Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim has spoken a few words of English on his first day back in Canada from imprisonment in North Korea. Speaking at the Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Pastor Lin said he is proud to be a Canadian and happy to be with his wife. It is not clear just how much of his remarks were in English because the reporter for the CBC recounts observations about imprisonment but these may be been spoken in Korean. CBC
Jack Dowkes has died in Toronto at age 102 with his two daughters, two sons and eight grandchildren nearby. He was a Blue Jays fan to the end. Friends of Mr. Dowkes are invited to attend a service at Humphrey’s on Bayview Ave. on Thursday, August 17 at 11 a.m. Obituary
Gloria Paisley writes to say how 44 pubic-spirited members of the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club dodged the rain and opposing bowls Saturday to raise $1,500 for the summer camps sponsored by the Thorncliffe Neighborhood Office (TNO) supported by the United Way. Nice work and thanks to all for helping this worthy cause that sees kids from Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park occupied in the summer
Toronto pastor Hyeon Soo Lim of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto was reunited with his family at Pearson airport Sunday after two years in detention in North Korea. The release came after diplomatic negotiation details of which are not known. “We are proud to be Canadians. One of the things my father shared is that as a Canadian going to North Korea for him was to be able to share the blessing of Canada to those in North Korea,” the pastor’s son said. “To know that Canada has stood for him, stood by him — we are so grateful.”
Clocks and computers will require setting and/or restarting after a ten-second power outage in parts of Midtown Sunday morning. A similar brief outage occurred about six weeks ago. This small blackout was about ten seconds in length, long enough to erase settings on digital clocks and disrupt computers.
A little-known group called the Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance has erected a tent in Moss Park to function as a “pop up injection site.” The members of the group and others are responding to accidental deaths apparently caused by fentanyl in recent days. It isn’t clear whether any amount of fentynal is safe, but the drug has become a lethal element of the street scene. Toronto police have permitted the pop up tent in the interests of educating illegal drug users, at least so far. It is staffed by a registered nurse and overdose prevention trainers. There is a large stock of the anti-overdose medication naxalone. This drug is apparently injected. Among other tasks, the injection site workers will search the park for used needles. The net effect of such activity, good or bad, remains to be seen.
The tenants of a dozen buildings in Parkdale owned by Metcap Living Inc. have ended their rent strike without evictions and in fact are declaring victory over the landlord in the form of a reduction in the proposed rents increases. CBC
Paul Panayiotidis says he is close to closing his little bookstore, Eliot’s, at Yonge and Wellesley Streets in the heart of Ward 27. That’s because like many merchants on Yonge, his taxes have doubled in about a year. The levy on his tiny storefront has gone from $24,000 to $48,000. By 2020, taxes are expected to be $96,000 annually. Perhaps it is not the City’s fault that Panayiotidis is in a flat line of retail, selling books. But much of the skyrocketing cost of business is the responsibility of Toronto Council where the cheery approach is to spend other people’s money and hope for the best. They call it the City’s money, but we know where they come when they want more.
MAN NOW PENNILESS
The Star reports Saturday on Michael (Cash) Pomer. He was a radio sports celebrity (it’s said) and gambling authority for many years. Now the $6 million estate he once possessed is gone — every cent. The story is decorated with pictures of Mr. Pomer looking quite forlorn. He owned a four-bedroom house with a pool in York Mills and wintered in a two-storey beachfront condo in Palm Beach. He had an island cottage in Parry Sound as well as a ski chalet and a golf club membership. There is much more to read about Mr. Pomer, all of it dispiriting. This story does not try to blame others for his downfall however. In this world where some dream of eliminating poverty (like it were chicken pox) it’s well to remember that poverty is all about individual personal decisions.
Ward 26 Environment Day saw brisk business Saturday at Leaside Arena as hundreds of people had a broad range of used, expired and just plain old goods for safe disposal. One potentially hot item was a 40 or 50 year-old Kenmore sewing machine. The many trucks and bins were sponsored by Councillor Burnside through the City’s recycling program. The site was open til 2 p.m.
Best wishes to our members Lori Brendel and Rachel Jones as they start to compete at the Canadian National Championships on Monday.
— Leaside Lawn Bowling (@leasidebowls) August 12, 2017
Aug 12 – Ward 26 Community Environment Day
Aug 12 – Man VS Lobster
Aug 12 – Films Under the Stars: Happy Feet
Aug 12 – 21st Century Village Burgess Park
And these guys are at Longo’s
Our duBreton Mobile is at the @LongosMarkets on 93 Laird Drive in Leaside. Come and try our marinated pork chops and our #BESTBACON! pic.twitter.com/Eiw8OjULSr
— duBreton (@duBreton) August 12, 2017
