If you can get comfortable talking about this kiester….

Here is a summary of weekend events and road closures:

Toronto Raptors tailgate and viewing party
Bremner Boulevard from Lake Shore Boulevard West to the east side of the parking garage at 25 York St. will be closed on Saturday, April 27 from 7 a.m. to midnight.

A map of these closures is available at http://bit.ly/MLSEPlayoffs2019.

Boat launch event
Stadium Road from Little Norway Crescent to the foot of Stadium Road on the downtown waterfront will be closed from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28.

A map of this closure is available at http://bit.ly/BoatLaunch2019.

Khalsa Day downtown celebration
The east and west curb lanes of University Avenue from Dundas Street West to Queen Street West will be closed to traffic on Sunday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate the annual Khalsa Day celebration.

A map of the restrictions is available at http://bit.ly/KhalsaDayTO2019

Additional information about this event, including a parade travelling from the CNE grounds to City Hall, is available at https://osgc.ca/khalsa-day-downtown-toronto/.

Bum Run
Queen’s Park Crescent East and Queen’s Park Crescent West will be fully closed between College Street and Bloor Street West on Sunday, April 28 from 7 to 10:30 a.m.

Additional lane restrictions will be in effect from 8 to 10 a.m. in the area around Queen’s Park, bordering College Street to the south, Spadina Avenue to the west, Bloor Street West to the north and Bay Street to the east.

A map of these restrictions is available at http://bit.ly/BumRun2019.

Additional information about this event is available at https://raceroster.com/events/2019/20034/bumrun-2019.

Cadillac Fairview 5K Run/Walk
The following road closures and restrictions will be in place on Sunday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to noon to accommodate this event:
• The eastbound curb lane on Lawrence Avenue East between Karl Fraser Road and Leslie Street will be closed.
• The Donway West will be closed at Lawrence Avenue East and no through traffic will be permitted.

A map of these closures is available at http://bit.ly/CF5K_2019.

Lenin Moreno

Zahran Hashim

John William King

That’s Lenin Moreno, president of Ecuador at left. His final good riddance to Julian Assange includes a revelation that Assange smeared feces all over the bathrooms of the London Embassy. It was Ben Franklin who said that guests were like fish. After three days, they begin to stink. Assange was inside the embassy for seven years. Peeyew. At centre is a man called Zahran Hashim. The BBC says he was the ringleader of the despicable Easter Day slaughter of Christians there and sets out to find him. Finally, at right, hatred of another kind in the face of John William King. In 1998 he and two other men dragged a black man, James Byrd Jr., to his death in Jasper, Texas. Thursday Byrd’s relatives watched as the state executed King.

A day-long standoff on Greentree Court northwest of Eglinton Ave. and Keele St. has ended peacefully.

AMBER ALERT CANCELLED

Peel Police have cancelled an Amber Alert Thursday related to a mother who did not return her son to the father’s home Wednesday afternoon. The woman and her son were found safe about 7 p.m. near Chatham-Kent.

For love of cat or something

Fear for future of humanity?

Adrian Ghobrial of City News found his way to a condo in Liberty Village where this risky cat retrieval played out. The person taking the video is amused and stunned all at once. “No, no,” he says as the sky-dweller climbs the railing. Life in the City.

Navindra Sookramsingh

2003-2007 Toyota Corolla

Peel Police have staged an unusual appeal to the public by bringing a bed-ridden and badly injured accident victim to headquarters for a news conference. The victim, Navindra Sookramsingh, 21, was struck in an unusual early-morning hit-and-run occurrence March 17 on West Dr near Clark Dr. He had fallen to the roadway pavement about 4 a.m. because he was ill, the authorities say. He was nearly struck by one vehicle and was trying to stand when he was struck by another. It kept on going. In a whispered appeal from his bed Mr. Sookramsingh said that he has forgiven the driver who fled but wants he or she to take responsibility for what was done. “I can’t move my hands, I can’t talk and I can’t enjoy a life where as a man I feel less than everyone else,” he is quoted as saying. “Do you know what that feels like? I am not mad at you for hitting me because people do have accidents and I don’t want to see you get into any trouble. I just want you to be responsible for what you did to me, for the changes you made to my life. It is going to be changed forever.” The vehicle that struck Sookramsingh was a 2003 to 2007 Toyota Corolla. Video

Hit the bake table

Locally, St. Cuthbert’s Spring Fair is on Saturday at the old church at Bayview Ave. and St. Cuthbert’s Drive. It’s always fun and the bake table is the first stop.

