The South Bayview Bulldog

Grand Opening & Ribbon-cutting event is January 6 @ 11:00 am – 11:00 pm. Enjoy Pop-up ice lounges with family friendly activities, pop-up curling with Rock Solid Productions, meet and greet with Canadian pairs silver medalists Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch, ice breaking demonstration by the Toronto Ice Skate Group, DJ sets, and much more!

The Mayor’s Skate Party is January 7 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Free hot chocolate, skate rentals and family-friendly music.

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Tomorrow the City of Toronto opens the Bentway Skate Path, the first part of the Bentway project, that will see the area under the Gardiner Expressway West of Bathurst developed. The ice trail is near the entrance to @fortyork @cityoftoronto #TheBentway pic.twitter.com/PWYQyahwkT

— Steve Russell (@SteveRussell) January 5, 2018

CityNews reports that mementoes from Justin Bieber’s formative years as an aspiring Canadian singer will go on display at a museum in his hometown of Stratford, Ont. next month. “Steps to Stardom” — a reference to the young singer’s busking shows on the steps outside the local Avon Theatre — opens at the Stratford Perth Museum on Feb. 18. More on CityNews

Justin Bieber museum exhibit to open in hometown of Stratfordhttps://t.co/cyfUrqy9AY pic.twitter.com/5FgPMJpWhh

— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) January 4, 2018

The January 2018 issue of “Neighbours of Leaside & Bennington Heights” magazine features the Laureola family as their cover story. Carrie Laureola is the proprietor of Bamboo Bay, a small and friendly school for creative expression offering art and music classes for children, teens, and adults. The article, written by Richard S. Todd, credits the Laureola family with bringing the Arts to family and community. “Without art, the world would be bland, boring and devoid of joy.” We agree. Carrie grew up in North Leaside, and if you’ve been around for a while, you may remember her parents’ Bayview restaurant, China Feast. “Leaside is the community that I grew up in and have many fond memories of. It’s still a great place to live and we’re so happy to be part of it.”  The heartwarming story of how Carrie met her husband Mike, a dentist running his own practice, and their journey through life as they started a family and grew their careers is well worth the read.

While no official recalls have been issued, some restaurants are ditching romaine lettuce after a deadly E. coli outbreak has hit eastern Canada. The outbreak has been linked to romaine lettuce. Cara Operations Ltd. has stopped serving romaine in their restaurants in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Cara operates Swiss Chalet, Milestones Grill + Bar, Montana’s Cookhouse, Kelsey’s, East Side Mario’s and other chains. Boston Pizza and Sobey’s grocery stores have also jumped on board, removing romaine from their shelves. On December 28th, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued the following statement, “Currently, there are 41 cases of E. coli O157 illness under investigation in five eastern provinces: Ontario (8), Quebec (14), New Brunswick (5), Nova Scotia (1), and Newfoundland and Labrador (13). Individuals became sick in November and early December 2017. Seventeen individuals have been hospitalized. One individual has died. Individuals who became ill are between the ages of 3 and 85 years of age. The majority of cases (73%) are female.” Newstalk 1010, Health Canada Public Notice

I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that it’s cold outside. Here’s the scoop.

This morning’s video wheel focuses on the aftermath of the winter weather bomb that hit the eastern seaboard. The images of frigid floodwaters in Boston are particularly bone chilling to watch. At least seven people have died in weather-related accidents. Global news.

https://twitter.com/Adam28691/status/948997646852808704

The South Bayview Bulldog achieved record readership in 2017, registering more than three-quarters of a million page views in the 12 months ending December 31st. The Bulldog was first published in 2009 and re-launched in 2012 as a commercial blog dedicated to the residents and merchants of neighbourhoods surrounding the business street of the same name. It has proven itself to be an effective and affordable place for local businesses to gain attention and build name recognition. Editorially, The Bulldog has been the little blog that could. It is widely followed by readers in South Bayview and by other media locally and across the City. Thanks for checking The Bulldog.

EXTREME COLD WARNING

Environment Canada has issued an Extreme Cold Warning for Toronto. A prolonged period of very cold wind chills is expected. Temperatures will fall rapidly this evening to reach lows of minus 20 to 25 degrees celsius. Wind chill values due to northwest winds up to 50 kilometres per hour will be in the minus 35 to 40 range tonight. Temperatures and wind chill values will be slightly lower Friday night. The extreme cold will continue until Saturday or possibly into Sunday morning. Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ec.cpio-tempetes-ospc-storms.ec@canada.ca or tweet reports using #ONStorm.

TORONTO WARMING CENTRES

The City of Toronto has announced the opening of two 24/7 warming centres to provide additional relief for homeless individuals and their pets.

