Ford two percent ahead of Elliott in PC leadership poll

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Doug Ford is said to have a two percent lead, 36.7 percent to 34.7 percent, over Christine Elliott in the contest for leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. The poll by Mainstreet Research shows that Caroline Mulroney is preferred by 20 percent of respondents. The poll was done between February 21 and Monday of some 17,000 PC party members. “The chances of Ford and Elliott winning are that of flipping a coin,” Mainstreet President Quito Maggi told a news release. “There are so many intangibles that will impact the outcome of this race which makes it difficult to predict.”

Tampa Bay girls will try to teach Canadians about ice hockey

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39th March Madness
Tampa Bay Crunch
Old rivals Oakville Hornets

The 39th March Break Madness Tournament will again see the largest girls hockey competition in the world unfold at local arenas. The Leaside Wildcats Girls Hockey Association is hosting 157 teams this year. They will come from across Ontario as well as Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta. A Buffalo team is on the way too. The Tampa Bay Junior Crunch girls are a fresh element. Seems they plan to teach Canadians something about hockey like their NHL big brothers. Dartmouth, NS-based Newbridge Academy will again play hard and sample Toronto’s many attractions while here. So will the ladies from Ponoka, Alberta. The New Zealand Ice Fernz team, long-time friends of the Leaside Wildcats, are also in town for the Madness. As usual, the tournament is necessarily about raising money and the Wildcats will be seeking public interest in an array of silent auction items set out in the William Lea Room at the Leaside Memorial Community Gardens. This year co-ordinator Mark Schrutt will navigate his second tournament. The Madness prevails from March 9 to 11.

Nanticoke chimneys fall down in perfect demolition form

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The chimneys of the old Nanticoke generating plant fell in apparent perfect form as laid out by the contractors. To avoid debris outside the site and make cleanup easy, the stacks were sent inward on top of each other.

Car-fire arson spectre as three Pickering homes destroyed

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Car Hanske of 680 News has information which suggests the fire that destroyed three homes overnight may be have been set by a nighttime arsonist torching a car. Residents of Bennington Heights will relate.  Aronist’s rampage destroys cars and home in Bennington

FLASHBACK TO BENNINGTON HEIGHTS 2014

Dr. Sidney Soanes founded Leaside Skating Club in 1952

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Ann Brown at Leaside Chit Chat and other friends of Leaside skating are remembering Dr. Sidney Soanes as a founding member of the Leaside Skating Club in 1952. Dr. Soanes died February 21. He was born February 4, 1922 and lived in his later years in King Township. In 2014 he was inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame. Obituary

Nanticoke stacks fall on schedule changing Lake Erie skyline

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The 60-storey smokestacks of the Nanticoke coal-fired hydro plant on Lake Erie were demolished Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. If you blinked, you missed it. More to come. Then, a BC family has the support of the local fire marshal in its claim that an iPhone started the fire that wrecked their home. Below that, an interview with Kelly Craft, the glamorous new ambassador of the US to Canada. Finally, meet the Instagram-influencers. They get the best seats at fashion shows and are distinct A-listers at all sorts of chic dizziness. Danielle Bernstein has nearly 1.8 million Instagram followers.






McGuinty aide Livingston “would have acted differently”

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David Livingston
Dalton McGuinty
“Darkest forces in our society”

The Canadian Press says late Tuesday that David Livingston, former aide to Dalton McGuinty, has told a court at his pre-sentencing that he “would have acted differently” if he had known then what he knows now. Then was before the panic struck among the Premier’s staff in the wake of the notorious cancellation of two gas plant projects on the eve of the 2011 general election. The dangerous nature of the naked political expediency caused Livingston to direct others to commit illegal acts to cover the tracks of the administration. As in so many cases, it was the cover-up not the politically explosive plan to cancel, that led to Mr. Livingston’s conviction. Tuesday, says CP, he spoke in a barely audible voice as he said he regretted that his “family, friends and colleagues had been put through the wringer.” “Knowing what I know today, I would have acted differently as chief of staff,” Livingston told Ontario Court Judge Timothy Lipson. Livingston will be sentenced April 11. The Crown is seeking a six months term in jail while the defense is asking for a conditional discharge.

Billions to “close gaps” but dead silence on balanced budget

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If money can fulfill the many-splendored dreams of equity, gender parity and reconciliation — among other ill-defined goals — the country is in good hands. Whether cash (or anything else) can in fact ferret out those elusive goals there will still be debt, however. Today’s federal budget makes zero mention of how that will be paid down despite the prime minister’s election promise 24 months ago to guarantee it  Many Liberals may be asking where’s Paul Martin when we need him. Budget links

Stubborn fire at Freeman Formal Wear at Wellesley, Yonge

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View of burned out building/Katie Villalta
Fire out
Before fire

TDSB friends and here comes 39th annual March Madness

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Mikki Hymus, Wilmar Kortleever and Shari Green-Brown
March Madness cometh
Leaside Presbyterian Book Sale
LUC Ukulele club
Whistler’s to return to corner of Broadview and Mortimer

Upper left, Mikki Hymus has posted this great photo of herself (left) with Leaside educator Wilmar Kortleever and Shari Green-Brown on the ski slopes. They are long-time TDSB buddies. Upper right, a reminder of the approaching 39th annual March Madness girls hockey thrash. It starts Friday, March 9 and runs to Sunday March 11. Co-ordinator Mark Schrutt will be telling The Bulldog more this week. Below that,  Nancy Weir reminds us of the Leaside Presbyterian Church book sale set for March 24 from 9 to noon. Lower left. we love this ukulele band from Leaside United Church. And finally, Whistler’s will return to the corner of Broadview and Mortimer Aves. when the new condominium with commercial space is completed. Good news indeed.

Tess and Scott are home, media knows name of train dope

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Tess Virtue and Scott Moir are home in glory and at Pearson Monday night they talked a lot about getting back inside the family circle. For sure. Then, the dopey guy who rode the back of a subway. It appears from this report that he is known to the media. Then, the CBC notes how the Trudeau committment to balancing the budget has vanished. Easier it seems to pile on debt giving people stuff. Finally, another clue about how it’s money, not angry people, that matters in social media protest. Corporations are worrying about the bottom line as they flee from the NRA.






Hoskins quits reportedly to lead federal Pharmacare probe

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Health Minister Eric Hoskins, the member for St. Paul’s, will resign from his portfolio and from the Legislature immediately. Sources tell the CBC that the physician-politcian will be appointed to head a federal commission to investigate options for a national Pharmacare program.  Hoskins is an officer of the Order of Canada. He was first elected an MPP in 2009 in St. Paul’s. He ran for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership in 2013. Premier Kathleen Wynne appointed him economic development minister in her first cabinet, then made him her health minister after the 2014 election.