wait for the freights to come and check all the pieces that have been done.

“So it’s like a moving art gallery.”

Alibhai started with oil painting, then studied Arabic and calligraphy as a means of honing his graffiti skills. Since 2002, he has been working with the city’s Graffiti Transformation Program using his background as a graffiti artist to get young people involved in painting murals in various locations in Toronto.

A report outlining the city’s new graffiti strategy is to be presented on June 29 to Municipal Licensing and Standards. Toronto’s current graffiti bylaw was adopted in 2005, but enforcement has been ratcheted up in the Ford era.

According to Jim Hart, executive director of the Municipal Licensing and Standards division, 4,338 graffiti removal notices have been issued to businesses across the city since December. To date, 72 percent have complied.

Business owners, graffiti artists and even city staff have complained that the current approach is unfair.

When an owner’s business is sprayed with graffiti (or “tagged”), not only is that owner a victim of Continued Page 10

More local news and views at

www.

MyTorontoToday.com JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY

Neighbourhood watch

I

By SANDIE BENITAH

Francis Crescia/toronto today

STORIED DEVELOPMENT: Minto Towers at Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.

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Paul Henderson

t could be said that Toronto, our city of neighbourhoods, is in reality a city of residents associations.

In midtown alone there are about nine such groups, each focused solely on maintaining the micro communities they are situated in.

In essence, organized residents groups are the neighbourhood watchdogs.

They are the people who look out for new proposals for development in the community and, more often than not, the people who keep the local city councillor apprised of the issues dogging a specific area, whether it be rooming houses, lack of parking or any lacking service.

There was a time when ratepayer associations were the driving force behind this city.

The 1970s-era Spadina Expressway extension is one of many examples where local residents were able to influence the outcome of a major proposal.

What was once a plan for a major expressway to the downtown core, that would cut through the Forest Hill and Cedarvale neighbourhood, became a shining example of how a group of residents could come together and effectively fight city hall.

But today, ratepayers face a much different challenge than they did in the 1970s.

The Spadina extension challenge resulted in the Ontario Municipal Board acting as a tribunal for planning disputes. Since then, the OMB has developed a reputation for siding with developers over neighbourhood concerns or even city council. And fighting the OMB is an increasingly costly endeavour.

More than that, these associations have also had to deal with a change in public opinion.

While property owners were once heralded for taking charge of their neighbourhoods, today they are accused of being anti-progressive and shortsighted. That ratepayer mentality has even been nicknamed “NIMBY” — not in my back yard, thank you very much.

Nonetheless, residents associations — which now mostly include both homeowners and renters — have remained a mainstay in neighbourhoods across Toronto, and midtown happens to be home to the most influential of them all.

The battles While the Spadina extension was the fight that cemented Toronto’s neighbourhood strengths in the ’70s, the Minto towers fight at Yonge and Eglinton in 2002 is the community squabble that has been the most referenced in the last 10 years.

Opponents of the development had many complaints about the proposal: they were against the sheer density and height of the building, the shadows it would cast on neighbouring homes and the traffic it would add to the area.

The message from the local residents was loud and clear: you’re either with us or against us.

Continued Page 19

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By Kelly Gadzala

s you wave the Canadian flag this July 1 in celebration of Canada’s 144th birthday, you may wonder if Canadian-made fashion, much like the rest of the manufacturing sector, hasn’t gone the way of the dodo bird.

Alas, Canadian apparel manufacturing may not be what it once was. But don’t put away your fashion patriot cap just yet. Toronto has a range of independent designers, including well-established and micro-level ones, who are still producing their fashiony wares here.

Franco Mirabelli With three Mirabelli boutiques in the midtown area and a wholesale business in fine specialty fashion shops across North America, Franco Mirabelli isn’t just a prolific designer. He’s also been manufacturing his collections in his North Toronto area studio and headquarters for 25 years.

Mirabelli’s styling is sophisticated and sexy, with exquisite tailoring. The designer has a penchant for luxe fabrics he sources mainly from Italy, but also from French, Spanish and Swiss mills.

Best part: Mirabelli does small runs, so the chances of your running into someone else in the same frock are minimized. And if you shop at his Mirabelli boutiques you’ll also know that he releases teeny capsule collections, often comprised of three to six pieces, to ramp up the exclusivity factor.

This summer, look for playful colours and prints in separates and summery frocks, such as the fitted stretch cotton and polyester blend sleeveless Vivika dress in shocking pink (with fabric sourced from Lake Como, Italy), $325, or the batwing Katia Dress in viscose polyester and lycra stretch jersey sourced from France, $325, in taupe, black, grey and ivory, creating an ombre effect.

Ziliotto There’s a newer generation of local designers who are taking micro-designing to a new level by stepping up their production levels.

Jennifer Durand of Ziliotto is one such designer, who, with the recent opening of a second Toronto boutique (at 592 Danforth Ave.), is now stocking two stores with her ready-to-wear ladies’ collections.

Durand has been designing for more than a decade. She cut her teeth at Chanel in Paris where, she says, she learned the secret to what makes French

women’s style so chic: they buy quality pieces that last and change the look up every year by accessorizing differently.

It’s an ethic she’s brought to her locally designed and manufactured collection, which is made up of simple yet classic styles of quality fabrics like organic cotton, bamboo and linen.

The best part: prices range from $44 for a tank top to a linen summer coat for about $275.

Better styled If you’re planning for your fall wardrobe, Yonge and Eglinton-based fashion consultant Erin Nadler, of Better Styled, designs and manufactures her own ladies wear collection for the fall months. In addition, she sells hard-to-find Canadian collections such as Periphery, Pure Hand Knit, Lemon Drop, Collection Iris year-round to by-appointment clients in her Eglinton Avenue East studio.

This fall she’ll also be carrying suiting by local design super star, David Dixon.

Nadler’s line, mainly classic dresses and suiting, is made from wool and wool-stretch Italian fabrics. Her wool-blend sheath dress with short sleeves, the story goes, came about because her clients came to her telling her they couldn’t find a dress with sleeves.

She’s also known for her jackets made with great-quality buttons and simple styling. This fall, look for a reworking of last season’s collegiate jacket to allow for a fabulous fur collar accent that’s available as an additional piece. Prices range from $189 to $275.

Micro designers, retail and resources Of course, the independent design scene in the city is alive and well. But if you’re not sure where and how to find Canadian-made clothing and accessories,

photo courtesy franco mirabelli

STERLING FROCKS: Toronto designer Franco Mirabelli has been manufacturing locally for 25 years.

there are some retailers and resources who can help.

