Kate photos are banned by court in France

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A French court has banned a gossip magazine from further publishing topless pictures of Kate Middleton and ordered it to hand over all images, including digital, to the Duke and Duchess. The magazine, Closer, will be fined 10,000 euros ($13,100) per day of delay in handing over the images. The couple are on the final leg of their nine-day Diamond Jubilee tour of South-east Asia and the South Pacific and are on the island of Tuvalu where the Duchess was carried through the streets in fitting manner. . 

Fast-track lanes soon for citizens at Pearson

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Fast-track for EU 

Most civilized places (and probably some uncivilized) have arrival lanes at their airports dedicated to those carrying the national passport. Toronto however has always been a place of equal-opportunity delays. Arrive from New York on Air Canada and queue up behind an Airbus-load of folks from half a world away.  Maybe that’s the Canadian way. Fairness and all that. But now it seems, Ottawa’s mania with levelling out everything  has softened. Within a month of two there will be a lane especially for Canadians and permanent residents installed at Pearson Airport.  Will there be a human rights complaint about this?  Quite possibly.  Will it proceed on a Charter appeal to the Supreme Court?  Well, this is Canada.

Home to be proud of at McRae and Hanna

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This modest but well-maintained home must be the pride and joy of its owners. They are relatively new to the neighbourhood but like canny home buyers everywhere they sought out excellent location. And they got it. Here at the intersection of McRae and Hanna Rd (the front door is on Hanna) they have now contracted to landscape their front entrance and garden. The job is nearly done and it looks great. The walkway is bricked pavement supported at the rises with attractive garden rocks. The Garden has been cleared of scrub and will now form a peaceful green retreat for these homeowners. Good luck to them as they feather their nest. 

Hey Airdire! Send us pix/news of movie shoot

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Okay, so they can kick the South Bayview Bulldog off Airdrie Road. We don’t live there. But anyone who owns a house on  Airdire would be free to sneak a picture and tell the story. Send us pictures or news. Thanks!  Bulldog Ed

Airdrie closed east of Bayview for film-making

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There’s a lot of security around the movie location on Airdrie Rd. at what appears to be the re-make of the Kick-Ass movie (Kick-Ass 2, we believe it’s called), Anyone venturing down Airdrie from Bayview Ave today was quickly shooed away with police on  duty to make sure you obeyed. For those of you who may not know, this series is all about the costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass, who is joined by normal comic book citizens (much like the residents Leaside:)) who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. (Where’s mine?) Meanwhile, the bad guy Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows. The cast includes Chloe Moretz freshly scrubbed up from her summer drenched in blood on the Carrie set at Northern Secondary School. Also starring, Nicholas Cage. Now we’re not saying either of these two were on Airdrie today but then, all that security! 

Michelle Dube to replace Christine Bentley

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Michelle Dube

And the winner is Michelle Dube. Bell Media has made the announcement just a few minutes before Michelle makes her appearance on the Noon News, which will be half of her new assignment, along with co-anchoring with Ken Shaw at 6 pm.  She was certainly one of the most likely candidates for the job. She has, as one viewer said, a very agile extemporaneous style and dresses very well.  Of course, from now on it seems unlikely she will have to pay for that good-looking on-air apparel. Michelle is quoted in the release as saying “I am proud and excited to join Ken, and spend time with our viewers each day,” said Dubé. “My goal is to deliver the news with the same professionalism viewers have come to expect from this newsroom. I also hope we can have some fun along the way.”

Now Kate’s topless shots in Italian magazine

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The royal family appears to be losing a legal struggle to prevent further publication of topless photos of Prince William’s wife Kate as more magazines print the pictures. The sneaky photographers who took the pictures are said to be due in court in France today.  Lawyers for the British Royal Family are seeking an injunction and damages against Italian media group Mondadori, a company owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The spread in Chi shows the Duchess relaxing with her husband in the south of France last month. It includes a never-before-published shot of her lathering sunscreen on her backside. In an editorial, Chi editor Alfonso Signorini argued that the photos were not “perverse nor harmful” to the Duchess’ dignity. He wrote that the images made her “more likable, less anachronistic” in the eyes of the public. But as Josephine McKenna reports in the video above, many people think the former Italian prime minister is still stinging from the treatment he has received in the United Kingdom press and is getting back at the British by publishing the pictures.

Bars, saloons likely victims of NHL lockout

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The NHL lockout will ripple through the economy with  an early impact on sports bards, saloons and other spots where people gather to watch sports on the wall screens. Sports apparel stores have also proven to vulnerable to a major league strike or lockout.

Saturday night swarming at Yonge and St.Clair

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Toronto Police Service report: Two males, ages 13 and 14 report that on September 15, 2012 at approximately 11.15 pm., they were in the area of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue when they were approached by four male suspects. The suspects made a demand for the victims’ cellular phones and the victims complied. The suspects fled the scene eastbound on St. Clair Avenue. No injuries were sustained by the victims.  

Cornflower Blue Fall collection is revealed

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The paper is down and the new season at Cornflower Blue is revealed again. Under a fresh sign at the little shop at 1606 Bayview Ave. these distinctive pieces are being displayed. They are definitely in the Cornflower Blue style.There’s a nice fresh new sign at Cornflower Blue at 1606 South Bayview.  Previous post: The shop was closed this weekend (but is now open) as prepartions are made for the fall reveal. Cornflower Blue website. Also new and of note on the street, Jus de Vie has installed a neat little patio outside its front door on the east side of the street.  

Can silent drone replace noisy police choppers?

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Aerial surveillance by the police is a hot topic. News that York Region Police are using a four-engine drone equipped with battery-driven engines has added even more interest locally. Toronto Police got into quite a controversy with night-time searches for fugitives over Mt Pleasant Cemetery and elsewhere. The choppers are noisy. York police say spotting things like marijuana plants from the sky is easy. They recently used a Canadian-made drone to locate 744 marijuana plants with a street value of about $1,000 per plant in a field in the north end of Milton. A good story in the National Post makes only passing mention of whether the drones are suitable for tracking moving targets like a criminal on foot at night.  However a York officer says the drone has been used for “a variety of purposes, including monitoring crime scenes, crash investigations and search and rescue.” Sounds good.  The drone runs on batteries that provide 25 minutes of flight time, according to the manufacturer, Aeryon Labs of Waterloo. The unit returns to its starting point when it detects that the battery is low.

Game on to name Bentley’s replacement

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CTV Toronto will announce the replacement for Christine Bentley on Monday, the company says. The much-liked Bentley has announced her retirement and Friday was her last day. Those guessing who might get the nod for the early evening anchor slot have many capable local news reporter/anchors to consider. Left, Tamara Cherry, a bright and young reporter who broke into her craft at the Toronto Star and the Toronto Sun. Centre, Michelle Dube is a Franshawe College graduate who found her way to CTV by way of Hamilton’s CHCH.  Right, the durable and capable Andria Case is a CTV Toronto veteran who knows the role well. Of course, exercises like this are more like parlour games than the slightest glimpse into the minds of the Bell pashas who have made the decision. They may parachute a surprise personality into the chair. No need to say that Monday’s early evening news will be well-watched.