Latest news with #City-based
Global News
2 days ago
- General
- Global News
Grazing goats provide low-tech solution to Toronto park's invasive plant problem
Dozens of goats have returned to a Toronto park to munch on invasive and woody plants as part of an eco-friendly city project. After a successful pilot last summer, a herd of 50 goats is grazing a new section of the Don Valley Brick Works Park meadow over two days this week. 'The goats are good at invasive species management, reduction of woody encroachment, they improve soil quality and are really just an overall benefit to the meadow,' said Cheryl Post, project manager and a natural environment specialist with the city. Post said she hopes to build off last year's positive results, with the goats mainly targeting invasive plants while allowing native species to grow. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Although that will take some years to see how it goes, we've been noticing some really obvious and immediate impacts to the invasive species, which is great,' she said. Story continues below advertisement King City-based company Goats in the City provided the goats that are bred specifically for prescribed grazing projects, and are even trained to interact with visitors. 'What we really do at Goats in the City is to observe goats, know what they prefer, know what they like, and then apply that to the kind of plants that we want to get rid of,' company president Ian Matthews said. 'We're basically just using them for what they instinctively would be doing anyway.' The goats also drew visitors to the park as it offered educational tours about the animals' strategic grazing. Among them was Kevork Hacatoglu, who came on Wednesday to learn about eco-friendly ways of maintaining the city. 'It is a way of reducing the impact on the environment,' he said. 'It's a more circular way of maintaining the park and sensitive ecosystems. The more solutions like this, the better.' Plant regrowth and other results of the project will be monitored over multiple years in partnership with the Toronto Field Naturalists. If all goes well, city staff say the project will continue in the coming years.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toyota Faces Biggest Hit From Trump Tariffs Among Automakers
(Bloomberg) -- Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here. A New Central Park Amenity, Tailored to Its East Harlem Neighbors As Trump Reshapes Housing Policy, Renters Face Rollback of Rights Is Trump's Plan to Reopen the Notorious Alcatraz Prison Realistic? What's Behind the Rise in Serious Injuries on New York City's Streets? NYC Warns of 17% Drop in Foreign Tourists Due to Trump Policies Toyota Motor Corp. is the biggest carmaker in the world — and also the auto industry's biggest loser when it comes to projected losses from US President Donald Trump's trade war. Duties on imported cars and auto parts forced General Motors Co. to slash its full-year profit guidance by as much as $5 billion, while Ford Motor Co. is bracing for a $1.5 billion annual hit. Toyota sees a $1.2 billion profit drop in just two months. While the Japanese automaker didn't provide a tally for all of 2025, it did project operating income of ¥3.8 trillion ($26.1 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2026 — far below the ¥4.7 trillion expected by analysts. While Toyota has increased local production in the US to more than half of sales in the country, it still relies on imports of key vehicle parts and models — to the tune of some 1.2 million cars a year. The White House has noticed, with Trump calling out the Toyota City-based automaker by name during his contentious Liberation Day speech in the Rose Garden on April 2. He complained about Toyota's 'one million foreign made automobiles' sold in the US. The huge tariff hit reflects the company's decision to hold the line on sticker prices at US dealers and production volumes at its 11 American factories amid the start of bilateral trade negotiations between the US and Japan. Those talks started in February and it's unclear when they will conclude with a deal. 'When it comes to tariffs, the details are still incredibly fluid,' Toyota's Chief Executive Officer, Koji Sato, said last week after releasing the latest financial results. 