Judy, Greta and China’s sacred schools of one-party gospel

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Rene Zellweger plays Judy Garland in the much-anticipated film Judy released Friday. Then, Greta Thunberg and the honest concern for her well-being. Below that, a fascinating look into China’s elite Maoist academies, places where no child or teacher ever even murmur that dirty word, Democracy. Lastly, the final word on Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, those sad and terrifying young killers from northern British Columbia.






No winning ticket was sold in $55 million Lotto Max Draw

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No winning ticket was sold for the $55 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. There were also four Maxmillion prizes of $1 million each up for grabs, but none of them were won either. That means the jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Oct. 1 will grow to approximately $60 million, and six Maxmillion prizes will be offered.

Ralph Breaks the Internet family fun at Cody movie night

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Cody movie night/Rob Oliphant Twitter

Maurice Cody parents and kids had nice weather for the annual movie night Friday in the school playground. A few sprinkles were hardly noticed. The Disney animation Ralph Breaks the Internet was the feature. It was well-watched by many kids and some parents chatted (it must be revealed). But the adventures of Ralph, Vanellope Von Schweetz and others in the cyber-game wonderland known as Litwak’s Arcade rolled on regardless.

Plot: Over the last six years, Wreck-it Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz have stayed best friends and hang out after work in Litwak’s Arcade. Vanellope expresses how bored she has become of Sugar Rush’s tracks, so Ralph sneaks into the game and makes a new track for her. The arcade player fights Vanellope’s control, and causes the cabinet’s steering wheel to break off. As the company that made Sugar Rush is defunct, and the cost of a replacement wheel on eBay is too high, Litwak decides to ship Sugar Rush away. Ralph and Vanellope help to evacuate the game before it is unplugged, and with Felix and Calhoun’s help, find homes for all its citizens as a short term measure as they figure out how to save the game. After talking with Felix, Ralph decides to grab Vanellope and travel to the Internet via Litwak’s new Wi-Fi router.

Parallele Interiors to Wicksteed, four open and one re-opens

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NOW OPEN!
RE-OPENING SOON!
OPENING SOON!
OPENING SOON!
OPENING SOON!

Parallele Interiors is moving

After 40 years of business on Bayview Avenue, Parallele Interiors will be closing its doors at 1717 Bayview on October 25th and relocating to FOC! (Furniture on Consignment at 196 Wicksteed Ave. As of October 29th, you will find Paul Lussier, owner and operator of Parallele Interiors sharing space with Victoria Sutherland of FOC! He will continue to provide his clients with exceptional service and quality window coverings from his new showroom. You can visit Paul at the showroom by appointment or in your own home with a free consultation. In regards to custom framing, Alek will continue his craft from The Frame Up on Mount Pleasant Road.

Openings

Buabua has opened at the former site of Riz in the north block and Tutto Pronto at 1551 Bayview seems moments away from business. Meanwhile down at the corner of Millwood, Wild Wing is set to re-open. Mamma’s Pizza is ready to go and the restaurant next to Tszatz is under construction.

 

City Council will take Better Local Government Act to SCOC

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Toronto Council will fight the provincial law that cut its size from 47 to 25 members all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The City was given an incentive to make the appeal by a surprise split decision on the part of the Ontario Court of Appeal a week ago. Three justices relied on the Constitutional declaration that municipalities are “the creatures” of the provinces. Thus they ruled, Queen’s Park had an absolute right to enact the Better Local Government Act slicing Council essentially in half. But two judges roamed into the land of rights and concluded that the Ford government move, launched in the middle of an election campaign, was unconstitutional because it violated the rights of candidates.

Crowds descend on Queen’s Park for Global Climate Strike

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Posts at #Climatestrike Toronto on Twitter show many tweets on the large demonstration at Queen’s Park. The Toronto school board gave students permission to be absent for the rally, and have asked teachers to avoid scheduling tests and other assessments on the rally day. Students at Bessborough School could be seen (& heard!) hosting their own strike around their schoolyard. Toronto Police Operations posted the map below with the following advice: #ClimateAction protest in #Toronto is happening today at noon, many people are expected to attend. @TorontoPolice officers are there and will have rolling road closures in place. From Queens Park along Wellesley to Bay. Bay to Queen. Queen to University. North to Queens Park

Olympic stars, Wildcat girls mutual fans at Dream Gap Tour

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Natalie Spooner and Wildcat Atom AA fans/Wildcats
Alison Jane home from UK cathedral tour/Leaside United Church
Site of former DiSantis Men’s Hair Salon at 688 Mt. Pleasant/Bulldog
Bridge crane installed at Leaside Station/Crosstown
Chrysler from the 1960s/Rudy Limeback@rudydotca
October 5

Upper left, Toronto’s Natalie Spooner and colleagues in Canada’s women’s hockey elite met members of the Toronto Leaside Wildcats at Westwood Arena last weekend. Spooner, Olympic medalist Nancy Marie-Poulin and national champion Loren Gabel were kicking off the Dream Gap Tour at Westwood Arena in Etobicoke. Etobicoke. Spooner said they drew strength from the Atom AA girls in the struggle to establish a professional hockey league in Canada.