At Haute par Periwinkle, at 382 Eglinton Ave. West, you can find a range of items produced by local and Canadian crafters. East-end shops such as Lemur on the Danforth, close to Greektown, carry fashion accessories, greeting cards and gifts by Canadian micro-designers — and some, from literally around the corner.

Meanwhile Nathalie-Roze & Co. in Leslieville sells clothing and accessories by local and Canadian independent designers. In the west, Wise Daughters Craft Market in the Junction specializes in handmade wares from over 75 local artisans. TT

Ability can take you to the top

Character keeps you there

Men of Character from Boys of Promise

crescentschool.org JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY

F

Fashion

Canadian style, eh!

Business

Turn your cottage into a real estate

T

here’s a lot more to a family cottage than real estate, says lawyer Ray Leclair.

“Over the years it becomes a home to great memories, time away from responsibility, and eventually a place to pass down to future generations,” says Leclair, who is also vice-president of TitlePLUS, a legal referral service. “But owners and buyers should understand that cottages are very different from municipal properties.”

Some things to consider with the purchase of a cottage or waterfront property include: Access Many cottages are not accessible by maintained public roads, and some can be reached only by water. This can affect mortgage approvals and future improvements. Lenders, for example, may not approve mortgage loans on properties accessible only by water or which do not have year–round

Ask the experts Please write to our experts: If you would like to take advantage of their years of experience, send your questions to “Ask the Experts” and they will be happy to reply to you in this space.

By E-mail: adsales@towncrieronline.ca, by Fax: 416488-3671 or write: Ask the Experts, c/o Town Crier, 101 Wingold Ave., Toronto, ON, M6B 1P8.

Marc Linett, a partner in the personal injury law firm of Linett & Timmis, has been practicing accident and insurance litigation in Toronto for over 36 years. His firm has established a solid reputation representing thousands of injured victims and their families throughout Ontario.

Marc Linett

Linett & Timmis Personal Injury Lawyers 1867 Yonge St., Suite 1004, Toronto

416-366-5100 1-800-363-5100 www.linett-timmis.com mlinett@linett-timmis.com

Q

: I was recently a guest at a hotel. I was using the hotel health club when I slipped and fell on wet tiles outside the shower area. I fractured my leg and have not been able to return to my work as a construction foreman. My family is also suffering as a result. Can I bring a claim against the hotel?

A

:Under Ontario’s Occupiers’ Liability Act, the hotel has an obligation to make its premises reasonably safe for the use of its guests. If the shower area was improperly designed, equipped or maintained such that it presented a hazard to its users, the hotel may be liable if someone is injured. For example, if there were no mats available in the shower area or the tiles used did not provide suitable traction when wet, the hotel may be found negligent. Your claim for damages can include pain and suffering, loss of income and other expenses, and claims for your family’s loss of your care and companionship. You should record the name of any witness to the accident and report the incident to the hotel manager. Do not sign any documents before seeking the advice of a lawyer experienced in personal injury litigation.

Marc Linett, a partner in the personal injury law firm of Linett &

10 TORONTO JULY 2011and insurance litigation in Timmis, has beenTODAY practicing accident Toronto for over 36 years. His firm has established a solid reputation representing thousands of injured victims and their families throughout Ontario.

access by public roads.

lawyer can verify the system’s status.

Water supply A clean and reliable water source is an important consideration for cottagers who often depend on wells, tanks or lakes for their water. Your lawyer likely will recommend a potability test to determine if the water is safe to drink, and can explain the limitations of the test. Buyers should also consider water quantity, as rural sources are often limited in the amount of water that is available at any one time, thus restricting the use of showers and dishwashers.

Shoreline allowance Despite appearances, land near the shoreline may belong to the municipality. If so, cottage owners cannot build a boathouse or dock, or change the layout of the shoreline without proper consent. Be sure to get permission from the proper authorities before undertaking work in or near the water.

Cottage properties have unique issues and considerations, many of which are unfamiliar to consumers who have owned properties only in the city. Buyers should consult a real estate lawyer before purchasing a cottage or waterfront property.

You can obtain the TitlePLUS Real Simple Real Estate Guide at titleplus.ca. It’s a resource for homebuyers, with information on what real estate lawyers do, how they can help and how to locate one.

— News Canada

Septic systems Many cottages have private waste disposal systems, which need regular maintenance and have less capacity than municipal systems. Private systems also need approvals and a permit. A real estate

Cont. from Page 7

vandalism, but he or she must pay to remove the tag.

“I feel sorry for the businesses that get tagged or get graffiti sprayed on them, but it is their property,” Ford said. “They’re responsible for keeping it clean and all we’re asking for them to do is do that.”

Tom Beltsos, who owns Beltsos Service Centre at 929 Queen St. East, says he spent $2,500 last year to remove graffiti from walls in the back alley behind his business. Soon afterwards he was tagged again, and last summer he received a removal notice from the city.

“That’s just totally wrong, because as soon as you clean it up you just give them a clean slate to work with and they just come back a week later and it gives them something nicer to work with,” Beltsos said. “It’s an ongoing thing.

“It will never end.”

Beltsos requested an exemption from the city on the grounds that the graffiti was an art mural, but has not received any word back yet. Under the graffiti bylaw art murals are not considered graffiti.

In fact, art murals appear to be the most effective way of preventing graffiti tagging, Alibhai says.

In addition to painting murals in Africa, Europe and Asia, Alibhai and his crew, Under the Radar, now paint commissioned murals across the city in order to engage local youth positively and to discourage other types of graffiti on a particular wall. He said the strategy works because of an unwritten code of the street.

“If you’re going to write on top of somebody you either have to have seniority or you have to be doper,” he said. “For most kids you start with tagging, then you do throw-ups — which are like bubble letters — then you start getting some freight trains and stuff and you have more time there so you use more colours.

“So you start piecing and then finally maybe you do a graffiti show.”

For a novice to tag over top of an established artist’s work is a major act of disrespect in the graffiti hierarchy.

It is not something that is tolerated.

“It’s just basically about respect,” Alibhai said. “If you cross certain lines people will put you in check.”

Graffiti writers are often condemned for not respecting private property rights, but according to Alibhai rules do exist within the subculture.

“You don’t vandal someone’s [expletive] house,” he

tristan carter/toronto today

ALL IN ALL... A mural by Alibhai and crew on the back wall of a store near Bathurst subway station.

said. “You can do their garage if it’s an alleyway.

“You can get away with that. You don’t hit a church, a place of worship.”

Alibhai said he supports the idea that murals are the best way to prevent tagging. He said he understands that business owners have the right not to want a mural but said if they are getting tagged constantly, in the end, they should look at their bottom line.

“If this is the situation in your neighbourhood … put a mural on it,” he said. “It’s business sense.”

