Wires reported down on Leacrest between Rolph, Hanna

This was an incidental or perhaps planned occurence at a construction site on desireable Leacrest Road. where rebuilds and upgrades abound.

Man tells of Bruce McArthur and night with a violent twist

A CBC online story and accompanying video from television recounts one man’s “narrow escape” and updates the complicated investigation.

PCs will elect new leader March 10 using electronic voting

The Ontario PC Party will pick a new leader Saturday, March 10. five weeks from now. The announcement came Wednesday night after a committee spent the last few days drafting rules, a timeline for the race and how much it will cost. The general election is Thursday, June 7. Rules of the leadership contest will be released Thursday. The election will be on the basis of one member, one vote and use what is being called secure remote electronic voting.

OTHER NEWS

Faithful, vigilant friend and guard Mona Piper has died

Mona Piper, the faithful and vigilant crossing guard who manned the corner of Cleveland St. and Millwood Rd. for 43 years, has passed away at the age of 88. She was the longest-serving crossing guard in the City and might have been on the job to the day of her death had she not taken a fall last year. The news was passed on by Josh Matlow (Ward 22) who announced Piper’s death on Twitter Wednesday. Mona Piper was a legend in the area and lifelong friend to many students, parents and staff at Maurice Cody Junior Public School.

Condemned to live in Midtown as Crosstown LRT is built

It’s not fun any more. Two years into the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and with three more years to go, Urban Toronto has published a feature on the conditions at Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. which can safely be called dangerous to the health. That might also include the frayed mental state of anyone who has to confront the challenge of crossing Eglinton at any point, or worse, drive along it. Urban Toronto

Feds say seven companies conspired to agree on bread price

Court documents seen by Canadian Press are said to show that the Federal Competition Bureau requested search warrants for premises of seven companies because it had reasonable grounds to believe they committed multiple offences. It says bread wholesalers Canada Bread Company Ltd. and George Weston Ltd.’s senior officers directly communicated with one another and agreed to increase prices. It claims the suppliers met with their retail customers named as Loblaw Companies Ltd., Walmart Canada Corp., Sobeys Inc., Metro Inc. and Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. to get their approval for the price increase. Late last year, Loblaw and George Weston admitted they sparked the investigation when they approached the bureau after becoming aware of an industry-wide arrangement to agree on retail and wholesale prices of some packaged bread products from late 2001 to March 2015.

Cracked rail at Bloor caused Line 1 slowdown Wednesday

Anyone might begin to question the quality of the steel being used as the TTC dealt with another cracked rail Wednesday morning during the rush. It was fixed by 10 a.m. according to TTC customer service tweets. The transit body said travel between Bloor station (where the crack occurred) and Union station was doubled from ten minutes to 20 minutes. Cracked rail at Bloor station caused morning delay. 

4 sought for small-hours theft of neck jewellery downtown

Neck jewellery was the object of criminal intent of these four men, according to police. They say a man, 20, was targeted for distraction and robbery by the foursome. It occurred at 2 a.m. (what a surprise) at Duncan and Pearl Sts on December 29. If you know them, call 52 Division police.

Beverly Cooke worked at Blythwood and Rosedale schools

A celebration of life is scheduled for Wednesday (today) for Beverly Cooke (nee Willoughby) at Humphrey’s Funeral Home on Bayview Ave. She died at her home in Port Dalhousie (St. Catharines) on Thursday, January 25, 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer. Beverly Cooke was for many years a Kindergarten Educational Assistant at both Blythwood Public School and Rosedale Junior Public School. Obituary

Snow to maybe 4 cm Wednesday, sub-zero days start Friday

Snow in amounts of maybe 4 cm is forecast for Wednesday. And then Friday, sub-zero daytime temperatures will return and the Weather Network suggests they will extend into the middle of February.

Hallucination, snacking by children feared with pot edibles

The suspension of two policemen, Vito Dominelli and Jamie Young, for allegedly consuming marijuana edibles of some sort has illuminated the concern about the hallucinogenic nature, if any, of such products. The CBC writes Tuesday that Ryan Vandrey, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, says it is known. “Folks tend to be more prone to have hallucinations if they have a family history of psychosis, but there have been cases, even one recently in my laboratory, where somebody without a family history of psychosis has had hallucinations following acute dosing with cannabis,” he said. In other parts of the US, legislators in places like Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal, are concerned that edible pot products are just too much like normal candy and snacks such as brownies and cookies. They fear the temptation or simple misunderstanding that flows from such look-alike food. The two officers work at 13 Division and are reported to have somehow obtained the edibles through legal visits to marijuana dispensaries. An earlier report said that one officer was in a tree when support units found them but the CBC says they were both found in their patrol car.

CityTV original Jay Switzer, 61, created CHUM cable brands

Prominent Canadian broadcast pioneer and former president of CHUM Limited, Jay Switzer has died. He passed away in Toronto Monday with his family at his side after a brief battle with brain cancer. He was 61. Kevin Beggs, chairman of Lionsgate Television Group, who got to know Switzer in the early days of the company in the late 90s, remembers Switzer as a “larger-than-life figure.”  Switzer began his broadcast career working a switchboard for Toronto’s City TV in 1972. His mother Phyllis was granted the station license and founded the broadcaster.  By 1984, Mr. Switzer would be credited with helping to launch an array of successful CHUM specialty channels, including MuchMusic, Bravo, Space and Pulse 24, later CP24. In 2002, he became president and CEO of Chum Limited. He stepped down from that role after CHUM was acquired by then CTVglobemedia in 2007.

HOLLYWOOD SUITE

Three years later, Switzer would help launch Hollywood Suite, a Toronto-based company that manages four channels that broadcast classic movies. In a statement, fellow Hollywood Suite co-founder Jeff Sackman said Switzer had made a lasting impact on the broadcast industry. “Jay defined friendship, loyalty, fairness, selflessness, and basic human decency. He will be proud to know that these traits have been passed on to so many others who will pay it forward, ensuring that Jay’s legacy is intact and the world will be a better place