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Spin Report: Operation Charm, Day 10

Spin Report: Operation Charm, Day 10

In 1976, McClelland & Stewart released Conrad Black’s book version of his McGill thesis, Render Unto Caesar: The Life and Legacy...

Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

A day off from court proceedings produced a wave of enthusiasm and creativity at the Star . Rick Westhead reports on the...

The Odd Couple

It’s a cheeky question, I know, but is Conrad Black to American commerce what Sanjaya Malakar is to American entertainment? The...

Much a ’Do About Nothing

The ever-intrepid boyos at Frank mag are onto a story so big, so central to the case, it could only appear in their august...

Business Brief: Oh, Geez… More Non-Competes

The last time Fargo appeared prominently in the national press was a decade ago, when the brilliant Coen brothers movie won two...

Inside the Latest Issue

The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.

Bowdlerizing Bower

As promised, I’m revisiting the Tom Bower–Mark Steyn imbroglio. Steyn’s beat, as it were, is the world of irreconcilable...

Confusion, Thy Name Is Non-Compete

Confusion, Thy Name Is Non-Compete

We’re back to a full court press on the Black case, and once again, the confusing matter of non-competes reigns. The headline on...

The Toronto Green Wall Challenge!

The Toronto Green Wall Challenge!

Yesterday I blogged whimsically about growing plants up the walls of city buildings. Today I finally get around to reading...

Two Lords a Leaping

Two Lords a Leaping

Last week, we reported on a column in The Times of London comparing the plight of Lord Black to that of former English Tory...

Me and my canopy

¡Ola! Glad to be home. I notice that City Hall was busy with announcements while I was away. Among them: David Miller wants to...

The Tedium is the Message

The abstruse litany on non-competes having reduced journalists to glazy-eyed indifference (or maybe that’s just me), the...

Legal File: Nine days later: who’s winning?

Anyone reading the press reports of the evidence at the Conrad Black trial could be forgiven for not knowing who is winning. Both...

Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

Beyond some late reporting on the Blacks’ party doings in the New York Post and the Daily Mail , today’s offerings are mostly...

Bio Hazard

In a riveting if slightly creepy aside in her column in this morning’s Times of London , Mary Ann Sieghart reports: “After a...

Ice Storm II

Ice Storm II

Scads of breathless gossip in the Star and Sun as (gasp!) Conrad Black attends a book launch at Massey College for Amiel’s...

Slow News Day

Court having been adjourned until Monday, this seems as good a time as any to assess the press. Observing the varying degrees and...

Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

The prosecution continues to grind at the idea that, despite the black letter legality of the non-compete agreements, purchasers...

Spin Report: Should Babs have stayed home?

Spin Report: Should Babs have stayed home?

The composite character of Conrad and Barbara Black, which is really what is on trial in Chicago, poses immense problems for their...

The Lord Giveth

There’s a story from AP on the International Herald Tribune Web site stating that, “The University of Haifa announced on...

Business Brief: Execs Gone Wild

On first glance, the prosecution’s strategy—blowing up private e-mails that demonstrate Conrad Black at his most...

Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

Non-competes are at the heart of today’s reporting. Michael Reed, an executive from Alabama-based media company Community...

Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

Substantive issues this week include a ruling on whether the identities of the jurors in the case should remain sealed. The...

Legal File: Rich Man, Poor Man: The Jury Problem

For several reasons, major fraud trials in Canada are tried without a jury, by a judge alone. One of them is that jury trials are...

Adding Insect to Injury

Following the lead of Max Ehrmann, a Midwestern sage from another era, Barbara Amiel sought in her latest column published today...

Cost of Living

These North York points enthusiasts earn $370,000 a year. How do they spend it?

These North York points enthusiasts earn $370,000 a year. How do they spend it?

“We try to maximize our rewards by using various credit cards plus PC Optimum”

This 22-year-old venture capitalist is on track to make $180,000 this year. How does he spend it?

This 22-year-old venture capitalist is on track to make $180,000 this year. How does he spend it?

“I love a good bargain, so I shop at No Frills”

This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?

This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?

“Groceries are our biggest monthly expense after rent”

This Doctors Without Borders marketer earns $100,000 a year. How does she spend it?

This Doctors Without Borders marketer earns $100,000 a year. How does she spend it?

Manpreet Badyal moved from Delhi to Vancouver to Toronto in search of success

How a Gen Z finance enthusiast in Forest Hill spends her money

How a Gen Z finance enthusiast in Forest Hill spends her money

Business analyst and budding TikTok investment guru Chaeeun Lee hopes to visit 50 countries before she turns 30

This policy analyst and stand-up comedian makes $83,000 a year. How does she spend it?

This policy analyst and stand-up comedian makes $83,000 a year. How does she spend it?

“Investing in mental health is important. I have an unlimited membership at Othership in Yorkville”

This entrepreneur is on track to make $23,000 this year. How does she spend it?

This entrepreneur is on track to make $23,000 this year. How does she spend it?

“It was hard to accept financial aid from my parents, but it actually brought us closer together”

Urban Diplomat

Dear Urban Diplomat: My family takes Mother’s Day more seriously than Father’s Day

Dear Urban Diplomat: My family takes Mother’s Day more seriously than Father’s Day

She gets flowers, gifts and breakfast in bed; I get a lousy grill brush. Am I wrong to feel slighted?

Dear Urban Diplomat: What’s the etiquette for EV charging?

Dear Urban Diplomat: What’s the etiquette for EV charging?

Dear Urban Diplomat , What’s the etiquette for EV charging? A few weeks ago, I finally found a spot in my neighbourhood to juice...

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband thinks I'm a hoarder, but I'm a collector

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband thinks I’m a hoarder, but I’m a collector

He’s started quoting Marie Kondo and insisting that I get rid of my “emotional support tchotchkes.” How can I get him to back off?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My condo building has zero tolerance for the slightest noise

Dear Urban Diplomat: My condo building has zero tolerance for the slightest noise

They’ve asked us not to shower after 11 p.m. because of “pipe whistling.” Is this normal?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband bought us a pass to skip the line at the ski hill. Why do I feel guilty for using it?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband bought us a pass to skip the line at the ski hill. Why do I feel guilty for using it?

I can’t help being embarrassed every time I sheepishly walk past the eye rollers in the regular queue

Dear Urban Diplomat: My brother is lying online about Dry January

Dear Urban Diplomat: My brother is lying online about Dry January

He’s preaching the virtues of sobriety on TikTok but still crushing six-packs every weekend, and the hypocrisy is getting on my nerves. Should I call him out?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My co-workers have forgotten how to behave in an office

Dear Urban Diplomat: My co-workers have forgotten how to behave in an office

I actually don’t mind the return-to-office mandate, but it seems like so much working from home has caused my fellow employees’ self-awareness to atrophy