The South Bayview Bulldog

Well-toned and hunky members of the St. Catharines Fire Combat Team have been told to put their shirts back on or risk losing support for their annual charity calendar. Municipal officials say firefighters have to cover up or take off their uniforms because the City can’t support the publication of photos of its employees in states of undress. The deputy chief administrative officer insists the no shirts, no City services directive isn’t about discouraging charity but ensuring “respect and dignity in the workplace.” Niagara This week

StubHub Canada Ltd. and StubHub Inc. will pay a $1.3 million penalty for making misleading pricing claims and will ensure costs for Canadian events it sells tickets to are posted with their mandatory fees. The penalty is part of an agreement the entertainment and sport ticket reseller made through the Competition Tribunal after the Competition Bureau discovered StubHub advertised tickets at “unattainable” prices on its websites, mobile apps and in promotional emails to Canadians.

Prices higher than stated

The Bureau says its investigation found that StubHub was charging mandatory fees above the price advertised and was not selling tickets for the cost it had promoted. The Bureau says consumers couldn’t see the full cost of their ticket unless they clicked or tapped to turn on pricing option filters or waited until later in the purchasing process. Some consumers who filtered results to see tickets that were inclusive of fees were still asked to pay more than the prices they were originally shown — Canadian Press

Police report that Bayview Ave at River St. is closed in both directions because of a water main break occurring about 10 a.m. Thursday.

The Holland America cruise ship Westerdam has no reported cases of coronavirus aboard it but the fear associated with the disease has caused four countries to refuse the ship permission to dock. After refusals by the Philippines, Taiwan Japan and Thailand, passengers were scheduled to disembark in Cambodia Thursday.

Death count spikes in virus heartland as new diagnosis applied

China on Thursday reported 254 new deaths and a spike in virus cases of 15,152, after the hardest-hit province of Hubei applied a new classification system that broadens the scope of diagnoses for the outbreak, which has spread to more than 20 countries.

The modernized 18th Century events of the US revolutionary war came to the Ed Mirvish Theatre on Victoria St. Wednesday night as the musical Hamilton debuted in Toronto. The story of Alexander Hamilton is told through hip hop, rap and jazz.

Keira Kagan

The funeral for Keira Kagan will be held Thursday at Benjamin Park Memorial Chapel in North York. Her family has said that the public may attend. The Thornhill girl, 4, died with her father in a fall at the Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area on the Niagara Escarpment. Funeral details

Among the tributes paid to Christie Blatchford Thursday is a story written by Cassandra Szklarski of the Canadian Press It begins: “Veteran court reporter, celebrated author and biting newspaper columnist Christie Blatchford, whose vivid prose championed cops, kids and soldiers while challenging corruption and hashtag social mores, has died.” CP

Illegal blockage paralyzes Via Rail main corridor

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he plans to speak with members of his cabinet Wednesday to discuss “next steps” in the ongoing anti-pipeline protests that have hamstrung the country’s rail network. The CBC quotes Mr. Trudeau as saying the train stoppage is “an issue that is of concern.” He commented during a news conference in Senegal Wednesday morning. “Obviously it’s extremely important to respect the right to freely demonstrate peacefully, but we need to make sure the laws are respected. That’s why I’m going to be engaging with our ministers and looking at what possible next steps there are. I am encouraging all parties to dialogue, to resolve this as quickly as possible.” Some may find the government’s plan a bit hesitant. Old army trucks and similar make-shift devices have illegally stalled trains for about a week.

Toronto Star writer Jack Lakey is raising an alarm about the use of whip cream cartridges containing nitrous oxide by misguided people to get high on the gas. Nitrous oxide is also used by dentists as an anesthetic and is commonly known as laughing gas. The Star publishes pictures of cartridge litters along Yonge St. in North York. Who knew?

Former Markham-Stouffville MP Dr. Jane Philpott will become the dean of the faculty of health sciences at Queen’s University. She is set to take on her new role on July 1. A longtime family physician before launching her political career, Phillpot tweeted that she “can hardly wait” to start her new job.

As Indigenous protesters oppose the construction of a pipeline in BC, Canada’s train system seems paralyzed. They continue to stop trains near Belleville, one of several locations where such blockades are occurring. Via Rail says trains are on hold until at least Thursday night. Freight and passenger service is also disrupted elsewhere. One concern is that Atlantic Canada will shortly run out of gasoline because oil cannot be shipped to a refinery in New Brunswick.

The National Post has confirmed to CTV that long-time Canadian journalist Christie Blatchford has died. According to the newspaper, Blatchford, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer that metastasized to bones in her spine, died in hospital this morning. She was 68.

• Christie was a big story reporter, a once-in-a-generation journalist
• Dead at 68: Christie Blatchford was a tenacious voice for victims, a thorn to the smug