Taste of the NDP?

MG at Home Depot

Gardens at the gardens

Locals complain about no turn scofflaws

It had to happen. Councillor Janet Davis will host a kind of Taste of the NDP on the east Danforth. Sure to be social. On Facebook, Suzanne Pratt was grumping that this MG was parked in a spot reserved for a “Pro” at Home Depot. Then Councillor Burnside taking a moment to tweet a compliment to Simon Stevenson of Leaside Landscaping. And finally “Katrina” was complaining on the Davisville Twitter search Wednesday about drivers ignoring the rush hour no turns at Yonge and Davisville.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is trying to rally support among premiers meeting in Edmonton to delay the introduction of legalized marijuana by at least a year. Pallister said there are questions that must be answered before the “historic change” is brought into force. “I think that there are too many unaddressed issues that need to be paid attention to for us to hurry into something like this, [given] the magnitude of this,” he said. Pallister especially cited the need to make sure roadside testing is in place to keep drug-impaired drivers off the roads, and to educate the public about the perils of getting behind the wheel high. He also wants to see a uniform national age for the use of marijuana. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, also a Conservative said would not object to a delay.  Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said the group will have further discussions on legalized pot tomorrow, but said their provinces are working towards meeting the July 2018 deadline — CBC 

Few Canadians are savvy enough to even guess at all the tricks US negotiators might use to get an edge in a trade deal. Ottawa might well do the same. But without rules to govern our actions when we disagree, free trade would seem to be spinning into a black hole. Still, the Trump administration has tabled an ambitious list of demands, one of which is to simply eliminate the dispute resolutions panels. Reuters

Many saavy residents know enough to hang up on a perp who says’s he is calling from Microsoft. Many disconnect if there’s no immediate answer. But those who listen will be regaled with news that a porn site registered in their name is operating on the net, and hey, what are they going to do about it? City News checked it out.

How did this happen?

New iPhone emojis

The triumph of girl #27

Extraordinary events plucked from Tuesday’s news include the baffling flight of an SUV onto the roof of a home. A clue may be seen in the huge divot on the lawn where the vehicle launched itself high enough to reach the shingles. Believe it or not. Upper right, Apple is about to release new emojis, check them all here Below that, the deeply moving story of a determined girl who went from being the least-wanted child in a Serra Leone orphanage to a sought-after ballerina. Now Michaela DePrince is getting endorsements from companies like Jockey as they tell her compelling story. And finally, several parents have come forward claiming the R&B legend R. Kelly is holding their daughters against their will in an alleged cult.

It’s market day in East York. We’re at Coxwell & Mortimer (East York Civic Centre) from 8am until 2pm rain or shine. #EastYork pic.twitter.com/EfT6gsmdrE

— EYFarmersMarket (@EYFarmersMarket) July 18, 2017

Public School Trustee Gerri Gershon is saying this week that Micheal Kennedy and David Ehrlich, principals of Rolph Road Elementary School and Northlea Elementary and Middle School, will be heading to new assignments at other schools in the fall. Their replacements will be Sandra LaRosa at Rolph Road and Barbara Sandler at Northlea EMS.

Toronto Public Health has closed the Meli Baklava and Chocolate Bar located inside a food market near Queen and John Sts. after a Youtube video was posted showing mice eating goods in the window. See previous story. 

A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal seems to be trying to make the case, as interpreted by many media sources, that artificial sweeteners do not appear to help people lose weight, suggesting instead it may cause them to gain weight. The reporting says observational studies that looked at consumption over time suggested that people who regularly consumed them by drinking one or more artificially sweetened beverages a day had a higher risk for health issues like weight gain, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

HANG ON

But a major caveat to the idea that the diet drinks are directly to blame is contained well down in most stories. For example: “It’s not yet clear whether artificial sweeteners actually cause harm, however. Observational studies that link the sweeteners to health problems do not prove the sweeteners themselves are responsible. Other factors may muddle the link; people who consume more artificial sweeteners may eat more processed food (or just eat more) which is linked to a higher risk for obesity or heart-related problems” Maybe not the finest moment for research or journalism.

OTHER STORIES:

• Minnesota officials probing why woman who called 911 was fatally shot by police
• Trump administration reveals goals for NAFTA talks 
• Sniffing out the truth about the end of the Canadian real estate boom: Don Pittis

Home sales in June posted their largest monthly drop in seven years, driven by a plunge in the Greater Toronto market, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday, the latest evidence that a cool-down in the housing sector is taking hold. Transactions last month were down 6.7 per cent compared with May on a national basis, the third consecutive monthly decline, with the Greater Toronto Area registering a 15.1 per cent drop. Home sales are down 14.1 per cent from the record level set in March.

Leaside

Bloomberg News

Dr Who, that fixture of British pop culture known to generations, is now a woman. The Time Lord will be played by Jodie Whittaker in the new season and will confound evil genius with her superior powers. Next, an Icelandic doctor is able to get babies to stand up straight at three months. It’s as if they were six months older than their actual age. Other physicians have difficulty figuring how he does it. Below that, Martin Landau is dead at 89 and a Syrian refugee couple have named their baby boy after the prime minister.