Street Named For Ed

TORONTO — Toronto Mayor David Miller last week named a portion of Duncan Street in the city’s theatre district for legendary businessman and theatre impresario Ed Mirvish. The April 15 ceremony honoured Mirvish, who owned Honest Ed’s department store as well as the Royal Alexandra and Princess of Wales theatres. Mirvish died in July 2007 at age 92.

Graffiti Found

TORONTO — Anti-Semitic messages were discovered at a Pickering, Ont., public school on Easter Sunday. The messages “We hate Jews,” “I love Hitler” and “Die Jews” were found on the exterior playground walls of Highbush Public School on April 12, Sun Media reported. Durham Regional Police are investigating. Local residents believe the daubings, apparently made on the weekend, were unrelated to Passover.

Prof Blames ‘Lobby’

OTTAWA — A tenured University of Ottawa physics professor who was fired for giving an entire fourth-year class A+ grades in a course has blamed the Israel lobby for his dismissal. In a written response to his March 31 firing, the self-described anarchist – who had taught for 20 years at U of O and has a history of criticizing Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians – said that “the university decision to dismiss me was itself tainted with Israel-aligned political influence.” The university has refused further comment on the case, saying it could end up in arbitration.