The discussion tonight on Leaside Community Facebook page is about two young men who knocked on a door on Sutherland Drive. They said they were looking for Johnny De Rossi. The homeowner, and a number of readers too, wondered if this was some sort of fishing expedition. The poster said the police “were not interested as (the two) didn’t do anything indicating intent to commit a crime. But if multiple people get the same, they said I could call back then.” Better yet, is Johnny De Rossi out there?

The National Post account from court by Vanessa Hravatin says that Marisa Lazo, the crane girl, climbed the huge construction machine on a whim after a night of drinking. She told the judge that she would have been able to get down by herself but she slipped. The misjudgment caused her to slide “uncontrollably” down a cable to the crane’s hook where she was completely stranded.

An unknown philanthropist has donated $100 million to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in an unprecedented gift to any health or medical institution in Canada. The benfactor states that he/she has “seen the devastating impact of mental illness on individuals and their families” and wants to support research that will “directly transform care.” The donor also said that there is specific interest in supporting high-risk, high-reward research that can “enable quantum leaps forward.” “I believe CAMH is well-positioned to make a transformational impact in the field of mental health research,” the donor said.  At a news conference Thursday, CAMH President and CEO Dr. Catherine Zahn said the gift helps inject “wild, wild hope” into CAMH’s mission to “bring justice to people with mental illness.”

She walked on fire

Called herself HealthBoss

Irina Kossovskaia, 63,

Irina Kossovskaia, 63, of Niagara Falls, has pleaded guilty in Dakota this week to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. She pleaded guilty in a scam to sell light-emitting devices by falsely claiming they could treat more than 200 medical conditions, including cancer, autism and HIV, Canadian Pres reports. CP says that U.S. court documents show the Kossovskaia, of Russian extraction, marketed and distributed devices known as the “QLaser System” through a firm called HealthBoss. They told people the items could safely and effectively treat a range of medical conditions at home. “The QLaser’s labelling falsely claimed that there was virtually no disorder or disease that the QLaser device could not potentially improve or cure,” evidence indicated.

Opening soon

Jon and friends

MumNet

Tourtiere Pie

Black Bean

The opening of Creeds Coffee Bar (and Dry Cleaners) at 1595 Bayview is not far off and the firm has posted a picture of someone holding its earthy-hued cup outside the premises on Instagram. To the right, this is the best picture Jon Burnside ever had taken. He may like Harry Truman’s advice that if you want a friend in politics, get a dog. Anyway, we have matched this up to a tale of the low-level hullabaloo about a research firm that says Burnside has 51 percent support among voters here. Way to go Jon. Below that, the ladies at MumNet are inviting you to their AGM on January 23 at the Louis Cifer Brew Works 417 Danforth Ave. Finally, at the bottom a couple of yummy-looking dishes posted by our friends at Today’s Menu, 852 Millwood Rd. That’s a Tourtiere Pie made with Beretta hormone and antibiotic free meat on the left and Black Bean Soup on the right. When’s lunch?

Lane beside Pat’s Barber Shop

Artists Alley between Sutherland and Laird

Lorna Krawchuk writes about the ongoing lane-naming program which helps keep police, fire and public oriented in an emergency. It is also a nice way to honour people who have made a contribution to the community. Many will recall the decision in September to name the Ward 22 lane beside the Bayview Car Wash after the Badali family. It was a much-deserved honour. The Bulldog’s puckish suggestion back in March to name it Turtle Wax Lane was taken for what it was worth. Now Ms. Krawchuk has heard from Ward 26 Councillor Jon Burnside that five lanes in Leaside need names. They are:

• “Artists Alley” running west to east from Sutherland Dr. to Laird Drive north of Eglinton.
• Parallel to Bayview Ave. starting on Donegall and turning south to meet Millwood Rd. where Pat’s Barber Shop (Formerly Joe’s) has sat for so many decades.
• Between Randolph Ave. and Sutherland Dr. north from Lea Ave. ending at the fire hall.
• Between Sutherland and Airdrie Drive from Lea to McRae Dr.
• Lastly, the lane with a wiggle (as Lorna calls it) laid out possibly by Howard Talbot when he built the apartments on Bayview Ave. It runs east from Bayview, then turns north, lining up with the backyards on Heather Rd. and ending just south of SAHIL (Stay At Home In Leaside) on McRae (1387 Bayview).

More: thelanewayproject.ca

Congress could make trade a function of the living dead

The trade dispute with the US is being characterized as near a crisis which may see the US announce its intention to cancel NAFTA. Some see this as ominous. Others doubt that Donald Trump is necessarily ready to make the rupture complete no matter how tough his talk. The CBC reports that Brett House, the deputy chief economist at Scotiabank, said while there might be “catastrophic sounding headlines” at this critical juncture, it is unlikely anything will change in the near future. It is more likely a “zombie NAFTA” will continue even if Trump pulls out, as such an action could be held up in the U.S. court system and members of congress would have to authorize the addition of new tariffs on goods from Canada.

• Canada preparing for possibility Trump will pull out of NAFTA: sources
• Canada takes U.S. to WTO in wide-ranging trade complaint

Massive sinkhole has closed two right lanes of southbound Yonge Street just south of the 401 near York Mills, causing major traffic delays pic.twitter.com/HXd8GCwRQW

— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) January 10, 2018

Catherine Deneuve and 99 other French women have called the #MeToo movement puritanical and an exercise in man-hating. Back here, there were no smoke-alarms in the Oshawa home where four people died Monday. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the BBC makes a digital-age vault looks silly as it pops open with a good thump on top. Finally, a full hour of Prime Minister Trudeau courtesy CBC at a so-called town hall meeting in Hamilton. Hammer down.

We have two more days of the “big melt” now underway. Then it’s back into the freezer again with daytime temperatures of minus nine predicted for Saturday. Weather-related worries include what appears to be leaking water at DeSantis Men’s Hair Care Salon at 688 Mt. Pleasant. Good neighbours are searching for the owner to tell him about the flood. On Leaside Community, Marilou W. posted the shot above of apparently lost keys placed carefully on a fire hydrant at Rumsey and Hanna Rds. Also in the same group, a heads-up to clear downspouts and basement walkout drains of ice buildup so water has a place to drain.

Coca Cola is re-making Diet Coke, the grandaddy of no-sugar soda pop, into a fleet of drinks in flavours like Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange and Twisted Mango. Diet Coke flavour will remain. Coke said Wednesday the drinks will come in what is called “sleek candy-colored 12-ounce cans.” These would seem to be the same size as the conventional 335 mL cans sold in Canada. Diet Coke was introduced in 1982. Here’s the Wayback Playback launch for those who can barely, or narely, remember that.

Donna Fenice at Leaside Garden Society

Little Rainbow Fish at Manor Road United

At St. Cuthbert’s

Trivia Night

Och aye Rob!

Upper left, well-known gardening authority and blogger Donna Fenice will speak to the Leaside Garden Society Thursday evening at the Leaside Library, 165 McRae Drive. That begins at 7:30 p.m. with refreshments available prior to the meeting, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Her topic will be the Gardens of the Loire Valley. Take us there. Please. To the right, the Little Rainbow Fish Playgroup is busy Wednesday at Manor Road United Church. You can check in with them here  Below that, reminders again of the St. Cuthbert’s Potluck dinner and Trivia Night at Leaside United. Far right, we see MP Rob Oliphant. We’re guessing he will again bring out the kilt for his New Year’s Levee with Premier Wynne. That’s Saturday, January 20, 2018 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave. East, at Leslie. Below, friends of The Bulldog, Kate Wheeler and Christine Bentley, warm up for their radio syndication What She Said. Always fun.