'It's difficult to take steps or measure the impact.' Japan's chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on April 30 that one unnamed Japanese automaker is currently losing around $1 million per hour from the tariffs, citing a calculation made by an unidentified corporate executive. A Japanese government official on Friday declined to provide more specifics. But that rate of loss isn't too far off the mark from the $1.2 billion hit Toyota is projecting based on 730 hours per month. Representatives for Toyota also didn't respond to a request for comment. Akazawa has expressed hope that an agreement could be reached in June with the next round of negotiations taking place in late May. Most imported vehicles became subject to a 25% US duty on April 3, while most auto parts become subject to that levy as of May 3. There are some executive orders that prevent duties from doubling up, but considering the US is the biggest market for Japan's five largest carmakers, even a moderately increase in tariffs will have an outsized impact on their bottom lines. The Trump administration reached its first trade deal on May 8 with the UK. But the US had a $11.9 billion goods trade surplus with the UK last year, whereas it ran a $68.5 billion deficit with Japan. That may make it more difficult to secure an agreement without significant concessions by one side. 'The hurdle is high for Japan to get auto tariffs lowered' on exports to the US, said Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management Co. 'At the same time, the auto industry is too important for Japan to simply go along with what the US wants.' Some Japanese automakers have responded to the tough new trade environment by making changes to their global manufacturing footprints. Nissan Motor Co. halted US orders for SUVs built in Mexico while Honda Motor Co. is shifting production of the hybrid version of its Civic from Japan to the US. Due to retaliatory tariffs against the US, Mazda Motor Co. is stopping exports to Canada of one model that's manufactured at an Alabama factory that's a joint venture with Toyota. 'We will maintain our current operations while continuing to focus on reducing fixed costs, all while keeping a close eye on the movements by U.S. authorities, including customs duties,' a spokesperson for Toyota said in a statement. Japan Production Pledge Toyota has already invested heavily to build out its US operations — including spending $13.9 billion on a new battery plant in North Carolina. But it also remains committed to maintaining its extensive domestic production base. Chairman Akio Toyoda has repeatedly pledged to keep making at least three million vehicles a year in Japan. Last year, the company built 3.1 million cars in its home country, about a third of its worldwide production total. Globally, Toyota sold 10.8 million cars in 2024, with the US accounting for a little less than a quarter of those. While half were made locally and another 30% came from neighboring Canada and Mexico, some 281,000 vehicles were imported from Japan. That includes popular models such as the 4Runner mid-sized SUV, Prius hybrid and several upscale Lexus vehicles. The company's best-sellers in the US — the RAV4 hybrid crossover and Corolla compact sedan — are assembled at factories in Kentucky and Mississippi. But gas-only RAV4s are imported from Canada and the plug-in hybrid comes from Japan. Corolla models variants like the sporty GR, practical hatchback and gas-electric hybrid also carry made-in-Japan labels. That exposure puts Toyota in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and means the automaker has a lot riding on the outcome of the US-Japan trade negotiations. The carmaker has quietly pushed back on the White House's critique, noting through a spokesman that it's committed to spend almost $21 billion in the US just since 2020. That's nearly double the pledge it made during Trump's first administration — after similarly coming under attack by the US president. Toyota also said has increased direct manufacturing employment in the US to 31,000 workers, up from 25,000 in 2016. One issue it faces: A severe restraint on flexibility at existing manufacturing facilities in the US, which could affect its ability to shift vehicles from overseas plants. Toyota's factory in Georgetown, Kentucky — the oldest and largest of its US vehicle-assembly operations — has no slack for new models. It was running full-tilt at nearly 100% of its maximum capacity as of late April, according to a US-based representative for the company. --With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima, Toru Fujioka, Erica Yokoyama and Chester Dawson. (Adds Toyota commet in 12th paragraph.) US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott How the Lizard King Built a Reptile Empire Selling $50,000 Geckos Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All With the New York Liberty, Clara Wu Tsai Aims for the First $1 Billion Women's Sports Franchise Pre-Tariff Car Buying Frenzy Leaves Americans With a Big Debt Problem ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Detroit gets some laughs on Valentine's Day with opening of the Comedy Bar
