The past two years of strategy at the Regal Cinemas chain in the U.S. provides a likely indication of what British company Cineworld has in mind with its $2.8 billion offer for Cineplex. Its recent initiatives include the Regal Unlimited subscription plan, which further links the ritual of movie-going to never actually putting your phone away.
Independent office politics
CBC News reporting on Jody Wilson-Raybould presumably refusing to leave the office she occupied as a Liberal were challenged by the now-independent MP—who was reviewing a list of alternative offices when the story appeared. But she received some vindication in former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi being found guilty.
The Sherman family’s private investigators are off the case. After assigning 701 investigative actions, Toronto police think that the next few weeks will be busy in the process of trying to figure out who killed Barry and Honey Sherman two years ago.
Death and life of the ’90s
The city of Toronto won a court battle to end the 50-year lease for St. Patrick’s Market, a former slaughterhouse revived three decades ago as a food court—although it was largely abandoned through this decade. Meanwhile, further along Queen Street West, another stalwart symbol of the grunge era is calling it quits, due to a rent hike:
Leon Cole dead at 79. The musician and composer spent a decade as the host of afternoon CBC Stereo program RSVP, for which listeners submitted personal anecdotes to accompany classical music requests, died in Halifax on December 9. (Cole’s radio days coincided with his daughter Holly gaining fame as a singer.)
Checked out of New Hampshire
John Irving initially became a part-time Torontonian more than three decades ago, upon marrying book editor Janet Turnbull. The couple and their daughter eventually moved permanently to Canada—and the 77-year-old novelist recently decided to become a citizen. Which is how the Toronto Star ended up trailing him to Scarborough: