The Sentry, a fixture at 1633 South Baview for 17 years, will close this week. The owner says sadly that he will retire from retailing on the street. The Sentry sold models toys and catered to crafts and hobbyists.
Cyclist struck on misty Kennedy Rd. north of Eg
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A man on a bicycle was struck and injured by a car on Kennedy Rd. north of Eglinton Ave. E. this misty morning. The accident happened, according to police, when the man was crossing from east to west at Kingsdown Drive/Stratton Avenue about 5:50 a.m. A driver was southbound in the poor visibility when the collision occurred. Reports from the scene say the cyclist is apparently in stable condition in Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Car renewal fees jump from $82 to $108 by 2015
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Car licenses and drivers fees are increasing beginning September 1. And they will continue to go up over a two-year period. On Sunday, the present car registration will jump from $82 to $90 and then again in 2015 up to $108. The cost of renewing a drivers license will jump from $75 to $80. The increases are stiff and there is much grumbling but then we spend a lot in Ontario. These recommendations come from the so-called select report of Don Drummond, the retired economist hired by Dalton McGuinty to scare Ontarians and soften them up for fiscal restraint. The first thing Drummond recommended — and government instantly rejected — was the repeal of all-day kindergarten. Billions spent, billions in taxes. It’s all related.
Fired 80-year-old employees get $1.16 million
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Employee relations expert Sheryl Smolkin tells of an award to a couple in their 80s who were fired from their Hamilton-area welding firm by the new owner, even though they had an agreement to continue to work there. Both were active and in good health,. The court awarded the couple $1.16 million in severance awards. Sheryl Smolkin
Rain floods Simcoe Street, strands taxi and riders
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The heavy rain Tuesday night caught a Beck Taxi driver and his passengers off guard when the vehicle conked out in the deep water on Lower Simcoe Street. Firefighters arrived and (upper left) woman passenger wraps arm around welcome rescuer. Water was said to be as much as a metre deep at one point. Upper right, the slosh to dry sidewalk through quite foul-smelling sewer water. Lower left, an interview with CP24. Lower right, now Beck Taxi has to get its water-logged jitney back to Thorncliffe Park. At one point water filled the taxi up to the passengers knees as they sat in the back seat. This is the second time this summer the underpass has flooded.
79 Thorncliffe cited as “most complained about”
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The apartment building at 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive is the most complained about apartment in the city, according to the Toronto Star. The reported 59 official complaints cite such things at cockroaches, mice and water leaks, it is said. In fairness to the landlord, it should be noted that 79 Thonrclife is the address of two large high-rise buildings, not one. Toronto Star
Rank and file cops in Ontario to get tasers
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Today’s decision by the Ontario government to allow rank and file police to use tasers takes law enforcement into an unknown land. It isn’t necessarily a bad place. But some will wonder if the simple human nature of ordinary cops can adapt to a weapon that disables but doesn’t kill. The old cartoon about the student being tasered because he didn’t show his university ID comes to mind. In other words, police practice at the most routine level will have to be watched very carefully. The Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Madeleine Meilleur says her department will stay on top of how the weapons are used. Here’s why the ministry should figuratively walk the beat with ordinary cops. The threat to use the taser can be abused. Misuse can occur even when no one is actually whacked with a 500-volt stinger. It also remains true that no police officer will risk going up against a gun with a taser. In such cases, there is a high probability that someone will be shot. The announcement has raised a day-long complaint from the family of Aron Firman. The 27-year-old young man who died from a taser bolt in an encounter with OPP. Mr. Firman was mentally disturbed. Circumstances of the case seem incomplete. The family’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, says this a “band aid” application in response to the death of Sammy Yatim. And it may be. But neither Mr Falconer nor the government has a fix for “adrenalin judgement”. Training will not halt the chemical jolt that is rooted in the survival instinct. It is good to remember that deaths frequently occur not because men and women are cops, but because they are human. Start there to find a solution. Maple bacon jam was source of cronut poison
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The cause of the bacterial toxin that sickened at least 223 people at the CNE last week was the maple bacon jam on the cronut burger. As a result, the jam has been removed from sale and further efforts are under way to find out how it became poisonous. And although the Epic Burger concession at the CNE has now re-opened, it will no longer sell the Cronut Burger. Presumably the name has been ruined for public use now and forever. The cronut, by the way, is a hybrid creation crossing a croissant and doughnut. Rather like crossing a cucumber with a zucchini. Ugh.
Bayview sidewalk work moves to the west side
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Work on the sidewalks of South Bayview has moved to the west side of the street this morning (Tuesday, August 27, 2013) and it is a mess. Unlike the east side, replacement works extends right to the buildings and although work is being done efficiently, it will impact business. To begin work is underway in the middle of the south block among businesses numbered in the low 1600s.
Miley Cyrus lewdness shocks, stuns VMA crowd
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Members of the sophisticated show business audience at the MTV VMA’s Sunday night were clearly shocked and embarrassed by the lewdness of the Miley Cyrus performance with Robin Thicke. Above, Will Smith and his family respond variously with looks of dismay and bewilderment. One wonders, should these kids be there? It was not the only example of distress by the audience. Some might call the Miley Cyrus act pornographic. It was certainly raunchy. Will this unsavoury performance work for her? One critic has crowned her fleshy twerking with the superlative of superlatives — clusterfantastic. Don’t ask. We’ve embedded the video from the CBC on a separate page called Miley (link above) and it is fairly graphic so be your own bad taste control board. Twerking by the way is a stripping term meaning more or less to jiggle everything, says Wikipedia.
Leaside Garden Society meets March 13, 2014
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Beth Parker writes to say the Leaside Garden Society will present Gardening from a Hammock with Author and Master Gardener, Dan Cooper. He discusses low-maintenance gardening for sun and shade. Thursday. March. 13, coffee at 7.15, presentation at 7.30 Leaside Public library. Dan’s writing and photographs have appeared in publications all over the world. His specialty, “shade gardens” is a perfect topic for many of the gardens in Leaside and surrounding community.
“Democracy” vote an odd council breakdown
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The vote has been taken and there will no byelection to replace Doug Holyday in Etobicoke Ward 3. It was an odd breakdown with some of the mayor’s allies like Denzil Minnan-Wong voting against him. Another joker in the pack was the absentee list. It includes Josh Matlow (Ward 22). It’s summer. John Parker (Ward 26) voted in favour of a byelection along with the mayor, his brother and eight other councillors. Jay Robinson (Ward 25) a one-time Ford ally (not so much now) also voted for a byelection. Karen Stintz (Ward 16) voted for appointment as did Krystyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27) The motion was to appoint the replacement. Previous post.
Yes: 22 Paul Ainslie, Ana Bailão, Shelley Carroll, Josh Colle, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Norman Kelly, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ron Moeser, James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Jaye Robinson, Karen Stintz, Kristyn Wong-Tam
No: 11 Raymond Cho, Gary Crawford, Vincent Crisanti, Frank Di Giorgio, Doug Ford, Rob Ford, Peter Milczyn, Cesar Palacio, John Parker (Chair), David Shiner, Michael Thompson
Absent: 11 Maria Augimeri, Michelle Berardinetti, Mike Del Grande, Mary Fragedakis, Mark Grimes, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Josh Matlow, Frances Nunziata, Anthony Perruzza, Adam Vaughan