The South Etobicoke News

Serving Humber * Mimico * Lakeshore Village * Long Branch * Alderwood

Humber College getting new Cultural Hub, residences and arts venues

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Humber College is probably the largest landholder in the Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Kipling Ave. area.

Now work is underway at the college’s Lakeshore Campus to construct two student residences, two performing arts venues and other learning spaces on the historic grounds.

Construction has begun on a new Humber Cultural Hub, which will be completed in 2024. It is designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and being built by Ellis Don. It is one of a number of expansion and renovation projects that the college is undertaking.

The student residences will be eight and nine storeys tall, and will add rooms for up to 300 students. It will add 124,000 square feet of new living space, according to the plans.

The residences will rise up out of a two-storey podium that will have a new cafeteria and a new gym.

The Hub will also have two music and performing arts venues, one with 600 seats and another that can hold 150 people.

The venues can act as a potential destination for arts programs and even festivals in west Toronto, college officials say.

The Hub will be home to studios for recording, 3D animation, multimedia production, computer labs and an Indigenous classroom.

When it’s done, the project will connect to an existing library and a student residence..

College officials say the Hub will spark exciting possibilities for students, local cultural and creative industries and the community.

It will provide access to talent development, entrepreneurial supports and applied research, according to college information. It will also benefit culturally underserved local communities, build new appreciation and opportunities for the creative arts, attract new jobs and industries to the area and enrich the local economy.

Humber says his facility will enhance the training and career-readiness of students while allowing the college to solve business challenges for industry in the creative and performing arts.

“The Humber Cultural Hub will be a nexus for immersive, interdisciplinary performances, unique audience engagement and future focused pedagogical delivery that will enhance the Humber experience for students, faculty, alumni, industry and the community,” says Guillermo Acosta, a Senior Dean, of Faculty of Media and Creative Arts.

 

Body worn cameras being rolled out to 23 Division officers in Rexdale

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Toronto Police officers in north Etobicoke are among the first to get their long-awaited body-worn cameras.

The first two camera-equipped officers were out on the street Monday in the Rexdale area as part of 23 Division. It’s the start of a year-long rollout for the gear.

Cameras will arrive in south Etobicoke for 22 and 11 Divisions beginning around October. A full rollout to all frontline officers is expected over the next year.

Toronto Police say officers will ” turn on the body-worn camera prior to arriving at a call for service; when they start investigating an individual; or when they are asking a person questions for the purpose of collecting their information. “

A police officer will turn off the body-worn camera when the call for service or investigation is complete or when the officer determines that continuous recording is no longer serving its intended purpose.

Officers will face penalties for shutting their cameras off on calls.

It should be fairly obvious if an officer’s camera is recording. Police say there are “lights and notices indicating it has been activated. Officers are trained to give notice as soon as reasonably possible that a body worn camera is in operation.

The force plans to buy 2,350 body-worn cameras at a cost of $34.1 million.

The cameras are among a Toronto Police list of items to ensure equality on the force.

 

Drive Thru Ribfest taking place at Humber College South campus

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There’s nothing tastier than a piece of  barbeque rib in the summertime.

The community is being invited to a Ribfest Drive Thru barbeque taking place at Humber College South Campus on August 29 and 30.

The event starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 8 p.m. at the Lakeshore campus, at 3199 Lake Shore Blvd. W., at Kipling Ave.

The Ribfest is presented by Humber College, Rotary Etobicoke and features award-winning ‘ribbers as Billy Bones BBQ, Uncle Sam’s BBQ Stand, Oklahoma Pistol Pete’s and Alabama’s Finest Camp 31.

“With Toronto beginning to reopen, come out and experience a classic summer favourite at our newly designed Ribfest drive-thru,” according to the event organizers. “Enjoy mouth-watering ribs all from the comfort of your vehicle!”

Organizers say Toronto Ribfest is a not-for-profit event that’s been taking place for 18 years.

They say more than 100,000 supporters attend yearly and donations raised go to helping those in need in the community.

So far, more than $3 million has been raised for Etobicoke local hospitals, community centers, schools, shelters, food banks and charities.

 

Cherished ‘welcome teams’ hockey banner gone missing

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Enough is enough.

Not only are the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but now it seems a hockey-crazed fan may have skated off with a ‘welcome teams’ cherished banner.

A large customized white hockey banner being used to welcome NHL players to Toronto for the playoffs has gone missing and the owners want it back.

