Pride Parade marchers were in high spirits despite the weather. Earlier report: The Pride Parade was held in wet and chilly weather but an estimated 8,000 participated in high spirits. It wound along Church and Bloor Streets, south on Yonge to Dundas Street and then back to Church. Former Scarborough resident David Furnish, Elton John’s spouse, was the grand marshall of this year’s parade. Other grand marshalls included Celina Jately. a LGBTQ activist in India and Pussy Riot, the outrageous feminist punk group. famous singer Cyndi Lauper and Brendan Jordan, 15. There were politicians present. Premier Wynne, PC leader Brown and Mayor Tory, Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau attended.
Post-midnight downpour leaves gutters full, tree falls
by
•Heavy rain into Sunday likely left at least the ten millimetres forecast. Toronto Police Operation @TPSOperations reported that a large tree was down in the EB curb lane of Bloor St between Parliament and Sherbourne. The Ops room also tweeted that the City was experiencing multiple outages at traffic control signals along Bloor St. and asked drivers to treat blacked out intersection as all way stops. They were also reporting a tree down blocking Rosedale Valley Rd at Park Rd in SB lanes.
Gov’t jobs growing faster than private says Fraser Institute
by
•The Fraser Institute says that employment growth during the decade 2003 to 2013 was much faster in the public sector than in the private. The statistics shown reveal an expansion of 22.6 percent among public sector employees against growth of 10.7 percent in the private sector. The report says the contrast is sharpest in Ontario where public-sector jobs grew by 27.6 percent over that period and private-sector jobs by 5.6 percent. The study by the Vancouver-based think-tank shows Alberta had the smallest gap, with a 31.9 percent rise in public-sector employment and a 29.3 percent increase in the private sector. The study defines public employees as anyone working for any level of government, for a government service or agency, a Crown corporation or a government-funded organization such as a school or hospital.
Training needed? 2 streetcars collide on Queen’s Quay
by
•Two streetcars have collided on Queen’s Quay when one of them apparently tried to turn into a loop before the other had fully cleared the intersection. There is no explanation of just what went wrong but the accident is one of a number for vehicular traffic generally. It is said that motorists are quite confused about just where to drive. Earlier, planners said the signage needed to be made clearer. Might be good to postpone your trip down there until they get things smoothed out.
FLASHBACK: 2011 collapse of Cornish cliff still thrills
by
•POP 100%: Really very sorry about all this rain
by
•End near for Greece as millions withdraw their money
by
•The end seems near for Greece as part of the Eurozone. Both European and Greek officials are guessing that next Sunday’s referendum outcome will be a rejection of any plan to pay back the country’s debt. The latest EU plan is being called “blackmail” and people are talking nostalgically of the return of the Drachma (inset above). If it again becomes the national currency one thing is certain. It won’t be worth much. It may require several thousand to buy breakfast. It also seems likely that the Euro will trade unofficially and maybe on a black market.
Cops hunt David Sweat ten miles from Canadian border
by
•Power surges in Davisville being queried: Josh Matlow
by
•Josh Matlow (Ward 22) has tweeted Saturday morning that there have been “several power surges in the Davisville area, including this morning.” The Councillor says he is requesting information from @TorontoHydro & will update.
PC leader Brown, athletes, sports executives in Pride march
by
•New PC Leader Patrick Brown says he will march in Sunday’s gay Pride parade. In a statement released Friday, Brown wished Pride-goers well. “I am looking forward to attending the Pride parade on Sunday to march,” Brown said is a statement. Globe and Mail
Circumstances of Georgia’s death beggar the imagination
by
•The death of Georgia Walsh has been thoroughly investigated, examined by experts and the details heard in open court. The facts are known and it is over. And yet, to hear the circumstances in which Georgia crossed McRae Drive and was struck by Ranko Stupar’s van is to beggar the imagination. The full verdict as rendered by Mr. Justice S. Ford Clements is linked at the bottom of this post. It recounts in detail the witness information and the reconstruction of the accident provided by the police. Georgia was running westbound across McRae within the north crosswalk on Millwood Road from the northeast to the northwest corner. That’s the crossing that takes one from Trace Manes Park to Leaside United Church. When she stepped off the curb, the pedestrian signal was flashing a red hand and the countdown timer was at 5 seconds. The accident reconstruction report concludes that Georgia was already in the crosswalk when Mr. Stupar’s vehicle approached the area of the stop bar which sits ahead of the crosswalk.
FEW CAN COMPREHEND IT
He was southbound on McRae and intended to make, and did make, a right turn on a red light during which he slowed but did not stop. Georgia was struck in the crosswalk, near the northwest corner of the intersection, by the front driver’s side of Mr. Stupar’s vehicle and knocked down to the roadway. In the words of Justice Clements, she was overrun by the front driver and rear driver side tires. Justice Clements said that had Mr. Stupar stopped his vehicle at the north stop bar, it would have taken him 3.9 seconds to travel from that point to the point of impact. There was sufficient time for Georgia to cross the street safely had Mr. Stupar stopped at the stop bar. She had the right of way. The grievous act of making a turn without stopping is appalling but not unknown. But Mr. Stupar says as well that at no time did he see Georgia in the crosswalk nor realize that he had struck anyone until witnesses began to shout at him to stop. He did stop and now lives with the miserable knowledge of what he did. But few motorists will comprehend, even as we are required to accept it, that a driver could miss the presence of a 7-year-old child in a crosswalk in front of him as he approached a red light. R. v. Stupar, 2015 ONCJ 350 (CanLII)
Greek gov’t calls snap referendum on debt “blackmail”
by
•The Greek government has called snap referendum on July 5 on the outcome of negotiations with its international creditors taking place in Brussels on Saturday, Prime Minister Tsipras declared on television Friday. “The people must decide free of any blackmail,” said Tsipras. Other cabinet ministers spoke angrily of rejection on the part of the the Greek people. It seems a gloomy sign for the prospects of Greece being able to stay in in the Eurozone.