The South Bayview Bulldog

Approaching weather seen at 11 a,.m Wednesday

Weather Network forecast

Environment Canada is warning of possible heavy rain followed by snow on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. But just how much of each will fall in Toronto remains unclear. “There remains considerable uncertainty as to the exact track of this low-pressure system and the timing of the changeover from rain to snow. This will ultimately affect how much snow may fall at any particular location,” reads the statement from Environment Canada. Weather Network

A long and sympathetic chat among members of Leaside Community brings to light the serious threat to dogs from discarded marijuana. It can throw pets for quite a loop. Be careful please, although that may be a contradiction in terms. FB

Cineplex Inc. will sell its head office building at 1303 Yonge St. between Jackes and Woodlawn Aves. for $57 million as business conditions change in the theatre industry. Most critical for the movie house firm is C-19 related closures. It saw a staggering 90 percent drop in business between the summers of 2019 and 2020. But even long-term, Cineplex and other theatre operators face the challenge of popular entertainment streaming. Cineplex says it will continue to lease back its Toronto office for up to a decade, but plans to consolidate its office space in Toronto.

The premier believes, and the evidence seems to support it, that thousands of people are arriving in Canada from all over the world with hardly any effort to check if they’re infectious. It may be why many suspect that the variant strain of C-19 identified in the UK is already here. Of course, if it weren’t for modern jet travel, the Coronavirus would still be confined to China. Funny about that.

The stout-hearted friends and organizers of the Leaside Toy Drive have posted video and pictures of their work this season. Toys were delivered to three out of four schools. Unfortunately, one school did not re-open before school break. They will be delivered as soon as possible. FB

Premier Ford said Monday that the province will close down until at least January 22 beginning Boxing Day. And it appears that hospital overload is a major part of a potential crisis. Ford dismissed the idea of a nighttime curfew, something that some say was helpful to Australia and New Zealand in slowing the virus. But the premier said a curfew was akin to a police state.

Sombre policewoman carries boy’s jacket from a storm management pond in Milton/Graham Paine@GPmedia_24

Two boys rescued from water of the Pittock Conservation Area in Woodstock/Woodstock Fire Department

A boy of 11 has died in Milton when he fell through the thin ice of a large storm management pond in that community Saturday afternoon. His young friend was able to get out of the icy water and run for help. But it was too late. Fire and police authorities arrived quickly but it took them 15 minutes to find the boy’s lifeless body.

Woodstock boys rescued

Two boys were rescued from Pittock Conservation area water Sunday after they fell through thin ice well offshore. But they were within sight of pedestrians who called for help. One lad was still lying on the ice and the other was up to his chest in water as the Woodstock Fire Department launched rubber rafts to make the rescue.

The Ministry of Health Ontario is reporting 2,123 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, a drop from 2,316 cases the day before. Most of the new cases are in Toronto (611), followed by Peel Region (480), and York Region (192). Testing continues at a substantial rate. Some 54,500 tests were completed in the 24-hour period ending at midnight.

Cases in South Bayview remain in a narrow range

The incidence of new infection in South Bayview neighbourhoods continues in a narrow range compared to Toronto hotspots. On Monday, the City’s Interactive Map shows Leaside-Bennington reporting 20 cases within the past three weeks. Rosedale-Moore Park shows 23 such cases. On December 17, these numbers were 22 and 19 respectively. On December 6, they were 51 (Leaside) and 31 (Rosedale-Moore Park).

Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park

Monday’s three-week count in Thorncliffe Park is 220. This represents a moderate increase from December 6 when the number was 206. In Flemingdon Park, the number of cases has dropped to 132 compared to 146 on December 6.

Friends of St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church can gather virtually Monday night (tonight) at 7 p.m at this YouTube link.  The church’s Christmas with Friends event has to be a different form of treat this year.  St. Cuthbert’s usually hosts ‘Carols with Friends’ on the last Monday evening before Christmas — a time of singing carols and Christmas songs in the church, followed by hot cider and Christmas cookies. But the community will still gather tonight online for a  Christmas presentation of music and spoken word, a program featuring two soloists, piano and narrator.

The Ontario government will impose a province-wide lockdown on Christmas Eve, returning life to the same bare-bones business activity seen in March. There will be a 28-day lockdown for Ontario south of Sudbury beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, sources confirmed. The northern parts of Ontario will be under a 14-day lockdown. The news comes with grim forecasts from a variety of health authorities that January will see potential C-19 surges that will test health facilities. On Sunday, the province recorded 2,316 new cases of the virus.

Canada halts travel from the United Kingdom

Also Sunday, Canada joined several European nations in halting flights from the UK in an effort to prevent a new, potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus from spreading to this country. Various frightening things are said about the variant — that it is “out of control” and that it is 70 percent more contagious — but there is little context or depth to the information so far. Prime Minister Johnson spoke Sunday and said the new strain does not seem so far to be any more lethal than the one the world has been battling for a year.

Wreckage from high-speed rollover on Dundas St. in Etobicoke

Three people have been injured, two critically, after a single-vehicle collision in Etobicoke early Sunday morning. Police say the car shown in the City News video capture above was hurtling along about 3 a.m. when it struck a barrier, hit a pole and flipped. It seems remarkable that anyone survived. All of this at the corner of Islington Ave. and Dundas St. opposite Mongomery’s Inn. Video.

Bitcoin perps at it again

Who invented bitcoin? The best friend a conman ever had is once again the object in a crazy scheme to terrify and steal from people. This time anonymous letters are being sent in Halton Region and Toronto in which the bitcoin perps threaten to poison you and your family if you don’t go to your handy corner store and pay them some $1,500 in protection money. Fortunately, most people see through this dirty racket.

An Innisfil server is the lucky recipient of a $1,000 tip. Wow. Then, all across Canada, the vaccinations have begun. Gimme that jab. Please. In Nigeria, 344 schoolboys who were abducted by Boko Haram rebels have been released. Boko Haram doesn’t like so-called Western teaching similar to the stuff your kids get in school. Lastly, the satirical laugh that was is finished as Jim Carrey decides he won’t be the face of Joe Biden on SNL anymore. People.