Retweet if you want to run the CBC. Amidst the latest ex-staffer ranting about the public broadcaster, followed by the complaints about those complaints, the heritage minister dispatched a democratic reminder that Hubert Lacroix will soon be ending his second five-year term—as if every loudmouth applicant here would be considered:

Can an intersectional NDP cope with Quebec? Niki Ashton, who this week announced she’s expecting twins and had to reject a leadership endorsement from an alleged Holocaust denier, faces something more complicated as she tries to become NDP leader: opposing Bill 62, which forbids face coverings among Quebec public service workers. Hard to do, because NDP policy is to recognize the province’s "distinct society." Snark about the paradox left her tying rhetorical knots.

The deliberately weird ways of Home Hardware. Report on Business Magazine looks into the chain, whose ramshackle aesthetic is a calculated way of battling the big boxes. Favoured tactics include telling customers looking for a well-stocked item that they’ve arrived just in time to buy the last one. (The website version is behind the paywall.)

Whole Foods is about to be rained on by Amazon. The grocer’s new owner has vowed lower prices on Monday, when the relationship is consummated. Some stores will also get Amazon Lockers for pick-up and return of items ordered online. Good thing the Sunnybrook Plaza, near the newest local Whole Foods at Bayview and Eglinton, is being demolished.

"The majority of councillors recognize that Toronto has a shameful legacy when it comes to heritage preservation." Councillor Josh Matlow is backing up a unanimous vote to ask the city to add 258 central midtown properties to the heritage register. A stealth condo developer demolition of a Bank of Montreal building around Yonge and Eglinton in January is cited as a main factor behind the initiative. But many of the buildings aren’t much to look at now, and they're located in an intensifying area where anti-development neighbours are known for getting up in arms about “Density Creep.

Rex Smith shows that aging teen idols are just like us. Kind of a male Taylor Swift of his day, Smith came to Toronto in 1995 for the musical Sunset Boulevard, then got married and had kids who still live here. His Facebook page has videos from his return visits, like this one, shot at his favourite restaurant, Joso's, shortly before the namesake founder died. But look, he's clearly not a snob when it comes to sampling the regional cuisine:

12:36 returns September 5. No newsletters next week! Twitter on occasion: @1236.

Word of the moment

FIT AND SLIM

Sheraton Cadwell Orchestra told performers it would only showcase singers who fit this description. The backlash forced the orchestra to shut down.




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