Cathy Hawkins of the Amsterdam Brewery at 45 Esandar Drive is the contact person for what promises to be an interesting evening on May 16. It’s a screening of the film Forgotten, the story of 100,000 children who came to Canada as indentured labourers and domestics. This is a presentation of the British Home Child Group International. For tickets write Cathy at chawkins@amsterdambeer.com
As Cumbrae’s continue their transformation of 1589-1591 Bayview Avenue into a big new butcher shop, workers can be seen chipping away at the façade of what was once a TD Bank branch (back in the 1990’s). Cumbrae’s is a veteran of the street with its busy store located at 1636 Bayview. The dynamic high-end meat and specialty food retailer will convert the new larger space to the complex environment needed for a sophisticated butcher shop. We are looking forward to when the new store is finally revealed. Previous
Taxpayers beware: CRA email rebate scam on the rise this tax season: https://t.co/n4N9JpYS0A pic.twitter.com/UsGkVcDpws
— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) April 28, 2017
This CBC story tells of a variation on schemes using the Canada Revenue Agency name as an authority to defraud people. This time email arrives which looks like the receipt of an Interac cash transfer. One woman was told the CRA had sent her $896.70. The purpose is to make the victim click for deposit. It goes to a site where “the CRA” asks the victim to provide useful information like credit card numbers and a social insurance number.
Jane’s Walk in Leaside will take place Sunday May 7 at 1.30 p.m. with the start outside Lit Cafe at Bayview Ave and Millwood Rd. It is subtitled A Garden City Re-visited and will trod the streets laid out in 1913 by the landscape architect Frederick Gage Todd. He based his design on the Garden City principles, best exemplified by Letchworth in England. As Geoff Kettel notes the Garden City differs from suburbs in that, along with curvilinear tree-lined streets, public green spaces, and cohesive streetscapes, it also included an industrial area to provide employment and commercial streets for convenient shopping. “When people walk through Leaside today they see it as a neighbourhood of Toronto. But what is the experience when you examine Leaside through the lens of the Garden City framework as a designed landscape?” Mr. Kettel asks.
The City of Toronto auditor general says she suspects some paving companies have conspired to submit inflated contracts and then split the illicit profit. It was revealed yesterday that the Ontario Provincial Police are investigating this concern which may have cost the taxpayers millions. The Star says the allegations were uncovered by AG Beverly Romeo-Beehler and revealed to City Councillors Thursday. It is said to have left many of them alarmed by warnings of lax internal controls. The paper says there is a feeling the investigation will unearth more evidence of possible corruption. No companies are named so far. Josh Matlow (Ward 22) said he was concerned that there was more to the alleged conspiracy
The first Jane’s Walk of the Davisville neighbourhood will take place Saturday, May 6 beginning at 2 p.m. The party will form up at the historic J.J. Davis store (now Starbucks) at the corner of Davsiville Ave and Yonge Street. The walk is sponsored by SERRA, the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association.
TTC pulls entire fleet of articulated buses over safety concerns https://t.co/x3pNgCKGoL pic.twitter.com/TBtLuEQMuz
— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) April 28, 2017
The TTC has repaired the 100 or so articulated buses that developed an alarming “unexpected acceleration” problem. They are made by Nova, a subsidiary of Volvo. News reports suggest the surprise “full throttle” defect had occurred twice. It seems probable there might have been earlier signs of this. No one has been hurt.
A Wisconsin man was removed from a Delta Air Lines (DAL.N 1.36%) flight after using the bathroom against crew instructions shortly before takeoff. Kima Hamilton says he urgently needed to use the bathroom April 18 while on a Milwaukee-bound plane in Atlanta. He says takeoff was delayed and the flight wasn’t moving, so he decided to go. Cellphone video shows Delta agents asked Hamilton to de-board after he got back to his seat, but he refused. The crew emptied the aircraft and allowed everyone but Hamilton back on. Delta says it’s imperative passengers comply with crew instructions, especially at critical points of takeoff and landing. Hamilton says FBI agents met him at the gate but didn’t arrest him. He got a partial refund but says it wasn’t enough to cover another ticket — BNN
City News has dug up Instagram pictures of Marisa Lazo defying death on what appears to be a fairly routine basis. City News embellishes this with information about what seems be a cult-like association of young people who seek thrills the same way. They call it roof topping.
The Ontario budget for 2017 was presented in the Legislature Thursday — the same day of the week that provincial general elections are held. There seems to be a connection. The Wynne government will create a free prescription drug program for everyone 24 and under. That may blunt the appeal of the recently announced NDP pharmacare program. There will be “taxing power” for Toronto to extract cash from those who buy homes and condos and leave them empty, authorization of a tax on hotel and Airbnb, but no tax for road tolls. It’s just too hot an issue with 905 voters. Recent university grads get some grace on paying back their debt. Now they can wait until they hit $35,000 a year in salary. The Liberals also promise that this budget will remain balanced. That’s a good thing because the provincial debt is still heading toward $327 billion
OHIP+
The new drug plan is called OHIP+ and will permit eligible Ontarians to walk into any pharmacy show their OHIP card and pick up free medicine funded through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program. The plan will cover 4,400 types of drugs. There will be no deductible and no co-payment. The program will benefit around four million Ontarians and cost $465 million. That price tag is expected to be funded by the growing economy. According to the Liberals, the GDP is expected to grow 2.6 per cent. Duelling drug plans set stage for pharmacare election in Ontario
Steve Nastos was posting to Leaside Community Facebook Thursday about the delivery of his new lockable green bin. There is some skepticism about the bins since one was shown with a fractured top. There was also a suggestion that it wasn’t a raccoon which did this but a squirrel. The slow-moving distribution campaign of new bins is said to be underway in Midtown but this is the first evidence of it seen around here. Reader Elizabeth Pyper notes that she asked the men who delivered today what should be done with the old boxes and they told her to leave them at the curb and they will be collected
The human race never ceases to amaze even as friends try to explain why Marisa Lazo would climb to the top of a 20-storey crane in the middle of the night and slide down a cable to leave herself utterly stranded. One person who knew her growing up recalls “she just likes to climb things. Me and her used to climb everything when we were children. I used to be scared of it (but) she wasn’t.” A friend named Susan is reported by 680 News to have told KISS Radio that Lazo is a “totally sane thrill seeker.” But bungee jumping or the rim walk at the CN Tower isn’t good enough it seems. She should have known better. Samantha Burger, a current friend, told NewsTalk 1010 that Lazo is outdoorsy — a woman who loves boating, longboarding, hiking and getting up high. In Niagara, the pair liked to visit Decew Falls. The spot is a favourite for locals to cool off on a hot day. Decew Falls is also notorious for rescues as people slip climbing down into the gorge and get injured or stuck. Which raises the perception of this young woman by some as a person who should be punished for life for her misjudgment. Writers to the The Bulldog and elsewhere are on the verge of hatred when they say “garnish her wages for the rest of her pathetic life…stupid people should jump…or be pushed next time…wish the wind came up in her Darwin waiting room.” Another outburst: “They should have let her fall. Useless moron”
RELEASED ON BAIL
Lazo was released Thursday on $500 bail at a court appearance today. She must not enter construction sites or go on any rooftops. She is charged with six counts of mischief.