As part of his job, Alibhai encourages young people to stop writing their name in the streets and start making money off of their talents. Still, he said he thinks the graffiti they create is art in the truest sense of the word.

“What people are forgetting is what makes art interesting is that it is controversial, and graffiti as an art form is going to need to continue to be controversial to be alive,” he said. TT

Arts&Entertainment

caitlin orr/toronto today

A WORLD WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES: Leaside’s John Smith explores his world and then tells others about it using curious and playful brush strokes.

Whimsy on canvas

By Caitlin Orr

T

he scene is beautiful and evocative. A narrow strip of golden sand cradles a beached boat, surrounded by deep indigo clouds and waves as far as the eye can see.

He calls this mystical landscape “Twilight of the Cods”.

Yes, that’s cods, not gods.

That’s when you realize 82-year-old Leaside painter John Smith has a sense of humour to go along with his brush-wielding talent.

A collection of his oil and watercolour works, titled “New Tunes from the Old Piano”, were on display (and sale) for almost the full month of June at Studio 51 Design Art Gallery on Laird Drive, just south of Eglinton Avenue East.

More than 100 people showed up for opening night on June 3, and several paintings sold quickly. One of them, “Words and Distant Music”, was finished only the day before. It sold for $2,200.

It asks the question of where love can be found, Smith says, pointing out that the word “love” is embedded in the sky and in the leaves of a tree.

Smith’s appearance complements his profession as well as his sense of humour does: his glasses and plaid flannel shirt are both spattered with residual paint from an overzealous brush.

He says he always wanted to do art and that he has always painted, but he spent 10 years working

in advertising before deciding the hectic routine wasn’t for him.

“So then I calmed right down and decided to have my own studio and teach people whom I like,” he says with a chuckle.

He now works two-and-a-half days a week with about 10 students, spending the rest of his time on his own work. “(Art) is very personal to me,” he says, pausing frequently to choose his words. “One can express oneself, which you don’t get much chance to do otherwise, and I like to make my statements.”

A faint lilt in his leathery voice gives away his English heritage. He first learned to paint there, but came to Canada in 1952 in the aftermath of WWII. Smith is a divorced father of four daughters and a son, two of whom paint casually.

While his hair and beard are white, he still has plenty of both, and he’s lighthearted about his advanced age. Chatting at the gallery on the day before his exhibition, a brief bout of coughing at one point prompted him to joke: “That’s if I last until the show opens!”

Smith has also shown his art in the fall Bayview Art Tour, the Mowat gallery downtown and the City Hall art show, and he has taught art classes at Seneca College, the Markham Guild and Lewiscraft.

Continued Page 17 JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY 11

Dining

All-Canadian trappings with worldly touches liz campbell/toronto today

A GREAT START: Grilled prawn and seared sea scallop on pineapple mango risotto set the tone for Liz, who found delightful Canadian cuisine with a touch of worldly flavours.

Liz Campbell

A

fter more than 25 years, this spot has been given a facelift. A new, forest green exterior (what else with a name like Trapper’s?) and four early 20th century Hudson’s Bay blankets stretched and framed in oak on the interior walls make the point: we’re Canadian.

The menu, though extensive, is less emphatic. It offers Muskoka trout, Fundy salmon and Brome Lake duckling, but the provenance of the venison, lamb and beef aren’t noted and the lobster is Caribbean!

There’s a decent wine list from which I choose a glass of Willowglen Shiraz ($10) — a fairly fruity Australian wine. My guest asks for Upper Canada Dark Ale ($6.25), and pronounces it “slightly hoppy with a good malt flavour.”

We nibble bread with homemade hummus. Heavy on the chickpeas and light on the garlic, it’s delicious.

He starts with steamed P.E.I. mussels and

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12 TORONTO TODAY JULY 2011

clams in a light curry, leek, Thai basil, garlic, white wine, lemongrass broth ($11). If that sounds like a lot of flavours to you, you’re right. What comes across strongly is basil, and though the mussels are plump and generous — with only two clams — the dish barely justifies the use of the plural for these.

My own grilled prawn and seared sea scallop, on pineapple mango risotto with lobster chive cream sauce, comes with a dollop of caviar ($13). It is perfection. The scallop has been kissed with enough heat just to cook it and the shrimp has enough blackening to make it smoky. The risotto is a beautiful complement. Even the presentation shines.

The good news continues with my main course: Brome Lake duck breast with grilled orange and a rich maple balsamic reduction ($24).

It comes with smashed potatoes and a colourful assortment of vegetables — grilled red pepper, green mange-tout peas, a wedge of butternut squash and red cabbage (the only false note: it’s too salty). The duckling breast is beautifully pink and succulent, and the reduction and grilled orange are a nice

take on the traditional sweet sauce.

It seems to be a night for fowl. My guest asks for boneless Cornish hen, stuffed with wild rice, wild boar sausage and wild mushrooms in a Port wine and sun-dried cranberry glaze ($26). He has the same selection of vegetables. Garnished with a sprig of fresh rosemary, the hen is tender and the stuffing adds an almost Thanksgiving touch to the dinner.

“It’s a little finer than turkey stuffing, but the taste is similar,” says my guest. “I like it but there are a lot of flavours going on here.”

Along with our cups of really good decaffeinated coffee (a treat), we ask for the Trapper’s dessert of the day, which turns out to be rum pecan pie served with Gelato Fresco vanilla ice cream and garnished with blueberries and pieces of fresh strawberry and melon, all drizzled with mango and strawberry coulis ($9).

The pie is delicious. It’s chewy, with lots of pecans, but the fruit and drizzle is superfluous.

If chef/owner Vishal Ramsuchit has a fault it’s a tendency to assume that if one flavour is good, three more is better. To his credit, they usually don’t clash, but it’s almost too much for the palate. Take the dessert: pecan pie, fruit and ice cream with two coulis drizzles really is OT. After an illustrious period in the early part of the millennium, Trapper’s fell from grace, with a series of less-than-stellar reviews. But it seems to be turning over a new leaf with this chef. He’s certainly trying hard to make an impact.

I like the new, clean decor and attempts to bring the focus back to Canadian cuisine, albeit with some tropical touches.

Trapper’s, 3479 Yonge St., 416-482-6211.

Free parking on the side streets after 6 p.m.

Website (which actually features an up-todate menu): trappersrestaurant.ca. TT

‘A lot of flavours going on here’

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Home&Garden

Be passionately obsessed Lorraine Flanigan

SOMETHING TO BEHOLD: Take transit or ride a bike to enjoy the 30 private neighbourhood gardens featured in Open Gardens Toronto.

Open Up

Lorraine Flanigan

Your Living Space

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Designed for doors, windows and large openings, Phantom Screens remain out of sight until you need them.

