Tanya Roberts, known for roles in “That ‘70s Show,” “Charlie’s Angels” and the James Bond franchise, has died at age 65 after collapsing at her home on Christmas Eve. The actress and model died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her longtime representative, Mike Pingel, confirmed “with a heavy heart” Tuesday afternoon to The Times. According to Pingel, the cause of death was a urinary tract infection, which spread to Roberts‘ kidney, gallbladder, liver and finally her bloodstream. Over the weekend, the actress was reported dead but then reported alive.

WestJet selling planes to Amazon to ship cargo

Amazon has announced the purchase of 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft including four secured from Calgary-based WestJet. According to the online retailer, the aircraft were purchased from WestJet in March 2020 and will join the Amazon Air fleet this year after the completion of passenger to cargo conversion. Amazon says the other seven planes were purchased from Delta Air Lines.

12,638 diamonds in this ring

It was made by a jeweller in India and is called The Marigold: The Ring of Prosperity.

The Ministry of Health has counted 3,128 new cases on Tuesday for the 24-hour period ending at midnight. It’s a slight drop from the 3,270 cases confirmed the day before. This is the fourth time in the past six days that cases have topped 3,000 but the rise in cases may have paused. The Battle of January is in full tilt. Ontario conducted nearly 35,200 tests in the previous day, which is short of its goal of 50,000 tests per day. The testing backlog stands at 39,805.

Georgia

Looking good at Trace Manes new playground

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.

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

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.

Downsview-Roding-CFB

Thorncliffe Park

Leaside-Bennington

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.

Prominent location carries sign about a new store

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?

• Old Four Seasons property boarded up for the duration
• Four Seasons Auto at 199 Laird sold for $10.5 million

Windows and doors boarded over

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

New world satire posted by Diane Castor

Kingmajesty and Princess

Random posts restore The Bulldog’s faith in the sanity of humanity in a time when public opinion polls suggest that as much as 40 percent of Canada’s population is going completely nuts during the C-19 pestilence. Who could blame them? But posts by Diane Castor (left) at Leaside Community and the owner of Kingmajesty and Princess (right) on Instagram reveal a sound grip on the times.

New Zealanders have had the pleasure of welcoming 2021 with all of the hopes that this New Year carries. These scenes are from Aukland. Below is a good show put on for 2021 in Taipei, the capital of democratic Taiwan. And Sydney.