The Wynne government has announced an increae in the minimum wage from $11.50 an hour to $14 an hour effective January 1, 2018. A year later, on January 1, 2019, the minimum wage will rise to $15. The Premier has proudly said this is the largest single increase ever in the minium wage. Speaking Tuesday, the Premier delivered an election campaign speech that drew distinctions between herself and those who would leave things as they are.
A misstep for a woman walking the roofs of Little Italy landed her in a narrow space between two building for much of Monday evening. From pictures shown by 680 News the space between the walls in the 400 block of College Street might be 18 inches or maybe two feet. Fire crews rescued her by scaling down between the walls and securing her in a specialized basket. She told them she took a leap from a higher building to one with a lower roof and lost her balance. It isn’t mentioned how anyone even knew she was there. The drop is estimated at 20 to 25 feet. The woman has serious leg injuries.
A business known to countless East York residents as the Donlands Restaurant has been renovated and re-opened as the Donlands Diner. The restaurant continues its wholesome fare under new owner Anna Tsirakidis with a menu right out of a Hungry Man commercial: All Day Breakfast, Handhelds, Soup and Salads and After Five. Monday saw a crowded ribbon-cutting by Mayor Tory with notables like former East York Mayor Alan Redway, Pat Barrett, head of the East York Historical Society and Councillor Mary Fragedakis (Ward 29). The Donlands Diner is at 417 Donlands south of O’Connor Drive where it has been for 62 years. East York Chronicle
Man killed in a reported drive-by shooting on Bishopstoke Lane near Burnhamthorpe Rd & Hurontario St, #Mississauga. Area closed off. pic.twitter.com/tSmcXNw3rB
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyCohnTV) May 29, 2017
A man is dead in a shooting by an unknwn person on a residential street in the area of Meadows Boulevard and Bishopstoke Lane in Mississauga. Police received “numerous calls about shots fired” shortly after 7 p.m., said Const. Harinder Sohi.
Update: The woman has been rescued. She has suffered serious injs as a result of the fall. She's being rushed to hospital by emerg run ^adc
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) May 30, 2017
Toronto police have used a shotgun loaded with beans in fabric — a so-called Sock Gun — to disable a man walking into traffic with a knife in his hand on Monday in the Bloordale Village area. The altered weapons were put into service last year and are being used elsewhere as well. We see a take down in Vancouver, above left. Police received Monday’s call before 2 p.m. about a man, believed to be in his 30s, who appeared to have a buck knife around Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue. The man was walking northbound on Lansdowne Avenue toward the subway, police said. When officers arrived on scene, they deployed a sock gun and seized the knife. “It was a bright orange and black gun. When I saw that, I figured it probably wasn’t a lethal firearm,” a witness, Conor Devitt, told CTV News Toronto on Monday evening. The bullets used by police were fabric, according to officers, which is a less lethal way to take down suspects.
City staff is recommending that Toronto steer clear of a bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games because it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that the Toronto doesn’t have. The recommendation is contained in a report that was released Monday ahead of a meeting of the City’s Economic Development Committee. It names “major risks and constraints” on such a bid. High up on that list of concerns is a lack of commitment by either the federal or provincial government to help out financially. “Given the scale and complexity of the Games, a multi-party cost-sharing agreement between all three orders of government similar to that used during the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games would need to be in place to successfully host the 2022 Games in Toronto,” the report states.
INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE COMING
The Ontario government will announce an increase the minimum wage Tuesday. The increase was telegraphed Monday by the Premier who says an increase “is necessary” because the economy is doing well. It seems safe to say that whatever amount is set, it will not be the $15 an hour which is much lobbied for by unions. That would add $3.60 to hourly wages, a staggering increase for most small businesses. However well the economy is doing now, that type of increase would seem likely to slow it down. The Liberals will make the wage announcement Tuesday, along with revealing their plans to alter provincial labour laws following the recommendations of a recent government-commissioned report.
RUBBER DUCK PUNS WORSE THAN THE COST
St. Catharines Councillor Andrew Petrowski is being condemned and told to resign for sending out an email to 95 people to which he had accidentally attached a picture of a nude woman sitting in a chair. It appears that Petrowski was just as horrified as the recipients of the mail (if they were) which has so far brought a demand for his resignation from Niagara Regional Chair Alan Caslin. It seems careless beyond belief that Mr. Petrowski had such photos on his municipal laptop. Pierre-Auguste Renoir didn’t have to worry about email when he was keeping pictures of nude women but modern men (and women) would surely be alert to this possibility. Petrowski was responding to an email from another regional councillor regarding a construction project around 1:30 p.m. Monday when he attached the image. The Regional Chair, Alan Caslin, called the conduct reprehensible and unacceptable for a regional councillor. For his part, Petrowski said: “This was sent in error as a terrible message by someone who was using my iPad I thought to send a private message I am very sorry for this unacceptable and inappropriate transmission.” There seems to be history feeding the calls for resignation. The CBC says Petrowski has previously described himself on Twitter as “Pro-Trump, Pro-Nationalism, Pro-Life, Pro-Jesus, Pro-Constitution, Pro-Speech, Anti-LEFT, Climate Change is Natural. #MAGA.”
Congratulations to the amazing performers at CGS. Their musical production of The Lorax on May 25th was a complete treat from start to finish. We think it was one of their best shows yet. It was full of humour and left us with a beautiful message of hope, as well as reminding us of the profound role trees play in our world. It takes a village to put a show like this together.Arts Express, CGS staff and students (with the support of parents at home) joined forces over the last few months to get the show ready for the stage.
LEARNING FROM REHEARSAL
The arts, and performance arts in particular, bring so much to children of all ages. For the very young students at CGS, the opportunity to participate in an extended rehearsal process culminating in a polished performance supports their growth in unique ways. For more information about how an expanded arts curriculum can benefit your son or daughter in their early years, contact Kelly Scott kscott@cgsschool.com (416) 423 5017 x 43, Director of Admission, to learn more about the school.
Ontario marked Bike to Work Day by announcing a 42.5 million grant with possibly more to come depending on “cap-and-trade proceeds.” The money will be spent on yet to be defined “bicycle infrastructure in municipalities across Ontario in order to improve safety and reduce air pollution.”
Few South Bayview denizens make it into the heart of Junctiondom and fewer still onto little lanes like Jerome Street. But thanks to 12.36, the Monday to Friday news giggle, we have learned that this 112-year-old curious home is for sale. It’s a terra cotta house near Dundas and Dupont (which) can be yours for a million bucks. Patterned tiles were all the rage in the late 19th century, and they could be had cheaply in 1905, when J. Turner Sr. built 20 Jerome Street, possibly as a way of advertising his construction business.” As these remarks suggest, few will have ever heard of 20 Jerome much less that it was priced to sell for almost nothing. Someone grab it.