Call your local Authorized Distributor at 1-888-PHANTOM (742-6866) www.phantomscreens.ca

14 TORONTO TODAY JULY 2011

o you enjoy visiting gardens when you’re on vacation? If you do, then you’re one of the 25 million tourists who stop to smell the roses in parks and public gardens from Victoria to St. John’s.

“The latest (2006) Travel Activity and Motivation Study commissioned by federal and provincial tourism ministries,” says Carol Cowan, “indicates a whopping 27 million Canadian and American tourists visit the spectacular gardens and garden-focused communities of Canada in any given year.”

Cowan, who is instrumental in organizing Canada’s Garden Tourism Conferences, adds that it’s “among the top 10 things [people] want to do while on an overnight trip of one or more days.”

VIA Rail was one of the first to recognize this trend (I would call it a passionate obsession), and has created a special Garden Route that takes in 19 feature gardens, including New Brunswick’s Kingsbrae Garden, which was recently named in the Top 5 North American Gardens Worth Travelling For. In addition, the Garden Route’s whistle stops include 28 Communities in Bloom — the most floriferous and environmentally friendly municipalities in the country.

As I discovered a few years ago when hopping the train to visit the gardens along the route from Windsor to London and Niagara Falls, travelling by train is a stress-free way to go. There are no traffic jams to hold you up or navigational challenges to test your marriage!

If driving is more your style, though, there are special ogling opportunities designed for you, too.

One of my favourite regions for a gardening road trip is the Grey-Bruce. Not only is it an area of sandy beaches, rugged outcrops and wilderness parks abloom with native lady slippers, these twin counties located on the Bruce Peninsula have organized a selfguided tour that features more than 30 rural gardens from Mount Forest to Tobermory.

For a nominal fee of $3 you could be strolling through Patrick Lima and John Scanlan’s Larkwhistle or picking your way through the lilies and daylilies at Earth Bound Perennials and Gardens.

Travel is all about discovery — and you don’t even need to leave the city to discover the neighbourhood gardens right here in Toronto.

Hop on the TTC or grab a Bixi bike to explore any of the 30 private city gardens showcased on the Open Gardens Toronto program. They’re open on selected evenings and weekends from now until September.

The great thing about this self-guided tour is that you get a chance to chat with the gardeners, who are almost always on hand to identify plants and offer gardening advice. You can pay as you go ($4 per garden) or opt for a season’s passport for a mere $25.

Planning a trip is half the fun, and all of these garden travel programs have websites full of information and enticing photo galleries.

For details about the VIA Rail Garden Route, visit viarail.ca/garden. A map and list of gardens featured on the Rural Gardens of the Grey-Bruce trail are available at ruralgardens.ca.

And to plan your outings on the Open Gardens Toronto tours, go to viewithere.com/opengardens.

Surrounded by garden route maps, Lorraine Flanigan writes from her garden in the South Eglinton neighbourhood of Toronto. TT

BeautifyYourHome

The home is the single largest investment most people will ever make, and many of us are looking for simple and inexpensive ways to protect and increase the value of that investment. Whether you are replacing tiles in the bathroom, painting your walls or undertaking larger jobs such as replacing the roof or adding other desirable amenities, most people tend to focus their efforts on the inside of their homes.

This year, why not think about your home’s curb appeal and increase its value from the outside in?

Your driveway is the welcome mat to your home, and a cracked, faded and stained driveway doesn’t do much to make a good first impression when guests arrive. There are products on the market you can use to repair, protect and beautify your driveway; however, not all products are created equally.

Here are some points to consider when looking for a driveway sealant that is best suited for the average homeowner: Ease of application Look for a product with a simple application. There is no need to waste

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There are products available on the market that offer homeowners a simple do-it-yourself solution that will repair, protect and beautify your driveway for years to come. With simple roll-on application, soap and water cleanup and a four-hour drying time, enhancing your home’s curb appeal and increasing your home’s value has never been easier.

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Cont. from Page 11

alexandra bosanac/toronto today

BADGES OF HONOUR: Evan Rootenberg, left, and Aleks Pede with their top pledge earner badges at the mid-June Heel’n’Wheel-a-Thon event that raised money for Crohn’s and colitis research.

Wheelin’ in tandem

W

By Alexandra Bosanac

hen battling an illness, it helps to know you’re not alone, that there are others like you. Having that kind of reassurance takes on even greater importance if you can still count your age on both hands.

When Aleks Pede and Evan Rootenberg, now 10, learned they had colitis, an impairing bowel disease that usually surfaces in adolescence, they were just starting elementary school and didn’t know anyone else their age with the same issue.

Hailing from two completely different parts of the GTA — Aleks lives in midtown Toronto while Evan comes from Thornhill — it is unlikely they would have met had not the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada brought them together.

Now they know they have each other to call on when a rough patch hits.

“It’s good to know Evan now,” Aleks said from his home near Yonge and Lawrence. “When I first got it [colitis], I didn’t know that anyone else had it.”

The pair met last year at Walk’n’Wheel-a-Thon, the foundation’s annual nationwide fundraiser. This year they were honourary chairs of the event, held in mid-June at Sunnybrook Park.

Participants walked, biked or

rollerbladed a 5-km course that looped around Sunnybrook Park to raise funds for a cure. The boys led the ribbon-cutting ceremony and handed out the prize for wackiest costume.

“It’s because of you we won’t have to live with IBD anymore,” Aleks told the sizeable crowd, decked out in t-shirts with slogans like, “I’Pooed” and “Dude, where’s the washroom?”

A sombre event this was not.

The boys earned the ceremonial title for this year’s fundraiser because of the impressive numbers they raised. Evan collected $3,000 and Aleks $2,000, totals that even the foundation’s biggest fundraiser, M&M Meat Shops founder Mac Voisin, found impressive.

“If they’re raising that kind of money at 10, we want them on our team, no doubt,” said Voisin, who has raised $20.5 million for the charity through the years. “I give them all the credit in the world.”

The $5,000 total came as a result of the boys canvassing their teachers, friends and relatives.

Voisin praised the boys for having the courage for both telling their stories and acting as human faces for an illness he thinks is still highly stigmatized.

“The biggest thing these kids are doing is raising awareness, and that’s why we started this initia-

tive,” Voisin said.

The boys have each met important milestones this last year.

Evan, who couldn’t muster the energy to get out of bed, recently ran a 200-metre race, competing against other elementary schools in his school district.

Aleks, who was pulled out of school for a month following his diagnosis, plays road hockey with his friends every chance he gets.

