Paper says chance media outside wrong hospital

The world’s digital and scribbling hordes have been camped outside St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington for weeks but the Duchess of Cambridge could yet give them the slip by giving birth in Reading, according to the Telegraph newspaper. The Duchess, who is thought to have passed her due date, has been staying with her parents in Bucklebury, Berkshire the paper says.   The plan is for the Duchess to give birth at St. Mary’s Lindo Wing but there is also a contingency plan for a birth at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. This is where the expectant royal wife was born in 1982.  The Royal Berkshire hospital is in Reading and if  the Duchess goes into labour while she is staying with her parents and her labour progresses more quickly than expected, the Telegraph says, her doctors could send her to the Royal Berkshire, which is less than half an hour’s drive from Bucklebury. The trip to London is 53-miles although we may assume the ambulance would have a high-powered escort.

BMO opens new branch at 1560 Yonge

BMO Bank of Montreal has thrown open the doors at its new branch in Delisle Court at 1560 Yonge Street.  That moves the BMO branch up Yonge and across the street from the former branch which was located at 1461 Yonge south of St. Clair. That old branch kind of sat in the shade of the Scotiabank on the corner. The new BMO claims its own space and it a good place to pay your American Express (heh heh).

17 Blyth Dale Rd. a $3.9 million beauty

A breath-taking area home is on the market at the Lawrence Park address of 17 Blyth Dale Rd. near Bayview Avenue and Blythwood Road. They are asking  $3.895 million for this wonderful home, originally built by a builder for his own use. It has five bedroom and six bathrooms. National Post  

Phillip Olsson leaves LCBO to lead OLG

Phillip Olsson         Edward Waitzer

Phillip Olsson (left) has been tentatively appointed to become chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Mr. Olsson is currently head of the LCBO.  The government has appointed former Ontario Securities Commission chair Edward Waitzer (right) to lead the liquor board. The OLG post has been empty since Premier Wynne fired Paul Godfrey from the position earlier this year.  Both appointments are subject to approval by the standing committee on government agencies this fall. 

Kids hang high on wall but it’s okay — isn’t it?

At first glance it looks like the people hanging out of windows and clambering up the façade of this Victorian terrace house have developed superpowers, but all is not as it seems. This unusual scene in London is really an illusion created by Argentine artist Leandro Erlich using a giant mirror and a model of the front of a house laid out horizontally on the ground. Great fun for kids — and others.

Silence of the powerful heat on South Bayview

There is a silence that falls across a land when the temperature goes so high that it’s just too uncomfortable to move. It was like that on South Bayview Wednesday afternoon. There was traffic and even a few people clad in shorts on those burning sidewalks. But it was quiet. The temperature reached 34 C in our neighborhood and factoring in the humidity it felt more like 44 C. Those who know South Bayview would notice the many doors that are frequently open were closed. Your friends were in there, but they weren’t sticking their heads out to say hello. The City of Toronto extended its extreme heat alert, which keeps cooling centres open and extends the hours at public pools. Ontario’s Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli visited the Hydro One Manby Transformation Station, which is one of two major hydro corridors that feed power to Toronto. Chiarelli thanked the hydro staff for their work repairing the station after it was left flooded following last week’s record-breaking rainfall. At one point during the storm, 300,000 homes and businesses were left in the dark. Hydro One said the heat hasn’t had an impact on the hydro system this week, but officials are reminding customers to conserve power whenever possible. “We’re at a fairly high demand across the province now,”

Council votes 28-16 for subway to Scarborough

Toronto council has voted 28-16 in favour of building a subway to the Scarborough Town Centre. The chronically indecisive members of council finally reached a determination Wednesday afternoon. But their motion to take this underground route hangs on a commitment of money from the federal government. The decision means the scrapping the already-funded project to convert the Scarborough RT to an LRT line. As to financing, the City will require $418 to $660-million dollars, not including some $333 million already committed to the Sheppard LRT. The province must also contribute $1.8 billion as previously promised. Council committed to the LRT plan in 2012 and the province set aside $1.8 billion for the project in a master agreement with Metrolinx.

Rolling Stone profiles surviving Boston bomber

Many people are reacting with anger today after Rolling Stone magazine revealed it has put Boston bomber Jahar Tsarnaev on the cover of its latest issue. In the end however, the article does not appear to be a distortion of  “the monster” which Tsarnaev became. Psychiatrists will be fascinated by Tsarnaev as an example of another youthful male who, through whatever germination, turns his yearning for meaning into a homicidal rampage.  Rolling Stone says the cover story presents “a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster”. The magazine’s two-month investigation found that Jahar’s brother Tamerlan once confided to his mother that he felt like “two people” were inside him. “She confided this to a close friend who felt he might need a psychiatrist, but [his mother] believed that religion would be the cure for her son’s inner demons and growing mental instability, and pushed him deeper into Islam.” 

Joe Fresh in Shoppers a threat to apparel shops

So many things to think about when Loblaws buys Shoppers Drug Mart. Will we see PC Black Label Cough Syrup? Will you get Shoppers Optimum Points for using the Loblaws washroom? Seriously, it will change things. This is a thoughtful piece on the possible impact on small clothing retailers.   Ottawa Citizen

Tall tale copper called on the carpet by chief

CBC tells on  PC Nicholas Dorazioa, right
A Toronto cop, PC Nickolas Dorazioa, has been called on the carpet by the chief for cooking up a story for local TV that he had just been rescued from the stranded GO train down by the Don River a week ago Monday. It was all a load of baloney because Dorazioa never got any closer to the train than the sloppy verges of Bayview Ave. He was ordered there earlier in the evening along with hundreds of other able-bodied people to help in the rescue of those 1,400 passengers. The story as it was first reported was as murky as the water that swirled into the GO train. We were afraid that PC Dorazioa had elbowed little old ladies out of the way to get an early rescue from the train, so severe and worrisome were the news reports. And it almost sounds from the reaction at headquarters that they took it just that seriously. Chief Blair has called Dorazioa “shameful” for duping the poor TV types that way. And if you look carefully at the policeman’s face, it seems to reveal the mischief in his heart as he regaled reporters with a tale of being carried to safety by brave police officers. Well, he should not have done it, of course. Silly man. And if, as suspected, other coppers were egging him on, they too should get a tongue-lashing. Let’s keep in mind however that these men were in a stressful situation and that there were long waits with nothing to do. But they did not steal lifeboat seats from women and children. As a group they performed an honorable service. As for the chagrined TV reporters, we say get over it.

Japan moms make 3D models of unborn babies

Pregnant women in Japan can now come face-to-face with their unborn baby, thanks to new technology which prints a solid 3D image, using data from a simple ultrasound scan. Associated Press. 

Broadview and Gerrard closed until July 22

Dampening dust at Broadview-Gerrard

Police say it is expected that the intersection of Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street East will be closed to vehicles until Monday, July 22, 2013. Pedestrian traffic will have access to stores and businesses in the area. Commuters are asked to check with the TTC for updated routes and schedule. This picture shows demolition workmen bringing down what’s left of the Cai Yuan Supermarket. The fire hose helps keep down dust. Local residents are finding this activity the best show in town with many of them watching from the steps of the  Riverdale Library kitty corner from the fire scene. Previous Post