The two large plastic banners were installed earlier this month in New Toronto to welcome arriving NHL players, who are here as part of an anti-virus hockey playoffs bubble. There is another bubble in Edmonton.

The banners contain images of U.S. and Canadian flags and welcomed the NHL Eastern Conference contenders.

Organizers said the teams will practice at the Ford Centre of Excellence, at 400 Kipling Ave.

Chris Korwyn-Kuczynski, of the Lake Shore Village Business Improvement Area, says one of the banners, worth more than $200 each, was locked on a fence at a club at Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Sixth St., when it went missing.

“We knew this might happen and we locked it in,” he says. “The banner I think is in somebody’s bedroom now.”

The items were used by the BIA for promotions to drum up area businesses while some of the hockey playoffs were taking place here.

Anyone who has the hockey banner is asked to leave it in the patio of Maple Leaf House Grill and Lounge, at 2749 Lake Shore Blvd. W.

Veteran Stafford honoured for 61-years in the Warriors’ Day parade

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It was a Warriors’ Day Parade that Second World War Veteran Ed Stafford will never forget.

This year would have marked Stafford’s 61st-year of marching in the Annual August 21 CNE Warriors’ Day Parade, which has been taking place for almost 100 years at the lakefront park.

The parade was cancelled this year due to COVID-19. Next year will mark its 100th year anniversary on the CNE grounds.

Stafford was joined by friends, neighbours and officers from 22 Division, who made his day by taking him for a ride in a 1944 Ford Lynx 11 scout car, courtesy of the Ontario Military Vehicle Association.

He served through the war and proudly served as Governor General’s Horse Guards.

“We congratulate Ed and wish him many more years of proudly marching in Warriors’ Day parade,” police wrote on social media. “We were honoured to be part of today’s parade to honour Ed.”

This year there was a virtual tribute to the Warriors’ Day Parade, our veterans, and those currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.

The CNE says they look forward to celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Warriors’ Day Parade on August 21, 2021.

It is the longest running veterans’ parade in the free world and has been a part of the CNE since 1921.

There is also a petition circulating  online to encourage Canada Post and The Royal Canadian Mint to issue a commemorative stamp and coin to mark 100-years of the CNE honouring our veterans.

Further information about the Warriors’ Day Parade can be found at www.thewarriorsdayparade.ca

 

 

 

Man fighting for his life in New Toronto stabbing

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A New Toronto man is fighting for his life after being stabbed early Saturday night at a townhouse complex.

Police say they were called to townhouses near the Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Thirteenth Street area around 5:20 p.m., where they found a man bleeding from the back.

Toronto paramedics say the man, who is in his 20s, was taken to hospital in serious, possibly life-threatening condition.

Police say suspect information was not available last night.

Officers are also seeking suspects in an August 2 shooting in Mimico when another man suffered minor injuries after multiple shots were fired in the  Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Mimico Ave. area.

No one has been arrested in any of the incidents.

 

Iconic Lancaster bomber may one day fly over Toronto again

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By DAVE KOSONIC

The Lancaster bomber that was prominently displayed near the waterfront of Toronto’s Coronation Park for 34-years may once again take to the skies after a meticulous restoration is completed in B.C.

The “Lanc” as it was dubbed by flyers, was a heavy bomber and a popular draw for adults and school children from 1965 to 1999, when it was displayed near the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition.

The roar of its four powerful engines may even be heard againif it makes some tribute flights over Toronto in the future. But whether it will fly again remains up in the air.

Known as ‘Bomber FM104’, it was one of 430 Avro Lancasters assembled at the Malton Victory Aircraft factory during the Second World War. After being flown to England in 1945 the aircraft was not used for missions because it arrived near the end of the war.

Later the FM104 returned to Canada and was utilized by the Royal Canadian Air Force for maritime patrols and search-and-rescue missions until being retired in 1964.

After decades of uncertainity, the ‘Lanc’ has found a home at a not-for-profit British Columbia Aviation Museum, where it has been since 2018.

Only 17 Avro Lancaster bombers in complete form remain in the world. Eight of these are in Canada making this aircraft a piece of Canadian aviation history.

The continuing restoration of this aircraft to airworthy flying condition could take another decade at an estimated cost of $10 million, according to those involved with this project.

Upon the completion, this Lancaster will join the only other two others still flying today, including one in Hamilton and another in England.

Bruce Horne, a member of the B.C. museum, says the hope is to get the aircraft back in the skies again.

