Month: April 2017

Aerial in March shows main station to upper right

Looking northwest shows the bank building left, and secondary entrance,, right

Depiction of the finished Mt. Pleasant Station

A sparsely-attended meeting organized by Metrolinx to answer questions about the Mt. Pleasant LRT Station was held in the basement of Northern Secondary School Tuesday. As many will know, the entrance to the transit line will be housed at street level in a re-built 1920 bank building modified to handle the traffic. A secondary entrance will be located to the east of the intersection. Both entrances will be on the north side of Eglinton Ave. E. Excavation of the underground station is about to begin and will require on and off single lane and various no-turn prohibitions at the corner for the best part of a year. The rebuilt stone bank is expected to rise sometime in 2020.

The Mailonline has revelaed that the passenger who was dragged from an United Airlines flight is 69-year-old grandfather Dr David Dao, a doctor of internal medicine. Footage of the Vietnamese-American being hauled off the overbooked flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Sunday is causing an outrage on several continents including China, where widely believed he is Chinese.  Dr Dao is heard in videos saying he needed to get home to Louisville so he could see patients. Also “They’ll kill me” (earlier post)  The Mailonline says Dao is a father of five and a grandfather, who specializes in internal medicine. Four of his five children are doctors. His wife Teresa, 69, is a pediatrican who trained at Ho Chi Minh University in Saigon and also practices in Elizabethtown, Kentucky about 40 miles south of Louisville. Their eldest son Tim, 34, practices medicine in Texas; their second son Ben, 31, is a medical graduate; their daughter Christine, 33, is a doctor in Durham, NC; and their youngster daughter Angela, 27, is a medical graduate of the University of Kentucky.

NEW YORK POST CLAIMS HE HAS A SORDID PAST

There is even more to learn about Dr. Dao however. The New York Post says he is a poker playing fanatic who has traded drugs for sex, according to police and court records.  Doctor dragged off flight was convicted of trading drugs for sex

Disoriented man repeated “They’ll kill me.”

The medical doctor who was thrown off the United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville was clearly disoriented, repeating “I have to go home” and “They’ll kill me.” He sneaked back on the plane and had to be removed a second time. The reporting has not caught up to public curiosity about what really happened. The man was politely asked (according to the airline) to get off but refused. Police were called and in the process the man started to bleed at the mouth. One passenger on the flight said he felt that United might have offered more money (home much?) to persuade the man. They needed the seat for crew deadheading to staff another flight the next day. But, says the witness, why not send them by car on the five-hour drive to Louisville. An afterthought to be sure. Don Lemon is heard to say he just doesn’t know what his state of mind would be if someone tried to pull him “bloodied” off a plane. Sure Don. How about, “I’m Don Lemon of CNN.”

Cap-and-trade legislation and summer demand are being offered as the reason for another leap in the price of fuel set to hit Tuesday night. There is another six cents a litre in the works, which will drive the retail price of regular to nearly $1.22 a litre. No one is trying to kid you. Cap and trade is a tax which, among other things, is about getting you to put your car away or maybe push it off a cliff. Happy motoring.

CONDO IN JEOPARDY OF BANKRUPTCY

The On The Go Mimico high-rise condominium project at 327 Royal York Road is in financial distress, according to the CBC, and some 200 people who bought units in the project may lose their homes after the development was placed into court-ordered receivership. The project is said to be 15 per cent complete six years after it was first marketed to buyers. It will now be sold off by the receiver in a bidding process. The buyers who paid for the pre-sold condos — 208 of the project’s 242 units — will get their combined $6.3 million in deposits back. But the condos they bought and waited years to move into will likely be sold off at much higher current market values by whomever steps in to complete the project, says reporter John Lancaster.

GOV’T LANDS HARD ON YORK BOARD

A review of the York District School Board (YRDSB) offers a sweeping list of recommendations for the board to remedy what is described as a “culture of fear” among board members and senior staff, as well as “systemic discrimination.” On Tuesday, Ontario Education Minister Mitzie Hunter issued 22 directives to the school board as a result of review. At least one of which is meant to be enacted within 24 hours. CBC

Heading east at Bayview

Passing Metro

All traffic stopped

Reader Bob Arsenault reports on the big move Monday night through the intersection of Bayview and Eglinton Aves. These are pictures taken about 10:30 p.m. as police cleared the way for a tunnel boring machine to leave town. All traffic was blocked and buses were detouring up to Broadway. No doubt homeowners up there noticed.

Cadillac Fairview has unveiled its design for a new pedestrian bridge across Queen Street, tying CF Toronto Eaton Centre to Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue flagship locations. Work is expected to begin immediately with a target opening of this fall. Prior to installation, the bridge will be built beside the shopping centre on James Street and then lifted into place upon completion. The architectural company WilkinsonEyre was selected as the designers of the bridge. “We designed the bridge’s form to connect together the two inherent geometries of each building, transforming from the historical, circular arches of the Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue building to the modern rectangular geometry of CF Toronto Eaton Centre,” director at WilkinsonEyre Dominic Bettison said in the news release.

Thrilling overtime win for Minor Atom Leaside Flames

The Minor Atom Leaside Flames Red team won their NYHL Tier 1 Championship Final in a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over the Vaughan Rangers Sunday at Leaside Gardens Sunday night. The game featured a remarkable comeback by the Flames who trailed the Rangers 3-0 more than halfway through the game. As reader Graham Shirley reports, the home team launched a scoring rampage to take a 4-3 lead but Vaughan managed to tie things up with five minutes remaining in the third. The boisterous crowed erupted when Nicholas Nekic scored the game winner nearly 6 minutes into overtime and the kids enjoyed their celebration on the ice. Congratulations to all in a game of which both sides can be proud. Minor Atom kids are nine and under.

The screaming and shouting aboard that United flight from Chicago to Louisville has caught the attention of many indignant people. Why was the passenger treated the way he was? Unfortunate as it was, there’s a reason. United had to clear seats for staff who were being shifted to Louisville to crew a later flight. If they didn’t go, the flight would have to be cancelled. It is standard stuff. And so is the method used to find space on a plane when it is overbooked. The police (not airline staff) handled the passenger the way they treat anyone who refuses to do what is asked. They forcibly removed him. Some will say his behaviour bears on a temper tantrum.

Toronto and Southern Ontario escaped the most foreboding part of Monday’s special weather statement — the chance of April hail. None fell. But  the rumbling thunder was impressive (below). Rain continues through Monday night towards a sunny Tuesday as predicted by the Weather Network.

Thunder rocking south Bayview! https://t.co/pXu5A5akW4 #Davisville #Leaside #Bayview&Millwood #stormTO pic.twitter.com/1hihNV3sRx

— SBayview (@SBayview) April 10, 2017

LIVE NOW: Canada, U.S. & Mexico expected to announce joint bid for 2026 World Cup, on TSN1 & TSN3. pic.twitter.com/ukpxDsZ5AQ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 10, 2017