Flaherty rites to be held at St. James Cathedral

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Jim Flaherty’s funeral will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at St. James Cathedral (Anglican) at 65 Church Street. Visiting will take place at the Abilities Centre at 55 Gordon Street in Whitby on Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mourners asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Abilities Centre. 

Land Rover shows “transparent hood” #Toronto

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When they throw open the doors at the New York Auto Show next Wednesday (April 16, 2014) Land Rover will be showing one of the most innovative features in a car since the back-up camera. The company has designed a system of cameras installed in the grill which permit a driver to see the road under the front bumper. The system electronically transmits this view to the Heads-Up Display on the windshield. It appears to make the hood transparent. What an asset to safe driving and what fun.

Belleville battling rising water as rain looms

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The mayor of Belleville is asking citizens to volunteer for sandbag duty as rising water and predicted rain threaten parts of the small eastern Ontario city. Melting snow has caused water levels of the Moira River to rise dramatically in the past few days. Mayor Neil Ellis issued a state of emergency on Friday afternoon. But even more rain is forecast in the next few days.  Today Ellis asked all able-bodied persons to help. CTV has quoted  Jennifer May-Anderson, spokesperson for Quinte Conservation Authority, as saying conditions in the area could deteriorate very quickly, reaching levels seen back in 2008 when Belleville was hit with a similar flood. 

Willis Blair was a former mayor of East York

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Willis Blair, the former mayor of East York, has died at the age of 90. Mr.Blair died April 5, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Elsie, as well as his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His funeral was Wednesday at the Heritage Funeral Centre on Overlea Boulevard. Blair spent 18 years on East York Council. He also served as the chair of the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario. 

Leaside Home Depot checkout cams “miff” some

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Home Depot in Leaside has installed mirror cameras at the self-checkout computers. They are getting mixed reviews as they did in the U.S. when they were installed there a few years ago. No one seemed to mind much when the The South Bayview Bulldog visited Home Depot recently, but Margaret‏@TorontoViewer tweeted Saturday that three people were “miffed” by mirror-cams. She said one man asked for the manager. A typical reaction in other stores is the man who said the camera, which presented him staring back, “creeped me out.” You have to wonder if it would be better if the camera were hidden. There’s something about your own image that is distracting. But Home Depot may feel it is doing you a favour. At least you know there’s a recording. In law, this is quite all right. Even though the camera has a much better memory than the average store clerk (needless to say) the principle of no privacy in a public place applies. None of us has privacy unless we are in our homes. 

Power out Saturday south of Mt. Hope Cemetery

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Some residents north of Eglinton Ave. E. and west of Bayview Ave. found themselves without power on this bright Saturday morning. The blackout lasted about two hours between 8.a.m  and 10 a.m. It appears to have been related to installation of new hydro poles in this area of South Bayview. Power was restored along Broadway south of Mt. Hope Cemetery.  

New-era Eglinton may be a slight squeeze #TOpoli

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The plan to re-make Eglinton Ave. (both east and west) into a far, far better place had the Toronto Star’s Tess Kalinowski fairly swooning as she reported on a meeting at North Toronto Collegiate the other night. The drawings, which are lovely, have been circulated to BIAs and others for more than a year. They often came with a little questionnaire asking what one might like to see on the street — restricted bicycle lanes, non-restricted bicycle lanes — that sort of thing. Who knows exactly what the planners have concluded. Except that from the things mentioned at the North Toronto meeting, as reported by Kalinowski,  the City may have to start making trees, benches, cars and bicycles out of silly putty. We’re are going to get, said Planner Matthew Gerry, buffered bike lanes, wider sidewalks, large tree pits, street furniture and parking lay-bys. (Parking lay-bys anyone?) All of this and four lanes of traffic. It’s many years off of course but to be fair to simple arithmetic, it seems like a stretch. Or maybe a squeeze. Toronto Star.

Jazz, art, wine and cheese in Davisville Village

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Father Giff  (David Giffen) has tweeted an invitation to  an evening of live jazz wine, cheese, and art created by local artists. You can’t be late because its a drop-in event — 7 to 10 p.m. It’s at the Church of the Transfiguration  (Anglican) on Manor Road just where  Redpath Ave. joins “in the heart of Davisville Village.”. The date is Friday, April 25, 2014. Sounds like fun. 

Cabinet friend and doctor in bid to save Flaherty

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Kellie Leitch, the Minister of Labour and a medical doctor at the Hospital for Sick Children, tried to save Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as he was dying yesterday. Leitch, the MP for Simcoe-Grey, has an apartment in the same Cumberland St. building in Ottawa as the late finance minister. She was apparently made aware of the emergency in the building and rushed to perform CPR on Flaherty but was unable to save him. Surrounded by MPs wearing green ties, sweaters and jackets in honour of Flaherty’s Irish heritage, Leitch said everyone in Parliament benefited from the friendship, devotion and commitment to Canada of “the short Irishman.” “He loved his country and served it with a heart as big as the country itself,” Leitch said as she fought back tears. Leitch, a pediatrician, recalled how Flaherty had convinced her to get into politics at a time when she wasn’t particularly interested in doing so. “He loved his country and served it with a heart as big as the country itself.”