Janet’s Danforth Mosaic BIA Missing In Action

A Business Improvement Area is City Of Toronto sanctioned committee that decides how to spend hard earned local businesses money. The BIA’s job is to help local retail business get more customers to shop in their area. Typically a street festival, like the Beaches Jazz Fest, would be one their main objectives. On the Danforth, Pat Silver started The Mosaic BIA in 2008. This BIA lies between Jones Ave and Dewhurst Blvd along Danforth Ave. Pat Silver has a very long record of spending time doing both charity work and good deeds to improve her neighborhood. Pat Silver is not an employee of the city nor is she elected. But we must assume she know the rules. The first unofficial rule inside Toronto BIA’s is suck-up to your local city Councillor like Janet Davis. The other rule; make sure this BIA helps get Janet Davis elected. You see this BIA and its budget are part of the Queendom that Janet runs. So when Pat Silver awards a BIA contract to herself does Janet call the Integrity Commissioner to investigate the clear violation of ethics at the BIA? In fact the seasoned Pat Silver runs a booking agency that booked all of the BIA events. Hey! She’s not getting paid to run the BIA for the city , so let’s at least throw her a bone.  Along comes a local merchant; Lia Kostouros, who is paying extra taxes to pay Pat Silver to pay herself through her booking agency, and wanted to change the current NDP flavour of the board. She wants accountability and a focus on getting the BIA moving in the right direction. Bringing back customers and bringing back local businesses who represent the board and the area. They have a Annual General Meeting and Lia wins the election by a land-slide. But did she follow the unofficial rules? No so Janet dismiss the election result and put her NDP people back on the board. Now the newly elected board can’t get anything pasted as they are out voted. There is a great video on torontobia.ca of Janet showing her true colours. She is not helping local retail. Now Lia Kostouros has never run a BIA, with no pay, so she lacks the experience. But most important she does not have Janet’s blessing. The results are a poor deal for the local stores. In efforts to get rid of this local do-gooder, Janet calls the City of Toronto Integrity Commissioner and has the little right winger publicly tarred and feathered. Lia efforts to help out are a waste of tax payer money due to Janet power hungry appetite.  So why help out your neighborhood for free? When you can have the right friends and get the right contracts, but remember you must follow the simple rule on the Danforth which means make Janet happy, because Janet runs this street! If you try to defy her you’ll end up with a dysfunctional board, an empty office and a broken website. Janet Davis where do local businesses apply for their refund? More on torontobia.ca --- Paul Murton

 

 

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Hanky Panky At The Riverdale ZOO Not a Ford Cut

As a lifelong resident of ward 28, I've always felt that the Riverdale Farm was one of the true jewels of Cabbagetown. It is still a very important part of my life so I was genuinely disturbed when I learned that the farm was under threat of being closed down. The debate over the farm's future took on a life of its own this past summer, and with tax-payers footing the bill for an army of volunteer staff providing free labour, they must have raised tens of thousands of dollars in the interim. The Riverdale Farm Advisory Committee need only point to the vast sums donated by Friends of Riverdale Farm (FRF) over the years as proof positive that the community has its full support behind them. Unlike most accredited charities who are only too willing to proudly point to their achievements, the FRF seems to prefer a more vague method of accounting. Although there are a handful of nebulous posts regarding unnamed programs funded and the “reinvesting of funds into existing facilities”, there is no mention whatsoever of verifiable contributions to the farm. In regards to the farm itself, after failing to find any visible proof of their generosity, I asked several of the city employees on site if they could point to any of FRF's contributions. Unfortunately, none seemed willing to risk the wrath of their superiors. I contacted both Friends of Riverdale Farm and the Riverdale Farm Advisory Committee to ask whether they could provide any proof that FRF had donated anything more tangible than “community spirit” as that had been the public line these past several years. Neither group responded. Many of the Farmer's Market vendors happily spoke anonymously about having been forced to join FRF, but, none were willing to risk their spot on Tuesday afternoons by publicly talking about the Manager's behaviour. There are several instances that indicate former FRF Director, Elizabeth Harris has a long standing relationship with Ward 28 Councillor Pam McConnell. Now I am in no position to cast doubt on their relationship. However,

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Come Fly Away: Dancer Marina Lazzaretto

Some people, although dead, still live in the hearts of their supporters.  Frank Sinatra is such a person, whose songs shall always echo in the memory of his audiences, whose spirit shall always be cherished and shared by his fans.  Today, in commemoration of Frank Sinatra the legendary vocalist who passed away two decades ago, the Frank Sinatra Family and Frank Sinatra Enterprises devoted substantial effort to recreate the Sinatra ambiance by launching the musical “Come Fly Away”.

To perceive “Come Fly Away” as a mere musical is like seeing only the tip of an iceberg.  Taking place in the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts from August 18th to 28th, this extraordinary 70-minute show is a truly delicate combination of various refined components. Whether it is the exceptional talents, the high technology, the genius choreography, or the original vocal recording of classic Sinatra songs like “Fly Me to the Moon”, “My Way, and “That’s Life”.   Thanks to high technology, Sinatra’s vocal recording is combined immaculately with the live music performance of a professional 14-piece on-stage band.  While indulging in Sinatra’s charming voice, one can’t help but marvel at the adept application of modern technology that rendered such reminiscent, authentic Sinatra air possible.   As the classic Sinatra songs produced through advanced technology gives “Come Fly Away” a soul, the breath-taking choreography conceived by Tony Award®-winner Twyla Tharp gives the musical wings to soar.  In addition to the several traditional ballet moves like fouettés en tournant and the graceful grand jeté, various creative new moves are also incorporated into the musical, encouraging the audience to break-free from the conventional framework of dance moves.  In introducing such innovative choreography in “Come Fly Away”, Tharp impressively brought ballet to a whole new level. Meanwhile, under Tharp’s training, the 15 professional dancers subtly and precisely performed each move in perfect correspondence with specific lyrics and melody of the Sinatra songs.  Each character would exhibit a distinctive set of dance moves to reflect a unique personality, alongside brilliantly placed comedy that never fails to trigger a good laugh.  Thanks to the refreshing choreography, the dancers’ skillful change in facial expressions, as well as the well-designed costumes, the characters’ complex emotions were successfully conveyed to the audience.  From the sweetness of first dance to the grief of the final farewell, it would not take long for one to become deeply engaged in the vivid sentiments of romance, sorrows, passion, and deception that brought alive the beautiful love story of four distinct couples in a nightclub.

Now, such remarkable ballet performance on stage would not have existed without the dancers’ persistent and countless effort dedicated to the off-stage practicing, sustained primarily by their passion towards dancing. Upon interviewing Marina Lazzaretto,