The South Bayview Bulldog

Kathy MIlsom

Kevin Marshman

Greg Spearns

Toronto Community Housing (TCH) CEO Kathy Milsom has been removed from her post over a contract with management consulting company Orchango. “Having carefully considered all of the available evidence, the board has concluded that … Milsom’s conduct throughout this process did not meet the high standard that we set for ourselves,” the TCH board said in a statement released Thursday. The statement however avoids specifics, saying only that the conduct in question related to a so-called Request for Proposal which “did not comply with the procedures and protocols expected of a public procurement process and failing to fully cooperate with the investigation that has led to this independent report.” The statement said TCH vice-president Sheila Penny will continue as acting CEO until April 3, when current board chair Kevin Marshman will take over as CEO. Milsom served as TCH CEO for barely 18 months before her suspension in December. She was hired to replace Greg Sprearn who is said to have abruptly resigned the post in 2017.

Wendy Shon Seung-wan

Coca Cola Coliseum

Red Velvet

The K-pop singing group known as Red Velvet filled the Coca Cola Coliseum this week and fans heard member Wendy Shon Seung-wan, a former resident of Brockville and Richmond Hill, offer a heartfelt and teary thank you to fans. Red Velvet is a highly internationalized group, as are many Korean bands and singing groups. Ms Shon Seung-wan has an interesting history in Canada and there were posts to social media Thursday that a street should be named after her. She is 25 this very day, having been born in the Republic of Korea on February 21, 1994.

A member at Leaside Community says she has the plate number of a car that snapped off the side-view mirror of a parked car on Hanna Rd. Wednesday. She says the driver came back to the scene but then left without leaving a note. Yours To  Discover.

Little Dollhouse gallery/Facebook

The Little Dollhouse Company has made its move to 862 Millwood Rd. and local dollhouse fan Michele Petick has posted a gallery of photos to celebrate. You read it here first in December that owners Marie and John Fowler had purchased the building and were getting ready to move. The Little Dollhouse Company has previously been on Mt. Pleasant Rd. since 1975. Welcome.

Drivers should be alert to the large sinkhole that has formed on Jarvis St. at Wellesley St. overnight. Two southbound lanes of Wellesley Street were affected and may remain closed for a few hours.

Jarvis and Wellesley/City News

The City’s electrical safety agency has ordered an immediate 48-hour inspection of power, heat and water facilities at the 240 Wellesley St. high-rise managed by Wellesley-Parliament Square Ltd. It is a woeful winter for tenants and yet another insight into maintenance standards for low-income rental buildings.

Florida somewhat the same shape at Line 1 (mediaincanada.com)

Uh, 19? (mediaincanada.com)

Florida down here (mediaincanada.com)

In the midst of a dreary Canadian winter, there’s nothing quite like getting on a bright pink, Florida-themed subway train. TTC passengers were able to board flamingo-pink subway cars and disembarked at subway stations decked out in Florida-style colours and City insignia earlier this month. The agency targeted stations that corresponded with Florida cities in similar geographic areas. For example, Yorkdale, which sits at the Yonge-University-Spadina line’s northwest corner, was reimagined as the Florida city of Pensacola. Union Station, the southern tip of the line, became Florida Keys, which is Florida’s southernmost point. The activation was led by Tampa-based agency Spark, which conceived the idea largely because the Yonge-University-Spadina line is shaped somewhat like the state of Florida — Media in Canada

There are 14 million people in Ontario, a province with a provincial debt of some $350 billion. These simple facts seem to cut straight to the heart of what ails Service Ontario. From disappearing walk-in locations to a cranky online system that doesn’t recognize valid driver information to 15-week waits for a birth certificate, Service Ontario is groaning under the load of essential demands from Ontarians. Most recently, CTV tells of parents waiting as long as 15 weeks to obtain a simple birth certificate. Drivers trying to avoid 45-minutes in line for a license renewal are unable to process valid data online. The data is recognized as perfectly correct by a human agent. The really upsetting part of this sad state of things is that Ontario’s crushing debt makes it seem likely that long lines, long waits and wasted time is the future at Service Ontario. CTV

MakerKids gathering (Facebook @MKLeaside)

Snow and ice at Bayview and Manor

Now the news! (Twitter @JoshMatlow)

This pleasant gang (left) is a “family photo” of young and older people getting ready to open the MakerKids storefront at 1661 Bayview Ave. MakerKids is said to be a mixed concept of school and educational camping in which children learn coding, robotics and the Lego-style game Minecraft. It says online that MakerKids has “award-winning programs for kids from grade 1 to 8.” MakerKids indicates plans for a huge expansion in Ontario naming 30 communities in which it intends to open. At upper right, it has been three weeks since the 20-cm doomsday snowfall fouled City streets. As days go by, people are complaining about the huge piles of snow and ice that remain on many important streets like Bayview and Mt. Pleasant.  Don’t even ask about residential roads. They’ll get cleared courtesy of the sun in April. But if you go to Yonge and Dundas (for example) there is no snow or ice left on the streets. At bottom right, Councillor Josh Matlow and his daughter Molly crashed the CTV News set this week. Fun but maybe Molly’s allowance needs an increase. Below, events coming up soon. Also, The South Bayview Bulldog Bulletin Board

Starbucks most notable change since 2016

Buildings purchased by First Capital

Long-term lease?

Some 30 months ago, First Capital REIT, owners of Leaside Village (Longo’s) shopping centre on Laird Dr. announced plans to develop the northeast corner of Lawrence Ave. and Avenue Rd. The site included the Pusateri store and a Mac’s right on the corner. The Mac’s was kicked out (saving it from the ignominy of becoming a Circle K). But as 2019 plods along the most discernible change to the corner is the imminent arrival of a Starbucks at the former Mac’s location. Pusateri continues to operate, the apartments are rented, the car wash is running and since Starbucks usually leases for at least ten years, it seem unlikely FC has much in the way of plans for Avenue Rd. and Lawrence Ave. FC also owns the former CIBC building now the Local eatery at Laird and McRae. First Capital buys Pusateri site at Avenue and Lawrence

Sunnybrook Medical Sciences Centre physician Dr. Marjorie Dixon will be among many experts speaking at the Second Annual Canadian Fertility Show this weekend at the International Centre on Airport Road. Her topic is IVF 101, a primer of sorts for couples eager to improve their chances of starting a family. The show organizers say the gathering permits those who are researching multiple IVF clinics to submit their applications to a number all at once, quickly and with much less stress over the course of an afternoon. In addition to being the only assemblage of international fertility experts and trailblazers in Canada, the show will also feature representatives from surrogacy agencies, the Foster System and various adoption agencies. The show runs from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, February 23.  Schedule and other details