Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Bike lanes on Yonge

Goodbye Pagnello

Two-garage home on Bessborough

Touch Football

It’s that remarkable Irish-related day that makes the Scots wonder why the world doesn’t want to join the parade on St. Andrew’s Day. Seriously, best wishes and good luck to all on St. Patrick’s Day. Then, at the upper right, the distinct slowdown in traffic on Yonge St since the beginning of the Davisville bike lane trial is causing a lot of people to plead for its end. Below that, an era has passed and a bit of lovely glamour has gone from Bayview Ave with the closure of Pagnello’s Antiques. Lower right, a reminder from First Touch Football with teams all across the City about its Spring Showdown. Great fun for boys and girls. Lastly, a good-looking two-car garage house going up on Bessborough Drive. There are lots of new homes in Leaside but not too many with two garages.

Vladimir Putin has delivered a nasty and threatening attack on Russians who dare to say that his war on a democratic neighbour is wrong. Among the many Putin epithets for dissenters were “bastards” and “scum”. He vowed a “cleansing” of the country to eliminate such dissent. This as US and UK intelligence insists that the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine has stalled.

The federal and provincial governments will pump some $260 million into an update of the Ontario Alliston Honda plant to help it pivot to produce hybrid-electric vehicles. Honda Canada will spend around $1.4 billion to upgrade and retool the plant, including a grant of $131.6 million from the provincial government. It’s the second-largest car manufacturer in Canada and it produces the Honda Civic and the CR-V, with the capacity to complete more than 400,000 vehicles per year and 190,000 engines. The Alliston plant employs some 4,200 people. There are no German cars manufactured in Ontario, incidentally.

Leaside Heritage Preservation Society gets its own beer

LHPS beer

Ann Brown writes to announce an important gathering Sunday, April 10 at which Amsterdam Brewery will inaugurate a beer named for the Leaside Heritage Preservation Society. And everyone is invited to the Amsterdam Brewery at 45 Esander Drive from 2 to 4 p.m. to help celebrate the official launch of this unique “Heritage” beer. They’ll share stories of growing up and living in one of Canada’s most attractive and historic communities and enjoy free entertainment, trivia. nostalgia contests and complimentary appetizers. Take home an LHPS six-pack for your family or friends for each $20 donation you make to the society.

Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children says it is expecting to receive as many as five young cancer patients from Ukraine within the next few days. They may arrive as soon as Thursday. Meanwhile, the courageous leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia say they will visit the besieged Ukrainian capital of Kyiv Tuesday.

Reporter denounces war on Russian TV

And here’s the bravest journalist in Russia. Marina Ovsyannikova stormed onto a live broadcast to call out the Kremlin’s version of the war. She cried “stop the war. No to war”. She also made a pre-recorded video statement below.

Wildcats Under18BB (Gross) gold medal winners

The happy memories of the 2022 Wildcats March Madness Hockey Tournament will no doubt last a lifetime for these girls of the Wildcats Under18BB team. They won gold in a thrilling shootout. Their coach is Steve Gross. Below we see them again with helmets, equipment and those essential coaches as well.

Wildcats Under18BB (Gross)

Down below another great gang. They’re the silver medal-winning Wildcats Under15A team.

The rescheduled examinations will be held in-person in Toronto. (Photo: Rodnae Productions/Pexels)

The Law Society of Ontario says bar exams that were cancelled this month have been rescheduled for April. And now instead of writing them online, young would-be lawyers will have to sit in a class with an invigilator watching them. Barrister and solicitor exams were cancelled on March 5 immediately before they were set to begin because it was suspected that some candidates had peeked at test answers ahead of time. Law society CEO Diana Miles says holding tests in person is the most effective solution to ensure confidence in the exam process and meet the needs of candidates. An external investigation into the exam situation is ongoing.

Loren Gabel and friends

Multi-gold medal winner Marie-Philip Poulin

Hey, Natalie Spooner and pals

The Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey March Break Madness Tournament roared back to life this past weekend. The much-loved tradition saw 400 games played from Friday to Sunday at more than a dozen local arenas. An astonishing 167 teams comprised of 3,000 kids participated. Wildcat girls won medals in over a half dozen categories, including U18BB. As always, Olympic women’s hockey stars made an appearance. The photos show Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association stars Loren Gabel, Natalie Spooner and Marie-Philip Poulin with some admiring new friends. Learn about the Wildcats

Drivers who dutifully actually paid to keep their licence plate stickers up to date during the pandemic may expect a refund in the mail now that the gov=erment has eliminated the stickers. As posted by Service Ontario this week:

If you paid renewal fees for your licence plate sticker for an individually owned passenger vehicle, light-duty truck, motorcycle or moped for the period of March 1, 2020 to March 12, 2022, the address on your driver’s licence is correct and you do not owe defaulted fees, fines or tolls, you will receive a refund cheque in the mail starting at the end of March and throughout the month of April. If you update your address or pay defaulted fines, fees or tolls after March 7, your refund cheque may arrive in the summer or fall.

A truck loaded with fish overturned on the 404 southbound ramp to eastbound 401 Sunday afternoon causing a shutdown of traffic for several hours. The driver received minor injuries. The highway has now reopened.

Fish dumped onto road/OPP

Icy sidewalks/CBC

Monday morning will herald more pleasant use of City streets and sidewalks as a sustained stretch of warmer weather begins. Bring it on.