Lancebotics off to Louisville/LHS

Toxic Beauty/Phyllis Ellis inset

Above we see the Leaside High gang ready to take a low-tech bus trip to Louisville and the high-tech challenge of the Vox Robotics World Championships (for robot builders). Good luck to the LHS Lancebotics and thanks to Mrs. (Helen) Panayiotou for posting. She’s the science curriculum leader at LHS. At right is a reminder to watch Toxic Beauty, a film by Leaside director Phyllis Ellis. It will be aired at HocDocs 2019.opener.

Then some Friday night fun at The Wally at 302 O’Connor Dr (at Donlands) and/or the Black Sheep Comedy lineup at Brunswick Bierworks at 24 Curity Ave.

Innstead Co-operative Housing Inc. has cancelled a six-storey mixed-use building which would have had 33 affordable housing units, one retail unit at ground level, office space on the sixth floor, and nine surface parking spots at 355-363 Coxwell Ave.

An affordable housing project has been cancelled in Leslieville because, it is said, costs doubled to something like $21 million in three years. This interesting story at Toronto.com does not specify if the increase occurred through actual price increases or a failure to plan. The project was the well-intentioned idea of Innstead Co-operative Housing Inc., a 52-property co-op based in Leslieville. The development became unsustainable when construction costs nearly doubled to $21 million in three years. Despite efforts to find a solution, the co-op was unable to come up with a plan to make ends meet and decided to halt the project.

In stores by May

The Los Angeles firm Beyond Meat Inc. has announced that its celebrated fake beef burgers that bleed like the real thing will soon be sold in Canadian supermarkets. The company also makes meatless sausages, crumbles and other products. Beyond Meat says it will sell its products at Co-op, Fresh Street Market, IGA, Loblaw, Longos, Metro, Save On Foods, Sobeys (including Freshco and Price Chopper) and Whole Foods Market stores by May. The burgers will be available in stores at the end of May, and will retail for around $7.50 per package. The Beyond Meat burgers have received apparent universal applause following their introduction at A&W restaurants last year.

• Beyond Meat announces launch of IPO

The Global News video below describes some of the ways Beyond Meat imitates the flavour and visual impact of burgers. Beet juice makes them bleed, for example. The report also offers advice on overdoing veganism, if that’s your thing. It suggests real meat is necessary for a balanced diet.

Joe (King) Krol

Won six Grey Cups, five with the Toronto Argonauts

Leaside film maker Anthony Reagan has released a new production on YouTube on behalf of the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame. The late Tom Irwin speaks of meeting LSHOF inductee and national football legend Joe Krol when he was a boy. It’s an informative and touching insight into Krol’s decent character. Pictures from the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame night.

A number of roads in and near Bracebridge are flooded and washed out and those who live near low-lying areas are being advised to take precautionary measures as water levels continue rise. Adding to the crisis mood, firefighters were required deal with a fire that destroyed a summer home and several cars on Weismuller Rd. Below, the Muskoka River is roaring with the record runoff from 2019 snow.

Victim trapped upstairs by fire/@aghosttomost Twitter

Tony Fera/@tonyfera1

Tony Fera/@tonyfera1

A person has died in a house fire on Roncesvalles Ave between Marion St. and Pearson Ave. Tuesday night. The Toronto fire service responded about 10.30 to the call. It appears that the victim was trapped upstairs by the fire. The fire marshal will investigate.

PEI election Tuesday

The Prince Edward Island Conservative Party will form a minority government in the Confederation province after taking 12 seats in the 26 seat Legislature. Dennis King is Premier-elect. The Green Party will form the Opposition with nine seats. The Liberals, which had formed the government until Tuesday, won five seats. The Greens had led in opinion polls since August credited largely to their dynamic leader Peter Bevin-Baker, a Scottish born dentist.