Girls are said to love them but a new swimming device that secures the legs inside a mermaid tail is being carefully watched by safety officials. The toy allows young girls to swim like mermaids and is a growing trend — and safety concern — at pools in Calgary and Edmonton. “My kids’ faces just lit up and they’re like, ‘Holy cow, there’s a real live mermaid in the pool!’ So we picked them up and ordered them and it’s great,” the CBC quotes Calgary mother Sharla Stoffman, who purchased “mermaid fins” online for both her daughters. Stoffman’s eight-year-old Charlott describes the feeling of swimming in the sparkly costume as “free,” while her older sister says it’s just like being a fish. But Calgary lifeguards are making swimmers take the following test before they can wear their toys in a public pool. They must swim 25 metres continuously, tread water for two minutes and swim with confidence while wearing the mermaid fin.

Former Mayor Rob Ford will undergo an expected 10 hours of surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital today (Monday, May 11, 2015) to remove a tumour discovered in his abdomen during last year’s municipal election campaign. This picture was tweeted by Mr. Ford’s staff. “Ready to roll,” the picture said.. Ford checked into the hospital around 6 a.m. ET. In the hours leading up to his surgery, Ford read the day’s news and spent time speaking with his wife, Renata. Four surgeons will be involved in Ford’s operation. The surgery is the latest cancer treatment for the former Toronto mayor and the one he has been hoping for. Ford had said if chemotherapy and radiation failed to shrink the tumours to an operable size, his chance at survival was low.  An aide to the former mayor, Dan Jacobs said doctors will make two main incisions, both about 30 centimetres in size, to remove a five-centimetre tumour from Ford’s abdomen.

Tom Podolec tweeted these shots of the aftermath of a chase in the Lakeshore area following a holdup at the PharmaSave at Lake Shore Rd and Royal York Rd. The thieves rolled this vehicle nearby and police rounded up suspects. There were minor injuries.

Even as the City hears of the passing of Barbara Turnbull, the massive admiration for her unconquerable spirit lives with the anger of what happened to her that quiet evening  in September in 1983.  A happy 18-year-old making pocket money at a convenience store was gunned down at the end of a late-night shift. The website of her own foundation recalls how the unspeakable violence affected the entire country. It would come to be considered by police as the “The Barbara Turnbull Era.”  It signaled a time of random madness that still condemns us  It is a miracle that Barbara survived, much less succeeded to a productive life as a writer, friend and role model to so many.  Her foundation recalls: “While in the hospital, Barbara’s first battle was to live. She had to learn to breathe again, without the aid of a respirator. And when reality set in, she had to adjust to life paralyzed from the neck down. Ultimately Barbara lived her life as a high-level quadriplegic. The tragedy of the event spread quickly throughout the news media. Due to the tremendous newspaper and television coverage, the public responded with an unprecedented outpouring of support. Barbara received tens of thousands of letters from around the world and thousands in unsolicited donations. Over the next few years the public eye remained on Barbara. It followed her through the four-month trial of her assailants, in a case that eventually went to the Supreme Court of Canada. Barbara attended Arizona State University, graduating in 1990 with a BA in Journalism, with honours and as Valedictorian. Afterwards, Barbara joined the staff of the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper. She was hired as a general assignment reporter — a job she enjoyed to her final days in the Star’s Life department.” The Star broke the story of Barbara Turnbull’s death Sunday night saying she had died at age 50 from complications related to pneumonia. Twitter 

The search is over and he is married. That’s the word for Barbara Tatge who was chronicled on television news as she hunted for the man she kissed during her running of the Boston Marathon. She was obviously enchanted by the moment (he is said to have kissed her twice) but as might be expected — word came back from the gentleman’s wife, not from him. Ms Tatge was dared by her daughter to kiss a random, good-looking man as she legged it through the town of Wellesley, where the women of Wellesley College traditionally offer kisses to runners. Later her daughter took to social media to try to find the man, who clearly left an impression on her mom. Ms. Tatge now reports that The Wellesley Townsman, a Boston-area news outlet, passed on a letter addressed to her Sunday after the campaign generated nationwide attention. The unidentified man’s wife said the attention was fun but that the couple wanted to remain anonymous. “When this story aired on the news we were pretty surprised,” the mystery man’s wife wrote in a portion of the letter quoted by The Townsman. “For me, I’m not mad. Believe me, our friends have gotten a lot of mileage out of this story and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them give my husband grief!” The wife continued: “While this may not be the ending that you had hoped for, that spontaneous, silly moment in Wellesley captured the fun, energy and spirit of the Boston Marathon. I greatly admire your spunk and courage and wish you many happy races in the future. Congratulations on your Boston finish!” Tatge says she wrote back to the wife Monday, thanking her for her graciousness and good humor. “The letter was so kind and good-hearted,” she said. “She’s a great sport, and he’s fortunate to be married to someone like her.” Tatge also apologized for any embarrassment the search may have caused. “I just wanted her to know that the media firestorm stemmed from my loving daughter’s good-hearted dare,” she said. “I didn’t want to cause any discomfort to him or his family.” Tatge said she’s been touched by the support she’s received but is happy to move on. She also hopes to run the Boston Marathon again but with one important caveat: “Moving forward, I’m going to revert to only kissing single men.”

Jon Burnside (Ward 26) was slinging compost (so to speak) at Leaside arena today as many residents, including seniors, came to get the gardening essential on Leaside’s free compost day. Well done Councillor Jon.