Month: January 2021

A ticket holder from the Prairies won Friday night’s whopping $60 million Lotto Max jackpot. There’s no indication in which of Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta that this happy windfall occurred. The draw also offered six Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each, and one of them was claimed by a lottery player in Quebec. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Jan. 26 will be approximately $15 million.

Scene of moped fail to remain

Police have located the driver of a white Ford pickup truck with a sander on the rear after a public appeal Wednesday. The truck was in a collision with a moped operated by a man, 59, who was seriously injured. He was turning east onto O’Connor Drive at Woodbine Ave. as the truck also headed east. It failed to remain at the scene.

White Ford pickup sought by police

Unprovoked violent attacks

Do not approach

Police are looking for a man who has committed a series of unprovoked violent attacks on unsuspecting people he accosts on the street in North York. He approaches and begins hitting his victims in the head and face. In some instances, the suspect hits people until they fall to the ground. He then flees. He is described as approximately 5’8″ to 5’9″, 20 to 25, has a beard/goatee, a thin to medium build, and has black hair. He was wearing a black hooded jacket with grey interior lining in the hood, black pants, and black shoes with a white stripe around the sole. Two areas where such attacks have occurred are Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch Aves and the general area of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave. If seen, do not approach this man. Call 9-1-1 immediately.

There’s continued hope Friday that Ontario’s tough C-19 regulations are beginning to flatten the curve of the infection progress. This day saw the Ministry of Health count 2,664 new cases for the 24-hour period ending at midnight. The usefulness of recent levels in helping to glimpse the future is a function of daily testing, which remains high. Some 72,000 tests were done to establish Friday’s new cases.

Rylan Parrott bringing Saskatchewan ice-fishing to TikTok

Now a break from everything else and not a moment too soon. First we have Saskatchewan pals Rylan Parrott and Koltyn Piller racking up more than 16 million TikTok views in just a few days with their extreme ice-fishing exploits. Then, hairdressing and haircuts are not allowed during Ontario’s C-19 crackdown. Or are they? Below that, the lamentable state of National Hugging Day. May it soon return. Lastly, we see UK prime minister Boris Johnson totally gobsmacked as a reporter asks him if he thinks President Biden is woke.

The delay in delivery of the Pfizer vaccine has placed focus on vaccines still being tested — those from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. These vaccines have not yet been approved in Canada although AstraZeneca has been approved in the UK and India. Health Canada spokesperson Eric Morrissette told the National Post that government regulators continue to look at the vaccine and have been receiving information from the company since last fall, but they don’t have a firm timeline for a decision.

Guarded optimism in Ontario

There’s guarded optimism that Ontario may be flattening the spread of C-19. Thursday the Ministry of Health reported 2,632 new cases and 46 more deaths linked to the virus. As seen in the tweet below, Health Minister Christine Elliott says there were 897 new cases in Toronto, 412 in Peel Region and 245 in York Region. Most notably, testing for this period achieved a healthy 70,300. Typically, more testing reveals more cases.

Ontario is reporting 2,632 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 70,300 tests completed. Locally, there are 897 new cases in Toronto, 412 in Peel, 245 in York Region, 162 in Ottawa and 118 in Waterloo.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) January 21, 2021

Project Plastic Pickup

Please pick it up

A Leaside man, Paul Bolté, and two friends have started a company that makes and sells reusable face masks called Eco6ix. Part of the firm’s promotion is Project Plastic Pickup, a contest that urges people to pick up and properly discard plastic refuse. The contest is described on the firm’s website.

O’Connor and Woodbine Wednesday with moped at right/TPS

A moped rider believed to be in his 50s is fighting for his life Wednesday after he was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene at O’Connor Drive and Woodbine Ave. The incident occurred during the noon hour. The term moped originally referred to a type of small motorcycle with both a motorcycle engine and bicycle pedals, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term is now often used to mean a similar ele4ctric vehicle except with no pedals.

Dr. Ben Chan

Dr. Ben Chan produced this salute to the community called “I’m Still Standing” at the request of MP Rob Oliphant for the Don Valley West New Year’s Levee. Dr. Chan is an assistant professor of health at the Univerity of Toronto. Great stuff, Dr. Ben and all those particpating.

A story originated by the Globe and Mail (subscription) says that Pfizer pharmaceutical is seeking a tax break from Ottawa. The coincidence has not been missed and there is much angry comment on Twitter.

Subway sandwich can proceed with its defamation lawsuit against CBC Marketplace according to the Ontario Court of Appeal. The court set aside a ruling that dismissed Subway’s $210-million suit without a hearing on its merits saying the untested claim was far from frivolous and deserved a thorough airing. The issue is a Marketplace story based on tests saying that Subway’s chicken sandwiches were no more than 50 percent chicken. But Subway produced experts who insist the sandwiches are essentially 100 percent chicken  Global News

Call to stop Big Box stores from selling non-essential stuff

It’s an idea that seems fair.

Hamster prison break to brighten your Wednesday

This entertaining hamster “jailbreak” was posted to Leaside Community Facebook by Joyce Stewart with a view to keeping kids entertained. It certainly occupied the adults at The Bulldog.