Residents across Leaside as well as in Moore Park are discussing coyote sightings Monday morning. One was seen about 8 p.m. on Bessborough north of St. Cuthbert’s. Sabrina Brie Baluke Neiman published this photo which shows a coyote seen in Bennington Heights. She says: “He’s a beauty.” Facebook
The PC government has concluded the required six-and-a-half hours of second-reading debate of Bill 31, the Efficient Local Government Act. The noisy process began at 12.01 Monday. The timing of the debate was dictated by the time pressure on the government in advance of the Toronto general election set for October 22. The bill will cut council from 47 members to 25 after the Oct. 22 election. It is the reintroduction of Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, struck down as unconstitutional a week ago by Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba. The Ford government will soon introduce a time-allocation motion and the bill could then pass second and third reading as well as receive royal assent by Thursday. The deadline for registering as a municipal candidate would be two days later.
The RCMP say Emma O’Keeffe, 6, has been found safe, apparently in the back of her family’s sport-utility vehicle. It was stolen yesterday about 5.30 local time from a mall in North Battleford. Police say Emma, who is autistic, epileptic and non-verbal, was found safe within the City about 6:45 a.m. Monday (8.45 Toronto time) more than 12 hours after the SUV was taken.. She is now receiving medical care.
Volkswagen has announced in Germany that it will cease production of its current Beetle car, a model which was introduced in 2011 and is made at a plant in Mexico. It is the third generation of Beetle, more or less. It is known at the A5. The original car was created in pre-war Germany in the late 1930s. A prototype model, lower left, had no back window and front opening (suicide) doors. It was refined for mass production in 1938 and the British oversaw resumption of the same car in 1946 after the war. It was built with variations (like the convertible right) until 2003. The Volkswagen New Beetle (upper left) was built from 1997 to 2010. The most recent Bug was introduced in 2011. Today Volkswagen CEO, Hinrich J. Woebcken, said “the loss of the Beetle after three generations, over nearly seven decades, will evoke a host of emotions from the Beetle’s many devoted fans.” But he vowed this is the end. We shall see.
A young man has fallen to his death after he somehow fell through the opening “median” between east and west bound lanes of the Highland Creek Bridge on Kingston Rd. The freakish accident occurred Saturday night when the victim, 20, was apparently homeward bound with friends. The design of the bridge may be deceiving to those at road level but the gap in the centre of the road is open to the ground below. Police have described the incident as a “complete accident.”
Open Streets will close both Yonge and Bloor Sts. in central Toronto Sunday. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Bloor will be closed between Montrose Ave and Sherbourne Ave and Yonge will be closed between Davenport Ave and Queen St
Statistics compiled by Toronto Public Health reveal opioid overdoses and deaths in Toronto occur along geographic and apparently economic lines. The map below, re-published by City News from health department files, shows very light use of such medications in affluent areas of Midtown like South Bayview. Reported overdose calls in places such as Leaside, Davisville, Moore Park and other area neighborhoods ranged between 5 to 16 during a monitored period from August 2017 to August 2018. Other parts of the City, particularly downtown, show a much higher crisis occurence of both overdoses and deaths. Paramedics received 358 calls for suspected opioid overdoses in the Church-Yonge corridor, 337 in Moss Park, and 158 in the Bay St. corridor. Some 1,250 people have died from opioid overdoses in the province in the last 15 years— an increase of 246 per cent — numbers from Public Health Ontario show. One in four opioid-related deaths in Ontario occurred in the City, Toronto Health says.
No winning ticket was sold for the $16.4 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw. The guaranteed $1 million prize went to a ticket holder in Ontario. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on September 19 will be approximately $20 million.
In China, where they execute as many as 2,000 people a year, Zhu Jingriu is fighting to clear the name of her late son. The fascinating Australian Broadcasting Corporation report says the emphasis in the Middle Kingdon for capital cases is merely a confession, not forensic evidence like DNA. At centre is Wanda Barzee, the woman who with her demented husband imprisoned and tortured Elizabeth Smart, then 14. Barzee is to be released from prison in Utah and Smart is furious. Then, former ambassador to the US Derek Burney asks what, if anything, the US is prepared to concede to get an agreement on trade. He calls the American attitude “Nafta shaft-ya.”
You’re a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet, you’re Mickey Mouse
From You’re the Top, Cole Porter
Henri Bendel, the US luxury brand chain of 24 stores, will close after 123 years in business. The brand was started by Henri Bendel in 1895, when he moved to New York and began making white-and-brown-striped bags and hat boxes that appealed to the city’s elite. Ninety years later, in 1985, Henri Bendel was acquired by L Brands. L Brands, which also owns Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, and La Senza, announced on Friday that it would be closing all Henri Bendel stores, including its website and flagship store, to focus on its more profitable brands. Analysts agree Bendel has succumbed to a double whammy of online shopping and expensive real estate.
Park and Bark offered good dog watching Saturday morning at the lot at Yonge St. and Millwood Rd. Sidecar Molly was there with her friend Warren Porter of Iron Gate Private Wine In Leaside. Warren has a Vespa and Molly is nearly as famous as Mustang Sally for her motoring pastime. There were a number of pet services to be seen including Your Dog Butler (647) 477-5858 for a caring way to move injured or elderly dogs. There was also the new brand of Barker and Snouts ice cream for dogs. There’s only one flavour, Peanut Butter Banana. It’s made with organic yogurt, peanut butter, bananas and honey. Can they tell it’s not Vanilla or Rocky Road? Never mind, we want some.
Richard Southern has been transferred to the Ontario Legislature by 680 News. For many years, Southern has covered business news for the radio station. The move is called a “homecoming” for Southern, who started as a Queen’s Park page when he was 12.
