#CleanTorontoTogether – taking place on April 26, 27 and 28, 2019
Upper left we find Ziggy, the 11-month old friend of Green Canoe Cafe owner Ryan Horwood. Ziggy may eat out back at the Millwood Rd. breakfast and lunch restaurant but he probably can’t order Portuguese custard tarts like you can. Upper right in this Friday summary of local scenes, those are real steel tracks now being put down in the Eglinton Crosstown guideway at Victoria Park Ave. TTC rails towards the Rouge River. Amazing. Below that a couple more of the sleek new benches installed all up and down South Bayview Ave. Thursday night. They’ll be nice in June. Then some worthwhile reminders of jazz at Northlea United and the coming push to clean up Toronto for Spring. Get in there.
Police have issued an alert about an incident Tuesday about 4:15 p.m. when a jogger approached a girl, 16, from behind and then stopped in front of her. This occurred at or near Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Lawrence Ave. He is said to have looked at the girl “up and down” without speaking. He then began to follow her. Somehow this all came to the attention of adults on the street who confronted the man. He left the area. He is described in the alert as black, late 20 to 30 years old, slim build, 5’10” to 6’0″, short black hair or shaved head. He was wearing a bright yellow jacket, black jogging pants with white stripes along the sides.
Woman assails driver trying to cheat stop sign at Soudan and Forman
Video has been posted of an incident at the four-way stop corner of Soudan and Forman Aves. in recent days. A driver pulls an old cheat by doing a two-for-one going south on Forman. A woman pushing a baby carriage east on Soudan becomes profane and very angry. Language caution. It cannot be said that the woman was nearly hit, at least not until she tried to stop the car with her body. No doubt she had a point. The driver was running the sign because he was not prepared to wait, as he is required to do, to let her cross. In her anger, the mom leaves the baby carriage and gets in front of the car which seems dangerous. Video. Thanks to Jane Auster, Writer-Editor Jane Widerman Communications Inc.
The old comedian’s joke seems to apply to Quebec Premier Francois Legault Thursday as his government has introduced a bill to forbid public workers in “positions of authority” from wearing religious symbols such as a Moslem hijab, Jewish kippa or Sikh turban. News stories are unclear about whether the religious symbols ban extends to a crucifix or cross in the form of a necklace. Nor is there a full list of just who in authority is included in the ban but it seems certain to include the police and military and senior government employees. There is a grandfathered prohibition of the ban for teachers and principals. Those now wearing such symbols may continue to do so but new hires will be subject to the ban. Legault has also ordered that a 1936 crucifix over the speaker’s chair in the National Assembly be removed. The act invokes the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This places the ban beyond the reach of an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Jays home opener against the Tigers is Thursday at 3.30 p.m. at Rogers Centre and police have released traffic restrictions and security enhancements for the game and the season. To ensure the safe flow of pedestrian traffic road restrictions will be in effect:
Bremner Blvd will be reduced to one lane, in both directions
Rees Street will be available for those patrons parking at the Rogers Centre
For those requiring accessible entry, Rees Street, northbound from Lake Shore Boulevard West, will be available and a staging area for accessibility services will be set up on Rees Street at Bremner Boulevard, for Gate 7 access and Blue Jays Way, in front of the Marriott Hotel, for Gate 13. The public may notice other security measures in the surrounding area, including an increased police presence and/or the use of other public and private sector resources.
Dollarama, the place where everyone shops but no one wants to be seen, raised its dividend Thursday as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $172 million, up from $162 .8 million a year earlier. Dollarama came within a penny of earning 55 cents a share. The retailer says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 4.4 cents per share, up from four cents. Analysts say Dollarama needs to charge more for some items but it promises to keep prices at a maximum of $4. It fears competition from Dollar Tree and others although Dollarama outflanks its rival with a huge number of locations. The closest Dollar Tree to South Bayview is Coxwell and Gerrard.
A man has been rescued from a 2.4-metre trench in Scarborough on Wednesday night. It appears shoring collapsed and was filling the trench making what police called a race against time. This occurred at Generation Blvd and Rainbow Ridge Ave near Sheppard and Meadowvale around 6 p.m. Special equipment was brought in to aid in the rescue, and Toronto Police Const. David Hopkinson warned that the situation could turn life-threatening if the trench fully collapsed. Around 8:30 p.m. the man was pulled from the trench. The worker is recovering.
