The Pusateri Fine Food property at Avenue Rd north of Lawrence Ave. W was busy with blue-shirted men and women Sunday (August 16, 2015)  Each one was identified on the back as an “Emergency Worker.” A number of vehicles from Newtron Group Restoration Service of Brampton were present. Newtron specializes in fire cleanups and the trucks were unloading bins and cleaning equipment at the rear of the store. There’s no indication of when the store might re-open but the cleanup work going on Sunday suggests the owners want to fast track that goal. President Frank Luchetta gathered with other principals outside the store Sunday. He told Metro the store will “rebuild” after the fire Saturday. “For sure we’ll rebuild,” said Luchetta, Damage “is pretty extensive, from what we’ve heard from firefighters,” said Luchetta. The building is structurally sound, he said, but there was extensive water damage from sprinklers as well as from smoke. Pusateri principals are Ida Pusateri. Frank  Luchetta, John Mastroianni and Dominic Fortuna. The amount of inventory damaged from water and smoke will be one determinant of how long the re-opening may take. The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate the fire although it seems quite unlikely that it will be found to be of suspicious nature. The fire marshall’s review will make it easier for insurance claims to be settled. There is significant water damage, as well as damage from smoke and fire, Toronto Fire Services said. Earlier fire sources said the fire seemed to have started near the coffee shop.

A tourist noticed smoke curling up from the manhole in Manhattan and trained her phone on it. Whoa! Left we see the cover rising on a rocket ride. Then it’s fireball time and (right) a spear of flame from whatever it was inside that hole. The cover shattered against a nearby fire hydrant sending chunks of metal five storeys high where one broke an office window. Remarkably, no one was hurt and no cars wrecked in the early evening blast

Marg Allerston-Medeiros really wants to know why a seemingly possessed woman keeps returning to her mother’s grave to steal the flowers. It’s more than just a fair question. As many as a dozen times now the woman seen above has scurried into the London, Ontario cemetery and frantically grabbed up the fresh fresh flowers placed on the grave of Marg’s 86-year-old mom. She was caught the last time by survaillance.  Radio 680 London

As firefighters continue to clean up at Pusateri’s Fine Foods on Sunday morning the question much on the minds of their many customers is when the store might be open again.  That may become clearer during the day. Frank Luchetta, president of Pusateri’s, told CP24 that the store was closed at the time of the fire. It was noticed about 8.45 p.m. “When I got here they told me the cleaners were inside the building and they smelled smoke and they called the fire department right away and they exited.” The cause is so far unstated. As many as  60 to 70 firefighters and at least 15 vehicles were called in. The fire  was stubborn enough. It was “knocked down” but not necessarily out before 10 p.m. “The fire seems to have started on the main floor,” Toronto Fire division commander Bob O’Halloran said.  He said the source may have been near the coffee shop. Three cleaners were inside the building at the time of the fire but all occupants managed to escape unharmed. Frank Luchetta, president of Pusateri’s Fine Foods, told CP24 that the store was closed at the time of the fire. O’Halloran said that due to the damages, there will likely be an investigation into what caused the fire. “I have no estimate of how much damage there is dollar-wise but from what I saw when I looked in, the place is full of smoke,” he said. “There is a lot of water damage around the place as well.”

John Hiddema, Stephanie Rickard Chadda and Chris Trussell have a dream. They’re among many residents of Davisville Village who want to see the Ward 22 community with a modern place for recreation, health care and social services. Things like a swimming pool, advice to the elderly and immigrant families, daycare and  play areas can easily be imagined in such a place. It would be a community social centre open to everyone, regardless of address,  and a heart for Davisville. They call this dream the Midtown Hub and John, Stephanie and Chris have identified a nearly-one acre parcel of land on the southwest corner of the crumbling Davisville Public School property at 43 Millwood Rd.

JOSH MATLOW SUPPORTS A MIDTOWN HUB

The location, near the corner of Davisville Ave. and Yonge St., would place the hub near the subway and other transit. The whole property is 3.84 acres. There would be room for a new school, playground and a hub. The land is owned by the Toronto and District School Board (TDSB) which is under pressure from the province to sell excess property.  Can the idea of a one-acre public hub survive the money crunch and if so on what terms?  The TDSB’s property arm had been scheduled to simply sell off the Davisville property as early as June. The efforts of Josh Matlow (Ward 22) obtained a reprieve from that decision until October. It reveals how perilous the dream may be. Matlow continues to work on finding so-called “section 37 envelopes” — money paid by developers to do business with the City. He has undertaken the compilation of what such a hub might include and of efficiencies. Might a gymnasium at the hub serve both the school and the public? Such details are critical if the hub is to survive review by hard-headed political and business interests.

WITHIN THE MEANS OF THIS WEALTHY CITY

The desired parcel is on the north side of Davisville Ave. and zoned at lower density, taking a bit of pressure off the likely price. Kicking around numbers, $100 a square foot would yield a figure of maybe four million. And that might be cheap. Planning and construction will cost many millions more. Is it possible to find money from the piggy banks of ordinary households that is worthy of the millions that reside with government and private sources? It is no doubt within the means of a City like Toronto and its wealthy residents but the inspiration in such quarters remains an open question. Great as the challenge may seem, the task will get easier for each newly-found friend of the hub. It is a populous part of town. Ward 22 alone had 65,000 residents in 2011, the last year for which numbers are available. The best way to do your part toward the creation of the Midtown Hub is to go to the website and complete the survey there. You are not required to give your name. Follow the progress of the effort to accomplish this worthwhile dream at the website. Participate if you can and encourage others to do so. There is an email for questions:  midtownHub416@gmail.com

There will be great weather to do business or poke around on South Bayview or Mt. Pleasant today.  The high for Saturday is expected to be 27 with a hot prediction of 30 degrees tomorrow (Sunday, august 16, 2015). Summer is fleeting. as we know. The CNE begins next Friday, August 21, 2015.  Then we can look forward to the Mount Pleasant Village BIA Harvest Fair. Attractions include sidewalk sales, food samples, a pumpkin carving contest and more. The fair is held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. BIA website.

BCE Inc has sold the remaining 15% of The Globe and Mail to the Woodbridge Company, giving the investment vehicle of Canada’s Thomson family full control of the country’s biggest national newspaper. No terms were given.  Reuters