3 people have been sent to trauma hospital after the car they were in smashed into a pole on Don Mills south of Van Horne at The Peanut. Toronto Fire crews had to extricate all 3 people. Don Mills is closed south of Van Horne for the investigation. pic.twitter.com/7uD515B9OD
— Peter Muscat (@Peter_Muscat) December 13, 2018
Four people survived this collision with a utility pole on Don Mills Rd. near the Peanut Plaza Wednesday night. The tweet says three but that’s wrong. Quite a mess.
Via Rail has chosen the German firm Siemens over Bombardier for a nearly billion dollar contract to modernize its passenger service along the Quebec City to Windsor corridor. And Siemens could receive a further nearly $500 million from VIA if it exercises options for 16 more trains on top of the 32 awarded Wednesday. The government came prepared to explain why Quebec’s Bombardier got the cold shoulder but there can be little doubt the company has damaged its reputation badly with the notorious failure to deliver trains and streetcars on time to the TTC and Metrolinx. The contract doesn’t require any Canadian content. Siemens will build the trains at its North American headquarters in California. Via Rail and Siemens also announced a 15-year technical services and parts agreement valued at $355.5 million. VIA Rail repeated arguments previously made by federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau that the decision to bypass Bombardier is justified because Canada’s free trade agreements with the European Union and the United States don’t allow Via Rail to favour Bombardier in the awarding of contracts.
Josh Matlow tweets a sweet picture (upper left) from Ward 12 west of Mt. Pleasant to remind us that the 58th Toronto Scouts are selling Christmas trees, as they always do, in the parking lot of the Church of the Transfiguration. That’s at Manor Road and Redpath Ave. They are there Monday to Friday from 6 to 8.30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Upper right, it’s the Care Gift Elves as they deliver a shipment to the Red Door Shelter on Carlaw Ave. Good going guys. Below that, another horticultural brightener in the form of Oriental Lillies at Longo’s. Centre left, the latest word from Sunnybrook Hardware is that they will close in January sometime, but they are playing the exact date by ear. Centre right, don’t forget the Yonge St. Clair BIA street party Thursday starting at 4 p.m. Visit the Tunnel of Glam. It’s a hoot. Then at bottom, a reminder of the Holiday Pooch Parade sponsored by the Bayview Leaside BIA and Big-Stretch Yoga on Saturday December 22. Looking forward.
This is a “porch person” seen in video captures posted by Toronto Police. It’s all about theft from South Bayview porches. They would be happy to hear from you at 53 Division is you think you know this lady.
Mayor John Tory and Ward 14 Councillor Paula Fletcher unveiled a plaque Wednesday on Cambridge Ave. just off the Danforth to mark the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Prince Edward Viaduct. It is one of Toronto’s most recognizable landmarks. The bridge links Bloor St. with Danforth Avenue and made possible the City’s expansion to the east end. The viaduct was built with an unused lower level intended for trains which more than 50 years after it was completed became the route of the Line 2 subway. There is interesting history here about how the people of Toronto kept voting against building the viaduct until they finally changed their minds.
Mayor Tory sent email early Wednesday naming Council members he has appointed to civic duties for the new term. Ward 15 Councillor Jaye Robison will be TTC chair. “We will all rely on her to be a strong advocate for the Relief Line and focused on ensuring transit service continuously improves,” he said. Tory ally Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ward 16 Don Valley East, will continue to serve as the City’s statutory deputy mayor. Three veteran Councillors will take up the other deputy mayor roles:
Councillor Gary Crawford, who has worked closely with Tory over the last four years on his executive committee will remain as the City’s budget chief. Anthony Perruzza (Ward 7) will be the City’s poverty reduction advocate.
Many residents of Bennington Heights are celebrating the season by keeping large lighted, “airblown” moose balloons on their lawns. This electrically lighted and fan-inflated moose herd in Bennington follows similar seasonal neighborhood lawn balloon shows like that on Inglewood Drive in Moore Park where 14-foot Santas prevail. Very nice.
Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, has been granted bail as she awaits possible extradition to the United States on fraud charges. Justice William Ehrcke made his decision in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon. It appears Meng, the chief financial officer of the tech giant, will be monitored by a security team and possibly wear an electronic bracelet to establish her whereabouts pending action by the US.
China has detained a former Canadian diploma, Michael Kovrig in what appears to be a tit for tat retaliation for the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, executive of and heir to the Huewai electronics millions. She begins a third day of a bail hearing in Vancouver Tuesday related to extradition to the US on charges she intentionally violated sanctions on shipping to Iran. Kovrig is now a member of a non-governmental body called the International Crisis Group. It has a varied reputation related to its avowed aim of helping to avoid violent conflicts. Some studies have said it “manufacturers” crises. Andrew Ellis, a former CSIS member is interviewed Tuesday morning by the CBC about this situation.
The Yonge St Clair BIA has installed a unique Tunnel of Glam along Wally Crouter Walkway from Yonge St. to the Alvin Ave. Green P lot. The interior walls are lined with shimmering sequins that permit tunnel-goers to draw impressions in the twinkling little discs (video below). Fun for a fleeting moment or two as you Christmas shop. The blog Teena in Toronto calls it a loud, vibrant, glamorous centerpiece that draws visitors in by playing upon the appeal of all things shiny and sparkling. “With its grand scale and bright colours the installation sits like a gift to all. It is a present which promises new surprises every day, as visitors continually make and remake the interior to their own design,” says Teena. The Tunnel of Glam will be there until December 31. It was designed by Studio F Minus, a Toronto public art and design firm led by Mitchell Chan and Brad Hindson.
https://twitter.com/MikeG_me/status/1067843230434131968
A remarkable insight has a been provided by lawyer Marcus Bornfreund, counsel for one of two boys accused in the death of Riley Driver-Martin, 14, whose body was found in Mississauga’s Meadow Park Friday morning. The accused are Nicholas and Mark Mahabir. They are non-identical fraternal siblings from a set of triplets. The third triplet has not been charged. Bornfreund, representing Nicholas, speculated that the two accused might collaborate in court or, alternatively, engage in a “cutthroat situation where it’s one brother and not the other.”
A photo of Doug Ford and Superintendent Ron Taverner apparently taken in 2015 has become a graphic weapon in social media criticism of Ford and his appointment of Taverner as Commissioner of the OPP. The picture was published five days ago in the Globe and Mail in a column which decried the lack of a “wall” between the Premier and police appointees. Walls to one side, the activity seen in the photo seems quite a bit more compelling. A widespread theme suggesting dirty old men grabbing women is extant. References are made to the superintendent’s shirt. The parties may well believe the activity is innocent and socially permitted. But these days (and in politics too) what is permitted? The photo was apparently found on an Instagram account called theroyalfamily4u, which has now been deleted. There is no information about where it was taken or by whom.