Detroit has long been a hub for rising talents in the comedy world. Just ask Tim Allen, who honed his craft in his early days at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle, or Keegan Michael-Key and 'Detroiters' creators Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson, who are Planet Ant Theatre alums. This Valentine's Day weekend, a new venue is joining the Motor City comedy roster. The Comedy Bar is opening in the lower level of the Norwood, a restored event space at a location with a long history in Detroit's New Center neighborhood. Club co-owners Kyle and Sahar Lane, the husband and wife behind the Comedy Bar in Chicago, say they have been looking for a while to expand to Detroit. The Windy City-based couple is teaming up on the project with Detroit-area co-owners Michael Labombard and Shelby Baron. 'There's something so unique about the way Detroit supports small business, supports the arts and creativity. It's the first major city that we've really looked into that has made us feel very welcome, and we really felt we would have support coming in to the city,' says Sahar Lane. Kyle Lane says he feels connected to region because his grandmother and great-uncle were born in Dearborn and his father worked here for a long time as a general manager of a Steak 'n Shake. The Comedy Bar in Detroit plans to book a diverse group of comedians. Describing humor as a communication tool that unites people from all walks of live, Kyle Lane says: 'We're sort of like an ice cream shop. We offer all the flavors.' The club has set up shop in the basement of the Norwood, which is at 6531 Woodward in the New Center area, which is part of the New Center Commercial Historic District. The district was added in 2016 to the National Register of Historic Places and has a vivid past as the former home to businesses including Crowley's and Mr. Song Millinery, which became nationally know for Luke Song's creation of Aretha Franklin's hat for President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration. According to the website for the Norwood, the site originally was home to the Norwood Theatre, a movie theater built in 1915. Other online sites devoted to Detroit's historic buildings say the theater closed in 1949 and later became a space for retailers including Sanders and a Payless shoe store. Detroit's Comedy Bar co-owner Labombard, a founding member of the Comedy Bar in Chicago, says the club will bring a new entertainment option to a neighborhood that has seen growth in restaurants. Calling himself 'a true-blue Detroiter' who lives about a minute from the club, he says, 'We're very excited to become part of the revitalization.' The vibe of the basement club space is very 'art deco, Great Gatsby,' according to Labombard. 'It's got that underground, New York feel,' he adds. Kyle Lane describes the mood of the lower level, which can seat around 200, as 'an elevated comedy club experience" with elements like a craft cocktail menu. There also is an affiliated Comedy Bar in Pittsburgh that is part of Sahar Lane's goal of having a dozen such clubs by the end of the year. 'I'm creating a small business mom-and-pop comedy coalition of different independently owned comedy venues that want to work together, to give us more buying power in the industry, to be able to get these bigger names and route them across many cities,' she says. The current schedule of headliners kicks off on Valentine's Day weekend with Calvin Evans, who'll be performing Friday and Saturday. A Chicago native who has studied at Second City, he has appeared on several TV shows, from NBC's 'Chicago PD' to IFC's 'Sherman's Showcase' and Showtime's 'Shameless.' Stef Dag is set to appear Feb. 21-22. The host of the digital dating show 'Hot and Single,' she tours the globe with her stand-up act and has directed digital videos for publications like Vogue and Vanity Fair and written digital sketches for the like of Bill Hader and Rebel Wilson. Detroit's own Mike Stanley is set to perform on Feb. 28 and March 1. A popular touring act, Stanley has worked with a stellar list of comedy stars like Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr and Marc Curry. On March 14, Anthony McKinley, aka Scruncho, is booked to deliver his gritty comedy, which got him dubbed 'king of the underground' by Vibe magazine. He has toured previously with Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams and Mike Epps, who last year premiered his own comedy club in downtown Detroit, One Mike Detroit. Then on March 15, Tiera Oleary, or My Cousin Tiera, who hails from Chicago's west side, will be headlining. A creator of viral videos, she was a finalist in 2022 in 'Saturday Night Live' star Kenan Thompson's Road to New York competition. For more information and a full schedule of upcoming artists, go to Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@ 6531 Woodward Ave., Detroit Comedian Calvin Evans is headlining the opening weekend. 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat. (Feb. 14-15) Tickets start at $25 All shows are ages 17 and older; there is a two-item minimum purchase (soft drinks, beer, wine and liquor). Seating is first-come, first-served and most tables are for four people. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's Comedy Bar brings laughter to the New Center
