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• News

  Homegrown shelters an alternative to humane societies

  

  Posted by Samantha Butler at 9:44 pm on January 5, 2010
  3 Comments 1 image
  

  Doors opened to the public yesterday at The Toronto Humane Society’s River street location, with adoption services resuming following a six-week investigation by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. But while the shelter is housing over 800 animals, only 25 dogs were ready to go to adoption, down from the OSPCA’s original estimate of 100.

  48-year-old Rita Mueller, who cares for homeless dogs and fosters them out of her own home, argues the number is too low and is indicative of the inefficiencies holding up adoptions at the THS and leaving too many animals sick in cages.

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• Arts

  2009 in review: Ten Toronto authors that define a decade

  

  Posted by Nastasha Alli at 3:04 am on December 31, 2009
  No Comments 6 images
  

  Here to round out the past decade for bibliophiles, here are 10 writers who best reflect the city’s diverse communities.

  They enjoy various degrees of fame, but all are equally excellent. They are not presented in any hard-and-fast order.

  Anthony De Sa

  De Sa’s 2008 debut collection Barnacle Love is a series of interconnected stories centred on the Rebelos, a Portuguese immigrant family. De Sa writes with great detail, transporting readers straight into Toronto’s Little Portugal.

  Barnacle Love garnered rave reviews among critics and was shortlisted for the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize. For an interview with De Sa and a peek into his writing process, see this.

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• Lifestyle

  Craft-making couple passes through Toronto’s One of a Kind show

  

  Posted by Sam Scarlett at 12:58 am on December 7, 2009
  No Comments 2 images
  

  As The One of a Kind Show comes to an end today, artists pack up their unique crafts, ready to move on to the next event.

  Earrings designer Shirley Searle, one of the eight hundred artists featured at the yearly Toronto craft show at Exhibition Place has been following her creations all over the country for the past 10 years.

  Out of all the shows Searle does in a year across Canada, the Toronto Christmas show always brings the biggest crowds every year, she says.

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• Sports

  East York school teaches Toronto teens through basketball

  

  Posted by Andrew Robichaud at 2:37 am on November 25, 2009
  No Comments 6 images
  

  The dressing room is silent as Coach Kevin Jeffers stands up to speak to his players before the biggest game of their lives.

  Before they head out onto the court, he looks around at each player in the room and tells them, “This is where every team that plays wants to be. If that’s not motivation enough then I don’t know what is.”

  This is not the NBA or even the NCAA. It’s an East York senior boy’s basketball team looking to capture their fifth OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association) championship in eight years.

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• Lifestyle

  Photo gallery: Toronto celebrates Santa Claus Parade number 105

  

  Posted by Nick Nikolov at 10:13 pm on November 15, 2009
  No Comments 17 images
  

  Today marked the 105th anniversary of the Santa Claus parade in Toronto.

  As every other year, Santa Claus came “HO! HO! HOing!” behind his team of eight reindeer, followed by a multitude of colourful floats.

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• Sports

  Gaels go down while Spartans sail to women’s soccer finals

  

  Posted by Matt McKay at 8:39 pm on November 15, 2009
  No Comments 2 images
  

  On Saturday the Trinity Western Spartans defended their Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s soccer crown after knocking out the Queen’s Golden Gaels on penalties in a semifinal match at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium.

  There wasn’t a lot that separated the two sides scoring-wise. Both teams managed a second-half goal and were forced to decide the game by a couple of penalty kicks.

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• News

  Remembering the young who became veterans

  

  Posted by Nick Nikolov at 5:45 pm on November 11, 2009
  No Comments 3 images
  

  The song “A Pittance of Time” by Nova Scotia songwriter Terry Kelly urges Canadians to spend two minutes remembering those who died overseas during times of war.

  One line of it says, “May we never forget the young who became vets.”

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• Sports

  Hull Jr. continues father’s legacy at the Hockey Hall of Fame

  

  Posted by Nick Nikolov at 12:13 pm on November 10, 2009
  No Comments 7 images
  

  Hockey superstar Brett “the Golden Brett” Hull has added to his father Bobby Hull’s legacy when he joined him Sunday night in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

  Bobby “the Golden Jet” Hull was one of the NHL’s most feared scorers, who brought home the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1961.

