Councillor Robinson has announced the opening of the new playground at Trace Manes Park. A photo of the recently finished happy-place for kids shows it just before the snow arrived. The renewal of the playground was accomplished with the inspiration and drive of Georgia’s mother, Jillian, and the generous efforts of friends in Leaside and beyond. The old playground was a favorite place for Georgia, 7. May the new one delight children and keep the memory of Georgia fresh.
Meat truck rear-ended by another tractor trailer at bridge abutment
The cleanup was proceeding Tuesday after a terrible rear-end collision between trucks that left one truck driver fighting for his life. It was a complicated sequence explained by 680 News reporter Carl Hantske.
Major Collison investigation #Hwy401. 2 commercial transport trucks involved. Critical injures. Highway closed from 401eb express lanes east of highway 400 to Allen rd. Clean up underway. ^td pic.twitter.com/BYIXaaTJPn
Shareholders in France have voted to merge the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars with the US Fiat/Chrysler firm. Will we soon see fancy Peugeots on Bayview Ave? Then, say hello to a New England cop named Matthew Lima. He’s the kind of guy who digs around in his own pocket to buy groceries for a bereft family of shoplifters. Below that, Point Roberts, Washington falls below the 49 parallel but many of its citizens would like to live in Canada. Finally, some good news stories from 2020 from the CBC. Yes, there were some.
A British judge has found that Julian Assange deserved to be extradited to the US for his Wikileaks crime but that he is so mentally unstable that she dedicated to keep him the UK. In a mixed ruling for Assange and his supporters, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected defence arguments that the 49-year-old Australian faces a politically motivated American prosecution that rides roughshod over free-speech protections. But she said Assange’s precarious mental health would likely deteriorate further under the conditions of “near total isolation” he would face in a U.S. prison. CNA
The Battle of January is raging across Ontario Monday as government and civil warriors strive to control and ultimately defeat COVID-19. The Ministry of Health has recorded 3,270 new cases of the infection for the 24-hour period ending at midnight. That’s just shy of the record 3,363 seen in recent days. The early Winter has seen a harrowing increase in cases. Close to 1,200 people are in hospital and the normal functioning of the health care system is already badly bent. Toronto to announce new COVID-19 measures for workplaces Monday
Ontario is reporting 3,270 cases of #COVID19 and over 39,100 tests completed. Locally, there are 917 new cases in Toronto, 581 in Peel, 389 in York Region, 246 in Windsor-Essex County and 131 in Ottawa.
This man is a “virus biostatistician” with doubts about just how long schools need to be physically closed to significantly reduce daily cases of the virus.
Loblaws, Shoppers count C-19 employee cases in stores
Loblaws is reporting that at least 56 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since Christmas Eve at 43 stores it owns and operates in the Greater Toronto Area. The retailer says it has recorded confirmed cases among workers at stores in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham and Whitby. In some stores, there have been more than one case. The stores with the infected employees include Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore and Fortinos. CBC
Stay away from Lake Leaside
Lake Leaside in January
Fortunately, the large body of water on the dormant construction site off Laird Drive is protected by fences. This odd geographical feature entered our history when business conditions put an end (for now) to the expansion of the SmartCentres north of Wicksteed Ave. The Bulldog called it Lake Leaside and the name stuck.
Nicky Scardino is seen with counsel Monica Rodrigues of Belleville and Peter Zaduk of Toronto
A Trenton area woman, Nicky Scardino, 47, has been found not guilty of manslaughter by a jury in the death of her long-time boyfriend, Sammy Andrews, 49. The trial heard the two had a long on-and-off relationship which Scardino ended during an incident in March 2018. Her decision infuriated Andrews. He jumped in front of Scardino’s Mazda 3 which was moving at under 10 km/h. Scardino testified she tried to steer around Andrews and then felt a bump. She slammed on the brakes immediately and discovered Andrews dead under her car. Toronto Sun.
The Ministry of Health reported 3,363 new cases of C-19 province-wide on Saturday for the 24-hour period ended at midnight. The surge of cases is everywhere of course but it remains true now, as it did months ago, that the vast number of cases in Toronto are occurring in nine or ten neighbourhoods in the northeast and northwest. The Toronto Interactive Map counts recorded cases by address within the last three weeks. On this day, Downsview-Roding-CFB tops the list with 284. Another high-rise area among places showing the highest number of recent cases is Woburn, with 259. On Saturday, the City’s dozens of neighbourhoods collectively counted 700 new cases. It’s a different number from the three-week figure but it reveals the growth of the same sickness across the community.
Police are seeking the good person or persons who ran to the aid of the driver of an overturned Mercedes at Keele St. and Sheppard Ave. Friday. It seems the Merc was northbound when it struck another vehicle heading west at the corner. It spun around and hit a stopped vehicle before rolling over. That’s when the person(s) unknown pulled the driver out. A nasty New Year’s morning tangle at Keele and Sheppard
A sign on the boarded-up former home of Four Seasons Auto Repair will surely need some follow-up. It suggests that a moving supplies store operated by Access Storage will open on this site. The collection of old brick and tin buildings dates from well back in the history of Leaside. The rusting Quonset huts are 1940s-era wartime structures. Records indicate there is no building permit yet issued. Or, has Access Storage posted a sign that doesn’t tell us the location of a new store?
Four teens drove into rock cut common in Eastern Ontario/CTV
The unusual charge of criminal negligence laid against an Ottawa area bartender will be heard this Spring some three-and-a-half years after two underage drinkers, 18, died in a highway accident. The bar lady, Anne Senack, 63, of Calabogie, is accused of serving four underage Renfrew Timberwolves players before their car rammed a rock cut on a county road killing two of them in October of 2017. The legal drinking age in Ontario is 19. Trial dates have been set aside in April (2021) and May. It’s not clear if the charge of criminal negligence in similar cases has ever been laid, but it is highly unusual. Ms. Senack has considerable support in her community and a Gofundme effort has raised nearly $81,000. Supporters say her defense will probably cost $150,000 in total, all of it out of pocket. They raise $53,000 to defend server in death of drunk teens
