Dollarama on Mt Pleasant south of Eglinton

A Facebook post by a woman with two small children describes a disturbing warning she received from “two security guards” at the Mt Pleasant Dollarama store. They approached and warned her “to keep my children in sight because there was a high risk offender at the store”. It seems shocking but it comes three days after police posted a public warning about a recently released offender. He was said to be living an at unnamed “Toronto Community Residential Facility”.

Christine Elliott

Christine Elliott, deputy premier of Ontario and MPP for Newmarket-Aurora will resign from government at the end of the current electoral term this Spring. She will be 67 by then. She is the widow of former Canadian Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006–2014). Elliott has triplet sons by Flaherty. She calls her children life’s greatest blessing. Elliott was the runner-up in both the 2015 and 2018 PC party leadership races and placed third in the 2009 race.

Half of the 200 top American donors to the Ottawa protest convoy have names matching those of donors to Republicans and former President Donald Trump. At such times it’s good to keep in mind the words of former western Canadian politician Robert Thompson. His timeless remark that the Americans are our best friends whether we like it not has been echoed in Ottawa more than once. Jean Chretien told it to Bill Clinton in front of Parliament. Clinton is said to have laughed.

Seen on Laird Drive, but can he see?

On Laird Drive Thursday/Rob Lushman

Rob Lushman has posted a picture taken Thursday through the back window of a pickup truck which shows the fully obstructed windsdhield of the car behind him. Good grief, people.

Losing money by mixing romance and bitcoin

This man gave $230,000 to a bitcoin scam proposed to him by a woman he was talking to on a dating site. What could go wrong?

Defiant Ukraine president Zelensky and a number of his compatriots are seen in a video released Thursday. What courage they show. Meanwhile, Canada has committed to accepting as many as a million Ukrainian refugees. It’s a decision that echoes the great Ukrainian influx of the early 20th Century when these people helped populate Canada’s largely vacant western lands. Then, there was the telling vote at the UN condemning Russia. Only five voted against it. They were Russia, its stooge appendage Balrus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria. But 34 others abstained. That seems a shameful act too. Among them were China, India and Iran.

The monthly release of year-over-year home prices from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board tells us what homeowners already know. You can’t beat having one. Compelling evidence of this is the cost. The average price of a home in the GTA has leaped from just over a million in February 2021 to more than $1.3 million last month. Full release

MacLennan Ave footbridge

The friendly, bearded homeless man known to residents of Moore Park and North Rosedale as Brian has suffered a stroke, according to a post (above) in the Google neighbourhood app. This apparently occurred in recent days and Brian’s familiar cart and other belongings have been removed from Summerhill Ave where they were a common sight tucked under the MacLennan Ave footbridge. It’s said that friends are looking after his things. There is also a long thread at Leaside Community

Coils of steeled roll off back of tractor-trailer at QEW and Nikola Tesla Blvd

Several coils of steel have rolled off the back of a tractor-trailer onto the QEW at Nikola Tesla Blvd in Hamilton. Happily, no one was hurt. But many replies to the OPP post are denouncing the way the heavy coils were apparently just slung onto the back of the truck with a chain run through them.

Three notable business stories are unfolding Wednesday. The Bank of Canada has finally started what is expected to be a steady climb in its key rate. Today it was bumped to 0.5 percent. Elsewhere, WestJet is reportedly about to wrap up a deal to buy Sunwing. And for those wondering how much they lost so far today, well, the Toronto and New York markets turned up for a change.

Police issued a plea to lawyers and brokers in the private mortgage business after another mortgage ripoff has been revealed. In this case, a man named Yuansen Fu, 23, is alleged to have gotten away with $10 million dollars in money from fraudulent mortgages. In December, another young man made off with $5 million in a similar scam. Essentially, the perps are claiming to own homes which they don’t. No one is bothering to check their stories, it seems and no doubt there are coppers who would be glad to scold those who are supposed to verify this stuff. Instead, the TPS have issued a fairly mild plea. You can read between the lines.

Investigators are advising the public, especially those in the mortgage and legal professions, to scrutinize all identification and be vigilant in confirming the identities of individuals in real estate transactions.

Here are the two young men being sought in this regard.

Yuansen Fu

Unknown man wanted for mortgage fraud in December

Two phase remaking of Overlea east of Thoirncliffe (east)

Planning is underway to remake the east end of Overlea Blvd from the easterly corner of Thorncliffe Park Drive where the Salvation Army store is located, out to Don Mills Rd. A program of consultation is underway as outlined in the City video below, released recently. At the City of Toronto Facebook page, there is quite a lot of cynicism that the change is all about installing bike lanes.

Louise and Emily Hunter

LUC Variety Show

Meraki wins Bronze

Sticky toffee pudding

Please wear trousers

Here we are again with a summary of area events beginning (upper left) as proud dad Jason Hunter tweets the success of his girls Louise and Emily wearing the red, white and black of the Leaside Wildcats. Way to go, ladies. Upper right is a reminder of Leaside United Church’s 30th annual variety show. Get in there. Center-left we see the Leaside Skating Club’s synchronized skating team Meraki. They won Bronze at the National Canadian Synchronized Skating Championships this week. Congratulations. At the bottom left is Danielle Loncar’s sticky toffee pudding. Yikes, we want some. Finally, at bottom right, the gags continue at McSorely’s where as most regulars know, you still have to wear your pants to gain entry. Har!