Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer ordered Tony Clement to leave the Conservative caucus late Wednesday as the second shoe dropped in the sexting debacle that saw the long-time MP send explicit pictures (whatever that means) to an unknown person online who just happened to be an extortionist. Scheer said Wednesday new evidence had come to light to suggest this incident was not isolated — and that Clement is alleged to have engaged in similar behaviour in the past. Earlier in the day the PC leader said that Clement was still a member of his caucus, despite the embarrassment he brought on himself and the party. But by mid-afternoon, shortly before question period, new developments had made Scheer’s previous position untenable. “I took him at his word that this was an isolated incident. Since then, there have been numerous reports of other incidents, allegations, so in that respect I’ve asked Tony to resign from caucus so that he can respond to these allegations,” Scheer said.

Posts to Leaside Chit Chat tell of an incident of so-called keying of parked cars last Saturday night.  It appears the vandalism was done to cars parked on Forman Ave near Manor Road United Church. Residents are inquiring among themselves if anyone has video from Saturday and early Sunday.

Dave Martin with one of his two daughters

New Standard

Promotional leaf bags

A Leaside man, Dave Martin, has created a new lower alcohol beer to fit a “parents lifestyle.”  His company is called New Standard and one of its promotional moves is the distribution of 6,000 New Standard leaf bags to homes in Leaside, Davisville and the Yonge and Eglinton area. As to the beer, it is described by Mr. Martin as being made with premium malts that produce brew that is golden in colour with a pleasant floral aroma. malty body and balanced smooth finish. Sounds nice. The pay-off for those to who get up in the morning is the 3.2% alcohol content. New Standard says: “Our focus is on ‘grown-ups’, parents, adults – people who want the reward of socializing and some drinks, but still have real-life responsibilities – jobs, kids, house-work.” New Standard can be ordered at the Leaside Pub, Originals and on a rotating basis at The Local and at the Leaside Curling Club. Martin says a full launch in December will see New Standard in LCBO and grocery stores.

Kraft Heinz Co has agreed to sell its Canadian natural cheese business to the dairy food company, Parmalat SpA, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Belgian food giant Lactalis. The price is said to be $1.62 billion US. Kraft Cheese has been a household name for a century and is currently known by names such as Cracker Barrel, P’tit Quebec and Amooza. The business generated about $560 million in net sales in 2017. The deal appears to be a result of new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) under which Canada partially opened its protected domestic market to the US. According to  Thomson-Reuters, Parmalat says the transaction followed a competitive bidding process. James L. Kraft began the business selling cheese from the back of a wagon in Chicago, Illinois. In 1914 the company started making its own cheese

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Tony Clement had a terrible lapse of judgment when he sent explicit photos to someone he did not know online. The PC leader said there is a code of conduct in place for his MPs but that he doesn’t think anyone should need a code to know not to send such photos this way. Scheer said he is taking Clement at his word that he sent the photos to someone he thought had consented but said the behaviour is still extremely upsetting and unbecoming. Clement sent out a statement Tuesday evening saying the recipient attempted to extort him, threatening to release the photos if he didn’t pay a large sum of money in Euros. Such an act on the part of an MP is astonishing and would seem to end Mr. Clement’s capacity to assume responsibility for much of anything.

106 GlenRoad

Park Drive Ravine

Here’s a real estate listing to make almost anyone a little giggly. The landed residence on Rosedale’s Park Drive Reservation Trail at 106 Glen Rd. is listed for $12,000.000. That includes more than an acre of land. Much of it is going to be in the ravine however. Sotheby’s Canada

Lerynne West with daughters, officials and the cheque, of course

From the website of the Callum Foundation

An Iowa grandmother, Lerynne West, choked back tears Monday as she pledged to do good above and beyond her family with her $343,900,000 Powerball lottery winnings. She has created the Callum Foundation, named after a grandson who was born at just 24 weeks and died after one day. Also CBS News

Toronto Police have found Yin-Hing Hsiao. The search was centred in the Mount Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue East area. TPS thanks the public for its help.

Mall hopes to re-open food court by mid-month

Painting

East York Town Centre says it is hoping to re-open the food court the Overlea Blvd mall by the middle of the month. Much of the mall has been closed since a fire in the banquet hall caused smoke damage which required cleaning. At the same time, an A&W franchise among new stores in the east wing of the mall on the parking lot is nearing completion. Sources at the mall said a dialysis centre, run by St. Michael’s Hospital, is expected to open by early next year in space previously leased by Target.

A post to the Facebook account Leaside Community links to a story by journalist Naomi Buck in the Globe and Mail about the 2017-18 stay of a homeless young man named Bernie in a corner of Davisville Public School on Millwood Rd. It tells of the friendship offered by many staff, including Principal Shona Farrelly, and of kindergarten students, who accommodated Bernie until he moved on to perhaps a better home. Story is here.

Out of the lake/City News

In the lake/Tony Smyth@LateNightCam

A man, 22, came knocking on the doors of the fine homes on Oakville’s Maple Grove Drive about 3 a.m. Monday. He told a story of an “accident” which somehow or other saw his car residing in Lake Ontario. Remarkably, he was more or less okay. But police say a passenger in the same car was not so lucky. The body of another young man was found when police located the vehicle. “Officers were called to a report of a male banging on a residence. Upon attending, they found the male who was soaking wet at the back of a residence,” Det.-Const. Martin Dick said at the scene.

It has taken Lowe’s, the US hardware and home goods chain, not quite three years to decide it really doesn’t want the Rona stores for which it paid twice the going stock value in early 2016. Lowe’s Companies announced Monday it will close 31 Canadian stores including the 27 mostly Rona locations. Nine are in Ontario, nine in Quebec, six in Newfoundland and Labrador, two in Alberta and one in British Columbia. Lowe’s says it expects to close the impacted stores by the end of the company’s 2018 financial year, Feb. 1, 2019. Lowes was a persistent suitor of Rona from 2012 up until the purchase made in February of 2016.  Lowes pays double the stock price to buy Rona outright