City News recounts the agony of Monday’s “outage” at PIA Terminal One, a phenomenon which in recent years has become common at Toronto airport. It occurs at all terminals and is frequently, although not always, attributed to slowness of the Internet (which means volume of demand)
Durham Regional and Toronto Police have two men in custody and are searching for a third after a bank robbery in Ajax Monday. Earlier reports that a bandit fired at police have now been corrected. Durham.com says that police fired one shot at a bandit. The robbers apparently abandoned their vehicle, seen in video embedded here. It was shot by Peterborough Scanner Feed at the side of Highway 401 near Salem Road as the perpetrators fled into the fields.
Toronto Public Health says it is investigating a confirmed case of measles on Air Canada flight AC 0879, a direct flight that departed from Zürich Airport in Zurich, Switzerland at 9:25 a.m. and arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 12:07 p.m. on March 6, 2018. Those on board may have been exposed to the virus. Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily to those who are susceptible. Anyone who has not had two doses of a measles vaccine (MMR or MMRV) or who has not had measles in the past is at risk of infection. Infants under one year of age, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems can get very ill with measles.
Doug Ford did the round of Toronto television news shows Monday, smiling his way through suggestions that the PC party is fractured and insisting it will sweep the province in the June general election. “I’m predicting right now this is gong to be the biggest majority this province has ever seen. We are going to win more seats than anyone ever has,” he told Cynthia Mulligan on City. Ford demonstrated a style known to journalists and others which runs beneath his loud image. He softly pressed on past Mulligan’s contention that the “knives are out” and agreed engagingly that a cartoon making fun of him was indeed funny. “Everyone in the province is frustrated,” he stressed. “They do not want Kathleen Wynne back … They want a change. We are going to bring a change and make this province the most prosperous province in the entire country.” On CP24, he talked of a “big tent” Progressive Conservative Party. The big tent is a tenet of getting-elected-101. “I’m going to bring a whole new dimension to this party,” Ford said. “We have a big tent. I want the NDP voters, I want the Liberal voters, I want the Green voters to come on board and join the PC Party because we have a big social heart, but we’re staunch fiscal conservatives. The only way we take care of people is by taking care of our finances.”
The development at 2779 Yonge St south of Strathgowan Ave. has recently been presented for application by Devron Developments. It is a far cry from the “avant garde” proposal for the land first advanced by developer Bianca Pollak and architects Will Alsop associates back in 2013. It may have been avant garde to some but to members of the Uptown Yonge Neighbourhood Alliance (UYNA) it was a scary “Flying Table Top” The 10-storey residential development known as Alaska was proposed with cantilevered upper levels before evolving to remove the cantilever and add shots of colour to the mix. It was appealed to the OMB and a settlement reached in 2016 to permit a 9-storey building on the site. The proposal now is traditional in style and while it may not appeal to architectural dreamers it suits the UYNA just fine. Urban Toronto
What appears to be an act of vandalism was recorded on Leaside Community Facebook account Monday when a picture of the smashed front of Floka Salon in Sunnybrook Plaza was published.
Five people have died in the crash of a sightseeing helicopter into the East River in New York. Only the pilot survived Sunday evening’s crash. To the right, remarkable video of a 2015 attack by workers on two Air France employees who had their shirts ripped off and had to flee for their lives. The case is now in court. Below that, PETA zanies run rampant at a dog show to save the animals. And finally, Beijing bosses really did it. China’s 21st Century march back to one-man government was given formal approval by its unelected parliament Sunday. What in the world are they thinking? Save Me, Save Me’: Scores Dead in Plane Crash in Kathmandu
It’s beyond the understanding of most adults why anyone would wish to steal a gumball machine but this man in Sacramento is more determined than most. He enters a dog shelter through the one-way dog door and then tries to ram the machine out through the same door. His exploits, if that’s the word, are recorded here.
Team Ontario led by John Epping of the Leaside Curling Club has been eliminated from Brier play after a 6-4 defeat by Team Alberta Sunday in Regina. Alberta will meet Team Canada and skip Brad Gushue Monday.
Excited to watch Team Epping next year. I’m a westerner, but have a soft spot for this team. You did awesome this week guys!!
— Marlene McC Lafrentz (@LafrentzRm) March 12, 2018
Christine Elliott has followed a meeting Sunday evening with PC leader Doug Ford by stating that she is confident in the results of Saturday’s voting and concedes his victory. She congratulated Ford on his win. “The pace of this Ontario PC leadership race has been rapid and there have been a number of unexpected turns along the way. That is why our team took the last twenty-four hours to review the results of an election that was incredibly close,” she said in the written statement. She also said she will be running for a seat in the provincial election. During the day, many party members including former leader Mike Harris had called on Elliott to reunite behind Ford.
WYNNE CONGRATULATES FORD
Premier Wynne tweeted congratulations and told a Brampton rally that she’d “like to wish Doug well, even though we disagree about many things, I welcome him to provincial politics This news, however, changes very little for us. Who we are fighting against has changed, but who we are fighting for has not. We are fighting for the people of Ontario — and that’s what this election is about,” later warning Ford’s plans for the province could cost up to 40,000 public sector positions. Globe and Mail
Upper left, Mackenzie Macdonald scored in the shootout climax of the PWHL quarter-finals game Sunday at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens. The marker gave the Jr. Wildcats a 2-1 win over Cambridge Rivulettes and a 2-0 advantage in their best of five series. Upper right, Mark Schrutt, co-ordinator of the Wildcats March Madness Tournament this weekend, demonstrates how to wear a cape in support of Capesforkids.ca, the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital charity. Below, medals to be treasured now and for a lifetime given to more than 2,000 girls playing in the annual Madness games. Lower right, its been three months since a woman drove her car through the window of Dove Cleaners at 325 Moore Ave. That’s just about how long it takes to get the insurance sorted out. Workmen were there Sunday. Finally, a glimpse of a St. Patrick’s Parade shaman with a good trick.
Car insurer Aviva Canada has found clear evidence that both auto body shops and tow truck drivers in Ontario are committing widespread fraud. Canadian Press writer Colin Perkel says that Aviva created ten test-case bumper bender wrecks and put them on highway roadsides. Agents posed as hapless drivers in trouble. What they found was that in nine out of ten cases, auto body shops essentially lied about the work done. In some cases those charged with fixing cars deliberately damaged them further and installed used parts and charged for new. Tow truck drivers charged for towing and storage that didn’t happen. Motorists were asked to sign blank work orders. Vehicles were then maliciously damaged and various trick played over parts used to repair them. Colin Perkel
