Royal LePage has released numbers Wednesday which its says show the median price of two-storey homes and bungalows in Toronto declining as 2017 came to an end. In the fourth quarter, the median price of such structures fell by 2.0 and 2.4 per cent respectively on a quarter-over-quarter basis. Also in the Toronto area, the median price of a condo grew 19.5 per cent year-over-year to $476,421, while in the City of Toronto, the cost of a condo rose 19.6 per cent to $515,578.

Harry and Megan visited a radio station in London today. What can we say? Then, the Consumer Electronics Show has seen the Roader, a camera that goes back ten seconds in time to let you snap the moment you missed. Below that, police in New York have caught an odious couple who stole from a sick child’s GoFundMe proceeds to feed their drug habit. And finally, the show business age has perhaps pinnacled with the idea of Oprah running against Donald. Wow.

Salt awaits adoption

Wise Mart

New shape of Canvarco

Sally Ann new home for homeless

Becky Allen White has been posting about Salt (left) the sweet rescue dog from the St. Lucia group called Helpaws. He may be adopted by now but take a look. Upper right, Wise Mart at Yonge and Davisville is posting photos to remind shoppers of its alternative to Dollarama. Centre right, Sarah Ovens, the planner at City Hall working on the traffic patterns at Canvarco Rd. and Laird  Drive, has sent a schematic of how Carnvaco will be re-made to provide two lanes out (one for northbound and one for southbound) plus one lane in. This is to accommodate traffic at the new 33 Laird complex.  Finally, the Salvation Army has opened its new hostel at 29 Leslie for homeless men. Below, Joanna Lavoie of the Beach Mirror has a peek.

VIDEO: Our @JoannaLavoie stopped by the @salvationarmy's newly opened New Hope #Leslieville shelter today. Check out her report. @tsatoronto #eastTO #Ward32 pic.twitter.com/5y8A9A2JgC

— Beach – East York Neighbourhood Voice (@BeachEastYork) January 9, 2018

Avery Ann Andrew

Hundreds remembered Avery Ann Andrew, 18, the popular Captain of the Barrie Jr. Sharks hockey team at a memorial Monday and at her funeral Tuesday in Tottenham, northwest of Vaughan. Her teammates called Avery a dear friend, leader and “ball of sass.” She died New Year’s Day when she was the passenger in a car driven by a friend that collided with another on a Simcoe Country road. She is survived by her mom and dad, John and Kim Andrew and sisters Jade, Emma, and Paige. Avery is also widely mourned in the women’s hockey family which includes the Leaside Jr. Wildcats. The funeral was Tuesday at Tottenham Community Centre.

Industrial Accident #GO49660
Manor Road/Hadley Rd
Man, 34 consc/breathing
Ministry of labour has been advised ^js

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) January 9, 2018

Croissant rolls sold at area Costco stores have been recalled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency because of the possibility of plastic inside the pastries. The products are dated best before January 7 for the cooked croissants and April 2 for the frozen uncooked pastries. Lot numbers found on packages of pastries covered by the recall are 0 00010 46334 5 and 0 00010 46391 8 respectively. No injury or illness has been reported as a result of this concern.

Gravel truck takes out pole/CP24 Twitter

Equipment on ground/Toronto Hydro

Eerie brute blocks street /Toronto Hydro

Toronto Hydro is on the scene at Avenue Road north of Eglinton Avenue to repair damage done by a gravel truck about 5 a.m. Tuesday. It rammed a hydro pole and electrical equipment is all over the ground. The extent of any outage is not reported just yet. Please take care going this way because it will be slow.

It may be late to join the event but things are scheduled for Tuesday, January 9 at 830 a.m. at the ABC Academy (1432 Bayview Ave at Balliot St). Catherine Reitman (Kate), Dani Kind (Anne), and Sarah McVie (Val) of the CBC program Workin’ Moms will stop there “to show some love to some Toronto moms and dads.” Catherine, Dani and Sarah are said to know first-hand all about the morning daycare hustle. They will have some fresh coffee and donuts (and unsolicited child-rearing tips from “Val”) for Leaside and area’s hard-working parents. If you’re interested in covering this event, please contact Alina Duviner at 416.574.1098. Also on the bulletin board, reminders about the St.Cuthbert’s Potluck dinner and Leaside United Church Trivia Night.

BNN, the Business News Network, will soon become BNN Bloomberg in an arrangement which seems to be a cashless swap of access to airtime in exchange for content. It isn’t really said what is happening with the money except that there may staffing economies for Bell. It begins this Spring. The now nearly 20-year-old BNN started as Report on Business Television in 1999 and was later swallowed by Bell Media which changed the name to BNN. Canadian Press says that the deal will see the station add several hours of live evening television coverage of Asian markets, early morning programs from Europe and contributions from Bloomberg reporters. Officially, the new cocktail of Canadian and US originated material will be known as BNNBloomberg.ca. Canadian Press says the partnership will also see an increase in BNN’s syndicated radio content available for distribution to Bell Media radio stations, including rights to distribute the Bloomberg Radio livestream in Canada and a new channel on iHeartRadio.

BUSINESSES “BULLYING” STAFF OVER $14 MINIMUM

If ever businesses needed evidence of the “activist” credentials of the Ontario government they may see it this week as both the Premier and Labour Minister are sniping at well-known (and large) retailers who are allegedly “bullying” their employees over the higher cost of the increased minimum wage. The minister, Mr. Flynn has suggested that some unnamed employers are trying to keep tips, an illegal act in Ontario. “The minimum wage, I don’t believe, ever in history has been raised without the business community raising a fuss or concerns,” he said. “For some businesses to take it out on their workers, however, is completely unacceptable and it’s simply wrong. It’s the act of bullies that has no place in this province. I really hope that the businesses that have acted in this manner decide on sober second thought to reverse the decisions they’ve made.” There are stories that two eastern Ontario Tim Hortons franchises that are owned by the children of the company’s co-founders have cut paid breaks and forced employees to cover a bigger share of their benefits.

The current Rogers Media commercial has provided The Bulldog with yet another insight into what is really happening. The 15-second spot shows the lady of the house (Toronto actress Dina Pino) asking her husband whether he wants to “pack all this” or “call and switch our phone and TV and Internet to the new house.” Silly man. But then he’s like all men in commercials. Stupid. And this is fine. Women are smarter than men. It’s nature. But having chosen to pack and been outsmarted again the husband learns just how bad things really are. His soul mate sashays out making it clear she will not be sharing the packing with Mr. Stupid. No. “Have fun” she chirps with more than a trace of sarcasm. We give this marriage a year at most.

Let’s skip back to 79 AD just before that bit of trouble hit the high-class community of Pompeii. Three more homes have been restored and opened to the public. Quite stunning. Also stunning is the sheer intelligence on display at a Cambridgeshire school where kids are recreating a bronze age community with the computer game Minecraft. Then we visit Australia where it is high summer and men are being encouraged to wear string bikinis. Sure. Finally, a visit to the Thai market that has a train running through it. Who could have imagined.

This is stunning video that comes back to the pages of The Bulldog from time to time. It was shot in 2011 by Geologist Richard Hocking. Thousands of tons of rock fell into the sea at North Cliffs near Hayle on the UK west coast just days after part of the coastal footpath was diverted. Mr Hocking, who is a soils and materials engineer for Cornwall Council, was there to assess the situation when the collapse happened. He had his camera with him and managed to capture the event on it.

Richard Hocking

Bullbog flashback in 2015 to 2011