Month: April 2021

Catalpa on Manor Rd. at Belcourt Rd.

200 year old tree coming down

A Catalpa tree that has been a landmark on Manor Rd has been cut down with the approval of the City Forestry Service. The Catalpa was at Manor and Belcourt Rd since before there were homes there. A sonic tomography procedure was conducted on the tree which revealed that it was hollow and rotten in several locations. As a result, staff concluded that the tree was in poor condition and have since secured a compensation plan for replanting.

NASA flies small chopper on face of Mars/animated

After successfully test-flying a mini-helicopter on Mars, NASA is calling the flight a “Wright Brothers moment” on the Red Planet. NBC’s Tom Costello reports

Rogers says it is working to fix a wireless service outage across the country. The disruption is affecting cell voice and data services.

In a tweet, at 5:39 PM (Apr 19, 2021), the @RogersHelps account stated that “no estimated time of resolution has been provided yet, however, we continue to work diligently to get this wireless service interruption resolved as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience this is causing you during these already difficult times. -^rm”.

A notice from Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology Officer at Rogers, states that a software update issue has caused the outage.

Early this morning, our network operations centre started to see that some wireless customers were experiencing intermittent issues with voice calls, SMS and data services. Our TV, home and business wireline Internet, and home phone services were not impacted.

We have identified the root cause of the service issues and pinpointed a recent Ericsson software update that affected a piece of equipment in the central part of our wireless network. That led to intermittent congestion and service impacts for many customers across the country.

We have addressed the software issue and our engineering and technical teams will continue to work around the clock with the Ericsson team to restore full services for our customers.

We do not have an exact time yet as it may take us several hours to get everything back up and running normally. It’s important that we bring wireless services back up gradually as we return to full service. You have our full commitment that we will not rest until all services are restored.

https://twitter.com/RogersHelps/status/1384200104555401216

Reuters is quoting the Toronto Star as saying Monday’s federal budget will herald a tax on luxury goods. It says cars over $100,000 will be a target. It cites a “digital services tax” that will land on Google and Facebook in 2022. Count on a huge counter-offensive from them. The Star says we’re heading for the highest deficit since WWII. Read it

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning Saturday about Peloton’s Tread+ treadmill, warning people with kids and pets to stop using the treadmill after one child died and nearly 40 others reported injuries. New York-based Peloton Interactive Inc. said in a news release that the warning was “inaccurate and misleading.” It said there’s no reason to stop using the treadmill as long as children and pets are kept away from it at all times.

Also Monday

• Peaky Blinders actress dead at 52
• Bill Barilko legend alive on 70th anniversary of Leafs 1951 Cup

The federal budget will be revealed Monday afternoon. It expected to offer ongoing cash for child care and extended pandemic aid programs. The deficit will push $400 billion. CTV

Ontario says the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be offered to people 40 and over beginning Tuesday at hundreds of drugstores already stocked with the serum. The office of the Health Minister, Christine Elliott, confirmed the change on Sunday. The federal committee that first stalled on approving AstraZeneca, then approved it for over 55s, has now approved it for adults over 18. But supplies will limit such use to those over 40 in the coming days. Medical advice to the public throughout the western world has been universal to take the first vaccine available, including AstraZeneca.

• Maclean’s review asks: “How did it come to this?”

George Turrell

Premier Wynne congratulating King of Leaside in 2017

Ann Brown has shared a post from Jaclyn Lefebvre on the condition of Leaside’s much-loved George Turrell. George earned the title of the King of Leaside for his unstinting assistance at the gardens and elsewhere over the years. He is said to be gravely ill in hospital. Archives

Premier Ford has reversed the order enabling police to stop pedestrians and drivers to randomly check on violations of the C-19 stay-at-home order. He has also reversed the order to close playgrounds. Both orders were issued Friday night and were part of other tightened rules intended to help control the pandemic third wave across Ontario. Now the government is saying that police may make stops when they have reason to suspect there is a violation of the C-19 restrictions. The idea of random police checks stunned many people and prompted most police services to announce they would not be taking any such action. It appears almost as if the police acted in concert to defy the order. Remarkable.

Doctors on Twitter are genuinely frightening

The public cannot know what type of reasoning occurred inside cabinet and government circles but the reality of the pandemic remains the same. Distancing and masks will stop the virus in its tracks. The rest is up to the public. And while recommendations and advice are essential, many can’t understand how police stopping people randomly would assist. Those who are determined to act in a way that spreads C-19 won’t be found walking on a City sidewalk. Stopping people randomly looked like a government run amuck. In fairness, the projections made by doctors on Twitter (and there are many) are genuinely frightening.

Metrolinx has announced that as early as Monday crews at Mt Pleasant Station will begin the second stage of pile removals on the north side of Eglinton Ave east of Mt Pleasant Road. Work will take place Monday to Friday between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m. for approximately four weeks. A release says that crews will try to perform noisier works, such as hydro-vacuuming, between 5 p.m. and midnight. Significant pedestrian changes will be in effect.

Shooter’s Bar in Calabogie

The criminal negligence trial of a former bartender in the Eastern Ontario village of Calabogie continued in Pembroke Friday. Court heard from Enrico DeFrancesco, an Algonquin College professor, former bartender, nightclub manager and instructor in the responsible serving of alcohol. He testified about a serving protocol as taught in a course known as Smart Serve. The charge of criminal negligence against a server is so rare that the case may be a precedent. The accused is Ann Senack, a well-known local resident who has had much support in the community.  Renfrew Today