Maryland shooter alleged abuser named Jarrod Ramos, 38

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Jarrod Ramos
Shooting scene

Five people are reported dead after a man with a rifle opened fire through glass partitions into the newsroom of the Annapolis, Maryland, Capital Gazette. The shooter was identified Thursday evening as Jarrod Ramos, 38. NBC News and CBS News were among the first to confirm his identity reportedly through the use of face-recognition technology. Ramos allegedly has a history of abusing and harassing women.

Sunnybrook HSC starts work on new roof top helicopter pad

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At present, helicopters land at a ground level pad some 500 metres from the emergency department. Patients must be moved by ambulance. The new roof-top heliport atop M Wing will permit patients to descend by elevator to waiting medical staff must faster. About 20 to 25 percent of some 1,200 trauma cases arrive by helicopter at SHSC every year. Patients can arrive directly from on-scene trauma or as transfers from over 80 referring hospitals across Ontario.

Laneway suites approved by City for Toronto and East York

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Toronto and East York (in pink)

Bylaw amendments that will permit the construction of laneway suites in residential neighbourhoods in Toronto and East York have been approved by City Council. Such neighbourhoods as Davisville Village, Deer Park, Moore Park and the many residential areas east of Broadview Ave. across the Don are included. Some areas don’t have many lanes, however.  T and EY contains the Wards of 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. Support was substantial, with Council voting 30-5 vote on Thursday morning. Apparently the changes do not effect Leaside, which is represented at North York Community Council. Conditions for applications by homeowners to build are said to be strict. Entrances to suites must be no more than 45 metres away from a public street for access by the fire service and others. That rule, in theory, will prevent laneway suites from being built on some properties that are located on dead-end laneways.

SET BACKS, PARKING

Suites themselves must be no more than two storeys or six-metres-tall and can contain only a single unit. Suites must be separated from the rear of existing homes by a distance of 5 to 7.5 metres, depending on their height. They must be set back from the rear property line by at least 1.5 metres with dimensions that do not exceed eight metres in width and 10-metres in length. Between 100 and 300 laneway suites are expected to be constructed each year now that they are permitted, according to staff. As to parking, there appears to be an optimistic view that a supposed decline in the ownership of cars will make this potential issue irrelevant. Time will tell.

Loss to Belgium puts England against Colombia in last 16

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England will face Colombia in the World Cup last 16 after a 1-0 loss to Belgium meant they finished second in Group G. Adnan Januzaj scored the winner with a brilliantly curled effort in the second half, with both sides fielding much-changed XIs from their previous games — BBC

BBC’s MATCH FACTS

  • England are unbeaten in their previous two matches against Belgium at the World Cup.
  • They drew 4-4 in 1954 and won 1-0 in the second round in 1990 courtesy of a volley from David Platt in extra time.
  • They are unbeaten in the last 11 meetings with Belgium, most recently winning a friendly in June 2012.

The most impactful news during this World Cup, may just be the C02 shortage burdening pubs in Europe. Oh my.

Flyby over Leaside Pub Saturday to mark first air mail flight

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The 100th anniversary of Canada’s first air mail flight was Sunday and local enthusiasts have planned a flyby over the Leaside Pub at McRae Drive and Laird Drive for Saturday (June 30) at about 3 p.m. It is part of a celebration called Wings Over Leaside which includes a display of old photos at the pub. The Leaside Aerodrome was key to air mail in those days. The exhibit at the pub is up and the orgnaizers say there is a rumour that a propeller from an actual Curtiss JN-4 Canuck from Camp Leaside might make an appearance on June 30. Sounds like fun. Air Mail. We forget how important it was. Below is mid-century air mail pop culture.




Risky passage on Avenue Rd. sidewalks south of St. Clair

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Speeding car leaped narrow sidewalk at Balmoral Ave. in November, 2016/Bulldog
Outside Brown School 2015/Jack Lakey, Star
Avenue Rd. south from St. Clair in 1937 when it was a pleasant, treed street

The narrowness of sidewalks on both sides of Avenue Rd. south of St. Clair Ave. is a longstanding issue. Residents groups and City staff struggle with the reality that there is no simple solution. Widening of the street nearly 70 years ago turned it into a speedway. Photos show (left) a frightening 2016 crash of a car onto the east sidewalk at Balmoral Ave, (centre) safety fences outside Brown Public School, 454 Avenue Rd. and (right) traffic looking south on Avenue at St. Clair in 1937. We don’t have much to say about streetcars that is very nice but there’s no doubt they slow down traffic. City News takes up the issue (below) as ratepayers complain.

