Scent of an election in the air as Spring nears

by  • 

The Legislature has resumed this morning (Tuesday, February 18, 2014) and there is the scent of an election in the air. It would be a good idea not to try, as some writers are doing, to guess the outcome before the writ is even issued.  Election campaigns are unpredictable. There is often a TV debate moment that changes everything. It’s sometimes not apparent until a public opinion poll reveals what’s happened.  A debate should be a knock down event with three strong personalities ready to fight. Could be good. But let’s not get ahead of events. 

Leaside select tourney goes off “without a hitch”

by  • 

There’s a very warm glow around the Leaside Memorial Community Gardens on Millwood Road these days following the flawless success of the Leaside Select Invitational Tournament last week. As Jeff Munn, vice president of the select program at the Leaside Hockey Association was saying, “It was four days of hockey and family fun and it went off without a hitch.” That’s a good verdict on an event that saw 1,800 kids suit up and 6,500 family members converge on Leaside’s new two-pad arena, and on the two rinks Leaside rents at the Canlan complex on Victoria Park Ave.  The size and speed with which the events fly by make it tough to assess all the positive results. Mr. Munn is especially pleased with six new teams that were created by Leaside alone because of the extra ice availability this year. The Grade 9 Boys Bantam team in this group were notable achievers as the inset picture suggests. There is a spirit and commitment among the 420 families who participate in the Leaside select program which no doubt other association around town would like to bottle and take home. Now the planning will begin again because no matter what anyone thinks, 2015 isn’t that far off. The 15 member committee that plans the tournament will meet again before too long. Those who form the 40 member shock troop corp of getting things done are all on call. For the moment, however, everyone may take a breather and bask in the satisfaction of a job well done.    

Bad behaviour man sought in Thorncliffe Park

by  • 

Police sketch

Police are seeking a man who has apparently been exposing himself in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood over the past few days. The first incident occurred last Monday (February 10, 2014) when the man allegedly exposed himself to a 17-year-old girl. On Tuesday, the same man exposed himself to a 55-year-old woman in the evening. And on the morning of Thursday, February. 13, 2014  to a 23-year-old woman. Police say the man was smiling at the victims each time he exposed himself. He is described as having brown skin and to be in his 20s or early 30s with dark eyes and a possible overbite. He is of medium to heavy build and about 5 ft. 7 to 8 inches tall. The suspect was wearing a dark coat and boots with beige pants and black gloves, according to police.

Sour smell about Olympic ice dance judging

by  • 

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have had to settle for silver in the long program of Olympic ice dancing. As the Globe and Mail recounts the mysterious judging in the short program yesterday left the Canadians struggling for points. They lost today on that shortage. Globe and Mail   Here is a nice moment with these attractive people. 

Happily, we clean out drawers on Family Day

by  • 

Most of us will enjoy well enough this sixth Family Day. At the South Bayview Bulldog, we will be cleaning out drawers and be cheerful for the chance.  News organizations, sensing the challenge of the weather, have been busy asking people what they will do. Young bloods out on the skating rinks promise solemnly to spend time with mom and dad. This is really not fair. No one, not even Premier Dad (now exiled to Ottawa) expected this to be much more than another day off.  Mr. McGuinty was a near caricature of himself when he announced this holiday in 2008 and then waxed on about how he had always wished that he had spent more time with his father. The idea of a mid-winter long weekend was not new when the Liberals cooked up Family Day. Having run out of warm weather long weekends with which to gift voters, governments had long pondered a mid-winter break. Then they thought about the weather and perhaps the lost productivity  and decided to forget it. 

When will China stop the horror in North Korea?

by  • 

The release today (Monday, February 17, 2014) of a damning United Nations report on the hideous reality that is North Korea should direct pressure on China to lead the way in bringing an end to this evil place. It is China which has protected and sustained the obscene North Korean regime since the earliest days of Mao Tse Tung. Today’s report catalogues all the well-known barbaric conditions that have long marked this rogue state — starvation, executions, repression and thought control, prison camps, kidnapping of foreign citizens. None of it could go on if the Chinese did not accommodate it. BBC

$72,000 bill to move a few blocks across Ottawa

by  • 

It’s being called a smear, but if it’s true that it cost the National Defense Department $72,000 to move the Liberal Party’s defense adviser a few block across Ottawa  — you be the judge.  Defence Minister Rob Nicholson will investigate reports that Andrew Leslie, a retired general, charged taxpayers that sum to move homes within the same city. Leslie joined the Liberals as an adviser in September. He is expected to run for the party in the 2015 federal elections and is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the Liberal policy convention next week in Montreal.

Tesla Model S catches fire in a Toronto garage

by  • 

Bloomberg News says that Tesla Motors in California is investigating a fire involving a Model S in Toronto on Valentine’s Day. The fire happened in a Toronto garage after the car’s owner returned from a drive, and the vehicle wasn’t plugged in to recharge when it occurred. “After a few moments, the owner’s fire detector went off and the fire department was called,” the publication Business Insider says. Telsa is a pure electric car run powered by ion lithium batteries, a technology that has not been without trouble. There were three Model S fires reported in the U.S. last year, but always either in the context of an accident or while plugged in. Tesla has released a statement saying it has definitively determined that the fire did not originate in the battery, the charging system, the adapter or the electrical receptacle, as these components were untouched by the fire.

Doughty gets OT goal to grab victory from Finns

by  • 

Canada wins 2-1 in overtime as London’s Drew Doughty scores the critical goal. Here the 24-year old defenseman high fives teammates. It was a hard-fought game that drove fans mad with anxiety — nervous, heart attack, going insane — all were invoked by Canadian supporters. Here is CBC explanation of the complex Olympic ranking system.

Canada moved on to the quarter-finals of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but it won’t be as the No. 1 seed. Drew Doughty scored two goals, including the overtime winner, as Team Canada earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Finland at Bolshoy Ice Dome Sunday, securing the third seed and a bye into the quarter-finals. Canada will play the qualification-round winner between Latvia and Switzerland. Finland goaltender Tuukka Rask was spectacular, turning aside 25 shots in the losing effort but Canadian counterpart Carey Price was equally up to the task, although much less busy. Price, getting the start in place of Roberto Luongo, made 14 saves. The Canadians needed a regulation win (and the accompanying three points) to clinch the top spot but finished atop Group B with eight points, while Finland was second with seven. With the overtime win Sweden officially clinched the top seed, and will face the winner of with the U.S. sliding into the second spot.       

Twitter   Globe and Mail   TSN audio  Drew Doughty 

Juicy Heenan Blaikie tale rivets lawyers, scribes

by  • 

The breathtaking National Post account of what went wrong at the now fallen law practice of Heenan Blaikie is getting the most sincere form of review from lawyers and writers across the country. They can’t stop talking about it.  Who knew that Heenan Blaikie retirement recruit Jean Chretien and Heenan partner Jacques Bouchard set out in 2010 to do business with African dictators. Mining, arms — it seems like a rich field. The story, written by Staff Writers Theresa Tedesco and Brian Hutchinson, quotes many sources as saying the venture was so distasteful to the Straight John attorneys in charge of the Toronto office that it led to a crisis of confidence among partners there. Ultimately, some of them quit.  In the end, say the Post’s sources, it caused the collapse of the firm. “Wow,” was the one-word plaudit handed to his Post colleagues by Globe and Mail  reporter Adam Radwanski in a tweet Saturday. The Twitter chitter chatter goes on and on about the Tedesco-Hutchinson spellbinder. National Post (may requjire subscriptjion)