Basketball fans lined up for hours in frigid weather this morning to be the first through the door of a Michael Jordan pop-up store on Yonge Street.The store just north of Dundas Street West opened at 6:23 a.m. but hundreds of fans had been waiting in line all night, and in some cases for days, in temperatures that dipped to -15 C.CBC

City Manager Peter Wallace will speak at 1 p.m. Friday about contingency plans for service delivery in the event of a labour disruption involving members of the Toronto Civic Employees’ Union (TCEU) Local 416 (CUPE) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79.  Mainly that’s what do you do with your garbage.

There is anger in the United Kingdom over an alleged 10-year tax dodge by Google that has seen European boss Matt Brittin grilled at the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament about how much he makes personally. He could not — or would not — answer. It was a bit of grandstanding by MPs but it appears true that Google has been able to avoid the full payment of monies it should have paid. For reasons not explained, the government revenue collection arm, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) settled for 130 million pounds .

The Ohio Art Co., owner of the Etch A Sketch concept, has sold the well-known children’s pastime to the Toronto toy firm Spin Master Corp  with offices at 450 Front Street West.  The price was not disclosed. Etch A Sketch was created by a French inventor. The brand was produced or owned by Ohio Art since 1960, when it bought the rights for $25,000.

The Canadian International Auto Show opened Thursday with the 2016 Honda Civic being named Canadian Car of the Year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. The Civic beat out the Volkswagen Golf R and the Golf Sportwagon, the other finalists up for the award. The 2016 Mazda CX-3 beat out the Kia Sorento and Volvo XC90 to capture the 2016 Utility Vehicle of the Year title.

The Progressive Conservatives have won the Whitby-Oshawa byelection according to the CBC and CP24. The candidate, Lorne Coe, was said to have about 50 per cent of the vote.

Mayor John Tory warned of a “real chance” of a labour disruption involving indoor and outdoor workers in a letter to city councillors Thursday. He says that the “climate at the negotiations table and the union’s declaration that they will accept no concessions indicate that there is a real chance we will have a labour disruption”. .The Toronto stock market sank nearly 100 points Thursday, the fifth day of large losses. Traders were saying things like:  “Everyone is looking at negative rates in Europe and Japan, and trying to figure out what that means to the banking system.” And scientists for the first time have detected gravitational waves, ripples in space and time hypothesised by Albert Einstein a century ago, in a landmark discovery announced on Thursday that opens a new window for studying the cosmos. The waves were unleashed by the collision of the black holes, one of them 29 times the mass of the sun and the other 36 times the solar mass, located 1.3 billion light years from Earth, the researchers said. It’s not clear from news reports just how, if at all, this knowledge might be applied to human life.

Mayor Tory will present the human phenomenon known as Drake with the Key to City Friday night.  Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham is famous for his music, for loving Toronto and for being famous. It’s nice but don’t expect the earth to move at Millwood and Bayview. The presentation of the key will take place in front of thousands of fans at Ricoh Coliseum as part of NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto.

The west of Bayview ratepayers group SERRA will hold a two-hour seminar next month designed to help people in South Bayview avoid disputes with their neighbors when they renovate. This free event will be held Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at Greenwood College School, 445 Mt. Pleasant Rd. at Davisville  Ave. It is set to begin at 6.45 p.m. Ferris Varini of SERRA says it’s a chance to learn the planning process. This includes matters such as property variances, Committee of Adjustment and the Ontario Municipal Board. SERRA says these are concerns to residents in Davisville, Leaside and other neighbourhoods. The seminar will offer residents an opportunity to learn about ways to avoid conflict with builders and neighbours prior to and during residential construction.  Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22) Terry Mills, a professional planer and urban designer and construction lawyer Paul Hancock plan to be present. SERRA board members experienced working with Toronto’s planning process will also be able to answer questions. SERRA is the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association.

 

This is a lovely CBC feature on a Syrian family who appear to be charming, and how they were helped in Canada by kids at Dewson Street Junior Public School and others.  Video would make you glad to see them move in next door.

Passengers are still steaming from the ocean voyage from hell they experienced on the Royal Caribbean liner Anthem of the Seas. The captain says he thought he could get past the Atlantic storm that pounded his ship but he couldn’t. Experts ask who willingly makes book on Mother Nature with a ship full of passengers? Another question is did orders come from head office? A spokesperson says no but experienced cruisers know that frequently vacations plans are  altered (not for the better) because the company decides to save a dollar or two off promised routing or departure times.