680News - Lisa Brandt

An 84-year-old tradition will come to an end this fall. The last Hadassah bazaar will go on October 29 at the CNE’s Automotive Building.

I went to the bazaar exactly once! It was a tremendous adventure. I was able to line up to get in early, but it was a total zoo - actually, more like a stampede of wild animals of all types and sizes. There were actual tugs of war over some items. Many women click-clicked their high heels directly to the racks of fur coats. Those didn’t interest me. I went for lingerie and some household goods, and I literally had to hang on tightly to a half-slip I wanted badly, because another woman got her grubby little fingers on the hem and tried to pull it toward herself! I made eye contact and shamed her into letting go. You have to use all of your resources at such a sale!

In recent years, attendance has dropped by thousands of bargain hunters. The atmosphere certainly isn’t for everyone. I decided then and there during my first visit that it would also be my last. Some shoppers have made it an annual family tradition. And their (and my!) purchases have helped raise much-needed funds for vulnerable women and children in the GTA and Israel.

Other fundraising projects are apparently in the works to replace the bazaar, which organizers say is now out of date. Whatever it is they plan to do, they say it’s going to change with the times. Plenty of shoppers are waiting for the word.

How many times have you heard someone say their bike was stolen? Many times, in my experience. Our former morning show editor had just purchased a sweet new bike for her teenaged son when it was stolen from her front porch. Bikes that are locked and ostensibly secured get carried away by enterprising thieves with bolt cutters.

The return of hundreds of stolen bikes by police to their owners this week has highlighted the extent of the problem. And it is huge, being done by professionals, and police claim one of the kingpins of the latest theft ring they broke up was orchestrating everything to gather bikes for resale.

There’s been a push by environmentalists for quite a while to get us out of our cars and if not on transit, then onto a bicycle. But if you’re just entering the bike world, the price of a decent set of wheels isn’t cheap and hearing that so many are routinely taken, makes them a potentially dodgy investment. Some companies are bike-friendly. Others, not so much. No one’s too thrilled with black tire marks on the hallway carpets.

So what have we learned?
Well, if you buy a bike, keep the receipt. Forever. Also, have a photo or two taken of you with your two-wheeler. You’ll need this info if your bike is stolen and you need to prove its yours to claim it.

What is the city doing?
The chairman of the Toronto Cycling Committee is starting talks about an anti-theft plan that would see bikes registered with the city, but there’s no guarantee that would return a stolen bike.
This fall, a storage facility is due to open at Union Station where for $15 or $20 a month, a cyclist can store their bike.
Some transit stations under construction will also be outfitted with bike storage areas.
Theft is always a risk in this city, no matter how many wheels you ride.

A blow for the Beijing Olympics today with explosions aboard two commuter buses that killed two people and injured more than a dozen. China has been working hard to change its image ahead of the Olympics, which start next month. Some of the efforts have been positive, and some - like the mass culling of pet dogs - have been horrifying to many of us.

Now they’re attempting to reduce smog in time for the athletes to breathe easier during their events. They’re being ruthless about emissions and actually forcing car drivers to take transit. They are alternating days, based on their licence plate numbers.

Our poll question today is, do you think we should try that here? We have lung-clogging smog days of our own.

What we may not have is the transit system to support half of the city’s drivers climbing on board every day. But it’s up to you to weigh in on whether it would be a good idea, or not.

Yes, I know, in this society, we would never stand for being told we can’t do something that is a privilege, but treated as a right. But if it meant cleaner air for all of us, would you consider it anyway?

If I had the option, I don’t know that I would take transit into work, because it wouldn’t be very smart, leaving as I do shortly after 3 a.m. But, perhaps I could get creative if I wasn’t allowed to drive my vehicle. It’s difficult to get people out of their cars. The freedom of choice is too fundamental to our way of life, which is what makes our way so great. I just wonder what - if anything - it would take to get us to change our ways.

Safety is something we Torontonians absolutely have to think about. Probably everybody should. But I know people in other areas of Ontario who still don’t lock their doors when they go out because, “nothing ever happens here in ______ !”

I elicit titters from smaller-town friends when I put my purchases in the back of my vehicle and pull the cargo cover over them, something I learned to do here in the Big Smoke after my Jeep was broken into three times in six months. The last time, was because I left only a lunch bag with dry Cheerios in it on the passenger seat. Some optimistic thief must have thought it was a bag full of loose diamonds or cash.

Statistics Canada reports that Toronto is the safest large metro area in the country. We reported fewer crimes than residents in other urban centres with Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton at the top. We used to be the country’s murder leader, but that distinction now goes to Winnipeg. We have one of the lowest rates of violent offences overall.

So why is this happening and why do we still have a perception that this city is unsafe? Well, gun crimes get a lot of attention, even though, in most cases, the public at large hasn’t been at risk. There have been notable exceptions of course, in fact four such incidents so far this year. But they are by and large the exceptions.

Analysts say the aging population base in this city is the reason behind the drop. It seems crime is a younger person’s game. Can we not give a little credit to police as well the community groups that work so hard to keep young people busy and on the straight path? And I think you and I have a responsibility too, to stay vigilant, to report legitimately suspicious activity and to protect ourselves and our property. Even if that means making sure the brown bag with the Cheerios in it is hidden in the glove box.