And he’s well enough to enjoy the occasional treat. While at first he had to follow a strict vegan diet, Aleks is proud to announce that at a recent school barbecue he wolfed down two hamburgers and an ice cream.

According to the foundation, Canada has the highest prevalence rate for Crohn’s and colitis, with some 200,000 being afflicted and 9,000 new cases being diagnosed annually, making it about as common as Type 1 diabetes.

Aleks said he was walking this year to support his friend Evan.

Evan, meanwhile, wishes to send a message of hope to others battling childhood illnesses.

“We’ll all work as a team and raise money, and we’ll find a cure,” he said. “We’re all going to get into remission.

“It’s going to happen.”

And that’s the (vegan) icing on top of a landmark year. TT

He has taught and painted out of his Leaside home, off Laird Drive, for the past 20 years.

“It’s a delightful place,” he says, noting that he finds the neighbourhood peaceful and he plays tennis at the local club.

The painter says he firmly believes that art should be inspired by the area where one lives, rather than by trips to places that are more widely considered beautiful but are disconnected from the artist’s life.

“I’d sooner work on a hill in Markham. I think people should react to their own environment.”

His watercolours are the direct result of that, and many depict Toronto scenes. He says they are impulsive — something that he thinks of on the spot — although he may have visited a place many times before it inspires him.

“You’re conversing with the location back and forth,” he says. “It’s sort of an intimate talk with it.”

Smith seems to have a way with words as well as brushes. He says titling artwork properly is crucial for the artist to convey his or her message, and the names of his paintings are based on creative flashes. “(Titles) are important to know what you’re going to do in a painting,” he says.

Unlike his watercolours, Smith says his oil paintings are based purely on imagination, and they deal with deeper themes.

He believes the artist should be more creative than technically inclined, and so while he admires many artists, he doesn’t try to imitate anyone’s style.

His favourite oil painting is called “Oar D’Oeuvre”. A dream-like background of light blue clouds and sky frames a small boat that has no oars. While it’s large, at about three by five feet, Smith says he completed it in a day or two.

The oar-less boat represents the imagination, he says, with no direction imposed on it, thus being free to roam where it chooses.

That metaphor seems to apply equally well to Smith’s own journey — having found his calling and letting his imagination sail with it. TT

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The Rocket arrives A new line of TTC subway trains that will run along the Yonge-University-Spadina line was unveiled recently.

Some new features include security cameras, antimicrobial surfaces, safety monitors and wider doorways. agnes ramos/toronto today

Official Plan, community vision sometimes clash Cont. from Page 8

After an arduous fight, in which residents argued against anything above 40 storeys being built, few concessions were made by the builder and two skyscrapers — one 52 storeys, the other 37 storeys — went in. Local councillor Anne Johnston paid the price.

Angry residents groups banded together and were able to vote out their city representative, who had been on council since 1972, for not helping them fight the development application. Not only did Johnston not help them fight it, she supported it.

The North Toronto Tenants Network took action ahead of the 2003 municipal election. They ran an ad in local newspapers asking people to come forward and contest Johnston. Karen Stintz came forward, and beat Johnston by 2,321 votes.

Duncan MacLellan, an associate politics professor at Ryerson University who specializes in local and urban governance issues, says it’s no surprise that this community was able to call the shots.

“It depends on the issue and the constituency in that ward,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “Some residents groups are very organized and some communities are very influential.”

Today, Stintz continues to have the support of her community, handily winning the 2006 and 2010 municipal elections.

There have been other recent notable victories across the city, though many of them much smaller in scale.

Buildings have been scaled back in size, traffic issues have been addressed, beautification projects have been executed and safety improvements have been

implemented.

In Eglinton Park, the Avenue RoadEglinton Community Association worked hard to lobby the city and the local police to fix up some dangerous areas. Thanks to their efforts, the park’s walkway lighting was fixed, pathways were cleared and graffiti was cleaned up.

“If the issue is important enough to the ratepayers and they have the time to understand the issue and take actions necessary, then by all means, they can actually yield a lot of influence,” MacLellan said.

Councillor Josh Matlow, who represents the St. Paul’s ward and numerous neighbourhood groups, echoes the professor’s thoughts.

“Any residents group that can demonstrate they’re the voice of the local neighbourhood will show they have influence over everything from traffic and parking to development proposals,” he said. “Residents associations are a well-known entity in Toronto, so when they speak they hold some weight.”

He noted the presence and relevance of the residents groups in midtown, crediting their professionalism.

“It may depend on the ward,” he said.

“There are such active ratepayer groups in my ward that they may be more influential with me than in a ward where they’re not as organized.”

But for every small success there’s a frustrating failure.

At the heart of the frustration is Toronto’s condo boom.

Density a key issue Condominiums are to developers what stock shares are to investors: the

more units you have, the more money you make.

But in some neighbourhoods, the term “highrise building” is likened to a curse word.

GTA developer Steven Weisz told Toronto Today that the biggest battle builders face in the city is a neighbourhood’s desire for low-rise housing.

“Density is a big problem in Toronto,” Weisz, a principal with Paradise Homes, said in a recent interview. “Downtown developers have it hard, especially when they want to build a 40-storey tower and residents say they won’t accept anything higher than three-storey townhomes.

“That bridge is much harder to gap.”

What makes the process even more difficult is Toronto’s Official Plan, a 20year planning guide that outlines exactly where and what kind of developments are needed in the city over time. It calls for increased density along major transit routes, particularly around subway stations and other public transit hubs.

Yonge and Eglinton, the site of the Minto Towers, was identified as one of those spots.

“If you ask the majority of people in Toronto where there should be huge amounts of density, that is where they’d say they want it but the people who live there don’t want it,” Weisz said.

But it’s not just the community’s vision that poses a problem, Weisz said.

It’s the Official Plan itself.

More often than not, a developer will submit an application that pushes the boundaries of the plan, challenging the city’s vision for itself.

“The Official Plan is extremely important, but it can’t actually envi-

sion how many people want to move to Toronto, especially when the government has been pushing for immigration to the city,” he said.

He said mapping out a city with a 20year vision is more complex than people realize.

“You can study and understand population growth, but looking at ethnicities and where they will want to build their communities is much harder to forecast,” he said. “I’ve seen one neighbourhood change ethnicities three times in the last 10 years; that affects (housing) demands in the community.”

The OMB, for the most part, has been on side with developers, at times granting variations to the plan that had been vehemently opposed by city council and the communities they represent.

At one point, the rift between the OMB and city councillors reached almost comedic proportions.

In 2008, after the OMB approved a development of 36 townhouses at Yonge and Finch against the Official Plan and council’s wishes, councillors began referring to the laneway as “OMB Folly”.

That laneway is now officially called Johnson Farm Lane, but the point had been made.

