Yorkdale shootings spark fear and anger

by  • 

The fatal shooting of a man and the wounding of another at Yorkdale Shopping Mall tonight has prompted police to isolate thousands of people and their cars in the mall’s huge parking lot. Toronto Police Service has announced that it will be many hours before vehicles are able to come and go freely at the mall and they have advised people who must leave to do so without their cars. The victim is said to be a man and as the Toronto Sun suggests he may have been shot as many as ten times. The second man is said to be in  Sunnybrook Hospital in serious but stable condition. There is no information on who they are or even if they knew each other. Radio and television reports indicate that stranded shoppers are angry at being denied the opportunity to leave. There is also apparently widespread tweeting among the  thousands of people who know the mall expressing their fears about violence there. The shootings took place about 8.20 outside the Sears store on the south side of the mall. 

“Health food store” to open at 1622 Bayview

by  • 

Behind the neatly papered-over windows at 1622 Bayview Ave. work goes on to finish what sources say is our street’s latest health food store. No other details were at hand but this is the firm word as to what the business will be. The large west-side premises is next door to Patisserie de Cignone and was until recently the home of The Trend Shoppe. 

Dead lad in Don River crash is A. J. Blugerman, 16

by  • 

A. J. Blugerman

A Good Friday drive for five teens led to a deadly crash into the Don River yesterday about 5.30 p.m.  The Acura SUV turned abruptly off Lakeshore Drive East and plunged into the deep waters of the Keating Canal killing a 16-year old boy who was one of the occupants. The others, which included the driver, managed to get out of the submerged vehicle and swim to the surface. The dead youth is identified as A.J. Blugerman. He was a new student at Bayview Glen, a private school near Don Mills and York Mills roads, and before that went to the all-boys St. Michael’s College School, where he played hockey.  Police say the group of teens — three boys and two girls — went through a handrail which was not designed to stop a vehicle.  There is a suspicion that driver inexperience may be a factor in this crash. The driver of the SUV is 17.

Is the junior tyrant backing himself into a corner?

by  • 

There seems to be a growing concern that Kim Jung Eun, the young dictator of North Korea, may be backing himself into a corner. His threats to make war on the U.S. and South Korea have reached levels that can only be exceeded by actual violence itself. There’s a feeling that Kim, who is seen to be a rather superficial individual, has been rattled by the appearance of USAF  B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea yesterday. They have the capability to pierce the north’s air defenses unannounced. Some fear Kim is coming to rely more on his own judgment rather than on the strategies that characterized the rule of his father. Analysts say it is possible that he will maintain the current state of tension, yet without a concrete plan of action for the future. The South Korean monitoring agency Daily NK says it is difficult to predict Kim’s actions, and a dangerous provocation cannot be ruled out. “Many believe that Kim’s aim is to wait for the United States to yield in some way that will permit him to stand his forces down and relax the tension. However, this plan is unrealistic, because the U.S. has repeatedly stated that it has no wish to negotiate with North Korea unless there is a set agreement for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in place,” say Daily NK. 

Long lineups for Penrose Fish and Chips favorite

by  • 

The tradition of eating fish and chips on Good Friday was alive and thriving at 600 Mt. Pleasant Rd. this evening as dozens of people lined up outside Penrose Fish and Chips to buy the neighborhood favorite,  The shop was accepting both table service and take-out orders There’s no knowing at this point just how many people dined on the Penrose fare tonight. City News Channel was live and reports nationally indicate that fish and chip shops all over the country were busy as the ancient practice of not eating meat on Friday made a special impact on this solemn day. Penrose Fish and Chips is an institution in our area.  Inside the shop, (inset) Dave Johnston and his wife Rosey were cooking up the popular fare started by Dave’s mother and father at this address in 1950. 

