As Toronto heads into what may well be the coldest New Year’s ever, South Bayview drivers are facing long waits for help to kick-start batteries on cars left outside overnight. On the Leaside Community Facebook page Friday, one member said she had been turned down by CAA because they are so overloaded. Seems extreme on their part. Another said she was on hold for three hours to get CAA to finally arrive an hour or two after that. One poster says that Beck Taxi will give a boost for $25. There seems to be little immediate respite from the cold although the Weather Network ventures a guess that in a week or eight days we may see daytime temperatures of minus 3.

SNOW NEAR LAKE

A Weather Statement Friday morning warns of lake effect snow from Lake Ontario hitting near the shore of the lake in Mississauga. This lake effect snow band may drift into the City of Toronto during the day.  Local snowfall amounts of 2 to 5 cm are possible mainly near the shore of Lake Ontario. Sudden very low visibility in bursts of heavier snow is possible as the lake effect snow band moves through.

Yes, but is it mild or spicy?

Some 40,000 lbs. of avocados spilled onto a Texas highway Thursday after a big rig carrying them crashed and caught fire. News helicopters from ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA captured images of firefighters hosing down the 18-wheel truck, which was full of crates of avocados. Police say the trucker survived. AP video

FIRE:
Yonge St + Broadway Av
-Fire in apartment
-People trying to evacuate
-Apt fully engulfed
-Broadway Av closed#GO3281149
^dh

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 29, 2017

The TTC are providing shelter buses at Yonge St. and Broadway Ave as a fire has caused the evacuation of an apartment building. TPS Operations says one unit was “fully engulfed.” There are no reports of injuries. Toronto Fire Service has called it a two-alarm blaze in a residential high-rise. Later post: Broadway fire tops summary

People are working hard at trying to stay cheerful and keep warm as Toronto struggles with the worst early-winter cold since 1960. A couple of City News reports include how Tesla performance is diminished by this draining deep freeze. In Calgary, exposure has taken the life of a newborn infant, abandoned by a woman who gave birth at Christmas. And an interview done with Barak Obama by Prince Harry has aired in the UK. It was done in Toronto when the two men met at the Invictus Games.

White rhino male calf born Christmas Eve/Toronto Zoo

There’s much excitement at the Toronto Zoo this week as a healthy white rhinoceros male calf is nursing well and seems quite robust. It’s mother, Zohari, 7 years, and baby are doing well, with the calf weighing 62.3 kilograms at birth. It is the first white rhinoceros to be born at the Toronto Zoo in 27 years. The gestation period for a white rhino is upwards of 500 days and usually only one calf is born at a time. The zoo says the Christmas Eve calf is big, strong, nursing more than expected and has very hairy ears.

Ice slammed into windshield/Millie Boella

$350 damage/Millie Boella

Millie Boella hold the chunk of ice/Mille Boella

A Toronto couple experienced a terrifying incident on the Allen Rd. Tuesday when a huge chunk of ice smashed through the windshield of their speeding car as they were on their way to some Boxing Day shopping at Yorkdale. The ice landed in the lap of Millie Boella in the passenger seat. Neither party was seriously hurt. Boella says she and her partner believe the chunk was thrown intentionally. The incident occurred at the underpass of Flemington Rd. on the Allen. The couple safely pulled the vehicle into the Nordstrom valet parking area to call for help. Damage was about $350.

City crews were repairing a watermain in sub-zero weather in St. Clair East between Welland Ave and Hudson Drive Wednesday. And Toronto firefighters had to deal with a kitchen fire on Glenrose Ave. the same day. The fire call came at 11.41 a.m. Dec. 27 for a kitchen fire at a three-storey brick house on Glenrose. The fire was out by noon. All very inconvenient in more than one way when it is too cold to even go outside.

Globe Quebec/Twitter

A group of nine Montreal co-workers who refuse to say just what they do for a living have claimed the latest $60 million Lotto Max grand prize. More than that, it appears that some of the group may already be fairly wealthy.  When asked about this, one winner, Julie Beland said “it depends on how each of us defines (rich).” She went on to say that in her view, some of the winners could indeed be called rich. Others were comfortable but not rich. It appears that they work together in an industry that handles money in some form. The Quebec Lottery agency called it “finance” but the winners said that might be misleading. They work in downtown Montreal. It seems likely that nine successful business people will be traceable back to their common employment by their names alone. They are Julie Beland, Haidar Abi Haidar, Robert Macri, Diane Dorele Fossouo Djuidje, Nathaniel Thomas, Darius Hozhabr Zandi, Peter Jewett, Randolph Dandan and Enzo Scattone.

Irv Weinstein

Irv Weinstein, the fast-talking, durable and popular television news anchor on both sides of the US-Canada border, has died at the age of 87 in California.  Weinstein worked for WKBW for 34 years, much of it at a time when his newscast was more popular with Canadians than the few home-grown channels available here. Weinstein followed the urgent ABC local formula known as Eyewitness News.  He uttered the same words — “Topping Eyewitness News tonight …” to begin every newscast. Also part of the Weinstein format was a public service one-liner which aired before the news began. “It’s eleven o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”  He took credit for creating that line. Weinstein retired on Dec. 31, 1998, a day that was proclaimed “Irv Weinstein Day” in Erie County.

Here is a Christmas story to love. When first baseman Pavin Smith was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the first thing he did with his signing bonus was to pay off his parents mortgage. He also wrote them a moving letter thanking them for the great childhood they had given him. Then a nice City News takeout on a family whose Boxing Day tradition is playing hockey. Gotta love it. Below that, two guys who have been friends for 60 years suddenly discover they are brothers. And finally, the miracle of puppies saved from certain death in the Alberta cold.

Waterloo Region Police have been given permission to release the name and picture of a 17-year-old in connection with the death on Christmas Day of Elizabeth Alder, 57. There is said to be a heavy police presence in on Falcon Drive in Elmira near Waterloo as they investigate.