Month: February 2017

Details here in earlier post

The all-steel construction four-plex which has sat unfinished at Merton St and Bayview Ave for more than six months is finally getting its exterior finish.

A man drove his car into the Union Station underground streetcar loop off Queen’s Quay overnight. The vehicle was apparently still on the tracks at rush hour causing the usual chaos when streetcars are disrupted. It is a fairly obvious choice for motorists not to enter the tunnel but at 4.30 a.m. with whatever stresses this gentleman may have been suffering, it can happen. Someone did it last April. The driver has received a $425 fine for entering the tunnel.

BODY RECOVERED

A woman’s body has been recovered from a pond in Chinguacousy Park in Brampton. This occurred Wednesday. Police have not released the name or age of the victim but have indicated no foul play was involved.  They add the victim was not properly dressed for the weather

 

It’s coming. The mass invasion of girls from across North America and beyond into little Leaside for the Toronto Wildcats 38th annual March Madness Tournament. The dates are Friday to Sunday, March 10 to 12, 2017.  There were 146 teams last year and the organizers are hoping to break that record. Because March Madness is an open event its always possible some teams will be turned away.

The Progressive Conservative Constituency Association for the Ontario riding of Don Valley West will hold an all-candidates meeting for those seeking the PC nomination in the 2018 general election.  It will be held at Cork’s upstairs at Longo’s at Laird Dr. and Esandar Dr. on Sunday, February 26 starting at 9.30 a.m. with registration. The association is asking for a $10 admission from non-members.

WORLD

NASA has announced stunning news that its space probes have found seven planets previously unknown at least three of which seem entirely habitable by humans. They are said to be “near” but just how many light years that means is not stated precisely. Critically they are green (looking) and thought to be very likely to have surface water, just like you-know-where. Back on earth, fascinating details on the assassination of Kim Jung-un’s brother Kim Jong Nam are coming out in Malaysia. Police there also say that someone tried to break into the morgue where Nam’s body is being guarded, presumably to steal and destroy it. Below that, left to right, a weird looking but functioning Russian “drone bicycle” and the case of a US brain surgeon who botched 32 surgeries in 18 months and most horrifyingly did it on purpose.

Agreed! Time to temper the @OMB, Toronto should be allowed to chart its own path to growth https://t.co/lvKX8yn32z via @torontostar

— SEDRAToronto (@SEDRA_Toronto) February 22, 2017

GASP!

The Ontario government has been handed two awards for wasteful spending as judged by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The federation celebrated (if that’s the word) its annual Teddy Government Waste Award winners Wednesday. Two pig-shaped trophies were given to Queen’s Park. One is for the province’s electric vehicle incentive program, which the federation says provides subsidies for luxury cars, while the other is a lifetime achievement award for what the spending watchdog says is the lengthy mishandling of Ontario’s energy policy.

STAGGERING CRA MOVE

Canada Revenue Agency’s decision to pay an employee $538,000 in moving expenses for a 193 kilometre relocation from Richmond Hill to Belleville nets that agency the federal Teddy award for government waste. This is the 19th annual Teddy Award selection from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, with trophies named for Ted Weatherill, a former federal appointee who was fired in 1999 over his bloated expense claims. Below is the full series of presentations made by Aaron Wudrick, executive director of the taxpayers federation.

The City is dealing with an unexpected outbreak of the mumps. Recent days have revealed as many as 14 cases of the disease which is entirely preventable by vaccination. The patients are all 18 to 35. Normally, it is children who contract mumps. Complications may include infections of the covering of the brain (15 percent), pancreatitis (four percent), permanent deafness, and painful testicular swelling which uncommonly results in infertility. Women may develop ovarian swelling but this does not increase the risk of infertility. The City’s news release says many patients have frequented west downtown core bars. News release Wikipedia

The students from Rolph Road Public School were whooping it up with Nathan Downer of CP24 at Ricoh Coliseum Wednesday. He’s a Leaside resident and more importantly the father of Jason, who plays hockey with many in this gang. The TDSB/TFSS Day with the Toronto Marlies (video at right) is a charitable event that helps students in a variety of ways. TFSS stands for Toronto Foundation for Student Success. Kids video is funny.

Shrove Tuesday dinners are approaching and it’s time to make plans.

The heartening proactive work of Pink Day or Pink Shirt Day is underway in the GTA. It was inspired by classmates in Nova Scotia standing up for a fellow student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. So the activities ask us to be friends, not bullies.

BULLIES NEED LOVE TOO

The tricky part is that bullies need love too. Psychiatrists tell us their behaviour is about their need for self esteem. They go about getting it the wrong way of course and some of them are hard to help, much less like. But that’s the challenge.