Alison Jane

Upper right, Alison Jane has returned to Leaside United Church following an exciting tour to the UK with the choir of the Church of St. Peter and St. Simon on Bloor St. East. The choir visited both Gloucester and Chichester Cathedrals and joined in the services. “It was a remarkable experience to play the organs and sing in such beautiful spiritual spaces,” Alison has told her friends at LUC. Centre-right, the new storefront has been unveiled at 688 Mt. Pleasant, former location for so many years of DiSantis Men’s Hair Salon.

Leaside Station

Centre-left, a revealing new picture from Crosstown LRT of two new bridge cranes in the spacious Leaside Station as work continues.  Lower-left, is an enormous Chrysler sedan from the early 60s seen in a Leaside lane by Rudy Limeback. Finally, make sure October 5 is marked on your calendar.  The Bayview BIA Apple Fest is coming.

Climate Friday, migrant heaven, PLT and Boaty McBoatface

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Climate Friday may unfold in ways predictable and unseen. But as urgent as the need for an environmental fix is the need not freeze in the dark. Hope we get it right. Next to that, a quiet Quebec laneway to the US border remains a kind of Grand Central Station for migrants from all over the world, says the CBC. Below at the right is news of McDonald’s PLT. Call it Big Plant. Finally, they’ve named the new UK climate research vessel after broadcaster and historian David Attenborough. The public had favoured Boaty McBoatface.






Specialty fish-pet store fined $35,000 for illegal fish import

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The Magical Aquarium Club at 1911 Kennedy Rd. / Google Maps

The Magical Aquarium Club at 1911 Kennedy Rd. has been fined $35,000 and ordered to hand over 26 Asian Arowana fish to the government after pleading guilty to unlawfully importing regulated live fish from Malaysia. Environment and Climate Change Canada learned of the shipment in December 2018, which occurred without an import permit. The fish are highly trade-restricted. They are sought after for use as pets and are considered by some cultures to bring good fortune.

Raindow Arowana fish

Truck load smashes bridge concrete, badly hurts car driver

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Driver, 63, critically injured
Bridge damaged by heavy load
Sitting too high on tractor trailer

A man, 63, has been critically injured when his windshield was struck by a chunk or chunks of concrete flying from a bridge over the QEW near Niagara Falls as the heavy load of a trailer truck hit the overpass. The freakish accident occurred because a huge excavating machine was loaded too high on the tractor-trailer. Hurtling chunks of concrete struck the windshield of the victim’s KIA sedan and sent glass and concrete into his face. The man is in a local hospital. The accident occurred on Tuesday evening on Toronto-bound QEW near Highway 420.

Turkey vs biker guy good fun for those watching in Whitby

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So the unidentified motorcyclist was brash enough to pull up to a light in Whitby where a turkey was claiming ownership. Where it came from is a mystery. But the territorial back and forth soon began. Everyone survived although the turkey’s chances between now and Thanksgiving are another matter. Viralhog posted an account on YouTube. The motorist behind writes: “On my way out from volunteering at the Durham Humane Society, at the intersection of Wentworth and Thickson, I saw a turkey standing in the middle of the road. Unsure of what to do I moved my car slightly to the left and waited to see if he’d move before the light changed. A motorcycle then passed me and passed the turkey and then the turkey charged at him. The turkey circled his motorcycle about 3 times before going in for the attack.” As may be seen above, the video was posted by Jamie@gnuman1979 and recorded from the front seat of a car waiting behind. Make sure you boost the audio to hear the giggles caused by this unusual scene.

Ontario math tests show Toronto Grade 9s falling well back

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The Toronto District School Board has released Ontario government test results which show that on average City kids are well behind children in the rest of the province when it comes to proficiency in mathematics. It says more work is needed to improve math skills particularly for those in Grade 9. The 2019 results measured by the ministry’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) shows that only 22 percent of TDSB students enrolled in applied mathematics courses performed at or above the provincial standard, which is 22 percentage points lower than the Ontario average of 44 percent and six percentage points lower than the TDSB’s average in 2018. In academic math courses, 77 per cent of TDSB students performed at or above provincial standards, seven percentage points lower than the Ontario average and two percentage points lower than the TDSB average in 2018.

Pupils tested in Grades 9, 6 and 3

The EQAO assessments, which are administered each year, test students in Grade 9 on mathematics and students in grades 3 and 6 on reading, writing, and mathematics. TDSB Director John Malloy said while progress is still needed in math, this year’s results show “strong scores” in reading and writing for Grade 3 and Grade 6 students. According to the results, 76 percent of Grade 3 TDSB students performed at or above the provincial standard this year, two percentage points higher than the provincial average. In writing, 73 percent of Grade 3 TDSB students met or exceeded the provincial standard, which is four percentage points higher than the Ontario average. The EQAO results also show that 61 percent of Grade 3 TDSB students performed at or above the provincial standard in math, three percentage points higher than the provincial average. Grade 6 TDSB students were on par with the Ontario average of 81 percent for reading and slightly higher than the provincial average for writing at 83 percent. The results show that 53 percent of Grade 6 TDSB students met or exceeded the provincial standard in math, five percentage points higher than the Ontario average.