A busy Good Friday on South Bayview

by  • 

This is a bright and busy Good Friday on South Bayview. Everyone will mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar as they wish but as part of their day a lot of people are walking the broad sidewalks of our main street enjoying the weather. Among the businesses open as of noon time are Cumbrae, COBS, epi breads, Passion Fruit, Starbucks, Badali, Mad Italian, Shoppers Drug Mart and Hollywood Gelato. There are no doubt others too. The larger food outlets in our region are closed as is Tremblett’s Valu Mart right on South Bayview. 

Opel Cascada the solution to the Buick blahs

by  • 

The joke about the car brand whose owners were more familiar with social security than social media applies 100 percent to the Buick. GM has managed to get the average age of the Buick owner down to the mid-50s rather than the mid-60s of a few years ago. But the 2014 models showing at the New York Auto Show may not budge the meter much. The Regal has a new “muscle” version but we think GM would be smart to re-badge its German-made Opel Cascada (above) as the Regal convertible. Then they could get the sex appeal of the drop top in the Buick line and also sell “German engineering” too. But then, GM probably does not want our advice.

Seize cell phone from drivers says BC survey

by  • 

As many as 70 percent of British Columbians told Angus Reid pollsters that the police should be able to seize the phones of repeat offenders who use their cell devices while driving.  Sadly, there was a serious self-deception at work with many of the subjects who said they trusted themselves using the phone to talk and text while they drive, but they didn’t trust others to do it. CTV.

Newspaper print readership in Toronto plunges

by  • 

The print readership of Toronto’s newspapers is plunging, according to the survey information released by the Newspaper Audience Databank (NADbank). It’s a story that the newspapers are having a hard time telling as they bury these print readership numbers in various ways. The Toronto Star for example puts the lead on its continued status as the most read newspaper across the Toronto area. And that’s fine but the collapsing print readership numbers are a story that is far more important. The current NADbank survey for example shows the Star’s print readership has fallen 13.8 percent across the region. By any measure it is a staggering drop. As a business indicator for the newspaper it can hardly be over-stated. Similar drops are shown for the other daily papers. The Globe and Mail print readership has dropped  13.8 per cent,  the Toronto Sun, 10.8 percent and the National Post, 17.6 per cent. This is a national trend it seems as  44 of the 55 daily newspapers surveyed across Canada showed similar levels of declines. The drop has been exaggerated in the NADbank phone survey by the inclusion of homes that have only a cell. Typically, subscribers to the print edition of a newspaper have a land line in the home.   

Old CIBC bought by First Capital, owners of Leaside Village

by  • 

The old CIBC branch at 180 Laird Dr. and McRae Dr. has been purchased by First Capital Realty, the owners of Leaside Village, The purchase of the two-storey commercial building, which dates from the 1930s,  gives First Capital an outpost right across the street from one of its competitors, SmartCentres Inc. at Laird and Wicksteed Ave. The property sits in a somewhat awkward location in a 21st century sense. Its removal would permit a much easier flow of traffic through the intersection and especially southbound onto Laird.  Still, as a place of business it has a lot of appeal. There are some 18 parking spots in the attached lot behind the building with access off McRae Drive.  First Capital has placed a Leasing Opportunities  sign on a number of windows. As we posted previously, the building was listed for $1.9 million and sold for $2.5 million.  Although a modest structure by the standard of 1930s bank buildings, 180 Laird does have a well-preserved coat of arms of the bank’s builder, the Imperial Bank of Canada, over the front door The building stayed in the bank’s family until this year’s sale even after the Imperial merged with the Bank of Commerce in 1960 to create the CIBC.

Telus case clarifies when police can read texts

by  • 

The Supreme Court of Canada has said in a split decision that police must have what is known as “wiretap authority” as well as a warrant in order to access text messages as part of criminal investigations. The judges issued a 5-2 decision. The matter was brought to the SCOC by Telus Communications. The case arises from a warrant the Ontario Superior Court granted to police in Owen Sound that ordered Telus to turn over texts from two of its customers