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.

Premier Ford has angrily criticized the Pfizer laboratory for a delay in deliveries to Canada announced Monday. Canada will get no deliveries of the vaccine next week. Ford’s response seems like inevitable vaccine politics, a response to the knowledge that people are waiting anxiously for any idea of when they may get protection against the C-19 infection. More of the same sort of foot-shuffling was going on in Ottawa in this uninformative news conference by federal officials. Pfizer says the delay at its plant in Belgium is a result of a move to increase production there.

Hydro Outage Pam at 3.30 p.m. Tuesday

Earlier Tuesday

Toronto Hydro and Hydro One have restored power to parts of Leaside and East York after a fairly widespread disruption. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, there were outages in Sherwood Park, North Leaside and Lawrence Park as seen on the map image at right. The outage down into the Don Valley lasted somewhat longer but has now also been repaired

East York outage update: Crews are currently on site and we're working together with @HydroOne to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. https://t.co/TQHH470535

— Toronto Hydro (@TorontoHydro) January 19, 2021

Work continues Tuesday to demolish old industrial buildings on Eastern Ave. despite lengthy petitions and political efforts to save them. The decision to replace the Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company buildings at 153-185 Eastern Ave was taken by the Ford government. Plans call for the construction of high-rise residential towers on three provincially owned sites. City officials have pleaded with the province to reconsider the demolition and more than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling on the province to consult the community. FB  Friends of the Foundry

Played same numbers for 20 years

A Toronto woman, Deng Pravatoudom, 57, has won the $60 million Lotto Max prize with numbers she has been playing for 20 years — and which came to her husband in a dream. It won’t work for everyone of course, but it is quite a story. Ms Pravatoudom is a married mother of two adult children and two grandchildren. She picked up her cheque at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) prize centre on Monday. Pravatoudom came to Canada with her 14 siblings from Laos in 1980. She said one of the first things she and her husband will do is buy a home. City News

Travelling south on 404 at John St. overpass

Driver judges he is “lucky to be alive”

CTV says a driver had the sunroof of his car shattered Sunday morning as he drove southbound on Highway 404 under the John St. bridge in York Region. Pictures taken by the driver show the damage. He was alone in the car. It looks as if anyone in the rear seat would have faced a torrent of glass pellets. “As I passed underneath, I heard a loud smashing sound,” he said. “As I looked at my roof, I saw that my glass is broken.” OPP have been notified. CTV

Much of the new reality in Washington after Joe Biden is president will be related to killing off every pipeline project around. Word has leaked that the planned Keystone line intended to carry Alberta crude to US ports will be stopped by the new president. The diverse and deeply held opinion on this subject is seen in the long string of comments to this story as posted by City News.

Circle K giant rebuffed in France

BNN says the bosses at Quebec corner store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. “stumbled into the quagmire of French politics” with their attempt to take over a French counterpart Carrefour SA. Now, says BNN, a Monday meeting in Quebec will require the firm to explain what it was doing to shareholders. Couche Tard is most famous in Ontario for changing the time-honored name of Mac’s to Circle K. Yahoo pardner depanneur.

Betty White, 99, staying up as late as she likes

The indefatigable Betty White has turned 99. She’s told fans that she enjoys staying up as late as she likes.

Still a City within a City more than a century later

The Leaside Heritage Preservation Society (LHPS) is asking area friends (that’s you) to help it create a logo for this new local endeavor. LHPS announced its arrival in December and now chair Ann Brown is seeking ideas. “Would you like to be part of history and part of contributing to our new logo or better yet creating our new logo?” she asks. Ideas, input and submissions should be sent to LHPS by 11.59 p.m. January 25. That’s just a week away so don’t delay if you have something to contribute. Please submit ideas/design to Leasideheritage@gmail.com The winner will receive a one year LHPS membership

Former music producer Phil Spector has died in a US prison from a coronavirus infection. Then, Canada’s ambassador to Washington assesses just what a Biden administration will mean for this country. Below that, Premier Ford and Mayor Tory were at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Sunday morning to check out the soon-to-open vaccination centre. And lastly, a summary of the tragic circumstances leading to the death of Toronto influencer Nikki Donnelly.