“We continue to explore all options and opportunities to protect our city’s most vulnerable residents,” said Mayor John Tory. “These warming centres provide accessible immediate relief during Extreme Cold Weather events and are in addition to the City’s other winter respite services.”

The overnight warming centres, located at Metro Hall, 55 John St., and Regent Park Community Centre, 402 Shuter St., will operate 24/7 daily beginning this evening at 7 p.m. and continuing until the current Extreme Cold Weather Alert is terminated.

The Regent Park Community Centre warming centre will be operated by the City’s Office of Emergency Management in conjunction with the Canadian Red Cross and provide 100 cots, meals, showers, hygiene kits and referrals to additional supports. Metro Hall will be accessible 24/7 for the same time period and provide drop-in access to a warm, welcoming space. Toronto Paramedic Services will have a dedicated resources available at both warming centres in the evenings to provide assistance to those in need.

“Extreme winter weather conditions can turn a heart-breaking situation into a tragedy,” said Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 10 York Centre), Chair of the City’s Community Development and Recreation Committee. “Through action, policy and resources at the City we must do everything to bring hope and save lives.”

The two new warming centres are in addition to six winter respite locations, which make available more than 400 drop-in spaces and operate continuously on a 24/7 basis until April 15.

Yesterday afternoon, the City of Toronto made a formal Request for Assistance through the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre for potential use of the Moss Park Armoury. As per the established process, the Province has relayed the Request for Assistance for use of the Armoury to the Government of Canada for consideration. Discussions are continuing today to expedite the request.

The City continues to explore all available measures and options to ensure services are available for the city’s homeless individuals. Anyone can come in from the cold at all public buildings during regular business hours, including civic centres and libraries. Beginning this evening, TTC operators and first responders have been asked to be alert for anyone in need of homelessness services and to contact 311 to engage outreach support.

The City has enhanced capacity and staff resources at its newest winter respite site at the Better Living Centre on the Exhibition Place grounds. Last night, the City increased the number of cots available at the centre to 150 to accommodate increased demand. Opened on December 21 with an original capacity of 100 beds, the centre had 115 spaces filled as of 4 a.m. this morning.

The City has also reiterated its expectations with front-line City staff as well as agencies delivering homelessness services that anyone who requests City-funded or operated homeless support and respite services will receive it.

Several staff from other areas of the City have been redeployed to support Shelter, Support and Housing Administration staff to review internal communication protocols regarding the sharing of shelter and winter respite service availability throughout the 24-hour period. Call centre staff working for the division and 311 service operators are also involved in this review.

The City will also continue to work with Ombudsman Susan Opler and her staff on their inquiry into these issues.

For emergency shelter, residents should call 311. Toll free in Toronto, it is 1-877-338-3398. Youth and adults can also get a walk-in referral to shelter at the Streets to Homes Assessment and Referral Centre at 129 Peter St.

Slightly more than a month after the discovery of the body of Tess Richey in the basement stairwell of a vacant building on Church St at Dundonald St., a vigorous campaign continues on social media to find her killer. Although police are calling him only a person of interest, much of the chatter on Twitter has concluded the unidentified man is guilty of the 23-year-old woman’s death. One person says she saw him in recent days outside Crews and Tagos, the Church St. bar where Tess spent her last hours with a friend, Ryley Simard.

https://twitter.com/butilovememore/status/940247453378457600

ABC News reports that more than 3,000 U.S. flights have been canceled as a massive winter storm hits the Northeast, packing heavy snow, gusty winds and the coldest air of the season.  3 fatalities have been reported in North Carolina due to the storm.

Atlantic Canada is bracing for heavy snowfall and strong winds.

Carrie Lester has tweeted this undated photo when her daughter was at Johnny Bower’s goalie camp in Toronto. It was when she was about 11 or 12 years old. There is a gallery of the ceremony at ACC Wednesday below the text. To the right, a reminder that nominations are open until January 25 for the Agnes Macphail Award. Below, a supplemental bulletin board which reminds us of the St. Cuthbert’s Community Potluck Dinner January 20, the Leaside United Church Trivia Night the same evening and the Leaside Curling Club Friends and Family Little Rocks Bonspiel January 27.

The new children’s park at Manor Rd. and Forman Ave. is nearing completion. Josh Matlow (Ward 22) has written to constituents asking how they feel about naming it after much-loved and now retired school crossing guard Mona Piper. To the right, the Leaside Curling Club reminds all and any that its Friends and Family Little Rocks Bonspiel takes place Saturday, January 27 at Leaside Arena. Lower left, the Toronto Card Show is back at Amsterdam Brewery, 45 Esandar Drive, Sunday, January 14. And the Lindy Lives at Swing Dance Lessons 374 Dupont St. January 7.