Toronto Police have received their newest recruit to the mounted unit today from the Toronto Blue Jays. The handsome eight-year-old thoroughbred-Clydesdale cross has been in training with the unit for the last year, Blue Jay was presented to Chief Blair outside the Rogers Centre by Paul Beeston, CEO of the Blue Jays. Blue Jay was picked out by Constable Harold Williamson, who is a senior trainer with the mounted unit. Mr. Beeston thanked the chief for his service and said Blue Jay would now be a part of the service and was donated in appreciation of the work the police does. In accepting the horse the chief thanked the Blue Jays not only for their gift but also for their partnership over the years with the Toronto Police Service along with providing great entertainment to the people of Toronto. Chief Blair added that Blue Jay would be a valuable part of the unit and would be important in crowd control near the Rogers Centre. 

The little convenience store that became a landmark at the corner of Roxborough Street and Avenue Rd. has been demolished. The store was closed a few months ago and although it was well known for its prominent location it isn’t clear whether it was much of a business. 

Mid-morning reports on the efforts to get City Hall re-lighted suggest the job is going slower than hoped. Cam Woolley on CP24 guessed that hard-pressed Hydro crews might miss the noon-time resolution mentioned overnight. It will, apparently require five mobile generators which are not yet connected, said Woolley. Four generators are said to be on scene with another coming from Quebec. CP24  At her Twitter account Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27) described the shock of the frightening explosions and blackout. Proof that partisan gibberish is never too far away on Twitter is a Tweet asking if the Councillor will be blaming this incident on Ford Nation. Oh well. Twitter 

David Chen, owner of the Spadina Chinatown Lucky Moose grocery store has come out publicly for John Tory for mayor. The media has made much of the support given to Chen by then Trinity Spadina MP Olivia Chow when he faced charges of manhandling a shoplifter. But many people gave Chen support. Stephen Harper aced out the  NDP by wining and dining the humble grocer in Ottawa and then writing legislation that gave small store owners more leeway to crack down on pilferers. Today, the Lucky Moose man endorsed Tory after a meeting of the Spadina BIA, an organization strongly influenced by downtown Chinese businessmen. They are four square in support of Tory. CP24