  Brett Hull has since added to his father’s legacy with a stellar career that won him standing in the Hockey Hall of fame. He described the moment as “a dream come true” as he received the honour in Toronto.

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• Lifestyle

  Casa Loma’s scavenger hunt carves out a place in family Halloween plans

  

  Posted by Nick Nikolov at 10:53 pm on October 31, 2009
  No Comments 6 images
  

  Halloween is a day historically spent scaring other people, telling spooky stories and carving pumpkins, but many kids would likely say the best part is trick-or-treating for all that delicious candy.

  Organizers of the fourth annual Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt at one of Toronto’s prime tourist sites, Casa Loma, attempted to do all of the above in one place.

  The all-day clue-finding game was accompanied by pumpkin-carving and seasonally spooky mini-shows to entertain young visitors.

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• Lifestyle, News

  No ‘opa!’ on Oxi Day on the Danforth

  

  Posted by Nick Nikolov at 9:01 pm on October 26, 2009
  No Comments 8 images
  

  For some, the annual Oxi Day parade along Danforth Avenue is a new experience. But not for 28-year-old Mario Tsokas.

  Dressed in a colourful Fonstantanela Tsiola uniform and holding the Greek flag, Tsokas has been a performer in the parade since childhood.

  “I have a picture when I was four years old on the front page of the Toronto Sun,” said Tsokas, vice-president of the Panmessinian Association of Toronto. “I am very proud to be Greek and a part of this community (and) to celebrate our stance against the Italians. It’s an honour. As long as I am walking I will keep doing it.”

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• Sports

  Laurier hands Toronto a case of the Blues

  

  Posted by Steve Colomvakos at 5:03 pm on September 8, 2009
  No Comments

  Mike Montoya rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns as the Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues 36-0 in OUA football action Monday night.

  All three scores came in the second quarter on runs up the middle of 11, nine and six yards, respectively, as the seventh-ranked Hawks (1-0) took a halftime lead of 26-0, and played the second half only as a technicality.

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• Sports

  Toronto Jr. Argos prepare to stampede Burlington at Ontario Football Conference

  

  Posted by Steve Colomvakos at 4:07 pm on August 2, 2009
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  This weekend marks the beginning of the 2009 Ontario Football Conference (OFC) playoffs.

  The Toronto Jr. Argos Varsity team (5-4-1) will take on the number one seed
  Burlington Stampeders (7-3).

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• Sports

  Quitting was no option for Toronto Jr. Argos

  

  Posted by Steve Colomvakos at 1:14 am on July 28, 2009
  No Comments

  Trailing 17-0 with 4:30 left in the third quarter, the Toronto Jr. Argos Varsity team walked away tied at 20.

  Making the draw that much more significant, the Baby Boatmen clinched a spot in the post-season.

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• News, Sports

  Toronto wrestling icon ‘made the show sing’

  

  Posted by Mike Crisolago at 1:16 am on June 25, 2009
  No Comments 1 image
  

  There was a time in the mid-1980s, as a young Toronto wrestling fan, when I feared that Billy Red Lyons was very disappointed in me.

  I never met the white-haired pro wrestling announcer who interviewed my favourite superstars every week on Maple Leaf Wrestling. But when, with his trademark nasal voice, he’d run down an upcoming Maple Leaf Gardens card and close by imploring, “Don’tcha dare miss it”, I worried that he’d find out that I did indeed miss it. And that he wouldn’t be happy about it.

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• Arts

  Beach and Blood: NXNE Recap, June 18 (pt. 1)

  

  Posted by Luke Champion at 7:26 pm on June 19, 2009
  No Comments 9 images
  

  Last night the NXNE music festival came out swinging. Wristbands and lanyards could be spotted all over the downtown core, with over 50 venues kicking out the jams.

  The evening kicked off at Dundas Square with Spiral Beach debuting a couple of new songs along with favorites such as “Made of Stone” and “Teddy Black”. They started  the evening with the perfect blend of upbeat exuberance and twisted fairy tale dreaminess.

  The weather held on as well, with a Dundas Square audience apparently doing the right dances to keep the skies dry.

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