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A spectacular fire in an apartment unit at 101 Glen Manor Drive off Queen Street East caused quite a spectacle for a few minutes during the Beaches Jazz Festival nearby.  Toronto Fire personnel said the fire started on Glen Manor and spread to units at the corner of Queen including a premises over the Royal LePage office. No cause is known so far  This video shows a form of explosion as the fire gets underway. Listen to the reaction of the crowd. It was shot by festival-goer Tim Fenner.

For two Sundays this summer Yonge and Bloor Streets will be closed — or open, depending on how you look at it. On the second of these two days, Sunday September 18, 2016, the Bloor viaduct will be “open” for strolling or whatever. Pedestrian and (probably) bicycle events will last four hours. Open Streets news release

Munich police say the killer of nine people in a downtown shooting was a mentally-troubled 18-year-old with no criminal record and no ties to terrorism. He was, said the cops, apparently obsessed with mass death. Literature suggesting this was found in his home. They say he posted a Facebook invitation prior to the attack telling young readers that there would  be a giveaway of some sort at the Munich shopping centre where he struck. Sixteen people, including several children, were injured in the attack and three were in critical condition.

 

Killing heat is sitting over much of eastern Canada and the U.S. in what some meteorologists are calling a “heat dome.” Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued heat alerts for all of southern Ontario. In much of the region from Windsor to Toronto, it has forecast a high of 33 C with humidex values making it feel like 40 to 45. The Weather Network says it is 34 in downtown Toronto. As of 11.25 a.m. ET, the temperature had already hit 30.8 C at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Hot temperatures move east this weekend and the problem is it won't cool down at night https://t.co/IxXXtlBFw9 @CNN pic.twitter.com/ESDQPa3bT3

— CNN Weather Center (@CNNweather) July 22, 2016

Suitable to this summer of the Ghostbusters re-make, Nicholas Weninger and Lily Smith have posted a link in Leaside Chit  Chat to Patrick Cummins Flickr photos of the Bayview Ghost apartment shell. It stood for more than 20 years on the peak of the Don Valley where the Governor’s Bridge neighborhood is now located. It’s history is recounted in this Wikipedia posting. Most notably, the misbegotten project known as the Hampton Park Apartments was built when East York issued a permit but then revoked it in the face of ratepayer opposition insisting that the area had been promised as a park. But construction could not be stopped and the builder was only thwarted when EY refused to extend water and sewer service to the building. It sat there falling apart for more than 20 years. Mr. Cummins visited the site twice shortly before its demolition in 1981.

The 2005-rebuild home at 99 Glenvale Blvd.has sold for $2,050,000, $100,000 over asking. It was on the market for seven days and saw three-dozen visitors. Globe and Mail

Gold medal winner Rosie MacLennan will carry the Maple Leaf flag for Team Canada at the Rio Olympics on Tuesday, August 5, 2016. She is Rosannagh in the family tree, a pedigree she shares with her grandfather, who was set to participate as a gymnast in the 1940 Olympics when the games were cancelled because of the war. Rosie was chosen to carry Canada’s flag today at a ceremony in Ottawa and says she is incredibly proud of the honour. “As I grew up, I was captivated by the values that the Olympic movement stands for — that pursuit of excellence, respect and the celebration of humanity,” she told reporters. “Standing here, going into my third (Olympics), I’m filled with so much pride that words can’t even begin to describe it. This is beyond my wildest dreams.” McLennan was born August 28, 1988 and is the 2013 World Trampoline champion, 2012 Olympic champion and 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games champion in the individual trampoline event. MacLennan was the Canadian National Women’s champion in 2005, 2009 and 2011, and in 2007 was the World Champion in synchronized trampoline with Karen Cockburn. She has also won five silver and four bronze medals in World Championship competition in both the individual and synchro events. The King City athlete trains at Skyrider’s Trampoline Place in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with coach David Ross, who has coached all of Canada’s Olympic trampolinists.