Baby reaches out of womb to grasp hand of doctor

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The photo of a baby holding a doctor’s finger while being pulled from her mother’s womb during the c-section has gone viral on Facebook. Alicia Atkins shared the photo on her photography studio page on Dec. 26. Since then, it has amassed over 3,900 shares, over 800 comments and over 7,000 likes. The photo was taken in October and clearly shows Atkins’ daughter, Naveah, reaching out to hold Dr. Allan Sawyer’s hand. “The doctor called me over and said, hey, she’s grabbing my finger,” the baby’s father, Randy, told 3TV in Phoenix. “So I ran over there and just grabbed the shot and I was just in awe looking at it. It was such an amazing picture.” When Atkins shared the photo, she wrote that it is “Truly amazing.” “I am in awe of this photo,” she continued. “Something to remember forever.”

Retire in Ecuador? With respect, that’s silly

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With the greatest of respect to InternationLiving.com (whoever they are) the Globe and Mail and all others pushing this story today, we offer a polite “Don’t be silly”  It may be true, as the stories go, that retiring overseas “has captured the imagination and attention of post 50s looking for adventure and affordability”, but if they’ve got their wits about them, they’ll forget it. It’s true that to live in Ecuador is to live very cheaply. The story cites dinner out for $2.50.  The reason prices are so cheap however is because people are very poor. Poor as in poverty. Poverty as in do you want to live with that?  Do you want to flaunt your Leaside affluence around the metropolis of Quito? Hmm? Then there’s your family, friends and pensions. How’s your Spanish?  How are your pre-colonial American dialects? They have more than 24 there spoken by nearly three million inhabitants. It might be fun to visit.

Canada creates 40,000 jobs in December

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Ontario is showing the capacity to once again become the country’s economic engine. The province created three-quarters of the more than 40,000 full time jobs created in December.  Statistics Canada said that caused unemployment to recede a tenth of a percentage point to 7.1 per cent.  The results easily topped economist estimates for a gain of just 5,000 jobs nationally and an unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent. Results were also strong in November with the economy creating 59,300 jobs. 

Smartphone thefts continue in 53 Division

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Over the holidays there were two instances of phone theft from people in public. Two 15 year old boys were confronted by six others wearing disguises on New Year’s Eve. This happened in the area of Rosewell Avenue and Glengrove Avenue about 10.30 in the evening. The suspects made a demand for cellular telephones and the boys complied. No one was hurt.  On December 28, 2012, a 25 year old man was on the subway near Bloor St.  and Sherbourne St. when a man removed his iPhone.

Sad aboriginal reserve seen through different eyes

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A few days ago we said that the issue of  living conditions among First Nations people and their relationship with official Canada was a moral and intellectual quagmire for many of us. For a host of reasons, and despite heartfelt goodwill, we don’t know what to think.  Today’s most notable development was the rebuffing of a proposal that hunger-striker Chief Theresa Spence meet with other chiefs and Prime Minister Harper on January 24, 2013. National Chief Shawn Atleo issued the invitation for Mr. Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston to attend the meeting. It has been seen as a way to make it easier for the prime minister to personally acknowledge Chief Spence without committing the government to unstated and open ended undertakings.  But Spence’s spokesperson Danny Metatawabin said Thursday that the Attawapiskat chief, who is entering the 25th day of her hunger strike tomorrow, must have her demands met in the next 72 hours. Please Chief Spence

Toronto Casino Consultation link now available

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A City of Toronto website is up as of today where residents can participate in the consultation related to the possibility of a casino in Toronto.  Toronto Casino Consultation

Darla gets to shovel snow for Global News

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Here’s Darla out to get a few things at the Canadian Tire at Laird Drive and Eglinton Ave. E. but oddly enough finding herself shoveling snow in the CTC parking lot.  That’s what happens when big Global News comes to South Bayview looking for news about how we’re dealing with winter. Are you selling more shovels?  Got any salt? Hey lady, will you just clear this patch here so we’ve got video? You know. Anyway, Darla took it all in good spirits. Tonight and tomorrow look to be clear with perhaps only flurries in the forecast for Saturday. 

Ont imposes contracts on public school teachers

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Education Minister Laurel Broten has imposed contracts on public school teachers while at the same time saying the government will end Bill 115, the legislation that eliminated pay raises and collective bargaining for teachers. The decisions are necessary said Ms. Broten because of the Ontario’s multi-billion dollar deficit. Today’s action employs the force of Bill 115 to impose the contracts even though the bill itself will be eliminated. These are powers the government gained last fall, with the support of the Progressive Conservatives, and which it used to force contracts on about 130,000 elementary and secondary school teachers. The agreements will be similar to deals signed by Catholic and French-language teachers last year. They will include: Freezing wages for most teachers, a reduction in sick days, a limit on the amount of unclaimed sick days that teachers can cash out when they retire. The imposed contracts will expire in August 2014.

Valueless penny reached “tipping point” in 1982

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The Canadian penny is scheduled to begin being withdrawn from circulation next month. One authority on the use of currency says it should have been pulled out of service more than 30 years ago. Jean-Pierre Aubrey is a retired Bank of Canada economist. He says that Canadians began to “hoard” pennies as early as 1982 when the coins didn’t represent sufficient value to them. Mr. Aubrey’s economic models show that year as a “tipping point” that required the Mint to churn out new pennies to keep retailers stocked because consumers were throwing them in a drawer. The Royal Canadian Mint starts collecting one-cent coins on Feb. 4 for melting and recycling of the metal content, with some six billion pennies expected to be surrendered by Canadians over the next six years. Mr. Aubrey also predicts that the nickel is nearing the same tipping point long ago reached by the penny.

Wrap-it-up gift shop, post office, to close

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Sources at the Wrap-it-up gift store in the Sunnybrook Plaza confirm that the shop will be closing shortly. This means the handy and helpful post office will close as well. Its last day is said to be Friday January 18, 2013 although the shop itself is expected to be open for a brief period beyond that date.  It is also said that all postal business will be moved to the post office upstairs in the Shoppers Drug Mart on South Bayview. 

Hey, guess who just opened on South Bayview

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Yes, the Dollarama at 1531-33 South Bayview opened Wednesday morning and from the look of things, business is brisk. We did a quick turn around the standard Dollarama aisles stocked with Dollarama stuff. They still take only cash or debit, no MasterCard or Visa. American Express is to laugh.  If you catch them before the novelty wears off, you will find a Dollarama better staffed than any you have ever seen. We couldn’t count the whole complement. It’s said that Dollarama hires only part timers — no more than 25 hours a week — so there are fewer of those expensive government contributions. 

New poles on Imperial St. to keep wires safe

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Treading west of Yonge Street for a brief visit, we found the long-running renovation at the corner of Duplex Ave and Imperial Street besieged by Toronto Hydro equipment and workers. This rather huge re-modelling job, which has been going on for many months, apparently began to protrude into the space of the high-voltage wires on Imperial. The wires must be at least ten feet away from a structure. So this army of Hydro people arrived today — bringing two new utility poles — to re-align the wires and make their passage safe. New poles. Somebody will pay for that. Ouch!