Wednesday’s summary sees construction (upper left) of a new home on Southvale Rd. between Hanna Rd. and Rutherglen Rd. The confusion when trucks load mud at this site without a flag man is clear. Upper right, a reminder of the Leaside United Church talent show coming up March 29. Leaside has talent. Centre left, new benches bearing the Bayview Leaside BIA logo are being placed on Bayview Ave. Below that, the annual wax wonder known as the Downtown Record Show is on Sunday at Toronto Estonian House, 958 Broadview Ave. Centre right, please give blood at the Leaside Blood Clinic April 4. And send your strapping 17-and-over children there too. Lower left, the Old Book and Paper Show returns to the Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St. Sunday. Finally, carnations to you by all means (and lush crimson too) from Longo’s. South Bayview Bulldog Bulletin Board
There was no ransom demand made for Wanzhen (Peter) Lu by his kidnappers during the 72 hours he was held by them, police say. Nonetheless, the assumption seems easy that this was the purpose behind the abduction of the son of wealthy southern China parents who was living an ostentatious life of expensive cars and companionship in Toronto. CTV has spoken to the Gravenhurst man who came across Lu as he apparently stumbled along in the dark Tuesday night. There is no hint in the man’s experience helping Lu as to why the young man was released. York Regional Police are suggesting that the searing spotlight that fell on this crime may have helped. The kidnappers may have panicked for this and other unknown factors YRP vow they will apprehend the four men seen committing the abduction in Lu’s condo garage. CTV
Crosslinx Transit Solutions says the planned eight-week closure of Leslie St. at Eglinton Ave. in July and August is necessary to get the right-of-way and LRT tracks laid properly. To do the work over a longer period with Leslie open, says Crosslinx Communications Director Kristin Jenkins, would produce a flawed system. “There would be joints in the track guideway and the system would require more frequent repairs,” she said. There has been much concern expressed on social media such as Leaside Community Facebook group about the closure. Jenkins provided some details on what the closure may look like:
Leslie will be closed to vehicles at Eglinton but Eglinton will remain open throughout the work.
Pedestrian traffic will be maintained from Leslie to Eglinton. This will permit cyclists to walk their bikes across the closure and ride and to and from Sunnybrook Park
The 51 Leslie bus will loop at Eglinton.
The 54 Lawrence East bus will be re-routed to Don Mills Rd.
Jenkins said general north-south access in Leaside and to the east will improve by June as there will be no turn restrictions at both Bayview and Don Mills. All lanes will be open at Don Mills and additional southbound and eastbound lanes will open up at Bayview.
A plan has been filed at City Hall to uncover and save the facade of Chester Public School built in 1891 at 954 Broadview Ave. between Danforth and the Pottery Rd/Mortimer Ave. corner. The project is part of an 18-storey retirement home plan set on the high bank of the Don Valley. It is put forward by developer Revera Living and designed by Montgomery Sisam with heritage aspects overseen by ERA Architects and would reveal the old school for the first time since it was mostly hidden behind a 20th Century addition. Urban Toronto correctly calls it a forgotten heritage gem.
Wanzhen (Peter) Lu has been found apparently safe in Gravenhurst. Police say Lu, 22, knocked on the door of a home on Doe Lake Rd. in the Muskoka town and asked for help Tuesday night. “Shortly before 9 p.m. a man walked up to a residence on Doe Lake Road in Gravenhurst and he was looking for help,” Sgt. Andy Pattenden said. “He knocked on the door of the residence and a homeowner found him there and called police right away.” “I can tell you that officers with the Ontario Provincial Police attended and found the man and have identified him as 22-year-old Wanzhen Lu.” Pattenden said Lu was taken to hospital with minor injuries. “I can tell you that our investigators have been in very close contact with Lu’s family prior to their arrival in Canada from China and since they’ve been here our investigators have been able to provide this great news to the family, who I’m sure are sincerely relieved at this time,” he said. Lu is currently being interviewed by investigators as this case is “far from over,” Pattenden said. “Four suspects are still outstanding in this case,” he said. “We’re very concerned that they are still out there and I can tell you that our efforts are far from over.”
Police say that the man who was taken into custody yesterday on suspicion of being involved in the kidnapping has now been released unconditionally. It appears that police believe they were entirely wrong about this man’s involvement at any level. They say that the motive for this apparent abduction remains unknown but they hope to learn more from Mr. Lu. Gravenhurst is a town of some 12,000 people on the shore of Lake Muskoka. Doe Lake Rd. is a rural stretch with few homes. It seems at least possible that Lu was released by his kidnappers and walked some distance to find help. The CBC is reporting that it has obtained vehicle registration documents of a Range Rover used by Mr. Lu showing a lien put on the vehicle as of March 25. On Tuesday, the Range Rover remained in the garage from which Lu was taken. Pictures at what appears to be Lu’s Instagram account (@my.666666) depict great affluence.