MacLellan said the OMB’s reputation has forced them to recognize their role in recent years.

“In the past couple of years the OMB has been more cognizant of not appearing to be pro development, especially if ratepayers make a good case as to why a development might be problematic,” he said.

Just a year after the city opted to Continued Page 20 JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY 19

Mark Your Calendar Sat., June 25 The Leaside Garden Society annual Garden Tour, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. $10. Leaside. Info at lgardens1@ hotmail.com.

Sun., June 26 Martial Arts in the Orchard, at Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard, 1075 Eglinton Ave. West.

Karate, self defense and tai chi. Free. All ages welcome. Info atcommunityorchard.ca.

Sat., July 2 and Sun., July 3 Enjoy A Taste of Italy and a weekend of food, arts, entertainment and old world ambience at the 14th annual Corso Italia Festival on St. Clair Avenue West between Westmount & Lansdowne. Free admission. Information, 416.698.2152 or torontofiesta.com.

Ongoing Belly Dancing Workshop, July 4–25. $45 for four classes. Central Eglinton Community Centre. 160 Eglinton Ave. East. Info, 416 392 0511 ext 0.

Get in shape with a party instead of a workout.

Zumba, a Latin-inspired dance/fitness class, combines Latin music and dance movements to create an effective fitness system. Participants must complete a health questionnaire. July 5–26. $36 for four classes. Central Eglinton Community Centre.

160 Eglinton Ave. East. Info, 416 392 0511 ext 0.

Learn to repair old photographs, fix digital photos and use a scanner, and find out where to get free tools in an eight-hour digital photography course at Central Eglinton Community Centre. July 7– 28 at 160 Eglinton Ave. East. Second session begins Aug. 11. $65 for four classes. Info, 416 392 0511 ext 0.

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July 9–Aug 13. $80 for six classes. Central Eglinton Community Centre. 160 Eglinton Ave. East.

Info, 416 392 0511 ext 0.

Painting Techniques. Learn the fundamentals of painting and how to mix colours, value and composition, techniques and styles of painting still life and other subjects. July 21–Aug. 11. Eight hours of instruction. Materials kit available. $45 for four classes. Central Eglinton Community Centre. 160 Eglinton Ave. East. Info, 416 392 0511 ext 0.

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416-656-2706 20 TORONTO TODAY JULY 2011

Cont. from Page 19

give the laneway the cheeky moniker, Jim Watson, the provincial minister of municipal affairs at the time, was quoted as saying that the OMB should be “more reflective of community values.”

NIMBYism But a community’s values are often questioned as well.

The most recent case of purported NIMBYism took place in the Beach in 2010 when one man sought to purchase a home with the sole intention of rebuilding the property to accommodate his disabled wife.

Before buying the 204 Beech Ave. property Geoff Teehan did his homework. He found out that it was not designated a heritage home, nor was it on the radar of the Toronto Heritage Preservation Services. He also had architects consult with an arborist to determine any other potential problems. There were no foreseeable problems, so he purchased the home.

However, when a neighbour found out he was planning to tear down the home, she circulated a petition and went to then councillor Sandra Bussin. She complained that the home would change her view and asked the city to stop the rebuild.

The issue split the community and Teehan eventually won the battle, but the longtime Beach resident was incensed at how his neighbours broached the subject.

“This isn’t just a Beaches or Toronto issue,” he wrote in his blog, 204Beech.com. “It’s about property rights … that go beyond the boundary of our neighbourhood.”

Closer to home, there are always battles of contrasting community visions.

Only seven years after Stintz was ushered in to replace Johnston, some residents turned against her after a new proposal was submitted for the northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton.

RioCan, which owns the corner property, proposed covering an open square with more retail space.

Some community groups wanted the city to pressure the developer to keep the area as a public space.

Stintz brought a motion before council asking to approve the project after months of community consultation. She argued that the corner would benefit from the revitalization. She said RioCan’s application would have been approved at the OMB because it met the requirements of the Official Plan and, as owner of the property, was within its legal right to develop it for that purpose.

Matlow, who disagreed with his colleague on the issue, said resident engagement should never be dismissed as mere NIMBYism.

“I think municipal governments should urge people to get involved with issues that affect their own backyard,” he said.

“Anyone who owns a home and lives in a neighbourhood has a reason to care about that neighbourhood or their quality of life.

“People should be engaged.”

Since coming into office in 2010, Matlow has made it a policy in his office to not consult with a developer without a representative from the community at the table. As a result, he’s in contact with the associations almost on a daily basis, he said.

“Many residents — those that are engaged in neighbour- JOSH MATLOW

hood associations — would come across more NIMBY when they feel like deals are being done behind their backs, like MINTO,” he said. “That’s why I have a resident rep at every table.

“I find them to be very reasonable and accommodating. They’re just asking to be part of the decision-making process.”

But, as expected, no one takes more offence to the notion of NIMBYism than the residents associations themselves.

Frank Cunningham, a professor emeritus in the U of T’s political science department, who is also a member of the Annex Residents Association (one of the longeststanding organizations in Toronto), wrote a letter to the editor of a Toronto-centric book called “Local Motion” in response to an essay by journalist Bert Archer that criticized the organization.

Archer had called the ARA a “conservative force” whose members behave in a way that is “self-serving and small-minded.”

Cunningham responded by saying that his group, which has been around for more than 80 years, does not fight neighbourhood planning issues without seriously considering its merits first.

“It is certainly true that the Association supports neighbours who find their properties threatened by developments that, usually in violation of city bylaws, do such things as weaken local infrastructure, cast shadows over backyards and gardens, clutter lawns with front yard parking, or degrade heritage buildings,” he said in the letter. “However, as complaints from some neighbours attest ... the Association does not automatically support all home owner requests for support, but evaluates each on its merits with respect to the integrity of the neighbourhood and the city generally.”

Cunningham also applauds the organization for taking an active role, initiating local planning studies, pushing for park revitalization and even contributing funds to a community neighbourhood map.

Wielding influence Matlow says this kind of wide-scope community involvement is exactly what residents groups should be doing not only to fight the pretense of NIMBYism but to attract new members to keep the group vital and influential.

“Residents associations are very influential, but admittedly their membership numbers have gone down in the last several years,” he said.

He says one way to increase membership numbers is to take a stand when a development proposal comes up that isn’t right for the fabric and character of the neighbourhood. Other ways include working on positive initiatives, such as neighbourhood watch or beautification projects.

Peter Baker, co-chair of Federation of North Toronto Residents’ Associations, said his organization is influential because it does exactly that.

“We focus on city-wide issues that affect specific neighbourhoods,” he told Toronto Today.

