Judge Richard Wagner (Daniel Sabourin/Laforest et Sabourin)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed Quebec-born Justice Richard Wagner to be the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Wagner, 60, was born in Montreal and earned a law degree from the University of Ottawa in 1979. His field was professional liability and on commercial litigation related to real estate law, oppression remedies and class action suits. Ten percent of Ontario full-time college students have decided to take a refund rather than struggle with a shortened school year to get their diplomas. That’s 25,700 out of 250,000, a little hidden cost to the rancorous strike that convulsed community colleges through the fall. And Opposition Leader Brown has dismissed  the defamation lawsuit brought against him by Premier Wynne, claiming it is a stunt. Wynne said Tuesday that she would drop the lawsuit if he simply said he was sorry.

Mercedes “Sprinter Van” sneaks up on truckers

PC Henk Ruitenbeek watching for cell phone use

October trucking rear-ender killed three

OPP are using a Mercedes Sprinter Van to sneak up on truckers on Highway 401 near London to see if there is any distracted driving going on in the truck. The windows are tinted and it is an easy task to see across the roadway into the cab of a truck. “In the Sprinter van, they don’t expect us,” PC Henk Ruitenbeek told the CBC. He is seen in the video below working from the van’s rear tail-gunner” seat to peek in on drivers. Meanwhile the Sprinter’s driver is manoeuvring the van to run parallel to suspect trucks long enough to give Ruitenbeek a good look. The van’s crew report any suspicious driving to other officers who drive nearby in marked police cruisers. When a driver is caught using a phone at the wheel or not wearing a seatbelt, the sprinter van crew radios colleagues who pull over the driver and write a ticket.

In this video, @OPP_WR explain how they use the stealthily sprinter van for highway enforcement. #ldnont pic.twitter.com/fgjbWPFIfE

— Andrew Lupton (@AndrewLuptonCBC) December 12, 2017

An Extreme Cold Weather Alert has been issued by Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health. It is in effect until further notice. Extreme Cold Weather Alerts are issued when the temperature is forecast to reach -15 degrees Celsius or colder, or when the wind chill is forecast to reach -20 or colder. Those most at risk of cold-related illness are people experiencing homelessness or those under-housed, those who work outdoors, people with a pre-existing heart condition or respiratory illness, elderly people, infants and young children. People with heart problems can experience worsening of their condition up to several days after cold weather occurs.

Residents were commenting on the ticketing blitz along Brentcliffe north of Eglinton Ave. E Monday. As is known, it is technically illegal to park for more than three hours on any street that is not restricted to even stricter parking limits. Ann Roussos was saying on Leaside Community Facebook page that the tickets have been issued three nights running. She and others speculated it had to do with traffic caused by the LRT construction. This was between Eglinton and Thursfield Cres  A heartfelt concern by many is that traffic is so bad on Brentcliffe that homeowners park on the street because it’s challenging getting in and out of the driveway during rush hour.

The Liberals have won three of four seats in byelections held Monday. CBC

Approximately 1,400 Scarborough residents had power restored late Monday after nearly eight hours in the cold. The problem was a defective underground cable outside a hydro station in the Sheppard and Ellesmere Aves. area.

OPP are patrolling the highways in transport trucks this week in an effort to crack down on distracted driving by commercial truck drivers. The five-day road safety blitz launched Monday is the first time officers have used transport trucks on patrol. Premier Wynne has launched a $100,000 legal action against PC leader Patrick Brown for saying that she was a “sitting premier, sitting in trial.” He made the remark as Wynne testified as a witness at the trial of two provincial Liberals facing Election Act bribery charges. And Delta Airlines will start asking $75 a bag  — for the first and/or only bag — from coach passengers. The move has caused speculation that Air Canada and WestJet will soon do the same.

Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz

SMG venue management

Soldier Field in Chicago

Gerry Schwartz’s Onex Corporation, with $22 billion in assets under management,. has purchased SMG Holding Inc., a huge US property management firm that is contracted with some 240 sports, entertainment and business venues across the country. Many are in small communities but two, Soldier Field in Chicago, is home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears with the other, Detroit’s Cobo Hall, is the scene of the annual North American Auto Show and similar premier events. The Toronto-based private equity firm Onex did not disclose how much it will pay for privately held SMG. The deal is expected to close in early 2018. Schwartz is a legendary Rosedale figure.  His wife, Heather Reisman, is founder and CEO of Indigo Books. The two are generous patrons of hospitals, research and the arts through the Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation

Qiueensway toiWidmer St.

Taxi driver made a mistake

Uber has apologized and withdrawn a shocking $18,000 fare charged in error by a taxi driver who had signed up to take Uber calls. The full amount was refunded for the ride, a quick hop from the Queensway to downtown Widmer St. Uber staff say the charge was a result of driver error, not a technical mistake.

LYFT TO LAUNCH TUESDAY

Canadian Press says the ride-hailing service Lyft will launch its service in Toronto on Tuesday, marking its first expansion outside the United States. CP says Lyft will operate between Hamilton and Oshawa and as far north as Newmarket. Beck Taxi, the largest cab service in the City, told CP that adding thousands of cars to Toronto’s congested streets is the last thing the city needs and only discourages transit ridership.

Toronto, your #MLSCup Champions! @torontofc pic.twitter.com/BPTIouPO6a

— Toronto Financial District BIA (@MyTOFD) December 11, 2017

https://twitter.com/jamesontheradio/status/940286927181438976

Joyous crowds and boisterous Toronto teammates rolled through downtown on double decker buses Monday to celebrate their championship victory and capture of the MLS Cup. CBC

Flattened by his own bomb

Akayed Ullah

A terrorist detonated a pipe bomb in a subway passage between Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal — one of the busiest transit hubs in the world — during the Monday morning rush-hour, injuring three people and causing commuter chaos. Akayed Ullah detonated part of his “low tech” explosive in the passage just 200 feet from the bus terminal at West 42nd St. and Eighth Ave. at 7:20 a.m., officials said. Three commuters suffered minor injuries, officials said. After the explosion, Port Authority cops struggled with Ullah, 27, who had wires attached to his body, sources said. The device was affixed to his body with Velcro and zip ties, police officials said. New York Daily News