The South Bayview Bulldog

The 1936 heritage Postal Station K at Yonge and Montgomery Ave. is gutted and bears protective covering for art deco relief over the front door. The rear addition is gone and work begins on the 26 floor residential tower which will stand behind. Photo below, taken January 21, 2016, shows the depiction of the finished heritage bullding and the square in front. It is quite appealng. Note the “wall washer” lights cast upward from the base of the building. We’ll be watching for them. Trust they’re not a flight of artistic fantasy. The place will be finished in 2017. Previous 

The Leaside Wildcats will be strangers at home for a while as they embark on two road trips which will take them pretty much to the end of February. This weekend, starting Friday, Leaside will begin an away series with a visit to the Cambridge Rivulettes. Saturday it’s the Bluewater Hawks on their home ice in Strathroy and then a Sunday tilt with Southwest Wildcats in Windsor. These games are followed on Wednesday, January 27 by a meet up with the Toronto Aeros at York University  Next month brings another five-game road trip. Anybody going to class here?

City dwellers seldom appreciate the unforgiving conditions people endure living on the sparely populated Canadian prairie. This story is from Manitoba where  Kristen Hiebert and her little girl were alone and freezing all night after their car left the road near Dunrea about 240 kilometres from Winnipeg. The story of how Hiebert, with her arms broken, struggled to save herself and little Avery is told here by the CBC’s Nellie Gonzales.

The Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West has recreated the bedroom of Ferris Bueller, the legendary super cool and very lucky kid played by Matthew Broderick in the classic 1986 film. The room is part of an attraction called Come Up To My Room which runs runs from Thursday. January. 21 until January. 24.at the hotel. CBC

Ward 16 Councillor Christin Carmichael Greb was assailed Wednesday night by ratepayers when she waded into a discussion about what many feel is inadequate parking for a proposed commercial development on the northwest corner of Avenue Road and Brooke Ave. The proposed commercial and retail building at 1912 Avenue Rd. has been downscaled to four floors from five but the developer proposes to pay the city cash in lieu for parking. About 75 ratepayers crowded into a fairly small room at the Armour Heights Community Centre were cynical about cash in lieu. Right or wrong, most believe such money heads into a nameless slush fund and the neighbourhood never sees a dime. The clip below gives a sense of how it went. The development has been opposed by the South Armour Heights Residents Association (SAHRA).

Bessborough Drive will return once again to that way of life called commercial-making which residents there must feel is the road’s destiny. Partners Film will be making a commercial for Rogers (probably communications) beginning at 7 a.m. at 119 Bessborough. About a dozen trucks wull be parked, avoiding driveways, along Bessborough between Rolland Rd. and McRae Dr. Lance Creighton signs the notice as manager and gives a telephone number if needed. (416) 338 3456 Bessborough plays hosts to WPXZ News from Delaware

A scaled-back plan for the Scarborough subway that will do less and cost less is Mayor John Tory’s answer to east end transit. The scaled down Scarborough subway would have two fewer stops — eliminating “two of the three originally planned stops.” It would end at Scarborough Town Centre is instead of Sheppard Ave.   But it would also include a 17-stop LRT through five of the city’s most underserved, east end neighbourhoods, says The Star’s Kate Kalinowski.  And Scarborough Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker who defended the costly subway scheme finds the changes just fine. Mr. Tory is scheduled to speak about his plan Thursday and it might be reasonable that those who opposed the subway as too costly will be heard from as well.

Thick black smoke spiralled into the downtown sky during a fire at a construction site at the parking garage the Backstage On The Esplanade building on Front Street East and The Esplanade just before noon. The building is across from the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Huge condo fire at Front & Yonge @toronto_fire @tofire @CBCToronto @globaltv #toronto #fire pic.twitter.com/URcqTUxBXQ

— Alex M. Chong (@alexmchong) January 20, 2016

The jury is deliberating in the trial of PC James Forcillo and the court has released information which was not heard by the jury. Among these things were Forcillo’s lawyers to show that Sammy Yatim committed “suicide by cop” on the night he died. Lawyer Peter Brauti hoped to argue that Yatim was depressed, using drugs and cared very little about his life when he pulled a knife on a streetcar, sparking a panicked exodus. Brauti was denied this opportunity. He was also unable to introduce Yatim’s cell phone searches looking for easy way to commit suicide. Also not heard by the jury: Evidence that Sammy Yatim was on bad terms with his father, having been “kicked out:” of the family home. Among other things, Brauti asked the court to permit him to tell the jury that Yatim didn’t comply with police orders to drop his knife because he didn’t care about his own life and was prepared to act in a way that could cause police to take actions resulting in his death.

The COSTI Immigrant Services agency in Toronto has found itself swamped with Syrian refugees sponsored by the government and has asked for a five-day moratorium on arrivals. Mario J. Calla, the executive director of COSTI, told the CBC she has requested a five-day stoppage from the government of federally sponsored newcomers. “In the past few weeks, we’ve been received about 300 refugees a week,” Calla said. “We’re talking about a five-day pause, we’re not talking about stopping. We’re talking about we can do this better is what we’re saying,” Calla continued.