“We get involved with official plans, zoning bylaws, planning issues and reform of the OMB. “As an organization we have quite a bit of influence — not clout, but influence — because we’re well respected for what we do.” TT

CoolStuff

Sayin’, lock it, lug it and leave

By Liz Campbell

T

he guy who said, “Getting there is half the fun,” has apparently not taken a flight recently. With all the hassles around airline security, travel isn’t as much fun as it used to be.

But the world awaits, and we aren’t going to stop travelling. So with travel season upon us, here are a few neat gadgets that might put fun and facility into flying.

Locking luggage is wise, but those tiny keys are easily lost. Wordlock luggage locks let you use letters and words as combinations that can be set and reset. No keys needed.

These locks are TSA-accepted and Travel Sentry approved, allowing airport security to inspect luggage without the use of bolt cutters. The words have to be four letters – need a suggestion? $8.99 in stores, at Amazon.com or at wordlock.com.

I’ve always coveted Captain Kirk’s universal translator that allowed him to speak to creatures around the galaxy. Or the Babel Fish of Hitchhiker’s Guide fame.

Imagine being able to talk to people in their own language! Well, you may not be able to do that exactly, but Ortsbo instantly translates between languages as you type.

I can see a few uses for this on your travels. Type in “where’s the bathroom” and show your iPhone or Blackberry to a local for instant bilingual results. And if you make a new friend, you can keep in touch after you return home, using Ortsbo on messaging and social media sites. It covers 50 different languages. How do you say “Wow!” in Chinese?

It’s free, though a paid app is being developed for the iPhone. Ortsbo. com.

In 2004, ChicoBag founder Andy Keller took a trip to his local landfill after spending the day landscaping his backyard. He was horrified by how many plastic bags filled not just this scene but seemed to be everywhere. Inspired, he bought a secondhand sewing machine and created the first ChicoBag. Now the bag that stuffs itself into a pouch has introduced a new Duffel line, developed with the world traveller in mind.

How often have you wished you had just one more bag for those extra souvenirs?

This compact, lightweight duffel is made from 86 percent recycled content and, like the original, it will stuff into the front zip-

Spill cleanup as easy as changing a baby diaper

Whether a universal translator, above, or a new duffel designed with the world traveller in mind, below, here are some handy gadgets to make life easier when you’re on the move.

per pocket. Stuff in your suitcase or use the carabiner to clip it to anything. $39.99 US online. All sorts of bags, including some cool ones for kids, can be found at chicobag.com.

Bought a bottle of great Ouzo in Athens or spicy salsa in Texas?

These days you’ll have to pack it in your suitcase and pray the baggage handlers don’t throw something heavy on top of it.

There’s a solution: Jet Bag is an inexpensive and lightweight way to transport wine, liquor, perfume or any liquid that may be contained in a breakable bottle.

A biodegradable carrier with a reusable zip seal closure that completely secures bottles and liquids, it’s lined with the same absorbent materials found in baby diapers.

That material pads and protects bottles, but if it does break, the Jet Bag rapidly absorbs any liquid spilled and contains it for easy

discard, preventing damage to the suitcase and its other contents.

Three bags for $15 at Amazon.com and TheJetBag.com. TT JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY 21

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24 TORONTO TODAY JUNE JULY 2011 2011

Sports

Lace ’em up, girls

Brian Baker

Blue not a friendly Smurf francis crescia/toronto today

TRAINING FOR TRIUMPH: Krista Ford, left, and Melissa Grieco work out on Centennial Park’s football field in preparation for the Lingerie Football League’s premiere in Hogtown. The first game for the Triumph is set for Sept. 17.

B

By Brian Baker

race yourself Toronto. The Lingerie Football League is coming.

Rest assured, local ladies Krista Ford and Melissa Grieco, who are trying out for final 20-woman roster, are more interested in flexing their muscles in competition than running around in their skivvies.

“It’s just the way it is, it’s what we play in and, to be honest, the way I see it is that’s what brings people in,” Ford tells Toronto Today. “It is the good-looking girls, it is the uniform, that’s bringing them in but then it’s just real football that keeps the fans coming back for more.”

Ford, daughter of city councillor Doug Ford and niece of Mayor Rob Ford, is from a family that lives for the gridiron and she’s aiming to suit up as linebacker for the Toronto Triumph.

In addition to the Hogtown expansion the LFL, heading into its third season since starting Sept. 4, 2009, includes 11 teams in U.S. markets: Baltimore, Cleveland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Green Bay, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Seattle.

During the first tryouts in April, Ford met Grieco and the two formed an instant bond over sport.

“I’d be talking, ‘Who’s that girl in the orange cleats?’ and she is so speedy,” Ford said.

Grieco, looking to take on the role of running back for the Triumph, trained with Ford after that, as the two hail from Etobicoke.

Grieco, a 20-year-old York University student, shares the same sentiment as Ford when it comes to the uniforms.

“For women, it’s a great jump even though we are wearing lingerie,” she said. “It just puts us out there as athletes (and) it’s about time we get noticed on what we can do for our talents.”

The first appearance of lingerie football came Feb. 1, 2004 during Super Bowl XXXVIII’s halftime show — the year Janet Jackson had her infamous wardrobe malfunction.

Supermodel Angie Everhart and Playboy centerfold Nikki Ziering quarterbacked their teams in a seven-on-seven gridiron battle that was based more in novelty than in sport.

Since then, commissioner Mitch Mortaza has altered the course, focusing more on athleticism, and creating an official league with 10 teams in 2009. The teams are coached by former gridders, including B.C. Lions alum Yo Murphy, who helms Tampa Breeze.

Taking a moment from his busy schedule in Las Vegas,

Mortaza spoke over the lines about his league.

And he chuckles when he hears the phrase “cheesecake factor”.

“It’s just like in the U.S., prior to them knowing what the product was, in the sense of the league not the half-time show, we were definitely up against it,” he said.

He challenges sceptics to attend the home opener at Ricoh Coliseum, Sept. 17.

“If you’re just in it for the titillation, there’s a million other avenues nowadays for that,” he said. “Within the first two or three plays, if you talk to anybody in the stands, you literally forget what the women are wearing and they end up watching what amounts to a pretty good football game.”

Mortaza’s goal in Canada is to create a women’s call to the CFL. “Toronto is going to be our first foray, but we are going to be launching a Canadian league next fall,” he said.

Six franchises will hit the indoor fields in 2012.

“The entire country, from what we’ve seen, is sports hungry and sports driven,” he said. “We feel in that type of culture something like this would play really well.”

It’s another reason why the league is drawing from the surrounding area to fill the roster, focusing on raw athletic talent.

