A three-alarm fire broke out at the old Peacock Hotel on Dundas Street, just east of Keele Street, just before 3:30 a.m. Thursday. The historic building was condemned last year when part of the rear wall collapsed.
A transformer fire has knocked out power to as many as 3,800 customers (homes) in two areas in and near Leslieville. The boundaries affected are from the lake side up to Gerrard Street and from the Don Valley Parkway to Woodbine Avenue. Toronto Hydro tweeted at 9 a.m. that it is working to have power restored within the next two hours.
That’s the slightly sour question asked by a BNN anchor Wednesday as the full impact of the Raptors gift to Drake began to sink in. Is it his God-like nature that requires an offering of a $747,000 (Canadian) diamond-encrusted jacket? Can it be his music? Are we in touch with reality? BNN video
Phil Verster, Metrolinx President and CEO, presided Wednesday at a positive news opportunity showing off one of the units that will run on the Crosstown (Eglinton) LRT line in, it is expected, 2021. On Track Urban Toronto
Six people, including three children, were taken to hospital following a serious two-vehicle crash on the 9th Line in Innisfil on Wednesday morning. A pickup truck and a sedan collided near Yonge St. The scene is near Barrie. South Simcoe police say three adults and three children were hurt when a pickup truck and a sedan collided in the area of 9th Line between 10 Sideroad and Yonge Street in Innisfil Wednesday morning. The man driving the sedan was airlifted from the scene to a Toronto trauma centre, while a woman who was a passenger was initially taken to a local hospital then airlifted to Toronto. Two children who were in the sedan, as well as an adult and a child who were in the pickup, were also taken to hospital with minor injuries.
MAN STRUCK BY GARBAGE TRUCK ON RICHMOND ST.
A man is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after he was struck by a garbage truck on Wednesday afternoon on Richmon St. Augusta Ave. In a tweet, police said he was unconscious when emergency crews arrived.
A suitcase left at Bennington Heights Elementary School Wednesday morning carried a note saying it contained a bomb. The piece of black luggage was blown up as was another suspicious package. Neither contained a bomb. It is someone’s idea of a joke, police guessed. Pupils were taken to the gym at Rolph Road School for pickup by parents. Children attending Bennington Heights Day Care at the school were taken to Loblaws at 321 Moore Ave. for pickup by parents. Police performed a controlled blast of a suitcase that did not contain explosives. A trained dog was used to see if items anywhere on the property needed investigation. TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said that the students were escorted to Rolph Rd. on foot without incident.
Toronto Police are sounding an alert to residents and others in the Lawrence Park area about three hit and run type robberies in which people were approached by a man saying he had a gun. These crimes occurred on Tuesday 5:34 p.m. and 7 p.m. The man was driving a stolen black Mercedes-Benz The man is described as black, 25-40, 5’10” to 6’2″, wearing a black baseball hat and dark-coloured clothing. The vehicle was later recovered by police. The public is asked to remain vigilant and report any suspicious person(s) or activities.
The Don Valley Parkway will be closed this weekend, starting Friday at midnight until Monday at 5 a.m. for maintenance and improvements, the City says. It thanks you for your patience. Crews will work day and night on culvert inspection and pipe replacement, grinding and paving, crack sealing, guide rail repair, graffiti removal, debris removal, catch basin cleaning and flushing, culvert inspections and pipe replacement, pothole repairs, bridge inspections, line painting, overhead sign inspections and repairs.
A homeowner has posted video of a man sneaking around properties at Soudan Ave. and Forman Rd. Monday evening. She writes: “My husband says he has a device in his hand to open the cars. This happened yesterday (Monday) when we were at fireworks at Leaside. Apparently, someone else also saw him wandering around yesterday as well.”
Here are some news videos to make you think of Darwin. We have young men firing rockets into a car near Jane St. and Sheppard Ave. last night. What could go wrong? Also remindful of our chancy future is video of people flirting with the unprotected edge of the Scarborough Bluffs. Mayor Tory says charge them for the cost of their rescue (if they live). Down below, two stories of streetcar folly. They’re digging up Leslie St again to fix the tracks (again) because the trackbed is falling apart. Meanwhile, on Queen St., the new longer, cumbersome and entirely inflexible Bombardier trams seem to be bunching up. Is that because they can’t drive around each other like buses?
Mayor Tory was trying to re-establish the reputation of the PC Party (still progressive) Tuesday as he attacked Premier Ford’s cuts to education and health care while spending huge sums on advertising. The ad campaign folly was one of the most disagreeable habits of the late Liberals. Mr. Ford spoke a little later about his 4-cents-on-the-dollar scheme to somehow address the provincial debt (bigger than California’s). Not to be unkind, but the Premier needs speaking lessons to sound more like a friend and less like a tedious preacher. It appears that the comments to both these clips from City News were written by Ford Nation warriors. Cynthia Mulligan with Premier’s plan to pay for an auditor to examine City books
