Hydro says it has been “given clearance” to start restoring power in the Victoria Park Ave. and Kingston Rd area. Toronto Hydro Twitter account
Leaking gas brings hydro blackout, evacuations
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There is natural gas everywhere in the Kingston Road and Victoria Park Ave. area — that’s why hydro has cut off the power. The ripple effect of the natural gas leak is now being felt all through the neighborhood where 4,000 customers are without service, There is a 500 metre perimeter around the location. Both throughfares and many sidestreets are closed. Neil McNeil Catholic High School at 127 Victoria Park has been evacuated and police say it may be eight hours before service is resumed. This was caused by a private company. Its workers ruptured an eight-inch main and it shot a lot of gas under pressure before it was turned off. There are no known injuries but the police are urgently telling everyone to stay away from the area. TTC warming buses are available for residents and the city has opened a warming centre at the Birchmount Community Centre at 93 Birchmount. Residents are able to get into the centre to keep warm.
Time to get real with Lamilly, acne, moles and all
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A Pittsburgh graphic designer has created a doll similar to the Barbie species but with a whole range of flaws and afflictions — like acne — that make her more real. Or so says Nickolay Lamm, the doll’s creator. The doll is called Lammily. The Lammily kit comes with all sorts of common place stuff suitable to real life. She is the same height and dimensions of a normal 19-year-old, She comes with a set of vinyl “marks” (stickers) that give the doll customizable moles, acne, cellulite, stretch marks and more. Lammily is selling well for Christmas at $25.
Woman, 81, dead in Riverdale house fire, collapse
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Where is Angie? Sadly neighbors and authorities now know that the elderly woman has perished in the collapse of the home she owned at 282 Withrow Ave. in Riverdale. The building was consumed by flames beginning sometime around 4 a.m. The 81-year-old woman was greatly appreciated by those on the street. Firefighters put out the last of the flames around dawn. The CBC quotes Patricia Goluvev as saying she awoke to hear someone in the street yelling “everybody get out of your house.” “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Ms. Goluvev said she fears that her elderly neighbour may have been trapped inside. “She’s a lovely sweet woman. I don’t think she got out.”
Small condo at Leslie-Eglinton fetches $417,000
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A 909 square foot condominium at 1101 Leslie St. near Eglinton Ave. E. fetched $417,000 in recent days, 98% of its $424,900 price. It is known as Carrington on the Park and is quite near the Shops of Don Mills, a short distance from South Bayview. Toronto Star
“Facebook ads for luxury goods are for fakes”
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Bloomberg is reporting on new research by two Italian cyber-security experts, who found that about a quarter of the fashion and luxury ads on Facebook are actually touting knockoffs. The findings are based on a review of more than a thousand ads, including 180 in the luxury and fashion space. Of that 180, 43 turned out to be pointing to counterfeit goods. Stylecaster
Leaside Burger a fixed feature of Grilltime menu
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Host, store keep and raconteur Andy Elder is tweeting tonight that the Leaside (Grilltime) Burger is now a permanent fixture on the “cooked for you” menu boards at Grilltime on Laird Drive. Lunch Friday?
Concrete utility poles removed from Manor Road
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The 60-year-old concrete utility poles were coming down along Manor Road on this cold Thursday. Here we see workers (left) yanking out a pole. At right, truck will take this load to the hydro pole graveyard. For many months the neighborhood has seen the installation of new fir poles.
Tori & Cates $10,000 Movember challenge
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Tori and Cates Cupcakes is donating ten percent of all sales this month to a Movember fundraising challenge. The goal is $10,000 (to help fight prostate cancer) and the shop at 1592 Bayview Ave. is offering gift cards and special order Movember Celebration Cakes. The cards are good all the way over to October 31, 2015.
U2’s Bono suffers broken bones piercing the skin
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Bono has been injured more seriously than was previously reported as the result of a motorcycle crash in New York’s Central Park on Sunday. Bono, the U2 boss guy, suffered numerous severe fractures including one the orbit of his eye, In addition to his facial injury, Bono’s left shoulder blade was fractured into three pieces, a medical statement said. The 54-year-old suffered a compound fracture to the elbow where “the bone of the humerus was driven through his skin, and the bone was in six different pieces.” His elbow was repaired with three metal plates and 18 screws, according to the release. The singer also suffered a broken finger on his left hand. hand. They say he will recover but it’s likely all of this will cause some painful reminders of his biking time.
Whole She-Bang 2 at Sleuth Sat. November 22
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Sleuth of Baker Street on Millwood Road reminds us that the delightfully named group of authors, Sisters in Crime Canada, has produced another anthology of shoot and kill tales. The first was The Whole She-Bang. This year they are offering The Whole She-Bang 2! It is a collection of 24 stories written by 21 members and edited by Janet Costello. Many of the contributors will be at Sleuth on Saturday, November 22, 2014 between 2 and 4 p.m. Copies are autographed by all writers and you can learn more at this website
Black widows seldom stop at one or two old gents
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Police in Japan think that 67-year-old Chisako Kakehi has fatally poisoned her husband and that her total handiwork in this regard may be seven late husbands and boyfriends. She has denied involvement in the deaths but the Kyoto prefectural police think the cyanide in her 75-year-old husband’s body is just too compelling a reason to arrest her. The couple was married one month before he died in December 2013, reports said. Kyodo news service said that Kakehi had married four times, and that several partners had died within a few years of marrying her or starting relationships with her. Cyanide has also been found in the blood of a 71-year-old partner who fell while riding a minibike in 2012, Kyodo said. In the early going it is often possible for black widows to pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting authorities. Readers will remember the case of the New Glasgow Nova Scotia lady, Melissa Ann Weeks, who extinguished one husband by running over him on a country road. She got but 14 months in jail and then went on to kill two more husbands. Black widow of New Glasgow Nation