Canadian musicians - and one who wants to be - are in the news this week. For good, bad, and weird reasons.

Feist’s (irritatingly!) hooky song, 1 2 3 4, is going to be part of the start of Sesame Street’s new season. She will appear on the show’s August 11th season premiere, performing a modified version of her ubiquitous hit song. Feist gets to stroll down Sesame Street accompanied by muppets, sharing her love of counting to four. Feist says shooting the episode was “the best day of her life.” I hope someone teaches the little ones how to count from five and beyond!

Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies has been arrested in New York on drug possession charges. His manager says Page will be cleared once the facts are known. He’s out on $10,000 bail and has a court appearance scheduled for tomorrow. The arrest occurred at about 2 a.m. last Friday after patrolling police noticed a suspicious car with its driver’s side door left open and found a man and woman in a nearby apartment, with a white capsule in front of them.

The man was apparently identified by the woman as Page and he admitted it. It’s alleged the drug was cocaine. Ladies bassist Jim Creeggan told the Toronto Star Page was in New York state visiting some friends, while the rest of the band was back at home in Canada.

And the fake David Lee Roth has been found. Police near Brantford earlier reported they pulled over a man who said he was the Van Halen lead singer and helped him through an allergy attack. The guy is really, reportedly, David Kuntz. The real Roth says he wasn’t in Canada at the time. If you see a picture of Kuntz you can see how he could fool someone who wasn’t a superfan that he was Roth - if that’s in fact what happened. It’s what police say happened. But I have to say “allegedly” until I hear, personally, from the man himself.

Political affiliations and issues aside, how in the world can Americans possibly elect John McCain as their next president this October, when he openly admits he doesn’t “do computers?” How can a potential leader of the free world possibly be so archaic, seemingly with little or no embarrassment, about something so crucial to modern communication?

McCain is 72. If he’s elected, he’ll be the oldest man to take over the White House. But millions of seniors have already proven that age is not a barrier to learning about computers. We’re not talking about a man who avoids upgrading to the latest software, or just not being a gadget guy - we’re talking about avoiding computers altogether! McCain is either being stubborn, or a dinosaur, or a bit of both.

Imagine all of the terms that are part of the common vernacular with which McCain is unfamiliar. Blogging, e-mail, file attachment…so many, they can’t even be counted! How would he, as president, send an urgent, personal message to another international leader? By carrier pigeon?

I’m not American and I can’t vote in November - and McCain wouldn’t have been my choice anyway, but this latest admission is nothing short of startling. The Oval Office doesn’t need an technological ostrich in it for four years.

If you were listening to the 680News morning show around 7:10 a.m. this morning, you already know that I have decided to leave 680News. This decision didn’t come lightly! In fact, I’ve spent a very long time thinking about it, and weighing my options and values.

I’m not going to another radio station. I’m not leaving FOR anything professional, but for a major change in my personal life. I will continue to write my column for The Sun and to appear on the TV show, Whatever Happened To. And I hope to continue my relationship with Rogers Broadcasting in some form. I’ve been here at 680News for more than nine years; three-and-a-half of them as morning anchor on CHFI, and the past six with Paul Cook as co-anchors on the 680News morning show.

I will miss the people! My work husband, Paulie, Elizabeth “The Empress” Harrison, Jennifer “J-Mac” Macdonald, Rudy Blair, Leslie James, Mike Eppel and everyone else I’ve worked with for so many years. This truly has been the best and most challenging job of my career.

But, keep in mind that I’m going to be here until Halloween! And the search for Paul’s next co-anchor is on. Thank you for being here, and we’re all doing our part to make it a smooth transition into the next era of the 680News morning show.

My recent motorcycle adventure to Cape Breton and back taught me a thing or two about people.

I’ve been to the East Coast many times before, but never in this fashion, on a bike, with a group and a couple of maps and there to enjoy the journey as much as arriving at the destination.

Cape Bretoners practically clamour to offer their assistance. Whether it’s directions or advice about the best views of the ocean or where to eat, each and every person we talked to was friendly and chatty and more than happy to help. Take into account that to the unaware, leather clad and rumbling in, we may have seemed like a small but potentially fierce gang! (A hilarious concept, if you know us - two radio announcers, two factory workers and an engineer, all mild-mannered and kind to all living creatures!) But we found nothing but universal eagerness to make sure we got the most out of our visit.

And we did! We ate fresh lobster, prepared in a home-style, traditional way at the tackiest (and I mean that as a compliment!) little restaurant/souvenir shop you’ve ever seen, near the Cape Breton causeway. We had scads of wonderful adventures you can only have on a motorcycle.

The people make the difference, and I don’t know what it is about Cape Bretoners but they display no irritation with the continuing tourism invasion of their little piece of paradise. They get the big picture view, that tourism brings dollars and word of mouth is a powerful form of advertising. If we have a good time we’ll share that news and so on. And they also seem to genuinely enjoy meeting someone new and taking a few minutes to visit.

Torontonians could stand to learn a little from the Capers. Think about that the next time you see an obviously confused tourist, nose into a map, at a downtown corner. Would it really take very much out of your day to ask if you could help?