The Toronto Police Service has posted a survey on its news site and is asking the public to provide advice on the image and colour of new cars. It seems like a radical break with the past and a plan to avoid after-the-fact criticism of any new colour-scheme. It says Toronto Police have more than 700 cars used for frontline policing and notes the current design — white with red and blue stripes — has been around since the mid-80’s. It declares that it’s time for a change. Some may not agree but in any case TPS is setting a deadline of May 9, 2017 for the public to submit an opinion here.
City Councillor Ron Moeser (Ward 44) has died at the age of 74 from the complications of lymphoma. Moeser had announced his illness last March. During the last city council meeting, councillors were told their Ward 44 colleague was fighting for his life. Mayor John Tory issued a news release Tuesday saying Moeser’s death will be met with great sadness at city hall. CBC
School trustee Gerri Gershon is tweeting Wednesday that Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute will be closed for because of last night’s fire on the roof of the school. The two-alarm blaze may have been caused by construction on the roof although the site was vacant. As many as 20 trucks were called to the Flemingdon Park high school Both Overlea and Don Mills are said to be fully open again Tuesday night.
A man riding a bicycle has been struck and critically hurt at the wide commercial intersection of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West about 3 p.m. Tuesday. The cyclist is said to be in his 50s. He is at Sunnybrook Hospital. Bathurst and Shepard is five lanes (including a left turn lane) in all directions
Police working on the fatal accident Friday in which a streetcar struck a man on Spadina Avenue at Sullivan Street say the pedestrian walked around a safety barrier and into the path of the tram. They have no explanation for this.
Residents of Ferryland on Highway 10 along Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula have spent the weekend taking pictures panoramic and selfie-style with the focus on a large iceberg which is stuck off the shore. CBC
Jason Maslakow is known across Canada as Dart Man, a supreme fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Seventy-two hours ago he wasn’t. How come? His remarkable ascendancy to national awareness is a story of Maslakow’s love of the team plus an astonishing cocktail of fan fever, modern media and corporate savvy. It started Saturday night in Washington when the Kitchener man was in the stands for Game Two with his face and beard made up in the blue and white. By Monday, the Leaf organization had arranged to hoist a banner of Dart Man into the rafters of Air Canada Centre. He was (and is) lionized on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and seen as an essential off ice player in any Leaf playoff victory. Maslakow is a suitably unassuming man, married, with a not-bad sense of humour. Asked on CP24 what he would do about the movie Dart Man, he said he thought he looked a lot like Brad Pitt. Dart, by the way, is slang for cigarette.
The fugitive accused in the shooting and killing a man in a Facebook video over the weekend is dead by his own hand, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The killer, Steve Stephens, shot himself after a short car chase which occurred when a citizen reported seeing his vehicle in a McDonald’s parking lot.
Third Annual Sweep the Street held by the Bayview Leaside BIA
This weekend is the Clean Toronto Together event. As many as 200,000 citizens will officially participate in street, neighbourhood and public space cleaning with the assistance of the City. One such cleanup is the Third Annual Sweep the Street held by the Bayview Leaside BIA. Saturday and Sunday the Toronto-Leaside Rotary will run an electronics recycling drop off station at the East York Town Centre (poster above). Also keep in mind that the Don Valley Parkway is closed this weekend from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for cleaning.
The Crosstown’s Communications & Community Relations Team is hosting a tele town hall on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 from 7pm-8pm. Residents from Yonge to Don Mills are invited to join in a live and interactive Crosstown conversation. If you live in this area, Crosstown will be calling you, and if you’d like to participate or listen in, all you have to do is stay on the line when they call. Here’s the message area residents received earlier week:
Tele town halls are live and interactive phone meetings – very similar to a radio call-in show. The Crosstown’s tele town halls will provide residents along the Eglinton corridor an opportunity to ask our project team whatever’s on your mind. If you are interested in participating, but don’t have a landline, you can still join. You can connect to the call from your cellular phone by dialing 1-877-229-8493, ID Code: 112697 at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18. Alternatively, you can tune into The Crosstown Facebook page, where they will have a link to a web audio stream.
Thursday April 20th, 2017 at Leaside Memorial Gardens, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Learn about the future Laird Station, one of 15 underground stations on the new Eglinton line now under construction. Join Metrolinx and its constructor, Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS), at an open house to find out what construction is happening in your neighbourhood, why it needs to happen, how it may impact you, who to contact if you have questions/concerns, when construction is happening.
Saskatchewan rancher Adrienne Ivey might have heard of a beaver, but until now, had never seen a beaver herd. Cattle, that is. On Friday, Ivey and her husband were surprised to see 150 of their heifers crowded together in one of their pastures. Curious about the strange behaviour, they investigated further, to find the herd of cattle following a beaver that had wandered along. “He was out and about, I think looking for a new place to build a beaver lodge, and they were following him,” Ivey said. “There was about a three-foot space around him. They didn’t want to get closer than that.” According to Ivey, heifers, young cows that haven’t had a calf before, are more inquisitive than the average bovine, which may have led to the cows following the beaver. “They’re a curious bunch,” she said. “They’re kind of like teenagers. And I think they were following this thing around because they couldn’t figure out what the heck it was.” Ivey thought the odd event was even more notable considering the beaver is Canada’s national symbol. “We just thought this was so funny and so Canadian,” she said. “A Canadian beaver leading around a bunch of Canadian cattle just makes it even more funny.” Ivey said they have a number of sloughs and wetlands on the ranch, and often see beavers walking around. The couple farms near Ituna, 135 km northeast of Regina. CBC Facebook
