Mike Layton (Ward 11) will file a motion during Council budget debate Thursday to re-establish the $60 tax on cars registered in Toronto. The tax was abolished under the Rob Ford administration in 2010. Mr. Layton’s ward conforms to the federal constituency of University Rosedale, an odd-shaped area stretching on the northeast from the corner of Welland and Moore Aves. and extending all the way to Ossington Ave.

MOORE PARK, GOVERNOR’S BRIDGE, NORTH ROSEDALE

Locally, it includes Moore Park, Governor’s Bridge and north Rosedale down to Rosedale Valley Rd. The CBC says Mr. Layton sent a letter to constituents Wednesday with news of his plan but it does not seem to have reached the farthest corner of South Bayview so far. Council is struggling with the 2019 budget and is coming up short. The battle has centred on raising taxes beyond an increase of 2.55 perecent. “If Councillors are so unwilling to raise property taxes, it leaves us with no other choice,” said the Ward 11 Councillor. Also CP24

• Here’s how much more you could pay in property taxes in 2019 — and where that money might go

Watermain break at Steeles and Woodbine

Tweets from Mark Douglas of 680 News say the water has been turned off at Steeles and Woodbine Aves. at the site of a watermain break. It is now a slippery mess. Drivers may finds some lanes closed.

Inaccessible

No, no, no

Tickets tucked into many garbage bins across Midtown this week inform taxpayers that the refuse is in the wrong place and therefore might not be eligible for pick up. The list of possible concerns from the City names 16 things that will disqualify a homeowner from pickup. The last is Other. But it was the snow that troubled collectors on current runs. Bins had been placed on top of the icy-hard banks of snow that crowd residential streets this winter. The City doesn’t want your bin out in the street or blocking pedestrians, of course. It suggests helpfully that you clear a nice space for all bins in the rock hard dikes between you and the garbage truck. Thanks so much for the advice.

Ron Taverner has withdrawn from consideration to be the next commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police. He did so in a statement released Wednesday citing his desire to protect the integrity of front-line officers. Taverner, 72, is a long-time Toronto police superintendent and personal friend of Premier Ford. “This decision is not an easy one for me to make,” Taverner said. “I believe the OPP requires new leadership and a change in culture at its most senior levels. The thousands of men and women who make up the front lines of the OPP deserve leadership that will put their concerns and well-being at the forefront of decision-making.” The announced appointment of Taverner to the OPP post was met with bitter opposition from Deputy OPP Commissioner Brad Blair who was fired from his position this week.

• OPP deputy fired in open-warfare with Ford over Taverner
• Taverner asks delay so his nod to OPP boss can be reviewed
• Picture of unknown origin spreading among Ford critics

The five big banks have endorsed a return-to-work program for qualified women who left financial careers to have a family. It is a program called Return to Bay Street created by Women In Capital Markets (WCM) a large gender diversity non-profit organization. The returnship program brings experienced women back to the senior roles from which they left, rather than them having to work their way up the ladder again. The 2019 program gives candidates the option of choosing between the Asset Management Stream (Buy Side) or the Dealer Stream (Sell Side) Applications are due on March 25, 2019. Learn more here.

Al Moritz

Brie Larson

Marie Henein

It’s not entirely clear to The Bulldog why the City of Toronto has a poet laureate, but it does. The latest incarnation of this public office was named today. He is Al Moritz (left) the Blake C. Goldring Professor of the Arts and Society at the University of Toronto. At centre is Brie Larson. Her portrayal of the first distaff Captain Marvel is in theatres Friday. Shazam Ma’am. And at right is Toronto criminal law practitioner Marie Henein. Wednesday she told an Ottawa court that she will subpoena Gerald Butts and anyone else she can think of if the PMO doesn’t pony up documents she wants to help defend her client, Vice Admiral Mark Norman.

The annual general meeting of the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association (SERRA) will be held Tuesday, April 30 at Greenwood College School, Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Davisville Ave. starting at 6 p.m.  Councillors Josh Matlow (Ward 12) and Jaye Robinson (Ward 15) will speak. .

Doug Putnam, head of Sunrise Records, has assumed a huge business burden by taking over the bankrupt HMV retail giant both here in Canada and the UK. How will he keep record sales alive in the age of digital music? This CBC report has limited reference to this question, namely “more music-related merchandise, vinyl showcased at the front of the store, wider selection.” This may refer to the toys which were the foundation of Sunrise stores in Canada, a business founded by Putnam’s mom and dad in Hamilton. Hamilton vinyl holdout Sunrise Records does HMV rescue

The overall winner of the Great Canadian Bonspiel held last Saturday at Leaside Curling Club was Team Harling from Leaside (skip Rob Harling, vice Ted Hellyer, second Don Dawson and lead Floyd Dempster). Well done guys. Paivi Liitela, general manager of the curling club, also reports that the barbecued pork dinner was amazing. No doubt. The large fully-dressed pig was cooked on the barbecue just outside the club’s front door on Millwood Rd. Great Canadian Bonspiel, barbecue at Leaside Curling Club

Done to a turn/Paivi Liitela

I’ll have a bit more/Piavi Liitela

An HIV patient in London has been found clear of the disease for more than 18 months after receiving a stem cell transplant which has a natural immunity to the virus. It is a tantalizing glimpse of what may be possible if and when physicians are able to artificially edit genes to universally shut down HIV infection. The report at the right from Fox News hears from a TV doctor about this possibility.

Two boys riding with three adults after midnight on Lake Muskoka have died when three snowmobiles plunged into the water at Lighthouse Narrows near Gravenhurst, OPP report. The accident occurred early Monday. OPP Central in Orillia name the boys as Alexander Martin, 15, of Gravenhurst and Mitchell Paris, 12, of Bracebridge. Police did not provide details on the relationship between the boys or the status of the other three people involved in the accident.

Snowmobiles went through the thin ice at lighthouse narrows on #LakeMuskoka #Gravenhurst resulting in 2 fatalities. Please remember #NoIceIsSafeIce #RideSafe ^jf pic.twitter.com/YGjHLRO4Rh

— OPP Central Region (@OPP_CR) March 4, 2019