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Post City: Lois Lillenstein remembered for her devotion to childrens’ charities
May 6, 2015
Post City Toronto
Karolyne Ellacott
Generations of Canadians have grown up with Sharon, Lois & Bram. On April 22, Lois Lilienstein passed away at age 78 due to a rare form of cancer. Kids and parents alike have been delighted by the musicians’ tunes since the group formed in 1978 and helped instill a love of music in many. Throughout her long career, Lilienstein scooped up various Junos and Gemini awards and, in 2002, received the Order of Canada along with her bandmates.
The cheery trio earned themselves Canadian icon status among the preschool crowd when they launched “Skinnamarink” upon the world. Several seasons of mid-’80s TVO success followed (does The Elephant Show ring a bell, anyone?), and the family-favoured threesome eventually found a home for their act on CBC-TV.
Toronto Star: A small victory for Toronto food trucks: 50-metre rule may shrink to 30
April 21, 2015
The Toronto Star
Jennifer Pagliaro
Food truck vendors have made a bit of progress in their fight to increase the places they’re allowed to set up shop to sell tacos, rotis and other fast-food delicacies.
On Tuesday, the city’s licensing committee agreed to dial back the most contentious restriction, one that dictates how close a food truck can park to a standing restaurant.
The six committee members voted 5-1 to approve a motion introduced by Councillor Josh Matlow to change that distance from 50 metres to 30 metres. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti was the only member to vote against the motion, which still needs to be approved by council in May.
Metro: Toronto lags behind on public Wi-Fi: Councillor
April 22, 2015
Metro
Luke Simcoe
Whither our Wi-Fi?
While cities as small as Stratford, Ont. and as large as New York push forward on municipal Wi-Fi initiatives, plans for anything similar in Toronto continue to move at dial-up speed.
“When I brought the issue to City Hall, I found myself hitting a huge brick wall,” said Coun. Josh Matlow, the architect of a failed pitch to add Wi-Fi to municipal parks and squares in 2013.
After having his proposal “punted” from committee to committee, Matlow had to contend with the “anti-Wi-Fi lobby,” a group of residents concerned about the potential health effects of wireless Internet.
Toronto Star: A Small Victory for Toronto Food Trucks
April 21, 2015
The Toronto Star
Jennifer Pagliaro
Food truck vendors have made a bit of progress in their fight to increase the places they’re allowed to set up shop to sell tacos, rotis and other fast-food delicacies.
On Tuesday, the city’s licensing committee agreed to dial back the most contentious restriction, one that dictates how close a food truck can park to a standing restaurant.
The six committee members voted 5-1 to approve a motion introduced by Councillor Josh Matlow to change that distance from 50 metres to 30 metres. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti was the only member to vote against the motion, which still needs to be approved by council in May.
Toronto Star: Community council moves to lower speed limits on East York, old Toronto streets
April 14, 2015
The Toronto Star
Betsy Powell
Unless there is widespread public opposition, the speed limit on hundreds of local residential roads in Toronto and East York will soon be lowered from 40 km/h to 30 km/h.
“From the residents that we’ve heard from, the vast majority are strongly in support of safer roads in our neighbourhoods,” Councillor Josh Matlow said Tuesday after the move was unanimously approved by Toronto and East York Community Council.
He emphasized that the change doesn’t affect main streets or collector roads.
A pedestrian hit by a vehicle at 30 km/h versus 40 km/h is “literally the difference between life and death."
