Toronto begins a pothole blitz this weekend following a number of freeze-thaw cycles of recent days. It will be warm through Saturday and a lovely 9 degrees Sunday. Sparrows, Jays, Cardinals and other winter birds were heard in many parts of tree-covered Midtown at dawn Friday. Like the potholes, it is a sign of Spring. According to a news release, the blitz will be the first of several that will be staged between now and April. The City has filled about 13,000 potholes so far in 2019 but that number is expected to rise significantly in the coming days and weeks. Shauna Hunt (below) found a place where the pothole gremlins are storing wheel covers

The Auditor General has found that there is substantial fare evasion in the use of TTC subways, streetcars and buses. The matter is serious but the finding seems hardly surprising. Boarding a streetcar in 2019 is done largely on an honour basis. Masses of riders enter at all-door stops with no attempt or method of keeping track. A poll in 2016 indicated that as many as 21 percent of riders will evade paying if they can. Streetcar fare collection laughable shambles costing millions

PARKING TICKET REVENUE SLIDES

And parking ticket revenue continued to slide for the second year in a row in 2018. Parking officers issued about 100,000 fewer parking tickets in 2018 to total a decline of 222,000 since 2016. The Police Services board attributes this to a staff shortage. It says the Parking Enforcement Unit was “understaffed for the entire year” in 2018. There is no mention of the Green P app, an easy way for drivers to avoid tickets by topping up their time remotely. Many predicted that the arrival of the app would enable drivers to better avoid tickets received because time had run out.

Sneaker busts opens as heavy but nimble hoopster makes quick stop

Nike shares fell Thursday as athletes, coaches and the world at large began to ponder the “explosion” of a Nike sneaker worn by Zion Williamson during play Tuesday.

Kathy MIlsom

Kevin Marshman

Greg Spearns

Toronto Community Housing (TCH) CEO Kathy Milsom has been removed from her post over a contract with management consulting company Orchango. “Having carefully considered all of the available evidence, the board has concluded that … Milsom’s conduct throughout this process did not meet the high standard that we set for ourselves,” the TCH board said in a statement released Thursday. The statement however avoids specifics, saying only that the conduct in question related to a so-called Request for Proposal which “did not comply with the procedures and protocols expected of a public procurement process and failing to fully cooperate with the investigation that has led to this independent report.” The statement said TCH vice-president Sheila Penny will continue as acting CEO until April 3, when current board chair Kevin Marshman will take over as CEO. Milsom served as TCH CEO for barely 18 months before her suspension in December. She was hired to replace Greg Sprearn who is said to have abruptly resigned the post in 2017.

Wendy Shon Seung-wan

Coca Cola Coliseum

Red Velvet

The K-pop singing group known as Red Velvet filled the Coca Cola Coliseum this week and fans heard member Wendy Shon Seung-wan, a former resident of Brockville and Richmond Hill, offer a heartfelt and teary thank you to fans. Red Velvet is a highly internationalized group, as are many Korean bands and singing groups. Ms Shon Seung-wan has an interesting history in Canada and there were posts to social media Thursday that a street should be named after her. She is 25 this very day, having been born in the Republic of Korea on February 21, 1994.

A member at Leaside Community says she has the plate number of a car that snapped off the side-view mirror of a parked car on Hanna Rd. Wednesday. She says the driver came back to the scene but then left without leaving a note. Yours To  Discover.

Little Dollhouse gallery/Facebook

The Little Dollhouse Company has made its move to 862 Millwood Rd. and local dollhouse fan Michele Petick has posted a gallery of photos to celebrate. You read it here first in December that owners Marie and John Fowler had purchased the building and were getting ready to move. The Little Dollhouse Company has previously been on Mt. Pleasant Rd. since 1975. Welcome.

Drivers should be alert to the large sinkhole that has formed on Jarvis St. at Wellesley St. overnight. Two southbound lanes of Wellesley Street were affected and may remain closed for a few hours.

Jarvis and Wellesley/City News

The City’s electrical safety agency has ordered an immediate 48-hour inspection of power, heat and water facilities at the 240 Wellesley St. high-rise managed by Wellesley-Parliament Square Ltd. It is a woeful winter for tenants and yet another insight into maintenance standards for low-income rental buildings.

Florida somewhat the same shape at Line 1 (mediaincanada.com)

Uh, 19? (mediaincanada.com)

Florida down here (mediaincanada.com)

In the midst of a dreary Canadian winter, there’s nothing quite like getting on a bright pink, Florida-themed subway train. TTC passengers were able to board flamingo-pink subway cars and disembarked at subway stations decked out in Florida-style colours and City insignia earlier this month. The agency targeted stations that corresponded with Florida cities in similar geographic areas. For example, Yorkdale, which sits at the Yonge-University-Spadina line’s northwest corner, was reimagined as the Florida city of Pensacola. Union Station, the southern tip of the line, became Florida Keys, which is Florida’s southernmost point. The activation was led by Tampa-based agency Spark, which conceived the idea largely because the Yonge-University-Spadina line is shaped somewhat like the state of Florida — Media in Canada

There are 14 million people in Ontario, a province with a provincial debt of some $350 billion. These simple facts seem to cut straight to the heart of what ails Service Ontario. From disappearing walk-in locations to a cranky online system that doesn’t recognize valid driver information to 15-week waits for a birth certificate, Service Ontario is groaning under the load of essential demands from Ontarians. Most recently, CTV tells of parents waiting as long as 15 weeks to obtain a simple birth certificate. Drivers trying to avoid 45-minutes in line for a license renewal are unable to process valid data online. The data is recognized as perfectly correct by a human agent. The really upsetting part of this sad state of things is that Ontario’s crushing debt makes it seem likely that long lines, long waits and wasted time is the future at Service Ontario. CTV