Taxi hits pole, rolls on narrow-lane St. Clair at Winona Dr.

Petulant “brake-check” driver causes accident on Hwy. 410

Here we see a dirty road tactic called the brake-check. It’s a temper tantrum at high speed. The self-absorbed, petulant driver is tailgating a car that he thinks isn’t going fast enough. So he pulls in front of it and slams on the brakes causing an accident. This was seen May 3 and the OPP would like to catch him. His car appears to be a Ford Focus.

Mystery surrounds purpose of explosives kept by man, son

Explosives and detonating equipment have been seized from a Richmond Hill home. A man and his son are charged. In Ottawa, they’re saying there is no known national security issue but what does that mean? It appears the tip about this matter may have come from the Americans.

Town hall meeting Thursday to fight “Return of the OMB”

A town hall meeting has been called for Thursday night to protest the Ford government’s proposed legislation (Bill 108) to return OMB-like qualities to the approval process for development in Toronto. The legislation would reverse new power recently achieved by City Council to control growth and building height by permitting so-called “de novo” hearings. The meeting is scheduled for May 16 at 7 p.m. at the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre at 200 Eglinton West. Ford plans to restore developer “de novo” power over City

Local development updates and local park improvements

Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 15) has published a handy round-up of local developments in her recent newsletter. You can view it below — click images to enlarge. Or visit her website and get updates via her interactive local development map.

Also included in the Councillor’s newsletter is a list of improvements planned for our local parks.

Urban Toronto shows updated plans for Sunnybrook Plaza

Urban Toronto has published updated information for the redevelopment of the Sunnybrook Plaza at 660 Eglinton Ave East. They note that the project has been redesigned with the OMB-mediated heights of 16 and 11 storeys (55.9 and 44.05 metres high), reduced from the previous 19 and 13-storey heights. More: UrbanToronto

Scarborough native Lilly Singh to launch late show on NBC

Lilly Singh, 30, has had a remarkable career as a YouTube comedian, vlogger, speaker and role-model (no doubt). Singh was born in Scarborough and is a graduate of York University. She now lives in Los Angeles where she will launch a new NBC post-midnight show in September called A Little Late with Lilly Singh.

Woman gravely injured as she steps into street to meet tram

Police are appealing for witnesses and/or video to sort out the circumstances of an accident in which a woman pedestrian was struck by a car as she stepped into Lake Shore Blvd. to meet a streetcar Sunday. The woman suffered life-threatening injuries. This occurred about 8.48 p.m. as a woman was driving a car in the curb lane of eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard West approaching Kipling Avenue. A streetcar was travelling the same direction. The victim, 40, stepped out to meet the tram and was struck by the car. Police are asking local residents, businesses and drivers who may have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident to contact investigators.

POLICE PUBLIC SERVICE NOTICES MAY 14

Boy safe at waterfront high-rise as police check at location

A boy, 3, has been found safe in Toronto in a waterfront high-rise where police made a check during a search for the lad. The boy was the subject of a 5 a.m. Amber Alert issued by Sudbury police. His mother apparently took him on a bus from one City to the other.

Kevin J. Johnston must pay $2.5 million for hate campaign

Kevin Johnston, a one-time candidate for mayor of Mississauga, has been ordered to pay the owner of Paramount Fine Foods, Mohamad Fakih, damages of $2.5 million for a calculated campaign of hatred against the businessman. The award was rendered Monday by Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Ferguson. The hurt caused by Johnston’s anti-Islamic video and writings were found damaging both to Mr. Fakih and to Paramount, a chain of Middle Eastern restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area which Fakih founded. The offending material was posted on Johnston’s so-called Freedom Report, starting in July 2017. Johnston lost to Mayor Bonnie Crombie in the October election, placing second with 13.5 per cent of the vote. He was charged in 2017 with offering a $1,000 reward in exchange for videos of Muslim students praying in schools. He, his website, and Ron Banerjee were named as defendants in Fakih’s original lawsuit, filed August 4, 2017.

INCENDIARY STATEMENTS

In the videos, shot in 2017, Johnston made a series of incendiary statements including a claim Fakih was an “economic terrorist” with backing from the Pakistani spy agency. He alleged restaurant policy barred staff from admitting anyone who wasn’t a “jihadist.” Evidence was also presented that Johnston confronted Fakih and his family, including four children, in public. Ferguson says Johnston’s words amounted to hate speech that called for particularly strong condemnation from the court. “In this fractious 21st century — where social media and the internet now allow some of the darkest forces in our society to achieve attention — (issues raised by the case) are numerous and profound, and their impact extends well beyond the borders of this country,” she wrote in her decision released Monday. CityNews

Ad wars, Trebek in Ottawa and fans get buzzer-beater mania

Some late-day events as recorded by City News include ad wars at Queen’s Park, Alex Trebek on a visit to Ottawa, the catchy bazzer-beater mania infecting Raptor fans and a guilty plea from Falicity Huffman. Be careful you do around the law.






US markets plunge as China applies new retaliatory tariffs

Markets plunged in the US and Canada as China applied new 25 percent tariffs to US goods in retaliation for American tariffs which became effective Friday. The Dow index fell 617, Nasdaq 269 and Toronto 104. CBC