The Ontario government says it will upgrade the curriculum for all levels of school with an increased emphasis on science. The acronym STEM (meaning science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is often used to describe this field. And yes kids, it may require some work but that’s what smart people do.

Chief Ramer getting ready for a cold dip

Toronto Police Chief Jim Ramer will take the Polar Plunge in aid of Special Olympics athletes later this month. The annual fundraising ends March 21 after which Ramer (who must be a heck of a good sport) will be dumped into icy water by Wendel Clark

City property near Leaside Spur Trail to become paramedics hub

Eight sites to be developed

Eight large properties downtown and in North York are going to be “unlocked” in the words of the City and redeveloped in various ways. Among the most mentioned is the former bus terminal at 611 Bay St but locally there’s the large property at 18 Dyas Road just east of the Leaside Spur Trail. Plans are to make it the new Paramedics Multi-Function Station Hub.

Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General Philip Breedlove, says Putin miscalculated the determination and toughness of Ukrainians when he invaded that country. Below, an explanation of how NATO supplies are being delivered to the Ukraine army.

Below, a remarkable video from inside Ukraine. President Zelensky is seen saying again that he will not leave Kyiv. Also, interviews with Quebec men who are former Canadian army members now hoping to fight in Ukraine.

Vehicle theft goes on almost nightly in Midtown. A 2021 white Grand Jeep Cherokee was stolen early Monday from Randolph Road just north of Hanna Road. Many readers are commenting.

Drugstore robber surrenders/DRP

Durham Regional Police have released video from their helicopter as it guided ground cops in the chase of three teen boys after the robbery of an IDA drugstore on Bond St in Oshawa. The audio is very distorted but the video shows an exciting chase with one culprit tackled and another throwing his hands up in surrender.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6owxTv4RE2o

Highest octane priced at 216.9

The invasion of Ukraine is forcing already high gasoline prices even higher. The cost per litre is now well over $2 a litre in Vancouver. The helpful monitor of local gas prices from 680 News is here. It shows the price in Toronto steady at 184.9 after leaping ten cents last Friday.

Toronto Police will be busy in Lawrence Park, Mt Pleasant, Leaside and Thorncliffe Park among other areas Monday on what is known as #VZET Enforcement focused on #VisionZeroTO. They will be concentrating on the Big Four of bad driving (see Tweet). Officer Scott Baptist explains it on Tik Tok.

Covering up the tailights

Hello there

These captures are said to show a man working (so to speak) on a truck in a driveway at Rykert Cres and Broadway Ave about 1.20 a.m. Saturday morning. For reasons unknown, he left the job unfinished. FB

Thousands gather at 60 St. Clair West, location of the Russian consulate-general/Camille Beaubien Twitter

At the rally/Gary Bakuniac Twitter

A crowd of Torontonians estimated to number as many as 10,000 rallied for the freedom of Ukraine Sunday outside the Russian consulate-general at 60 St. Clair Ave West. The #StandWithUkraine rally was organized by the Toronto branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and began at 2 p.m. Demonstrators held the Ukrainian flag and signs condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions. In a tweet Sunday afternoon, Toronto police said St. Clair Avenue from Yonge Street to Avoca Avenue was closed due to a “large crowd” blocking traffic in the area. Twitter

Construction deck moved by the wind/Carla Bosaski Twitter

High winds were causing stuff to fly around and at Portland and Adelaide Sts the road was closed briefly when a construction platform looked like it was ready to fall. Yonge St was closed between Asquith and Yorkville because of blowing construction materials. And a rolled truck has caused a temporary closure of the Burlington Skyway. The picture below is courtesy of the OPP. They have also tweeted a bad single-car accident on the 403 (posted below) which may or may not be wind-related. Fingers crossed as we see the Toronto Hydro Outage Map is quite clear approaching 3 p.m. Winds appeared to subside in Midtown about the same time.

It will be sunny and warm Sunday with high winds that may cause power outages, according to forecasters. The coming week will see consistent temperatures slightly above freezing.

A parliamentary committee says a proposed takeover of Shaw Communications by Rogers Communications should be rejected by the CRTC. In a report tabled Friday the report, which is not binding on the CRTC, says the regulator should think first about what it calls the affordability and accessibility interests of Canadians. It cited Freedom Mobile, Shaw’s wireless carrier, as a critical fourth wireless provider that competes with the Big Three of Rogers, Bell and Telus. The report came a day after Ottawa pledged to block the wholesale transfer of Shaw’s wireless licenses to Rogers as part of the deal. The deal is under review by three different federal regulators including the Competition Bureau and the CRTC as well as spectrum regulator Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). BNN

There are fears that the courageous Ukrainian resistance to Russian forces may soon be crushed as fighting rages across the country. A ceasefire to permit civilians to escape is said to have been ended by Russia. Prime Minister Trudeau will be meeting with European leaders Sunday as many Ukrainians continue to call for NATO air support. President Zelensky spoke with President Biden for 32 minutes Saturday night but the content of that talk has not been revealed.

Canada can sell gas to Europe — why doesn’t it?

Why doesn’t Canada sell its oil and gas to Europe? It would knock the stuffing out of Putin’s most profitable source of income. But yes, we have to come to grips with the way we keep cancelling pipeline projects.

Fins, Swedes look to their security

The President of Finland has made an emergency visit to Washington. His country shares an 800-mile long border with Russia. The Fins and fellow Scandanavians in Sweden are on edge, to say the least.