Looks like it might be a good week before we see anything like the temperatures of the past couple of days. For now, we’re heading deep into the freezer with lows of minus 10C overnight and similar bone-chilling conditions. Friday afternoon also brought a thick dusting of snow. Did you notice?
Ice pellets were rattling off the curious-looking Kubota thingamajig used by salters at Bayview Ave. and Belsize Drive Friday as temperatures plunged to a predicted daytime high of minus 9C. Kubotas are made in Osaka where it’s sunny and 7C today. To the right, mayhem at the corner of Moore Ave. and Pottery Rd. as shoppers trying to enter Loblaws and/or the TD Plaza at 325 Moore had to manoeuvre around equipment dealing with a sinkhole Friday morning. Drivers pounding off the extension were forced to slow down abruptly. South Leaside knows about the scary state of mind of such motorists eager to speed east on Southvale. Below that, Michael Garron Hospital has announced that EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare will oversee construction of its new patient care tower. Across the bottom, East York Open House is Sunday, January 14. At the centre is a reminder from Rev. Debra Schneider of Manor Road United Church about an opportunity for kids to sing in the Community Children’s Choir. And lastly, meet Sienna the braided bow-bow seen looking good outside Starbucks on Bayview.
The Leaside Junior Wildcats have come back from the holidays to win one and lose one. The Cats sit fifth in the 20-team Provincial Women’s Hockey League. By the curious whimsy of hockey they defeated number two-ranked Oakville Hornets 1-0 on January 6 but fell Thursday night to the 15th placed Brampton Canadettes 2-1. Saturday the Wildcats meet Stoney Creek in Hamilton and January 20 they host the Barrie Sharks at Leaside Arena. It will be the first match with Barrie since that team suffered the tragic loss of Captain Avery Andrew in a car accident New Year’s Day.
The ritual flooding of lower Bayview Ave. occurred Thursday night as warm weather sent water over the banks of the Don River. Water also covered part of the DVP and the GO Richmond Hill line tracks. The water receded in time for service to begin Friday. The flooding began at around midnight accelerated by a backup of ice at the foot of the on River. Northbound DVP was closed from the Gardiner Expressway to Dundas Street; however those lanes reopened at around 5:30 a.m. The southbound lanes were closed at Bloor Street but that closure was lifted at around 6 a.m. Bayview was closed at Bloor through the night.
The discussion tonight on Leaside Community Facebook page is about two young men who knocked on a door on Sutherland Drive. They said they were looking for Johnny De Rossi. The homeowner, and a number of readers too, wondered if this was some sort of fishing expedition. The poster said the police “were not interested as (the two) didn’t do anything indicating intent to commit a crime. But if multiple people get the same, they said I could call back then.” Better yet, is Johnny De Rossi out there?
The National Post account from court by Vanessa Hravatin says that Marisa Lazo, the crane girl, climbed the huge construction machine on a whim after a night of drinking. She told the judge that she would have been able to get down by herself but she slipped. The misjudgment caused her to slide “uncontrollably” down a cable to the crane’s hook where she was completely stranded.
An unknown philanthropist has donated $100 million to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in an unprecedented gift to any health or medical institution in Canada. The benfactor states that he/she has “seen the devastating impact of mental illness on individuals and their families” and wants to support research that will “directly transform care.” The donor also said that there is specific interest in supporting high-risk, high-reward research that can “enable quantum leaps forward.” “I believe CAMH is well-positioned to make a transformational impact in the field of mental health research,” the donor said. At a news conference Thursday, CAMH President and CEO Dr. Catherine Zahn said the gift helps inject “wild, wild hope” into CAMH’s mission to “bring justice to people with mental illness.”
Irina Kossovskaia, 63, of Niagara Falls, has pleaded guilty in Dakota this week to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. She pleaded guilty in a scam to sell light-emitting devices by falsely claiming they could treat more than 200 medical conditions, including cancer, autism and HIV, Canadian Pres reports. CP says that U.S. court documents show the Kossovskaia, of Russian extraction, marketed and distributed devices known as the “QLaser System” through a firm called HealthBoss. They told people the items could safely and effectively treat a range of medical conditions at home. “The QLaser’s labelling falsely claimed that there was virtually no disorder or disease that the QLaser device could not potentially improve or cure,” evidence indicated.
The opening of Creeds Coffee Bar (and Dry Cleaners) at 1595 Bayview is not far off and the firm has posted a picture of someone holding its earthy-hued cup outside the premises on Instagram. To the right, this is the best picture Jon Burnside ever had taken. He may like Harry Truman’s advice that if you want a friend in politics, get a dog. Anyway, we have matched this up to a tale of the low-level hullabaloo about a research firm that says Burnside has 51 percent support among voters here. Way to go Jon. Below that, the ladies at MumNet are inviting you to their AGM on January 23 at the Louis Cifer Brew Works 417 Danforth Ave. Finally, at the bottom a couple of yummy-looking dishes posted by our friends at Today’s Menu, 852 Millwood Rd. That’s a Tourtiere Pie made with Beretta hormone and antibiotic free meat on the left and Black Bean Soup on the right. When’s lunch?
Lorna Krawchuk writes about the ongoing lane-naming program which helps keep police, fire and public oriented in an emergency. It is also a nice way to honour people who have made a contribution to the community. Many will recall the decision in September to name the Ward 22 lane beside the Bayview Car Wash after the Badali family. It was a much-deserved honour. The Bulldog’s puckish suggestion back in March to name it Turtle Wax Lane was taken for what it was worth. Now Ms. Krawchuk has heard from Ward 26 Councillor Jon Burnside that five lanes in Leaside need names. They are:
More: thelanewayproject.ca
The trade dispute with the US is being characterized as near a crisis which may see the US announce its intention to cancel NAFTA. Some see this as ominous. Others doubt that Donald Trump is necessarily ready to make the rupture complete no matter how tough his talk. The CBC reports that Brett House, the deputy chief economist at Scotiabank, said while there might be “catastrophic sounding headlines” at this critical juncture, it is unlikely anything will change in the near future. It is more likely a “zombie NAFTA” will continue even if Trump pulls out, as such an action could be held up in the U.S. court system and members of congress would have to authorize the addition of new tariffs on goods from Canada.
Massive sinkhole has closed two right lanes of southbound Yonge Street just south of the 401 near York Mills, causing major traffic delays pic.twitter.com/HXd8GCwRQW
— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) January 10, 2018