Ford, a Richview CI alum who started its flag football program for girls, hopes her initiative will help inspire other girls to play.

“It gets me really feeling good inside,” she said.

Grieco’s tryout is purely for the competition — plus, she got her family’s approval.

“My dad was at work and one of his co-workers, who is female, saw the article in the paper,” she said. “My dad always talks about how I play sports so she showed my dad and my dad phoned me and said, ‘I know you’re not into the lingerie part but I know you’re really good at football so why don’t you go out?’”

Grieco was cut from the mini-camp because she was deemed to be too small but she was reinstated at a final open camp on June 12.

If that doesn’t come to fruition she’ll join York University’s rugby team in the fall.

And critics beware.

“They think it’s just a fun league where people just come out, watch and drink, but when the girls get on the field it is high impact,” Grieco said. TT

T

here might be a blemish on the memory of three North Toronto seniors — Greg Gott, Spencer Cook and Keenan Crawford — as their high school sports careers reached a bizarre denouement June 6.

A late afternoon sun baked the earth’s surface like the inside of a kiln. One umpire went home after being clocked in the head by players warming up in between innings.

Blue at the dish had a ricocheting ball target his collarbone previously.

Neither one were in either team’s good books due to missed calls, inconsistent strikes and by-thebook demeanour. Still, the teams showed sportsmanship when the refs dropped.

Now with his base cohort in the wind, the plate umpire ran a oneman show for a full inning. With the Norsemen at bat against the Goliaths in the top of the fourth, he called an out that would send the North Toronto dugout into an animal-testing lab during sera-testing time.

Crawford stole second but was called out by Blue — decked out in powder, not navy — deviating only slightly from behind his dish to make the call.

One player parroted the mocking phrase “Do you want my glasses?” one too many times. The umpire walked up the first base line to confront the Loki-in-question.

“You’re gone.”

In one breath post-tossing, the umpire then declared the game over.

He pivoted on one foot, turning to coach Lorne Smith, telling him he had no control over his team.

In another swift movement, Blue turned to the accused and carpetbombed an obscenity combo.

As disorientation abated from such artlessness, no one noticed the ump had vanished.

Continued Page 26 JUNE JULY 2011 TORONTO TODAY 25

Unionized Heatwave

Cont. from Page 25

It all transpired so fast that even newspaper photographer Francis Crescia couldn’t snap the high-tailing smurf as he escaped into the East York wilderness.

As an umpire for nearly 20 years in Whitby, I had heard of these moments where umpires spontaneously combust on the diamond. The old guard shared these ghastly horrors, but only as cautionary tales.

Life as an umpire in Whitby was limited if one ever uttered the F-bomb to a fan, parent, player or coach.

There was a decree by the umpire-inchief that hell would be released on his command. That would be two-fold for me, as the chief’s son.

However, if an umpire felt threatened at any moment he could call the game.

But like Goliaths coach Jake Gallo said, there was no storm siren.

“Personally, I think an umpire has to give some warning before he just gives up on a game like that,” he said.

I’ve never experienced threats. I did throw people out: a max of eight in one season (2007), as well as three from one Pickering team in a 1995 game. But I never forfeited a single game because somebody crossed the line.

The loss of professionalism by Blue at the North TorontoEast York game puzzled me, but it piqued Smith.

“Losing like that is just appalling,” he said. “And I’m livid about it.”

The three seniors mentioned in my lede seemed to take the incident in good humour, laughing about the ordeal as they changed. Crawford’s mother boasted Smith was the best coach her three boys have had while at North Toronto.

The parents, players and even Smith acquiesced into the no-hill-to-die-on malaise.

I will admit, the trigger being pulled on #3 was warranted, but throwing the game for the rest of the kids is a troubling reaction, especially since the game was legal.

With three-and-a-half innings finished and the home team ahead, it just seems the umpire wanted to go home.

At the end of it all the Norsemen, now donning their summer shorts and tees, dropped their uniforms into a mesh pouch Smith held out.

Gott, Cook and Crawford shook their coach’s hand, thanking him for his years given to them, not only through baseball, but their lives at the school.

Hopefully those three will remember the highlights of their time spent on the sandlot. Perhaps years later they’ll share this hazy moment of umpire hijinks in a pub, recalling the moment when a smurf acted more like Gargamel. TT

‘Losing like that is just appalling...

I’m livid’

26 TORONTO TODAY JULY 2011

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1 + 4. Riddle part 1 11. School in Conway, Ark. abbr.

14. Ridge in Germany forming the longest line of crags in the north of the country 15. Direct wire to Hell?

16. Precursor to O3 17. Pig’s digs 18. USA’s largest longterm caregivers, if taken over by fencers?

19. An act made possible by the FOI act 20. Riddle part 2 22. Object often linked to Roswell 23. “That’s ___” 24. Logo 26. Pal from Oz 27. Online pub.

31. Seers 32. Singer DiFranco 33. German sword lily 36. Riddle part 3 40. Fringed with hang-

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ing threads 41. To catch a suspect 43. Light bulb meaning in cartoons 46. Model Nordegren who failed to tame the Tiger 47. Hindu deity 48. State of uneasiness 51. Underbrush 52. In shape 53. Riddle part 4 58. Egyptian pharaoh who once controlled Thebes 59. Vigorous, musically 60. Many battles 62. And on, and on, abbr.

63. UFC surface 64. Wrestling org.

65. Bread type 66 + 67. Answer to riddle

DOWN 1. Half of a towel set?

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3. Waiter’s question to a stingy customer 4. Not those 5. Native group mostly in Arizona 6. French sculptor Antoine 7. **One ___ Over the Cuckoo’s Nest** 8. Birthplace of first European in New Zealand, ___ Bay 9. “I give up!”

10. Kingdom 11. Non-cooperative 12. Morning starter for many 13. Self-evident logics 21. Before, poetically 23. US group for health care professionals 25. Barley brew 27. Middle English term for older times 28. In a group, with en 29. Mano-a-mano fight 30. LOTR Dwarf warrior 33. Frigg’s grassroots worker 34. Devine sign

35. Was in charge 37. French state 38. This is commonly done by a hair 39. What Mork says when he leaves the Apple store 42. Tom Hanks’ hugest film?

43. More unstable 44. Exquisite 45. Tempt 47. ___ Castello, Sicily 49. Rolling Stones’ song, “Get ___ my Cloud” 50. English antiquary Francis 51. State Fair writer Phil 54. Directing elsewhere again, abbr.

55. Pitchmen don’t want you to touch it 56. Form of jiu jitsu grappling 57. Title for some Japanese princes 61. Snitch

Stuck? Sorry about that. Check www.MyTorontoToday.ca for the answers (and some relief.)

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