York Region Police have released a dashcam video on Twitter showing an SUV veering into a utility pole and house at Red Maple Road and Bantry Ave. in Richmond Hill on December 8. They say a woman in her 70s apparently had her foot on the gas, not the brake. She was shaken up but otherwise okay. Note the van at left that just drives off as if nothing had happened. See it here.
A proposed development at 276 Merton St. by the Rockport Group has been resubmitted to the City showing fewer floors and a more sculpted design. Designed by Wallman Architects, the building has been reduced from 16 to 13 storeys in height. As reported by Urban Toronto, the original slab tower form stretching the depth of the 25 metre wide site is now revised into a series of shifted step backs in a somewhat pyramidal shape. Zig-zag motifs are used in different elements of the design including the precast framing, balcony placement and specific cladding pieces.
— SBayview (@SBayview) December 17, 2019
This scene was captured by Nest Cam somewhere in Toronto it appears.
A Facebook discussion Tuesday deals with the five-year Bayview Ave. stay of Rowe Farms. The store closed in September 2019 with signs that stated the company was doing renovations. Few seasoned retailers believed that. Now a thread on Leaside Community has been started with a post that asks “what happened?” The very first reply says “Cumbre’s happened to them.” That’s surely true, but some may think it was more like the final blow. The evidence suggests Rowe Farms struggled from almost the very beginning with both high rent and a business model which, while morally elevated, wasn’t sufficiently compelling in a field so competitive.
Cumbrae’s is nothing if not an unabashed butcher
The big Cumbrae’s opened in 2017, three years after Rowe Farms. But as early as 2015 the ethical seafood market Hooked quickly shut down a “partnership” with Rowe Farms at the Bayview location. After the fact, they called it a pop up. The closure caused speculation that Rowe Farms marketing strategy of sustainability and respectable, friendly sourcing, while laudable, was not as compelling as that of other meat and grocery stores. Cumbrae’s is nothing if not an unabashed butcher. Loblaws staff say off-the-record that organic products, for example, are shunned by many people who simply don’t see value in them.
The eclectic Bulldog Video Wheel begins the week with the challenge of keeping track of all those Amazon boxes being plopped down on doorsteps this season. Then, Hallmark has had trouble making up its mind about two same-sex brides kissing in a commercial. Below that, the size of Boris Johnson’s UK election victory is just beginning to hit home. Finally, December 16 begins Beethoven 250. The great German composer and defender of personal freedom was born this day in 1770. Long after Beethoven’s death, the British delighted in poking Hitler in the eye each evening by introducing their daily news to occupied Europe with the rousing Fifth Symphony.
An alert posted by a member of the Yonge and Lawrence Parents Facebook page has been re-posted to Leaside Community. It tells of an approach made to her son near the Woburn Playground at Woburn Ave and Jedburgh Rd. She says the lad was approached by a man and woman in a car. The woman asked him if he would like to get in the car. The boy ran straight home. Quite scary.
Hackers attacked the payment systems of some North American gas station pumps and gained access to customers’ credit card data, according to Visa. The credit card giant has issued multiple warnings to gas station owners over the past month, alerting them that it learned of one successful attack in August and another in September. Visa describes the summer attacks as “significantly more advanced” than skimming, in which unauthorized devices are attached to debit or credit card readers and record information related to all cards subsequently swiped through the reader.
Boeing may cancel 737 Max altogether
Boeing’s stock fell Monday following a report that the company was considering curbing production of the troubled 737 Max. Sources told CNN that a decision about the future of the 737 Max could be announced Monday after the US markets close. The company could either suspend or cancel production.
Sales of electric vehicles in Ontario have plummeted since the Progressive Conservative government cancelled a rebate last year, hampering progress toward a national target. In the first six months of this year, sales in Ontario were down more than 55 percent from the same period in 2018, according to data from Electric Mobility Canada. In the second quarter of this year 2,933 electric vehicles were sold in the province, down from 7,110 in the same period last ye
The City will begin installing photo radar cameras Monday with one being placed on Bessborough Drive in front of Bessborough Elementary and Middle School. A release says general installation of some 50 Automated Speed Enforcement (ASA) cameras will launch a 90-day public education campaign starting this week. The campaign will include issuing warning letters to speeding drivers in lieu of tickets (no response will be required). Warning signage will be installed in each ward to inform drivers as they approach an ASE camera. City release showing all locations.
Toronto Police have made another appeal for tips Monday in their ongoing investigation into the slayings of Barry and Honey Sherman, the billionaire couple found dead in their Toronto mansion in December 2017. Homicide squad chief Insp. Hank Idsinga said his staff has spoken to 240 witnesses and submitted more than 150 items for forensic analysis throughout the course of their probe. The force has also received 205 tips directly from the public related to their investigation into the “targeted double homicide” of Barry and Honey Sherman, Idsinga said.
Agreed by the family that police should get tips directly
Insp. Idsinga indicated that it had been agreed with the family that the homicide squad should be receiving all tips directly from any source. Since early in the case, the family has had private investigators carry out a parallel investigation which has received some 340 tips that were then passed on to police. Idsinga said both police and family urge tipsters to re-submit any such tops. He hinted that there might have been delays caused by this process. He said the probe remains “very active.” Police news conference in full (corrected)
Britain’s Cineworld Group will buy Canada’s Cineplex Inc. for $2.15 billion. The sale will make Cineworld the largest theatre operator in North America. As explained by the Financial Post, movie-theater operators have been combining to squeeze costs so they can afford facility upgrades and counter the risk that on-demand services such as Netflix and many other streaming services will hit attendance. Bigger chains can also have a stronger bargaining position in negotiation with studio giants such as Walt Disney Co., which have also been growing through tie-ups. Cineworld will pay $34 a share for Cineplex, a 42 percent premium to Friday’s closing price. The deal will be funded by US$2.3 billion of loans.
St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Chruch at 1399 Bayview Ave will celebrate Carols with Friends Monday evening (tonight) starting at 7 pm. Sing Christmas carols and songs in the church and afterward enjoy hot cider and Christmas cookies. Donations to the Flemingdon Food Bank appreciated.
