Jon Burnside (Ward 26) has been appointed to City Executive Committee at the pleasure of Mayor Tory. Writing in the Star, Jennifer Pagliaro says “Burnside is also getting the nod to sit on the committee for licensing and standards, which is undergoing a major overhaul. The former police officer who backed Tory early in the 2014 election campaign in turn earned Tory’s backing and became the only candidate to unseat an incumbent.” Mr. Burnside said he was honoured to be chosen.

COLLISION
Lumley Ave and Moore Ave, report of 2 cars, no info on injuries #2162893 ^cb

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 6, 2016

And the video:

This early morning workout is at Gears Cycle Repair at 109 Vanderhoof Ave.

Hey #MGCC'rs. Come join @SGollishRuns tomorrow in the Leaside studio for some training! #getupandgo https://t.co/EaTBcZU8tV

— Morning Glory C. C. (@MGridetoronto) December 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/tpscalls/status/806170600293142530

Amazon is ready to open its first Amazon Go bricks-and-mortar store in Seattle with a technology that permits shoppers to just take what they want and walk out without paying. Or something like that. The cost will show up on your account but there will be no checkout. The video below released today tells the more detailed story and as of Monday evening has been viewed by well over half a million people. The most critical element in Amazon’s cocktail of software seems to be “computer vision”. It is a no brainer that the store will know you are in the place when it scans your card. But it then has to see you as you snatch stuff off the shelf. It has to see you. Not the guy beside you. Time will tell but Consumerist says today that there is rumbling that Amazon is so tickled with this system that it is dreaming of getting into the corner store business, or something. It seems any number of big operators could replicate the concept. .   .

Readers curious about why the Fraser Institute review of Toronto schools did not contain rankings for Catholic elementary and high schools for 2015-2016, there is this reply from the think-tank to reader John Spence.  “Greetings, As the result of a job action by Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers’ (TECT) Union, students attending schools operated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board did not write the grade 3 and grade 6 provincewide tests in reading, writing, and math during the 2015-2016 school year. Since we base our rankings on the results of these tests we were unable to include TCDSB schools in this year’s ranking.”

UPDATE – COLLISION
Pottery & Bayview, one NB lane still blocked, all other lanes OPEN #2156699 ^cb

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 5, 2016

Writers and reporters were trying hard Monday morning to take seriously the government’s new online poll asking Canadians what they want to do about democracy. It is a fallback of both hilarious and superbly sneaky resort on the part of rookie MP and (by the way) Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef. Hilarious because of how it flees from the dangerous task of actually doing anything. Sneaky because the odds seem good that in the 25 days during which Canadians may comment you will have a hard time finding anyone in all South Bayview who has even heard of the gambit. Money being no issue, the government will mail out 15 million postcards to remind you to take this all seriously. The site is called MyDemocracy.ca if you’re feeling rebelious. No dictatorships of the proletariat or aristocracies please. Oh sorry, same thing.

 

In China, surgeons have contrived to grow an ear on a man’s arm to replace the one he lost (the ear that is) in a car accident. Hope this doesn’t catch on like tattoos. Elsewhere, Prime Ministers out of a job. In New Zealand, John Key resigned reportedly because his wife gave him an ultimatum. Good man, John. And in Italy, Matteo Renzi is quitting because he lost a referendum to reduce the power of the upper house. That has the country in a political twist (below)

The imminent opening of the Dollarama on Mt. Pleasant continues to inspire comment. Today “orenwolf” was ticking off snooty snipers who think it is beneath the dignity of people to be excited about a dollar store. “You think people in Paris and London don’t have local newspapers/blogs that celebrate when local businesses open? I think you might want to look again,” says this writer. New Dollarama store readies to open at 732 Mt. Pleasant

Krista Henry writes to say that the new but still unopened Salvation Army Thrift Store is welcoming donations at the Overlea Blvd. and Thorncliffe Park Rd. location from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.  They are interested in gently used clothing, housewares, furniture, electronics, toys, media and books, accessories, antiques and collectibles and computers. She writes that the store will open on Thursday, January 26, 2017 with a special Grand Opening ceremony that will be taking place starting from 9 a.m. with giveaways, entertainment and great shopping.

United Airlines will soon introduce a fee for the use of overhead bins for bags in economy. The charge will raise a billion dollars says the airline, which is a member of the Star Alliance to which Air Canada  belongs as well. The new rules, which include a new economy ticket, only allows fliers to bring a bag on board that fits under the seat. Any bag larger than that would have to be checked for a fee. The new plan also doesn’t allow passengers to choose their own seats.