What a change as Facebook vows Canadian fact checking

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Facebook Canada will launch a third-party fact-checking program to root out fake news and provide users with more context on articles they read on the platform. The program is a collaboration with newswire service Agence France-Presse, which will have fact-checkers in Canada to review stories from local news outlets and rate their accuracy. Hope they look at Facebook ads too. But what a difference two years makes as we flash back to a Bulldog post from November 2016 (below)  The apparent death notice (with bloody blotches yet) was one of several ads/news insertions on Facebook that had people inquiring why FB was announcing the deaths of perfectly healthy people. Facebook ads (booga booga) are mighty strange, weird

Meridian, De la Mer will support Monday July 2 fireworks

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Dave Bryant and family
Meridian Credit Union staff on Mt. Pleasant
De la mer, 1543 Bayview Ave.

David Bryant has posted news of his intention to again produce a fireworks show on the Canada Day weekend. This year it will be held on Monday, July 2 beginning at approximately 9.30 p.m. Last year’s show drew a large crowd. As in the past, Mr. Bryant is asking those who are able to make a donation to the cost. The show produced for the 2018 Victoria Day weekend had a bill of nearly $3,500. Bryant says donations can be made to bryantdavid@live.ca  or in person to a donations jug at the setup table on the track by the field on the day. Bryant reports that both Meridian CU at Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Soudan Ave and Dave Owen and Blake Edwards of the seafood shop Del La Mer (1543 Bayview) will support the program. Shirley Breen is manager of  Meridian. Below is the finale to the Victoria Day weekend show at LHS field.

McDonald’s winks at Seinfeld, adds muffin top to US menu

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Elaine Benes, the “Seinfeld” character played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus hashed out the idea in a Seinfeld episode back on May 8, 1997. Everyone agreed that the muffin top is the only valuable part of the breakfast staple. Her quandary was what to do with the boring part of the muffin below the glorious top, she named the “stump”. McDonald’s has taken on the challenge and has been trying out the muffin top idea in parts of the US since last year.




Council appoints Chris Murray City Manager of Toronto

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Chris Murray
Oversaw 7,800 employees in Hamlton

City Council has appointed Hamilton City Manager Chris Murray to the same position in Toronto. Mr. Murray is a long-time Hamilton civil servant. He will assume his new job August 13. “The City Manager is responsible for leading the women and men of the Toronto Public Service as they work on behalf of Toronto residents,” said Mayor John Tory. “Chris brings to this position a deep understanding of the complexities and challenges of municipal service delivery and I look forward to working with him as we continue to build a modern, motivated and effective City government focused on the people’s needs. He knows how to use positive change to make us better and I know that’s what he will do.” Murray said he was thrilled at his appointment.  Murray has been Hamilton City Manager since 2009 and oversaw 7,800 employees. He managed projects like waterfront development, LRT planning, Tim Hortons Field, GO service expansion and the negotiation of the development of a downtown McMaster Medical Campus.

Perennial money-maker Corus hit with $935 million Q1 loss

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Strong competition among radio stations and alternates to conventional TV are said to be a major reasons behind a stunning loss of some $4.49 a share at Corus Entertainment Inc. The first quarter (ending May 31) loss sent Corus reeling on the TSX. The stock was down 11 per cent early Wednesday after the company announced a $935.9 million loss tied mostly to a devaluation of its broadcast licences. The firm, which owns Global Television among many other TV franchises, also slashed its dividend to accelerate debt reduction. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 36 cents a share. Corus has a large presence in Canadian broadcasting apart from Global. It owns 39 radio stations and a portfolio of 45 specialty television services. Corus is especially prominent within the children’s television market, through its ownership of the domestic YTV, Treehouse TV and Teletoon/Télétoon networks, the animation studio Nelvana and book publisher Kids Can Press, and localized versions of the Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, and Nickelodeon brands. Corus Entertainment’s voting majority is held by the company’s founder J R Shaw and his family and a 40% stake of Corus stock is owned by Shaw Communications.

Mother, daughter apparent drowning at Collingwood lodge

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Chloe Gong, 5/Family
Tiffany and daughter Chloe/Family

The woman and child who drowned in Collingwood Tuesday have been identified as Tiffany Gong, 34, and her daughter Chloe, 5, of Markham. The drownings occurred at the outdoor swimming pool of the Mountain Springs Lodge Resort in the town of Blue Mountains around 7:30 p.m. The husband, Yiting Gong, said his family and his parents had been at the resort for a two-day vacation. Mr. Gong said his wife and daughter went to the pool by themselves but 10 minutes later he went to the pool and found people from the resort trying to revive his wife. He said his daughter must have jumped into the pool and his wife went to help her when they both went under. He believes someone from the resort pulled his daughter out but didn’t notice his wife had gone under.