Some of the restoration funding is being supported by the government and private donations. The technical aspects of the project are being handled by skilled volunteers who are in the process of inspecting the aircraft’s 55,000 components and parts. Any missing pieces will be re-created to the exact specifications.

The FM104 was housed at the Canadian Space and Air Museum in Downsview Park until that facility closed. It was stored in a hangar at the Edenvale Aerodrome, near Barrie, at a cost of $25,000 a year because Toronto had no storage space available.

Despite some valiant efforts to keep the Lancaster here Toronto City Council decided to donate the  iconic jet to the museum providing that the facility covered the $80,000 shipping costs.

According to official Bomber Command statistics a total of 7,377 Lancasters were built at various locations during the Second World War and nearly 4,000 of them were shot down or lost in battle.

The bomber featured a long, unobstructed bomb bay which meant it could take the largest bombs and was one of the most heavily-used of the Second World War night bombers.

Summer Music Series online virtual concert

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Its hot outside and we are aching for some summertime jazz in the city.
The jazz is not going to happen.
But, Lakeshore Arts is partnering with Mimico-by-the-Lake BIA to present The Summer Series on August 28.
The online virtual concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. and feature local and musical acts.
This is a fundraiser for the Jean Augustine Centre for Young women’s Empowerment, which has been forced to cut some of its programming due to COVID-19.
You can donate at jeanaugustinecentre.ca, in honour of the “Summer Music Series.”
Stay tuned for more information and some of the artists being featured.
Also local brewery, Great Lakes Beer has launched a fundraising beer called Empowerment to help raise funds for the centre.
Please note that the Lakeshore Arts Long Branch Public Library mural box was painted in the last few days by artist Nazli Nahidi.

Art painting and sale to support Humber Bay Park

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There will be another Community Sidewalk Painting and Art sale tomorrow in support of Friends of Humber Bay Park.

The painting and sale will take place on August 22, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Studio Connect, 62 Marine Parade Drive, in Unit 5.

Artist Soudabeh Majidi invites you to add strokes to the painting.

Majidi, a graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design, has been painting and instructing Art for a decade. Soudabeh started to paint Neemo, the family dog who had been changing several homes and eventually became a loved family member in her household.

The Friends of Humber are also hosting their 2020 photo contest of images taken in the park. Photos must be from Humber Bay Park and adjacent areas.

Photographers have until September 15 to get registered and download their shots to fohbp.ca, and access the Photo Contest 2020 tab.

Romaine and Dallas saying goodbye to the NTB and dear friends

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A mom-and-son business team are saying goodbye after 12-years of operating a billiards hall in New Toronto.

Dallas Dyer, and his mom, Romaine Andronyk, have been operating the popular NTB New Toronto Billiards, at 2878 Lake Shore Blvd. W., which has been the scene of many good times since 2008.

The saddened couple in a posting on social media say it has been great and they are moving on.

“It’s been 12 wonderful years since we opened our doors,” they wrote. “We have made great memories along the way … but for us, it’s time to move on to other things.”

The duo say they will shut their doors forever on August 29.

“This will be the end of our era,” they told their customers. “We want to thank everyone that has supported us over the years.”

They thanked landlord Gord Faulkner, the former owner of Faulkner Appliances, calling him ‘a stand-up guy for years of mutual respect.”

The pool hall was described as “Etobicoke’s Best Kept Secret,” in that they served ‘a wide range of drink selections plus a special every night to keep our costs affordable and your nights fun.’

The hideaway lounged offered cocktails, brews and pub eats, plus pool tables, darts and regular live music.

“We are a home away from home for a lot of people,” they say. “Memories are made, celebrations are had and friendships are created once you come into NTB.’

The hall hosted or sponsored some of the best pool and dart players and teams like the Canadian Poolplayers’ Association League.

Long-time pool player R. Anthony Rock says the closing will bring tears to his eye.

“I have photo albums on Facebook of the time spent at NTB Lounge from the beginning and over the years,” Rock recalls. “Their closing will bring a tear to the eye, but the fondest memories will bring the broadest smiles.”

Top pool player Tom Polsinelli says the high-quality pool tables are level and the temperature in the venue was always cool enough to keep balls rolling properly.

The hall has also been a venue for darts tournaments, musical jams and variety shows for the LGBT community. Even Toronto Marlies hockey players have been spotted playing ping pong here.