Toronto Hydro is working in the Yonge St and Finch Ave area to restore power to an estimated 600 customers who are without power. A combination of weather seems to be the cause. Tuesday Toronto awoke to fairly brisk winds after an evening of light rain combining with those salt-caked hydro poles. Last night as many as 5,000 customers were without electricity near Dufferin Street and St. Clair Avenue West, but it has since been restored. Some residents reported flickering lights throughout the city last night, according to media reports.

Remarkable self-made man has created two landmark corporate creations — Club Monaco and Joe Fresh. At 58, does he have another such triumph in him? Huffington Wikipedia 

It is a profound thing to consider the end of car manufacturing in Oshawa. But that bleak prospect may be just around the corner unless General Motors finds something else to do at its plant in that City. Word came today that the new Camaro will be made in Michigan. Glen Woodcock writes in the Toronto Sun 

l-r Former Mayor Barbara Hall, Briony Glassco, Patrick Case, Shirley Hoy, Vicki Bismilla, Richard Powers and Jennifer Williams

There are lots of complaints about the Toronto and District School Board. Some people think it should be abolished. Premier Wynne has decided to get the view of seven prominent Toronto citizens, all of whom are acquainted with the board in some fashion. It is a purely advisory group and the premier may be sure she has a like-minded thinker in former Mayor Barbara Hall who will chair the panel. What’s heartening is that these people aren’t going to lurk around for years. They’re expected to come back with an opinion by summer. Education Minister Sandals announced the panel Monday after a year or more of bickering and complaints at the board. Her emphasis is on what’s wrong with the board but in fairness the cash-strapped government of Ontario has a dog in this fight. It’s called the enormous value of surplus school board property. The panel will be tasked with asking questions about the size of the board, the efficiencies within the board and the “culture of fear” among board members. It’s perhaps relevant to note that however much fear was in the air at the board it didn’t stop many people from complaining. To learn about the background of the members check the Education Department Release

People coming and going from the former DEW location at 1553 Bayview Ave north of Rosie’s on Monday say the spacious shop will become a shoe store. “It will be a very good shoe store,” said a man who seemed to  know. Keep watching. Up the street, MacFAb Home has opened at 1685 Bayview and is full of lovely home decor. One of the owners, Dale Sonier, says the reception has been great and asks everyone to come in and take a look.

Mayor Tory will meet with Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair Monday to talk funding for the $8 billion SmartTrack plan. And why not? It’s not likely that Mr. Mulcair will form the next federal government but it is smart politics for the mayor at home. Also, devious thinkers know that the popular mayor (a Conservative) may have the influence to make the NDP more of a contender in Toronto against the Liberals than might otherwise be the case in the forthcoming federal election. This may be far from the mayor’s mind on a sunny Monday morning but you may be sure it is on the minds of some people. You bet. The Tory-Mulcair meeting will have a public part when they address the media about 1 p.m.

President Vladimir Putin has appeared in public for the first time since 5 March, quelling intense speculation about his health. He was meeting President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, in St Petersburg. Commenting on the rumours about his health, Mr Putin said “things would be boring without gossip.

Justin Bieber’s attempt to re-make his image into a humble guy who can take a ribbing may have worked — there’s no way of knowing just yet.The cutting remarks of celebrities like Will Ferrell and Snoop Dogg may help Bieber or leave him by the side of  the road.  His plunge into the ditch of bad behaviour a couple of years ago may not be that easy to forget. .The 21-year-old put himself forward for the Comedy Central program in an attempt to revive his image.  Among the most ruthless treatment was Snoop Dogg’s shot at Bieber: ‘You have it all,’ he told the Stratford native,. ‘except love, friends, good parents and a Grammy’. The roast will be seen March 31, 2015 on Fox.

If you are still at home, it seems like a good guess you’re probably not going to the Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade. That gathering is already travelling Bloor Street and will hold things up a bit on Yonge and Queen Streets for a while this afternoon. In the U.S., some Irish communities are celebrating the second year of the Sober St. Patrick’s Day. No translation is required here. At Ahern’s Banquet Hall in Cleveland it will cost but 15 dollars for a grand spread of delectables and entertainment from a show bill headlined by Mary Agnes Kennedy and Patrick Kilroy. Ah yes.