The South Bayview Bulldog

As much as 20 cm possible

Significant snowfall is predicted in a special warning from Environment Canada for Monday and Tuesday. It’s unclear from the warning just where or when the heaviest fall may occur but it seems possible Toronto residents might wake up Tuesday with from 10 to 20 cm on the ground. Statement below:

Snowfall with total amounts of 15 to 25 cm is expected. Two rounds of precipitation are expected Monday into Tuesday morning across portions of southern Ontario. The first one is expected to begin overnight or early Monday morning with 5 cm of snow expected by afternoon. Potentially higher amounts of up to 10 cm may occur near Lake Erie. The precipitation may diminish during the afternoon, but another round of even heavier snow is expected to move in Monday evening and persist until Tuesday morning. An additional 10 to 20 cm is likely.

There’s a lot of fear in the air about C-19 variants, the most dreaded of which is the so-called B117. Research in the UK is useful although far from definitive. It appears B117 is slightly more likely to kill people over 65 but not a lot. Numbers quoted recently bump the death rate for this group from one percent per 100,000 patients to perhaps 1.3 percent. So how do you catch B117? It seems as if doing the same sensible things you’d do to avoid the original version works pretty well against B117. The variant doesn’t hide under your bed or chase you down the street. Keep your distance and wear a mask.

It helps to be healthy

There’s emerging evidence that it’s important to build an immunity system by taking Vitamin D every day. The Sunshine Vitamin isn’t a vaccine sadly but there is tentative evidence that if you use it consistently your immunity to catching all kinds of things, including C-19, improves. There is also limited evidence that strong immunity will help you avoid the worst symptoms of C-19 if you do catch it.

Wonky C-19 numbers in Toronto?

Sunday’s new cases count in Ontario is 981 for the 24-hour period ending at midnight. That’s an encouraging number although questions have been raised about the accuracy of numbers from the Toronto Board of Health. But it is vague. As reported by the Ministry of Health there were 122 new cases in Toronto compared to 433 cases Saturday. And there continues to be deep concern among doctors about re-opening for normal business as the province remains largely unvaccinated.

Saturday’s $5 million Lotto 649 jackpot will be split between two ticket holders – one in the Prairies and the other in Ontario, the lottery says. Each winner will collect $2.5 million. The draw’s guaranteed $1 million prize also went to a lottery player in the Prairies. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Feb. 17 will be approximately $5 million.

Toronto Police Parking Enforcement will not be enforcing routine on-street parking bylaws during the Family Day holiday on Monday. This will apply for pay-and-display/metered area and rush-hour route restrictions as well as posted signs indicating Monday to Friday regulations. All other areas and parking offenses will continue to be enforced in accordance with parking enforcement lockdown measures.

Message of good wishes and love from Northlea children/Yee Hong

It’s the Year of the Ox

Hey, Jordan. Go girl/Leaside Wildcats

Superintendent Dave Rydzik

Leslieville BIA

Grade 1 and 2 kids at Northlea Elementary and Middle School were busy this week preparing colourful greetings for residents of the Yee Hong Centre to mark the Chinese New Year. It’s the Year of the Ox. Pictures at the upper left and right were tweeted by the centre. At centre right is the shining face of Jordan Lloyd, a hard-skating member of the Leaside Wildcats who just scored a $1,000 scholarship from the Black Girl Hockey Club. Take a look at the tribute given to this fine young role model. At lower left, we see that wild and crazy senior police officer Dave Rydzik, Superintendent of 43 Division.  Watch the hilarious ice-water video of Dave polar plunging for the Special Olympics. What a guy. Lastly in this gallery, some very pretty lights installed the Leslieville BIA.

Balliol St. at Forman Ave Friday evening/Bulldog

Police say the woman who rolled her car on quiet Balliol St at Forman Ave Friday night is apparently not seriously injured. Officers at the scene said she appeared to be impaired. Her car was eastbound on Balliol and got a little too close to the bumper of a parked car on the north side. The collision was enough to flip the small sedan.

Car hit bumper of a parked vehicle as it headed east/Bulldog

An on-site media scrum Friday by Acting Staff Superintendent Pauline Gray and Superintendent Ron Taverner outside 31 Division on Norfinch Drive is embedded here. The senior officers discuss the early morning shooting on Stong Ct. in northwest Toronto. The audio is low but the senior officers say that the girl, 14, who was critically injured is apparently likely to survive.

Dr. Micheal Warner, head of critical care at Micheal Garron Hospital/CBC

The head of critical care at Micahel Garron Hospital, Dr. Michael Warner, has added his voice to the medical opposition to any early relaxation of lockdown rules. Again, projections of 5,000 or more new cases per day of the virus are being heard. It’s similar to the fears discussed at New Year’s. In the event, Ontario began to flatten the second wave of C-19 in the middle of the month. Daily new cases rose to somewhat more than 3,000 and then began to decline.

Government determined

But the government seems determined. While Toronto apparently remains locked down in stay-at-home mode until February 22, a maze of timed re-openings will be permitted starting Tuesday. Readers will recall the post yesterday in which the government’s sickness-modeling expert Dr. Adalsteinn Brown did not contradict a reporter who asked if the doctor foresaw “a disaster.”

• Ontario postponing March Break to mid-April, says education minister
• Reporter uses word “disaster” and gov’t doctor lets it pass

Erich Schwam

Michala and Ben

Loujain Alhathloul

Faces, faces and what better likeness to show you first than that of the late Erich Schwam, who died at 90 in December. He was an Austrian Jew who found refuge as a child from the Nazis during WWII with the people of a tiny village in Southern France. Oh yes, his will contained a gift of some two million Euros to the town in gratitude for their humanity. At the centre, Michala and Ben are among those who have found love during the pandemic. Like many others, they met online and because of isolation rules spent a lot of time getting to know each other that way. Finally, women’s rights protester Loujain Alhathloul has been released from prison in Saudi Arabia. Note the bitter comments to this CBC story about how Canada continues to buy its oil and sell arms to Saudia Arabia. Why do we do it? Because we like Iran less.

Wreckage of a salt truck on Highway 410 Wednesday/OPP

The OPP Highway Safety Division tweeted scenes of a salt truck collision on Highway 410 Wednesday.

Join the Leaside Heritage Preservation Society

Ladies at Leaside Airport

The Leaside Heritage Preservation Society is seeking members during a limited-time two-for-one membership drive. There are five levels: Founding (Life), Corporate, Adult Annual, Senior Annual and Student. See the details.