National Post Archive

  • Threats To Rustic Lifestyle

    Threats To Rustic Lifestyle

    A river runs through it. Well, it's a more of a creek than a river; "it" being the square of western North York officially known to the city as Rustic. It's a quaint oasis of sleepy, post-war suburbia -- the Black Creek and scenic parks, churches and schools nestled neatly among bungalows -- the sort of place that inspired the Monkees to record Pleasant Valley Sunday and Geddy Lee to wail about Subdivisions.

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  • Germany’s furry blitzkrieg

    Germany’s furry blitzkrieg

    From a base in Kassel, Germany– once the home of fairy-tale masters the Brothers Grimm — entire panzer divisions of invading Waschbaren (“wash bears”) have been fanning out across Europe for decades. Native to North and Central America, the raccoon first sailed east across the Atlantic in the 19th century, when its furs were in high [...]

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  • City: Let them eat franks

    City: Let them eat franks

    Late-spring sunshine bathed the third annual St. James Town Festival, which went ahead despite an 11th-hour permit scare, thanks to a sacrifice made by Festival volunteers - their lunches.

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  • ‘Don’t push your luck’; On Careers

    ‘Don’t push your luck’; On Careers

    How did they get there? Five successful Canadian executives share the best career advice they ever received from their fathers or mentors on their way to the top.

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  • Big boxes, cold shoulder

    Big boxes, cold shoulder

    On May 18, at the Ralph Thornton Centre on Queen Street East, politicians, developers and Leslieville residents met under the stewardship of Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth) to discuss what many in the community had been fearing for months - namely, what one opponent called the "malignant" intrusion of big-box retail into their neighbourhood, Wal-Mart generally being the most feared tenant.

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  • Flying in formation

    Flying in formation

    A migratory bird with little time for Toronto is what inspired North York artist Stephen Cruise, and what anchored his vision for his latest commission. Last week, Concord Adex Developments unveiled Concord Park Place, a 42-acre, $2-billion condo project along Sheppard Avenue East between Bessarion and Leslie. A project as large as Park Place is bound [...]

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  • Where BlackBerrys cannot follow

    Where BlackBerrys cannot follow

    Ends of the Earth Getting away from the infernal BlackBerry – cellphones too – can be daunting. It takes willpower to unplug. You can connect from just about anywhere, it seems. Even cruise ships are no longer safe. So, where to go to get away from the wireless ties that bind you to work? Bay Street would seem [...]

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  • Bumper crop in the park

    Bumper crop in the park

    Tuesday afternoon was a gloriously sunny 28C, perfect for a walk west out of Riverdale, through the park and across the pedestrian bridge over the DVP, which is exactly what I did. Over the bridge stands Riverdale Farm, an enclave of what us city folk imagine as quaint and old-fashioned. Just past the old farm’s front [...]

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  • Green bin, shmeen bin. Try heating the city with Lake Ontario and making garbage trucks run on fry oil

    Green bin, shmeen bin. Try heating the city with Lake Ontario and making garbage trucks run on fry oil

    TORONTO The city recently released Change Is in the Air: Toronto’s Commitment to an Environmentally Sustainable Future, a wish list of ways Toronto hopes to reduce its environmental impact. But, as the frog says, it ain’t easy being green. The city is on its way, though. Take street lighting. Toronto has taken its first step toward converting [...]

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  • Soaring hospital costs

    Soaring hospital costs

    There’s no two-tier health care at Etobicoke General Hospital. But if you’re a rare peregrine falcon, you might get a free private room. Earlier this month, volunteers from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation, a non-profit group focused on helping endangered and threatened birds of prey, built and installed a nest tray on a ledge next to the big [...]

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